Anchored Down

Since I have no intention of moving my tiny house for the foreseeable future, I wanted to be sure to anchor it to the foundation. That way, when we have a high-wind storm, blizzard, or hurricane, I won't be worrying that the house will get knocked off its foundation. (You've all seen storm-aftermath photos with mobile homes tossed around like straws, correct?) The excavator guys thought this was completely unnecessary. They were impressed with how much more heavy and strong the JayBee's trailer is (and the home itself)--compared to what comes standard on a mobile home. These guys have a lot of experience with mobile homes and, apparently, it's common not to anchor them around here. To appease me, however, they kindly installed ten anchor points in the JayBee's slab foundation. (See the last photo on this page to see all the anchor points.)

When doing my research, I learned that a single-wide mobile home set up in Florida (hurricane central) would need to have four anchors installed on each end (8 total!) in order to meet code. I could only find a couple of places where I could secure an anchor strap to the JayBee's trailer--two near the tongue end, and two near the back end. Thus, my decision was made: I would go with four anchors--two on each end. Not one of my four trailer-anchor locations was near one of the ten anchor points installed in the foundation, however.

Plan B: Install four new anchor points in the foundation.

I felt incredibly intimidated taking on this project. I had never drilled into concrete before. I just kept reminding myself that this couldn't be as hard as removing the axles and springs, and I pulled that off so, surely, I could do this, too. I bought a masonry drill bit to use with my hammer-drill, and I used the air hose on my compressor to blow the cement dust out of the hole as I drilled. For each anchor point...

I drilled a 3" hole in the concrete, and hammered an expansion bolt into the hole. Then, I used my air impact wrench to tighten down on the nut--which makes the sleeve over the bolt expand and anchor itself in the hole. (I had no idea when I bought the air impact wrench to remove the axles that I would need to use it again so soon!)

I then attached the anchor point (the black piece in this next photo) to the bolt in the concrete. The anchor strap slides into a slit in the specially-made anchor bolt (not easily, I might add!) that fits securely into the anchor point...

...and everything gets tightened up.

It took me all day, but I got all four anchors installed. Peace of mind! (And maybe a break on my homeowner's insurance since I took this step.)

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...

Roof Rafters 12

Before I could build the dormers, I had to be sure the JayBee was level because I need a level base to have any hope of installing level ridge boards in the dormers. Surprisingly, even with all the frost upheavals over the winter and spring thaw, the JayBee was very close to level. I used a bottle jack to adjust three of the support posts--until the JayBee was perfectly level.

The night after I finished leveling the JayBee, we had heavy thunderstorms. All that water threw the JayBee slightly out of level. Rather than adjust it all again, I waited a day for things to dry out, which returned the JayBee to level.

I had been struggling with carrying all the fasteners I use (four different kinds of screws and one type of nail) plus various drill bits and hurricane ties up into the rafters and having them accessible when I need them. Early on, I gave up on carrying them in my tool belt and put them in a plastic container. (See container on the left in the photo below.) With everything mixed together in the container, I had a hard time grabbing just the right thing when I needed it, while also holding a rafter in place. During a recent lunch break, I made a new container to hold my stuff.

I'm happier now!

The dormer ridge boards have two angle cuts on their top edge and two angle cuts on their inner ends.

I built a jig to use to help me prop up a dormer ridge board while I make marks and calculate for cuts.

Then I built a permanent support post...

and installed it with the dormer ridge board.

Also see:
Roof Rafters 1
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 3
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
Roof Rafters 9
Roof Rafters 10
Roof Rafters 11
Roof Rafters 13
Roof Rafters 14
Roof Rafters 15
Roof Rafters 16
Roof Rafters 17
Roof Rafters 18
Roof Rafters 19
Roof Rafters 20
Roof Framing Wrap-Up


A dog raced through the yard a few evenings ago. Next thing I knew, Bear was way up in a tree. Poor thing! It's not really fair that dogs are allowed to run loose; my cats should feel they are safe from terror in their own yard.

On another day, Bear rested  safely above ground and watched me peel the tarps off the JayBee to begin work.

George just kept doin' his thing.

Bedroom Floor Joists

Clearly I need to be more realistic about just how much I can accomplish in one day. I work all day, but I guess I'm a methodical (plodding) worker. I didn't get to the subflooring today, but I'm happy with the progress I made this week.

I started the day with the boards cut for the east end (bedroom) bumpout.

I cut notches in the boards so they cantilever out over the east end sill.

Then, I chiseled the inner end of each joist to flush fit a joist hanger.

I connected the joist hangers, more braces, and some toe-screws to hold everything in place.

I attached a board across the ends of the cantilevered boards. Not sure what that board is called.

Finally, I installed blocks between the cantilevered boards along the east end. Done! Isn't it beauteous? It seems a shame to cover all this work with subflooring so that no one can ever see it. Dale suggests a plexiglas floor, but that's not exactly what I had in mind. :-)

Living Room & Kitchen Floor Joists

I got a late start today...Since it rained again last night and everything was wet, I used this morning to make a run to Home Depot and the grocery store.

I hardly ran a saw today. I spent the whole day fastening joists and braces in the living room and kitchen area of the JayBee. The things that look like weird mushrooms growing in odd spots are actually spray insulation. I filled the few gaps in which the regular insulation won't fit.

The tricky part was beginning to frame in the entryway.

The only floor joists left to attach are the ones for the bedroom bumpout. I just might get to installing some subfloor tomorrow...

More Floor Progress

Today was the best day all week for working on my project--not too hot, enough clouds floating by to keep from scorching, and a nice breeze.

I finished the floor joists on the west (bathroom) end of the house!

When I said yesterday that I was screwing down the floor joists, that was an over-simplified description. Most of the joists are sitting directly above the steel ribbing on the trailer, so they can't be simply screwed in place. Where I need to, I'm using braces--so the screws holding each brace in place end up outside the rib of steel.

The joists that span the wheel wells are connected with screws through the wheel wells. I will add one brace to the middle of each of those joists as well.

On the rare occasion that a piece of framing is not sitting on top of steel and I can reach from underneath, like with this piece...

I have screwed up into the piece from underneath the trailer.

The joists that form the cantilevered bathroom bumpout are supported with upside down joist hangers. (I even chiseled the joists a bit so the hangers would lay flush with the joists.)

Where the cantilevered joists intersect the outer sill, I toescrewed the joists to the sill. And, of course, all the joists have adhesive on their undersides. (I should have stock in the company that makes the adhesive, given how much I'm using!)

I just gotta say, the fun part is cutting the pieces of wood. The time-consuming wrangling with all the pieces to get them squared up and connected--not so much fun. Seeing it finally put together as planned is very rewarding, though.

Ta Da! A completed west end. Well...just the floor-joist part. (If the edges look a bit odd, remember that the walls will go up outside the floor.)

While I was working on the JayBee today, I kept hearing an eagle "chattering" above me. Finally, I spotted him/her. I took these photos while standing on my trailer. Not a bad view!