Progress Since Moving Day

Before the excavating company left me to my own devices, they leveled up the JayBee on stacks of cinder blocks.

They finished burying the electric lines that run from the pole to both the new shop and to the JayBee.

They also finished up the top of the driveway and made a nice little walkway to the front door.

After they left, I tweaked the leveling a bit to fix a low corner. Since I don't plan to ever move this house, I want it right before I anchor the house to the slab!

The electrician came and finished bringing the power from the power pole to the panel in the JayBee. 

I only have one working outlet inside the house at the moment because the prior electrician did not label a single wire he installed. I have a bit of work to do to get everything labeled before the panel can be all hooked up.

I found a plumber who said he could do the rest of the plumbing during Thanksgiving week, so I scrambled to get things ready for him. I stacked the tires more compactly under the JayBee to help give the plumber some maneuvering room.

Next came removing the axles and springs. Honestly, this had not even been on my radar. I just figured I'd leave the axles and springs attached--hanging out under the house. Once the plumber showed me, however, it was obvious there was no way he could plumb to the septic line under the house because the axles and springs were in the way. I could not find anyone who could do this work in the timeframe I needed it done, so I decided to do it myself. The thought of taking this on scared the livin' daylights out of me but, once I figured out how to disconnect the brake wiring from each axle end, I was on a roll. I bought an air impact wrench and a new face shield, and got all set up to start dismantling.

The air impact wrench worked great on all the nuts connecting the springs, but I could not maneuver it to reach the nuts holding on the u-bolts. For those, my arthritic hands had to make do with hand wrenches. It took me almost three hours to get the first one completely dismantled, but I did it!

Before letting all the axles drop to the ground, I propped them on boards and bricks so I could roll them to the correct side of the waste line while they were still up above it.

Finally, I got all the axles and springs off. The axles are stored up off the concrete, on pieces of plywood. I coated all the various nuts and bolts in a thick layer of grease and stored them away. See how the plumber can now access the waste line under here?

While I was sitting inside the JayBee, listening to a podcast and greasing up trailer parts, look who came to visit! I don't know his name, but he regularly wanders over from the neighbor's yard. Makes me wish George and Bear were still here to move into the JayBee with me.

I moved everything out of the end of the JayBee that has plumbing runs to make it easy for the plumber to get to things.

I installed the bathroom faucet and hung the sink on the wall...

 

...and hung the on-demand water heater.

I also installed the front steps--to make getting in and out of the house a whole lot easier. Railings and the rest of the deck to come--but probably not until spring.

Here's the bad news: The plumber did not show up, and he has not been in touch. The one phone number I have for him rings forever and then disconnects, so I have not been able to leave him a voice message. <sigh> I'm beginning to think I might end up buying some plumbing tools and doing this work myself. Stay tuned...

Changin' My Mind (another in the "You Know You're Taking Too Long" series)

You know you're taking too long to build your house... when the multiple years slipping by give you endless opportunities to re-think and alter plans.

Thankfully, even all these years later, I am still very happy with the floor plan I designed for the JayBee. When I designed the house, there were very few tiny-house designs to find. Now... just about every design possible has been done. I think my design holds up. It still feels like the most functional design for me. (Wouldn't it be horrible if I was trying to finish a house I now thought was fatally flawed?!)

This winter, though, I surprised myself by doing a complete about face with my energy plan for the JayBee. Many years ago, I wrote this post about my plan to use propane appliances for cooking, heat, and hot water--primarily because those things would still function just fine when the electric power went out, which it does with some regularity where I live. Last summer, I decided I needed to let go of my plan to bring my beloved range/heater into the JayBee. At 40,000 BTUs, it would have heat-blasted me right out of the house. (The skepticism of several propane installers sunk in at last, I guess.) I still was thinking, though, that I would use a propane range (just smaller) and a propane water heater. I planned to add a propane wall heater with a nice little fireplace-like window.

A few weekends ago, I changed my mind. After years of staying on the same steady track, everything just shifted. I decided I will not use any propane appliances in the JayBee. These things all finally coalesced in my mind:

• I didn't want propane appliances that use electronic ignition since that would render most of them useless when the power went out. But why would I want open pilot lights in my tiny house compromising the air quality?
• Every winter, getting routine propane deliveries is a challenge. While I generally don't have a problem getting my car up and down my icy driveway, the propane delivery trucks have a huge problem with all that ice. Did I really want to spend my future winters worrying about the timing of propane deliveries?
• Even though I have pre-purchased all kinds of fixtures and appliances for the JayBee and have been building with them in mind, I have not been able to commit to any of the propane appliances I have researched endlessly. Hmm... maybe there are good reasons for all that hesitance?
• The only propane wall heater I like is one that does not have a thermostat so really shouldn't be left running if I'm not home. Not reliable heat for the winter.
• The one system I have never started in the JayBee is the propane system. No pipes yet installed. No holes drilled. Why not simplify and save all those additional punctures to the building's envelope?
• The salesperson for the electric-radiant heat system I'm planning for under the floors of the JayBee pointed out that their system uses so little energy, it works well with solar panels.
• I had always planned to add solar panels at a future date. Maybe the future is here?

