Week 1 Construction Complete!

Post by Joe

Last week marked a huge milestone in the Tiny Office project.  I began the actual construction!  I took the whole week off work so I could focus and get a lot done.  Last Saturday I sat down and made a priority list and schedule of tasks for the week.  Here is the schedule I laid out.

A cliche in construction is that if you take the cost and time to complete a project and double them, you might be close.  In my own business, Bonnie and I have fought hard to be an exception to that rule by developing accurate estimates for our clients.  Unfortunately, that was not the case with the T.O. last week.  By the end of the week, I got as far as Monday's tasks.  As expected, even while focusing on this project, life still has to happen.  I still have to go to physical therapy twice a week.  The dogs still have to go to the vet.  It still rains.  I still get sick.  I still have to drive to Westminster to get a Baugher's apple pie for my family Thanksgiving (which I did not regret...yum). 

Things don't always go according to plan.  This was evident right from the start last Sunday night.  The plan was to hook up the trailer, pull it up alongside the house into position, and get it leveled up.  I knew I wanted it about 30" away from the side of the house.   Now I pride myself on being pretty good with a trailer.  I haul one just about everyday with all my tools for work.  But I'm not quite used to hauling one this big, that's missing a wheel, on soft, sloped ground.  So I pulled it up and started adjusting it to where I wanted.  For some reason it kept getting closer to the house despite what I was trying to get it to do.  Pretty soon I ended up with this:

This was a little closer than I wanted it.  Now I had the challenge of moving it without tearing the house apart.  And remember that soft ground I mentioned earlier.  My truck was now stuck and unable to move the trailer.  Now I was getting pretty embarrassed and upset.  I didn't want Bonnie to see what was going on so I sent her this message...

She promptly came out to check on me.  She was very encouraging and knew I could find a way to fix it.  So with some fresh confidence and a few deep breaths I went and got my dad's truck and pulled it out from the other direction.

Success!  Not that I had accomplished anything but the trailer was back where I started and only very minor damage to the house.  So now using my dad's 4 wheel drive truck I hauled the trailer into position.  It took a few passes but it went much smoother than the first time.  It was finally in position.  So I went inside, grabbed a beer, and went to bed. 

The next morning I finally got to do some actual work.  The first step was to get it jacked up and level.  All this took was a jack and some cinder blocks.   Before long I had a solid, level work surface.









The next step was to strip off the existing decking so I could start fresh for the new construction.  This was not an easy task, especially since every bolt holding it down was rusted in place.  A few saws and a big hammer took care of the job.

Time to build!  But how?  This is not a straightforward project.  There is no manual on how to build a house on an old, used trailer, and specifically this trailer.  I ended up deciding to lay the bottom panels first, cutting around the wheel wells and getting the basic footprint laid out.

 Then I was able to begin framing the floor on top of that, gluing each board and then screwing it in from underneath.

A little insulation so we don't get cold feet in the office.










Glued and screwed the subfloor down and now it's turning into a more standard building project.  I've got an 8'x16' blank slate to create our T.O. on. 

I was hoping to get a lot further this week, but like I said, life goes on.  The project has begun and nothing can stop it now.  The next step, walls!

(A note: This blog is meant to be honest and detailed, not a polished, edited version of how the project is going.  As every contractor knows - as well as every contractor's spouse - projects tend to go much differently in their own home than in a client's home.  My professional projects are quite a bit more on schedule, and quite a bit less destructive to the property! Just to put your mind at ease in case you are in need of my services in the future...)

Our Tiny Office Plan

Post by Bonnie

Since construction is beginning, I wanted to give a brief overview of the building plan for the Tiny Office (T.O.).  It is being built on a used landscaping trailer, 8' wide by 16' long: 

We bought this beauty for $450 from a local landscaper.

We are building on the trailer so that it can be moved in the future.  Mobility is one of the most unique and important aspects of the tiny house movement and, as we mentioned in a previous post, one of the reasons we are building the T.O.

Inside, the space will be divided into three "rooms."  For now we will use furniture to distinguish some of the spaces, but in the future Joe will build partitions should we convert it to a house.

The T.O. will have one door in the front, two large windows in the "front room", three small windows in the "back room", and one small window in the loft area.  This will be a very bright space!

On our property, this will be the east facing wall.

