Build Day 2 (4/8/12)

Luckily day 2 was shorter than day 1, but we still got a ton done.  As I noted in the previous post, we bolted down the floor frame to the trailer itself.  After that was done, we finished up the foam board insulation by layering on a thinner sheet over the 2 3/4 inch sheets we installed the previous day.

More exciting was the plywood.  This involved a lot more measuring than I had prepared myself for, but it worked out.  Each sheet needed to be cut, glued, and nailed down to the studs.  Some sheets required two long cuts and the pieces around the wheel wells were, of course, the most complicated.  Thanks construction guru!  I am now proficient in using several kinds of saws, a staple gun, a nail gun, caulk (kind of…), and I think I have a good grip on the basics of framing.  We’ll see how much I can do on my own for the walls.

Speaking of walls, I also played around with window placement over the weekend.  Before the walls can go up, I have to figure out where my windows are going.  Admittedly I’ve been held up by the floor plan and where the stove is going.  Luckily there’s a floor plan guru in the family as well.  Thanks mom!  Just for fun, here are some of the options she came up with:

The front door will probably stay on the short wall instead of the long one, but it’s a viable option to move it if you’d like.  The closet that’s next to the kitchen will go all the way up to the ceiling, with access from the loft and it’ll create a little nook up there for more shelves and storage.  This closet, however, eliminates a dormer window.  I wasn’t all that worried until we realized that the stove pipe would likely go up through the roof right in front of the other planned dormer window on that side…I don’t want to remove both windows from one side.  Depending on heat clearances and such, we’ll continue playing with the stove placement for the next day or so until it’s figured out.  Since I’m going to start building the walls next week, I really need to get this window issue settled.  But while I’m talking windows, I’d like to mention that I am sadly going with white vinyl ones.  In my perfect eco world I would be able to buy used windows, refurb them a little, and slap them in.  Based on time, labor, skill, and energy efficiency considerations, I’m going with new vinyl ones.  At least I’m getting them from a local business though.  All but one of the windows are manufactured in Ohio (not great with the carbon footprint there) and the loft window is being custom made from a manufacturer in Rocky Mount, VA.  I’ll post the final design and windows specs once I have them figured out.