A Nerdy Little Free Library!

I've wanted one of my own for a long while. You see them in front of houses. Some are super creative. Some are just little boxes with doors. Settled nearby, there may be a bench to sit and read on. Whatever the look and set up, each one supports literacy efforts while sharing with others the joy of reading. We have visited many others over the years. But never had one of our own. Until now, that is. 

When we first bought our house, I told my husband that I really wanted to build a little free library out front. We have a circular drive that has a nice little rock-covered area by the road. This was where I planned to have it.

A lot of things came between me and my library though. From building a tiny house out back to fixing a busted water pipe, to making a shoe rack and then fixing a busted water heater. Never a dull moment has translated to never enough time! So this project took about a year to complete... I'll just share the highlights with you!
After creating a Pinterest board with ideas and instructions, I found instructions for a simple build that I printed out. You can get those HERE. You can even print out the instructions that were about 14 pages long. It walks you through each piece you will need to measure and cut out. There is a list of materials you will need, so you can get prepared ahead of time.

I started measuring the pieces I knew I wanted and marking them on the plywood we would be using. I had decided to make some decorative adjustments to the design. I wanted it to be more nerdy. The original look is a cute country style, but mine was going to be colorful and embellished. 

While building the tiny house, we were cutting out little pieces that (to me) looked like little doors. Suddenly, my idea was born for a design! I told my husband about it and he started cutting the pieces more like rounded Hobbit doors. 

Skip ahead several weeks... or a couple months? I lost track. And we finally started the project! My husband dug the hole out front, poured in the concrete, and added the metal bracket that will hold the post firmly in place. Then we started cutting out the pieces I had measured to put everything together.

This is as far as we got in one go. Not because we took the name Little Lazy Library too literally. We had been going through a triple degree summer in Texas that kept going even through September. After getting this much done, we were both drenched in sweat and ready to call it for the day. 

The next time we started working on it, we had a box shape in place. We added a sturdy, larger board on the bottom to add stability and strength for when we attach it to the pole out front. Where we live, the winds can get pretty strong. 

The following weekend, we added the shelf. I wanted a space for taller books, but another smaller space for shorter books or even little fun things to share. It was really taking shape by this point!

Helpful hint: See those smaller pieces lining the corners? We added them in and even put wood glue on to make sure that it was extra sturdy.

My husband sanded all the surfaces down as smooth as he could with the plywood. Don't expect perfection from that type of wood. It is quite textured. 

Then he had to construct the angled roof so that water wouldn't just sit on top (if/when we get rain here). He also had to plan to add in weather stripping in the front so that water and dust doesn't come in. 

Finally, there was the door. We had quite a time of trying to decide how to make the doors. After all, glass would be needed to make it clear so people could see the books inviting them to read, inside! During a building lull, I participated in a yard sale that was hosted by a friend.

She had this just sitting there, waiting for a new home. And the light bulb went off! Here was my door! She graciously allowed me to take it for the project. My husband had to cut the frame and resize it a bit, but it would work perfectly. We took out the glass and found a piece of plexiglass to use instead during a thrift store run. This would be clear like glass, but not nearly as breakable in case a rock was thrown at it. (Something we had happen to our porch door...)

It was many months later before we could continue on this project. Like I said, it took about a year. We added this siding from scraps we had left over after the tiny house building.

I then added outdoor paint to the outside and inside to completely coat it against any possible water damage. I did this a little bit every chance I could. Standing for long periods of time is quite painful these days. But I think it came along nicely, don't you?

Finally! We were ready to install it. And I must say, I am quite proud of the way it turned out. I plan to paint the little doors when I get more colors for it. I added book-related quotes that I love as well. My daughter and I are excited to add books once the concrete has hardened a bit. 

I am so happy to share a love of books with others around here!

The Final Reveal of Our Tiny House

I never thought I'd see the day where I could say I built a small structure that was livable. With electricity. That was comfortable. That would later serve as a crafting shed for me. And that was accomplished by a family effort. But here I am. Doing just that! We have done this! 

I painted the wall red. I never thought I would choose that for a wall color. It came out really nice though.

We installed the face plate covers for switches and outlets. They have a switch with hooks for their keys. There are 2 covers with shelves for their phones. I have to create a different one though. One of the shelf covers was pulled off the wall when a cat thought it was meant to be his ledge to help him reach the windowsill. Lesson learned.

We tiled the floor with a beautiful grey wood style. It has proven to be helping in keeping the building cooler as the heat rolls in.

