...The Shed That Kyle Built

After much discussion and many sketches and online perusing of others' designs, I decided on the design of a shed to be built on the tongue of the trailer, to house marine deep cycle batteries and solar equipment, propane tanks, and 12V fuse block and 120V electric panel, as well as various extension cords, water hoses and tools.  Here a view from the ground looking up shows the welded angle-iron tray bolted to the trailer frame, constructed to support the shed.  The tray was made by M, Kyle's wife, blacksmith and metalworker extraordinaire, the same artisan who custom-made my hammered copper shower pan.

Looking down on the floor of the shed as Kyle installs studs.  The same good friends who donated the borate-treated lumber for the skirting on the trailer provided the 2" x 8" planks here.

A look at the framing of the shed walls. The finished depth is 18" from the house wall to the front of the angle iron tray. Shed side walls are 12" inside the side walls of the house itself, and the shed roof rafters (all two of them!) are 12" down from the first house roof  rafter.

Here the rafters have been installed, and the shed roof sheathed with 3/8" plywood.

A view of the shed profile from the starboard side of the tiny house.  Roof membrane and flashing were used here to help weatherize the shed space.  -- By the way, note the pesky roof membrane curtain is still in use at the starboard eave, rolled down over the somewhat fragile, if well insulated, temporary entry door.  This curtain, however pesky, did not prevent moisture from sneaking into the luan and particle board of this inexpensive interior hollow core door, and swelling irritatingly.  By the time we have gotten this door in good shape, we will have altered it so much we might as well have built a custom door, but it took a long time to realize, or admit, that the 240 year-old door from Machamux was not going to be a very good choice of entry door from a practical standpoint, so all fussing on the hollow core door has been done incrementally, as it became obvious that this may be the door for (pardon the pun) the long haul.

Into the lower part of the port side of the shed will be built a metal-lined box to eventually house two 20 pound propane tanks. Here Kyle has built the plywood sides of the box.

A view looking up into the peak of the shed roof shows the opening cut through into the sleeping loft to the right of the photo.  The upper portion of the shed will be insulated and accessible only from the sleeping loft, a sort of storage cubby, which may possibly end up holding a water tank and providing a bit of a gravity feed for my sink basin in the kitchen area inside the house proper.

Two feather pillows were stuffed into one of the loft windows, to block light from the street, on a wintry night when I slept in the house for the first time.  Naturally this was during the very short time period when the cubby opening was cut through to the unfinished shed, and "sealed" only by a piece of plastic sheeting, allowing a gentle and frigid breeze to penetrate the sleeping area.  Truly like camping in a wooden tent.

Naturally I didn't have a great night's sleep, tucking blankets around me and hunkering down into my cocoon, because it was so new and different to be in the space, but it was very nice waking up to a bright sunny morning, and looking out into the tops of the winter trees on C's front lawn. 

In this photo it may  be seen that shed construction continues: here the cedar trim on the face of the shed has been installed, allowing the siding boards to be attached over the house wrap.  Behind what we called the "pentagon" at the peak of the shed will be that cubby, open only to the loft.

A certain amount of time was spent researching options for roofing the shed.  I wanted it to go with the feel of the house, but be a little different and noticable.  One option was cedar shingles cut into patterns.  I loved the idea of these, but in place, they looked too busy, and strangely out of place.  My tiny house is not and never can be a Victorian Painted Lady it seems.

This view shows the gorgeous all-cedar shed doors, designed by Kyle after the doors our friends had just installed on their woodshed.  I am very, very happy with them, although they are potentially dangerous in a high wind (which is often blowing on the hill where the house is parked at the moment!), and one must remember to tie them open to avoid being bonked on the head or elbow when not looking.

Further research entails having Kyle hold up several different colors and types of corrugated roofing material, to see if any of the colors gives me the effect I want, as well as being lightweight and sturdy.  

Since this tree of life sculpture (made from the lid of a 55 gallon drum in Haiti, and brought as a gift from a good friend who spent time there in the Peace Corps) will likely be mounted on the face of the shed, in the "pentagon" area, it added to the composition of colors and shapes on which the roofing choice depended.

Reddish fiberglass and rubber(?) composite roofing sheet. Nice color, but not quite right.  Also quite heavy, and a bit pricey.

Silver galvanized roofing is nice too, but didn't work here either.  The shed roof area is so small that I didn't want the material to look so different from everything else that it called attention to itself.

This green plastic was inexpensive and simple, also very lightweight and tempting, but the green color would have to be darker to stop it from clashing with the standing seam roof on the house.  Sigh.

Here is a view of the finished shed, in which unfortunately the split cedar shake roof, my final choice, cannot be seen!! But I am quite satisfied with its blending in with the rest of the exterior elements of the house.  I asked Kyle to stain the shakes with the same stain/sealer that we used on the house siding itself, as well as the cedar boards for the trim, and the shed.  I will try to post another photo that shows the shakes soon.