Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

We worked three days in a row, and not on a holiday weekend!

I probably sound like a broken record, but the crunch is on and we are very aware. We've been working almost every possible day that we have the time and things are shaping up and looking pretty!  

Friday
On Friday, I grabbed the last of the extra shiplap we would need to finish the front wall. I have to admit I felt like a badass as I walked quickly and confidently to each area of the store, grabbing exactly what I needed, no questions asked. Not to mention I had my gnarley building pants on, which have seen over 3 solid years of heavy building time. They are a work of art. That added to my image, really brought the whole, "Yeah. I build shit." vibe out.

 I was lovin' it. Stuffing all my materials into the Focus...a man was amazed at how much I was able to strategically place in my car. I headed over to the work site and began setting up. I worked alone until Dan got out. It was slow going, but at least I made some progress, and once Dan was there, the pace picked up. 

We were able to easily finish the front wall...our lines were not perfect...so there was one single "fudge board", I will call it. Dan, in his craftiness, was able to take a piece of shiplap and rip down the dimensions so that it still had the right shape, but it was slightly smaller so it could fit. Since this little odd piece is in the far corner up in the loft, no one can really see it...and it's not that noticeable anyways! Good job, babe!

I also pulled up the remaining flooring that needs to be fixed for the bathroom and started the de-nailing process. Then I fixed it.




Saturday
The much anticipated Annual Block Party happened on Saturday. My Dad's neighborhood is truly amazing. They are like a family and I mean that. They are always hanging out together, doing each other favors, cooking on the grill for anyone who comes over, lending tools to people trying to build tiny structures ;) and of course a block wide party every September.

It's pretty great, but we wanted to make sure we got in plenty of work before play.  Dan began framing all the windows out with more pine. We were unsure if we wanted to go with bare pine like the walls, or paint the trim a color. I've seen a few interiors done in all bare pine and I think it looked great. It was clean, crisp, simple. We opted to put them up unfinished and give them a gander before deciding. Turns out we love it bare! So those get tung oil too. 

Speaking of tung oil. Let me tell you...we were actually thinking (stupidly) that we wouldn't need to seal the pine. Well, after about the 89th foot print, palm print, saw skid mark, and so on, it became evident that this was not a dirt friendly surface. What would the kitchen be like?! So we knew we needed to seal it...but without the marks, of course. So, I began the task by canvassing every square foot of wall and ceiling I could access, and then using the orbital sander to remove any blemishes. That took some time. Then, I needed to begin tung oil application. Tung oil is a nut oil that has been used for thousands of years to protect and beautify wood. It is naturally waterproof as well. 

Since we are trying to use as many natural or reclaimed products as possible, this was an easy choice. It also came highly recommended by the folks at Tiny Texas Houses. Not to mention it's pretty cheap! BONUS!

It is not, however, quick and easy to apply. I rubbed it all on by hand using an increasingly sopping-with-oil cloth. I found that the more saturated the cloth became, the easier the stuff went on. I would recommend this activity as some sort of challenge on one of those crazy tv shows. I worked and worked and worked for every square foot. I had to take breaks, rotate arms, adjust positions, do stretches. Every last muscle from my shoulder down to the tips of my fingers is feeling the work I've done in the last two days. 

The party was beginning out front as we began rapping up work in the back. We were excited and wary for so many people to be around. The reactions we get are varied. Most all are positive, but there are still some that look at us like we should be committed. At a time like this, when every second is precious...I don't need to be talking with those people. 

What we experienced was wonderful. I think we gave about 50 different 45 second tours of the house. I mean how long could it take, right? You step inside and say..."Well, here's....everything." haha But we found we both really enjoyed telling the stories of each little piece, what plans we have still to come, and what it will be like living "outside" our home more. We got to meet a great couple: D & B through this. They used to be a part of the neighborhood, so they still attend "family" get togethers. :) 

D is very much on the same wavelength as me, and we talked for a good deal of time about various subjects we both enjoy. I was so excited to meet a like minded, same age chick around these parts! And she runs a green festival in town each year?! WHAT?! AWESOME! She rattled off so many cool places for us to check out, different events, places to go, ways to get into that community of people, and some great suggestions on networking with farmers to find a place to park. Needless to say, Dan and I found that night to be a total success on many levels. 

We even had a little commentary by ourselves in the dark...after a few drinks. We sat on the back steps of my Dad's porch and stared at our tiny home, barely visible in the darkness. We admired every last detail and told our favorite stories of the best days and the worst days so far. We talked about our favorite details, the adventures we had while collecting supplies, and how much we have learned and grown from this experience.  We took time to admire ourselves for the crazy things we have accomplished, and physical hell we have endured while building.We praised one another and admitted that neither of us could have done it alone. It will go down in the books as one of my favorite conversations of all time. 



Sunday
On Sunday, I was back to applying another coat of tung oil. Yay. I only ordered a small bottle of tung oil. Originally, it was just planned for the loft boards and cabinets. I have since ordered a much larger amount to do the whole job. I came close to finishing off the container, and based on their estimates, that means I covered about 200 square feet. I feel every one of them right now. 

Once I was done with the tung oil, I moved on to fixing the closet floor. That was the last of the flooring to be fixed. I took the boards that we had to cut out and tried to figure out how I could reuse most of the materials. I ended up doing a sort of box design which allowed me to re-use every piece of flooring, with only the addition of two other pieces. It looks pretty nifty, if I do say so. :)

After that, I was on to fixtures and other finish things. We got wood outlet covers and some of our lights. I started by putting on all the plates and then went to work installing the kitchen light. We had to improvise a little, because our square cut was too big for the round fixture to cover. We ended up making a simple wood block to serve as a cover plate. It looks pretty neat!

Kitchen light!

By the end of Sunday, half the windows had been trimmed up nice and pretty, and about half of the house has two coats of tung oil and smells like a steaming wok. While I am away on business this week, Dan will be putting in hours. He plans to finish the rest of the windows with trim, and then begin the basic framing of the kitchen cabinets.  We have a wedding this weekend AND next, so we have to make the time count!

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We chose stainless fixtures for the light and the plate, this will
match the stainless of the gas cook top!

I love panoramas!