Though we will not be using the T.O. as a house at this point (thankfully!), we have designed the layout to be converted to a proper tiny house in the future.  The framing and window placement, as well as the loft area, are the main things to consider at this point in preparation for a future bathroom and kitchen.

View of inside the T.O. from the front door

There are many ways to layout a tiny space, and this is what we believe works best for this trailer, for our purposes. 

Let the construction begin!

Re-used Resources

Post by Bonnie

For our Tiny Office project, we've committed to using as many used materials as possible.  This includes lumber, roofing, interior walls, flooring, and more.  Joe and I have been heavily involved in the world of reuse for over 5 years at the non-profit we help run in Baltimore City, and we have learned that there are a lot more resources out there than people realize!  Here are some great places you can find used items in the Baltimore/D.C. area, as well as around the country:

Baltimore/D.C. Area:
 
Baltimore Free Store
www.baltimorefreestore.org

This is the organization Joe and I have been volunteering with for over five years.  They take donations of household goods, clothing, small furniture, shoes, and much more.  Everything is given away completely for free to whoever wants it!  The tricky part is that items are accepted/given on a monthly basis while the organization looks for a new storefront.  This is a great resource for small, interesting items that could be turned into unique decorative and craft projects in your space. 

Community Forklift
www.communityforklift.com
4671 Tanglewood Drive, Edmonston MD 20781

Community Forklift takes donated, salvaged, and surplus building materials, and re-sells inexpensively to the public.  Joe discovered Community Forklift this year, and it has quickly become his favorite place to look for supplies.  They are a project of Sustainable Community Initiatives.  Community forklift is big but not overwhelming.  The people that work there are very friendly and helpful.  They have a great selection of used, usable items, and even a section of really cool antique items.  It can be a bit tricky to find but well worth the visit.


The Loading Dock
www.loadingdock.org
2 North Kresson Street, Baltimore, MD 21224

The Loading Dock is "a building materials reuse facility, offering great deals and interesting finds to people who need inexpensive building materials and are interested in keeping materials out of the waste stream."  We have used them multiple times over the years, but less so recently.  You pay a $10/year membership to shop there, and are a little more expensive than some of the other places in the area.    

Second Chance
www.secondchanceinc.org

1700 Ridgely Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Another resource in Baltimore, Second Chance is enormous.  Multiple warehouses house thousands of building materials, pieces of furniture, and so much more.  If you've got some time to spend walking around and looking through items, you can find a lot of what you need here.  It can be a bit overwhelming if you've never been before, so be sure to ask for help finding items. (And be prepared to get lost inside). 

Anywhere:

Freecycle

www.freecycle.org

Freecycle is "a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns."  Anyone is welcome and encouraged to sign up to receive updates about what others in their area are giving away - for free - through the Freecycle network.  If you're quick, you can get some really great things on here. Signing up is completely free.

Craigslist
www.craigslist.org

You can find pretty much everything on Craigslist!  Similar to Freecycle, you can see what people in your area are giving away for free, as well as selling.  Many people use Craiglist to sell things that can be useful for a building project, including lumber, tools, and windows.  For our T.O. project, we got our "roofing" and lots of lumber from someone on Craigslist.  It's free to use, but you've got to be quick, and unfortunately there are more than a few scammers on there.  But definitely worth using!

ReStore
www.habitat.org/restores

Habitat for Humanity ReStores are located all over the country.  "ReStores sell new and gently-used home improvement goods, furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances to the public at a fraction of the retail price. The proceeds are used by our local Habitat for Humanity affiliates to help build and renovate more homes and communities." 

Yard Sales
It's not just hipsters and thrifty moms who can benefits from yard sale finds!

Additional Ideas:
- You can often find unwanted pallets outside of restaurants and stores.  Be sure to ASK if you can have them...often stores will return them for reuse.    *Not all pallet wood should be used to build with.  Look for Joe's tips on using pallet wood in a coming post*
- You might be surprised what resources your own neighborhood and family might have.  Don't be afraid to ask! (For our project, we are siding the entire building with leftover siding from a project my dad was working on).

We'll be sure to let you know about every reused item that makes its way into our T.O.!

(This is by no means a comprehensive list.  Please feel free to list additional resources in the comments section, and we will get another post together in the future!)

What is a Tiny Office?

Joe posting

"But Joe, what IS a tiny office? And why are you building one?!"