My sister-in-law has moved in. I'm proud of our accomplishments. It was a rough road to travel down, but it has finally paid off. Now, before anyone says, "What about the ceiling?" Yes, eventually I will finish that. There will always be room for improvements. As time goes on, and the functionality requirements change, so will some of the details. But as of right now, it is built. It is live-in ready. And I'm just happy with it. It means so much to us to have reached this point.

Finishing Touches in the Tiny House - Almost There!

This past week, we tried not to slow down. Though Saturday I had prior commitments that had me working a yard sale in our front yard. We have sealed cracks amazingly well though. I know, because we have had some heavy thunderstorms this past week that dropped loads of water and tested our build. Not a single leak was found! So happy about that. 

We started the painting. I have decided I'm not a fan of matte paint at all. I prefer semi gloss. Matte feels like chalk on the walls. And messes with my OCD. Makes my skin shiver and nails feel funny too. Not sure why. Oh, and it cracks when over imperfections in the walls. That part surprised me too.

My husband agreed to do an accent wall, so we bought some Strawberry Red by Benjamin Moore. I am really liking the color. Might just do the closet in the same since we should have enough.

We also began installing the flooring tiles. We went with a peel and stick version. Though, we may get the additional glue later for the ones that are on cracks of bowing boards. We have noticed that some wanted to pop up in the corners. The hope is that we will finish the floor tiles today. At least in the main room.

We have decided that the tiny house will have a crown molding and baseboards once we finish the painting and flooring. We still need to add the closet door, adjust the main door that keeps getting stuck, add door frames for both, add the deadbolt to the main door, paint the ceiling after I finish the putty... I think that about covers the rest of our to-do list. Oh wait, have to finish putting the face plates for the electrical outlets and switches. I'm in the process of painting one of them. So until next time!

Pressing On With the Tiny House!

So, so, so close! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and no, it is not that of a train! After stopping two Thursdays back to go help the in-laws move a truckload out here, we are finally back to work. You wouldn't think that driving about 6 hours to load a moving truck full of furniture, then driving another 6 hours back to unload that same truck into a storage unit would count as a break. However, that is exactly what it turned into. As much as it could be, it broke us from the routine of working in the tiny house just enough to give us a second wind. Even better, was that after unloading the truck, the in-laws were even able to help put up some pieces of sheet rock, also called drywall. 

So what is the latest news on this project? So happy you asked! 

We have had to fill in gaps around the roofing. Using expanding foam to accomplish this. It isn't the prettiest, but no one will see it and it keeps things like dust or bugs out. So win-win for me! I have noticed that moths aren't flying around inside anymore, which is wonderful.

Had to pull up one of the floorboards and readjust it as it started bowing upwards a bit. We have another board to finish that same process with before we start laying flooring.

We installed both ceiling fans, all the electrical plugs and the 2 light switches. Don't forget to stabilize the area that a ceiling fan will hang from. We did that by screwing in extra 2x4 boards. Ready for the best part?? We have even hooked up power! It is so nice to turn on those fans while working outside in the heat.

We have put up all the drywall! No more insulation to cough through and no more drywall hanging. We even signed inside some of the walls, while adding our favorite bible verses. Mostly about building houses! 

I added putty around the seams and over screws to give the walls a smoother appearance when I paint them. I can't tell you how much I miss the various tools my dad always had. I'm also glad he taught me how to do the job right. I didn't appreciate it much when he was teaching me as he was such a perfectionist. However, now that I'm doing it myself, I can understand the 'why' so much more. I'm not as proficient as he always was, but I'm still doing the best I can. Today, I plan to do a final run with foam and putty.

An added bonus was the hatch door my husband installed to the ceiling. In case we need to get access to the attic space, there is a small opening that we can shimmy through. 

We have more confidence in getting this done quickly. Even with losing a day because of strong rain storms.  Our goal is to be finished and move-in-ready by the 17th. However, I am hoping that just a few more days and we can call it complete. The flooring may take a while. And then painting... That will be a process. But most of this is going by quicker than we anticipated! Which makes us glad. We also look forward to having our boys back home. They have been busy helping to clean and make repairs to their Nona and Aunts house. I'm proud of them for doing that. 

Until next time!

The Tiny House Insides Are Getting Fleshed Out

One little thing at a time... That is what I tell myself. I also have to keep reminding myself and the others that there is a purpose for all this! Sometimes the cabin fever hits a little hard and the attitudes flare up. So we have to consider what this is for and the overall meaning of why we are doing all this. This week was by far the hardest on us all. My husband and I even came close to exchanging words that don't fall under Christian curse words level. Don't know what Christian curse words are? Tim Hawkins has quite the list. My go-to is honey sugar ice tea for the biggest needs. Otherwise I say something simple - oh, fudge! But when my husband used a real curse word - something even his coworkers think he is incapable of doing - I had to tell him to reign it in or my red-headed temper was going to come loose.