New plan: Everything in the JayBee that requires energy will be electric. Electric-radiant heat under the floors, supplemented with one or two electric wall heaters. Electric induction cooktop (cooks faster than anything else, and won't add heat to the space). Electric convection oven. Electric on-demand water heater. Simple. No fossil fuels. No open pilot lights.

I don't know that I can afford the solar panels this year, but the plan is to install ground-mounted panels on the south-facing hillside behind the JayBee. When I was at the Maine Flower Show a few days ago, I talked with a solar installer who told me that their grid-connected systems are usually installed with a battery backup system that automatically kicks on when the grid-supplied electric power goes out. Perfect.

Hiding Wires & Electrical Boxes 3

Beginning work to hide the wiring to the light in the clothes closet...

Here's the finished trim ready to install.

And installed.

Final round piece installed.

Below is the wiring to the light in the narrow storage closet.

First parts of the trim installed.

All done!

While I was working on that last closet light, I noticed that there were some more exposed wires that I needed to cover. From inside the bed alcove, looking towards the rest of the house, there were exposed wires running along the ceiling joist closest to the living room.

First, I installed boards above and below the wires.

And, then, finished trimming out the joist. Voilà! Wires hidden.

Installing all of this trim required using lots of small pieces of wood. I have been teased about the wood scraps I save. Those scraps came in handy! Here is what is left over. No, I won't be saving these.

I took out a couple of light fixtures to hold them up to the trim I installed--to see how they would look.

Here is one of the closet lights.

Here is one of the kitchen lights.

Also see:

Hiding Wires 1
Hiding Wires 2


Today was eclipse day. I ended up being glad I decided not to purchase special glasses. Even though I kept looking outside the JayBee all afternoon, there was not the slightest difference in the amount of daylight or the quality of the light during the entire time the eclipse was occurring. Guess I need to wait until 2024 when the path of a solar eclipse will bisect Maine!

Hiding Wires & Electrical Boxes 2

Step one to cover the exposed electrical wires that power the second ceiling light in the kitchen--boards attached to the joist, above and below the wires.

Trim board covering the wires and a half-octagon wrapping the electrical box.

Final piece of trim covering the protruding edge of the electrical box.

Half-octagons and circular trim pieces already made for the last three ceiling lights.

On to the third ceiling light in the kitchen...

Trim board cut and ready for stain.

All three kitchen ceiling lights now trimmed out!

On to the last two lights with exposed electrical wires and boxes--both located in closets.

Also see:

Hiding Wires 1
Hiding Wires 3


George--still here, still enjoying his summer, still deaf as a post, turned 18 this month. My sweetie!

Hiding Wires & Electrical Boxes 1

I was having a hard time finishing up the vapor barrier in the bathroom end of the JayBee because I was spending so much time debating the merits of installing a fan in the bathroom. My original plan was not to have a fan in the bathroom because the room has a window and there will be two other fans in the house (over the stove, and the air exchanger in the living room). I mean, really, just how many fans does a tiny house need? But... then I started thinking that it would be unlikely that I would relish the idea of opening the bathroom window after a shower in the middle of winter. And the bathroom is so small, I imagine it could get quite steamy... I ended up deciding that I would rather install a fan now than try to retrofit one later. While the parts were on order...

I moved on to thinking I could start hiding some of the exposed electrical wires. Since the ceiling joists that hold up the two lofts will be exposed, the wires that run along them will be exposed as well, unless I do something to hide them.

I guess it had been awhile since I last used my table saw. Ahem!

I began by ripping some pieces of pine to install above and below the wires on each joist.

Then came the tricky part--figuring out how to enclose the electrical boxes. I began with one that is close to a wall and does not require a full 8-foot piece of trim. I made a half octagon, attached it to a straight board...

...stained it, and installed it.

Then, the final piece--cut...

...stained, and installed.

My goal was to end up with something that would blend in with the joists and not draw attention to itself. I think I accomplished that!

Four more to go!

Also see:

Hiding Wires 2
Hiding Wires 3

For those of you who follow my cats more than my housebuilding: I am very sad to report that Bear appears to be gone--as of ten days ago. There are many possible explanations for his disappearance, but I fear the most likely is that a predator snatched him. While I was working in the JayBee this last week, I was listening to the podcast Criminal; the episode about attacks by great horned owls (Animal Instincts) really had me thinking... Anyway, if he miraculously turns up, I will post an update. If he remains gone, I will probably post a memorial gallery of photos at some point. Meanwhile, George is enjoying his summer.

Some mornings, the Kennebec is so fogged in, it looks like the world ends out there. This was one of those mornings.

I looked up from my desk at work one morning this week...and saw this mama deer, and her baby (camouflaged on the right).

I wonder just how much I miss by keeping my nose to the grindstone most of the time!