Before I can get to that, we need to talk about tiny houses.  My first exposure to a tiny house was on last year's season of HGTV's Design Star.  The three finalists were challenged to design tiny houses.  I thought it was a cool concept but didn't think much of them at the time.  Since then, I seem to keep coming across them and have grown more intrigued over time.  So what is a tiny house?  Its exactly that, a TINY house!

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com

Tiny houses range from a mere 65 sq. ft. up to several hundred sq.ft.  In that tiny space, they manage to pack in everything you need in a house: a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living space.

So what's the point?  Tiny houses aren't about size, they are about simplicity.  It is not just a new, cheap way of building, but a rethinking of the way we live in today's society and culture.  The tiny house movement is about stripping down to the bare essentials of living.  There is no excess stuff or wasted space in a tiny house... there can't be!

Most people look at a tiny house and see a cramped, uncomfortable, confined space.  But I think I get it.  The movement is about freedom - freedom from stuff, the unnecessary stuff that seems to take over so many of our lives.

The more I research tiny houses, the more I want one, but I'm not sure I want to live in one, and I am definitely sure Bonnie does not want to live in one.  But I still wanted to build one.  I started thinking about our house and our life, and how a tiny house could benefit us.  I needed a reason to make this project a reality.  In some respects, we live in a tiny house already.  We have a bedroom, a bathroom, a laundry room, and then one big room that serves as our kitchen/dining room/living room/office all in one.  95% of our lives are spent in this one room.  The worst part of it has always been the office.  We've had a desk tucked away in the corner and no matter how we have rearranged it, that part of the room has just never felt right.  Since we have started our business and Bonnie has transitioned to working almost exclusively from home, the desk tucked in a corner is simply not cutting it any more.  We need an office.

We need a tiny office!  (Or, as we affectionately refer to it, a T.O.)  We need an extra room, we want the desk out of this room.  Without knowing what the future holds, we don't want to build a permanent addition on this house (remember: it's a converted barn on my parents' land).  And if I built the tiny office on a trailer, one day that room could go with us wherever we go.  I knew this sounded like a crazy idea, so I kept it to myself for weeks.  (Well not really, I just kept it from Bonnie for weeks).  I was waiting for the right moment to tell her my brilliant idea.  When I finally sprang the idea on her, she laughed in my face.  I was not deterred.  Over the next few weeks I continued to bring up the idea.  Then one day Bonnie was telling me how she really wanted a change in the house, a drastic rearrangement.  "You know what would do that?" I said. "A tiny office!"

And the dream was born.    

(Especially once she realized it would make more room for a larger Christmas tree in the house).

Welcome to our Tiny Office dream!

 Hello, and welcome to our blog!

We are very excited to share our Tiny Office journey with you. 

We are also excited to share about what it takes to  

build responsibly, build creatively, and build with quality. 

 But who are we?

What is a Tiny Office?

And why does it deserve a blog?

We will start with the first question...

Joe = mac & cheese + beer

Bonnie = hummus + coffee

We are Joe and Bonnie.  

We live in Howard County, MD with our two dogs in a converted barn on Joe's parents' property.  Our perfect 800 square foot, one bedroom "cabin" used to be the family's sheep barn, until it was converted in 2005 for Joe's brother & wife.  Three years later they bought a brand new home, and we moved in to the cabin.

Growing up in the type of family that turns barns into awesome houses, Joe has been involved in construction pretty much his entire life.  His parents' 19th century farm house, along with the 6 other buildings on the property (including a fully functional outhouse!) have been a great hands-on education for Joe since his early years.  

Bonnie also grew up around power tools - her father built their family home (just 7 minutes away from Joe's family home...so cute) and continues to work in the construction field.  Living among projects and sawdust didn't quite give her the skills of her father or of Joe, but it did give her an understanding of the construction field. 

In 2011 we started our own home improvement company (more on the reasons why in a later post) with a focus on sustainability, creativity, and overall responsibility.  The business has been growing steadily...it's been quite an adventure! 

The next step on our adventure is to build ourselves an office.  But not just any office...a Tiny Office!

Throughout the process, we will be sharing tons of:
 photos and how-to's of our project
resources for how to get reusable materials
creative ideas for re-purposing the most unexpected of items
insight into the drama thrill of working with your spouse (!)
and much more!

"But I have no idea what a Tiny Office is!" you may say.  More on that in our next post!

A note about our blog: With the exception of this post, we will each be posting individually, and will sign each blog so you know who is who. (A good bet is that anything related to actually doing work will be from Joe...)