With that being said, we have moved into what was supposed to be the final week of work. We have to move in increments, but that works for me. I'm worn through. However, it has meant that we missed the deadline and have to adjust the moving plans as far as storing things in the tiny house goes. 

It is like adding muscles, tendons and skin to the room. Weird analogy, huh? We did an anatomy class recently. Still got that on the brain.

Monday, I finished all the painting of the rafters that were already hung. I also put up the insulation we had on hand. Though we did not get the standard version my dad used to get for the houses we fixed up, I learned the hard way that it still had fiberglass and caused a painful itching of the skin and scratching of the throat. I thought this new kind was something more organic, therefore safe to breathe in and didn't need a long sleeve shirt while setting into place. Next batch I added, I covered as much skin as possible. I wished I had a turtleneck shirt, but then I'm one of those people who have an irrational fear of wearing turtlenecks... so.... yeah. 

Tuesday and Wednesday kinda blur together for me... Then again, that is how most of my days have been. I take steps, finish tasks, and forget anything that isn't directly needing my attention. Tuesday was when we got the delivery of the drywall. We had to carry them into the tiny house to keep them from being ruined.

The next day, the delivery of 18 packs of insulation arrived. I spent that day installing 8 of those packs myself. It was hot, itchy and I couldn't finish due to needing more of the crack sealing caulk. My husband and I ended up working when he came home from work until it was so dark that I had to use my cell phone flashlight to see. We found out that the size of wiring my husband bought was too short. So he couldn't add the final wiring. Which led to me not being able to install the rest of the insulation. Which also meant we could not finish the drywall in time. Not that we had enough time anyhow with darkness falling so quickly. 

I'm glad for how much we were able to accomplish. While we didn't reach the goal, we had to accept that it is what it is. We are at the point where the boys can't really help us, especially with the 3 trips the kids have coming up. So my husband and I are doing the work alone. And that is after my husband has full days to work at his job.

Helpful hints for this week:

1. Don't let the stress get too high. Harder to do than it sounds. We took too big a bite when we thought that we could complete this project within a set time. And because of that, we got too stressed out.

2. Even if you think it is helpful, don't remind your build partner that saying the same phrase over and over isn't going to change the facts. 

3. Keep a calm head. Even when others around you can't seem to. Silence might be your best friend. How about what most of us heard as kids, "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all." 

4. Order at least one extra... While carrying the sheetrock boards inside, the boys snapped one. Thankfully, we have extra. And we needed to cut some pieces. So we will still make good use of everything. But better to be prepared than without. 

Until next week! We are once again setting a goal. Two more weeks. That is when we hope to have this finished. Let's see if we can. And if we can't? Well, we will do what we can.

From Outside to Indoors, the Transition in Work on the Tiny House Begins!

Every house needs sturdy walls. With a layer outside and a layer inside. We had to complete those outer walls before moving inside to do the inner layers. 

Monday we finished the bulk of the large side wall. My in-laws sent us a jigsaw, and let me tell you right now - it is amazing! Made the intricate cutting so much quicker and easier. We were also blessed that the rain that fell was light. Otherwise it could have been bad for the roofing that was still exposed. It would have made the yard too muddy to be working in. But! I'm glad for the light rain. We had less dust blowing into our eyes this time around.

Tuesday was when we hung the siding on the front triangle of the building. As much as possible, we are trying to line up the patterns, but at this point, we are also just wanting to get it done quickly.

Wednesday was the day we finally finished the roof! I really don't ever want to have to do roofing again. We put the in last shingles as well as the ridge caps pieces. It isn't entirely uniform, but we went with what we had and it works just as well. Besides, how often is someone going to be looking up here. Except the birds of course.... They loved watching us build for some reason. I think they were checking out the new surface they planned to drop a load on. Devious creatures that they are.

Thursday we finished the back triangle part of the siding and one of the upper pieces along a side wall. Not much, but it was progress!

Friday we started putting in the wiring for electricity.

We need to install 2 light switches, 4 electrical outlets and 3 light fixtures. While my husband is doing electrical work (he is that kind of engineer after all), I had begun painting the boards black that will be the rafters along the ceiling.

Why black? It was the color I had lots of after painting the galaxy on our game room ceiling. Besides, my hope is to incorporate an eventual steampunk theme in the tiny house. Black rafters might just be perfect for the idea I have....

Saturday we had to take a break to run errands. But as soon as we could, we were back to work. At least until the dust storm came in.

I had just moved wood and swept the dust away from the porch. But within an hour, it had come back with a vengeance. And then some! Thank God we were able to finish putting up all the siding around the building.

I think God had been giving us mild weather until we accomplished this part. Why do I think that? Because after the dust storm, we had rain come down heavy. And woke up to a hearty cold on Sunday morning! 

While we cut the pieces for the siding, I started collecting the little cutouts from it. I told my husband that I have an idea of how to decorate my Little Free Library that we plan to build next. So he started cutting them to look more like rounded doors! But I'll share more on that with you when I finally get to build it.

 

Sunday was our last day of more than a couple hours to get things done. We have to be finished by this upcoming Wednesday. My husband and I installed the wiring from the main house to the tiny house. Not so easy as the photos might lead you to believe. While he dug a trench, I painted rafters. Then together we had to pull the cables through a tubing that would protect them underground. 

Helpful Hint: Want to know a great tip on this? It involves lubricant. Yes, lube. We happened to have some on hand. Never use the stuff though. If you pour some down in the tubing, the cables typically run in a lot smoother. We didn't do this initially, so I got one of those hardcore workouts. You know the one. Looks like someone playing jump rope in a squatting position by themselves. I had to shake the tubing while my husband shoved the wiring in. Once we added the lube though, it started going a lot smoother!

It was such a cold day, we lit up the fire pit. It was so nice. But it made me wish we had hot dogs and marshmallows... 

So thankful we made it that far. We have the wiring inside going to each electrical box, with an additional one that we hope will be hooked up to an air conditioning unit eventually. We also hung most of the rafters. I have to go back and finish painting them during the day. We were scheduled to get a delivery of sheet rock on today, but rain prevented that. Lord willing, tomorrow! This little home is going to start looking like one on the inside! See you in the next update.

Another Week of Building in the Tiny House: Roof Progress

Well, having to really step it up on getting things done. So what happened this week? 

Tuesday we installed the door. Normally, that is easy. But we were having a Monday 2.0 that day.

So things were not going smoothly. We also measured and cut the support pieces needed to hold up against my husband climbing the roof to add the shingles later. 

We had found that when we installed the roofing sheets, my husband couldn't support his weight on those. He had to carefully find the beams from the truss pieces to navigate the roof. Well, with adding shingles soon, we don't want to risk him falling through. So we cut those pieces to install and reinforce the roof.

Kinda looks like a messy puzzle up there. But it will be strong! And ultimately, that is all that matters.

Wednesday was when we installed all but 6 of the support boards.

Thursday we finished installing the support pieces. It was good knowing that he wouldn't come crashing down. We started the roofing process. Managed to get as many rows as we could reach without climbing on the roof.

Saturday is when the real work started. When he came home from work, we were all dressed and ready to get to it. Starting the shingle process was scary for us all. First, because it was so high up. Second because the angle of the roof is too steep. Definitely should not have made it so tall. It was an all day affair with just one break for a quick lunch. We finished the one side.

Sunday after church was another day of building. We had to make a stop at Home Depot for more nails. Then when we were nearly finished with the other side of the roof, had to stop again for my husband to go get more. Note to others - just get the bigger box. So what if you have leftover nails? At least you can finish the job uninterrupted. 

After resuming, we soon realized we were out of shingles too. So we raided the other shed and started using leftover shingles that the previous owner had left.  Sadly, even those were not enough. We were about 2-3 shingles shy! We also didn't have enough of the ridge caps pieces.

Not the most comfortable job, but we did get to the halfway point before needing to stop.

What did we learn this week? 

Hmm, strengthen everything! Add more supports, don't be shy. 

If you think you need 8 packs, get 9. Miscounting or misjudging is a pain in the rear. Literally. Just look at that picture above! It also means more stops at the store and less time to build.

The steeper the incline, the more pain you will have in your back, legs, ankles and feet. My husbands ankles swelled this weekend. And I was painfully losing feeling in my hands and feet. 

That is all for this update! We have plans for this week. Each day when my husband gets home from work, we have to do a another task. Until his paycheck, we will be working on completing the siding. Once we have the final supplies, we will be right back on the roof finishing the last bit. Then we can call the outside officially finished! I can't wait for that time.  Our family has been suffering the effects from the stress of finishing this project by the end of this month. Just another week and a half to get this thing livable!