Sunday 29 September 2013

Vacuuming insulation

Around 11 last night we had a storm come through.  The shelter was flexing significantly so I had to pull the tarps down and recover the trailer.  All the insulation got rained on while I was doing this.  Luckily the rock wool is hydrophobic.  This morning I vacuumed up the water that was still sitting on the batts and the little that had soaked in.  Had this been fiberglass I would be pulling it all out and replacing it.

Saturday 28 September 2013

Insulating the floor

First as promised, my sketchy rain shelter.  It won't stand up to snow but the roof should be on before then.  The center beam is made up of two 2x4x14s butted up end to end and a 2x4x8 spanning the joint.  Hopefully there is no wind.

It was pretty hairy putting this up and it included almost having the main beam dropping onto the solar panels.  It will be a lot easier taking it down.



I spent Friday and today putting the insulation in for the floor.  My first choice was wool from Oregon Shepard but they didn't reply to my inquiries.  I ended up going with rock wool and here are my reasons:
  • loose fill has a lower R-value per inch
  • loose fill has to fluffed up
  • fiberglass is itchy and has a slightly lower R-value
  • rock wool is pretty dense and will probably resist settling and shifting
  • rock wool is fairly water resistant
  • rock wool was $220 vs fiberglass $130

My little spreadsheet to help my choice


Floor insulation




Cubic ft needed 92










ruxul loose ruxal batt FG loose FG batt Cellulose
Coverage/pkg in cubic feet 22.49 18.24 56.63 35.89 18.12
Cost/pkg 34.47 36.38 36.20 43.66 14.22
Weight/pkg 33.00 42.10 30.00 29.90 25.35






R/inch 2.82 4.00 2.70 3.64 3.33






Weight/cu ft (lbs) 1.47 2.31 0.53 0.83 1.40
Cost/cu ft 1.53 1.99 0.64 1.22 0.78
Cost/R 0.045 0.042 0.020 0.028 0.020












Weight total (lbs) 134.51 211.56 48.57 76.37 128.24
Bags needed 5.00 6.00 2.00 3.00 6.00
Cost 172.35 218.28 72.40 130.98 85.32



Now the fun part, installing it.  I wore long sleeves, leather gloves and a mask.  Rock wool is nowhere near as itchy as fiberglass and it washes off much easier.  I found it would give slivers without the gloves. I've finished installing 3 1/2 bags out of five.


Thursday 26 September 2013

Procrastination


There are times that I just don't feel like working on my projects.  The last month has been one of those times.  I have my excuse, waiting on the SIPs, starting school and a couple more.  The truth is moving off the floor is another reality check.  Do I really want to do this?

Those who have met me know I look at things in a different way.  Odd might be a popular description.  I've always though that most of society is not overly happy so why should I follow the herd?  But I like the herd

Well enough philosophical musings back to building!



September has been another wet month and winter is fast approaching.  I spent the whole day building a frame to hold up some tarps so I can start on the walls, even if it is raining!

This pictures was taken at 7:30, the sun is going down so early.  I'll post another one tomorrow when there is light






Expenses to date: $6,347

Wednesday 11 September 2013

More posts coming soon

I'll be soon back to work on the house but here is a little summary of the past 3 weeks.

First, I got a second quote for the SIPs and it was $9000 with taxes in, about the same price as the other quote.  As much as I would like to use SIPs, I can't justify spending and extra 4-5,000 on them.  Now I have to rework the plans to go with a conventional stick build.

Second, I spent 5 days on my motorcycle touring around Washington state and Victoria island.  It was awesome.

Third, I started school!

Finally, I sold my 28 foot toy hauler and had to drive it to Edmonton to meet the buyer.  With school and building the tiny house eating up a lot of cash the sale gives me a good buffer.

Two small updates.  I was given a second induction cook top for free!  I just bought a used 2500 pure sine wave inverter for 225!  Now I can run all the tools off the battery bank.

Expenses to date: $6,019

Here is my spreadsheet of expenses


Trailer 3410
Framing 907
Tool 800
Appliances 315
Electrical 225
Siding 141
Batt box 129
Plumbing 93



Date
Description Store Category 6019.52






18-May
Trailer Castanet Trailer  2,800.00
3-Jun
Grinding discs Princess auto Tool       13.42
9-Jun
Caulk gun Home Depot Tool       68.59
15-Jun
Lumber floor joists Home Depot Framing     103.34
15-Jun
Tools Princess auto Tool       78.92
15-Jun
Metal Spartan Metal Trailer     350.00
18-Jun
OSB - floor bottom Home Depot Framing     119.56
18-Jun
Flashing floor bottom Home Depot Framing     144.48
18-Jun
PL premium Home Depot Framing       11.85
18-Jun
Mason Line Home Depot Tool        5.03
23-Jun
Plywood sub floor Home Depot Framing     174.38
23-Jun
2x4s Home Depot Framing       19.62
23-Jun
Spray paint gun Princess auto Trailer       22.39
24-Jun
Battery Tub Walmart Batt Box       16.80
29-Jun
Battery box paint Canadian Tire Batt Box       37.61
29-Jun
Strong ties, vent Home Depot Batt Box       14.68
29-Jun
Trailer Paint Home Depot Trailer       51.00
4-Jul
Battery box security Home Depot Batt Box       37.34
8-Jul
Welding supplies Reliable welding  Trailer        2.20
8-Jul
Welding magnet Summit tools Trailer        2.21
9-Jul
Welding supplies Princess auto Trailer        7.86
10-Jul
Welding gas Praxair Trailer       71.11
10-Jul
Welding wire Princess auto Trailer       33.59
11-Jul
Paint supplies Home Depot Batt Box       11.70
11-Jul
Screws Home Depot Framing       56.50
11-Jul
PL premium Home Depot Framing       11.85
11-Jul
Gerry Can 10L Canadian Tire Tool       10.07
11-Jul
Generator 3500W Home Depot Tool     446.88
12-Jul
Gas Chevron Tool       13.00
12-Jul
Compressor oil Princess auto Tool       14.55
14-Jul
Induction cook top Walmart Appliances       90.98
20-Jul
PT lumber Home Depot Framing       32.08
20-Jul
PL premium Home Depot Framing       11.85
24-Jul
Dishwasher London drugs Appliances     223.99
27-Jul
Screws Home Depot Framing       23.95
27-Jul
Lumber Home Depot Framing       44.65
27-Jul
10" miter saw Home Depot Tool     113.96
27-Jul
Wasp killer Home Depot Tool        7.71
29-Jul
Wheel bearings Lordco Trailer       69.68
4-Aug
PT lumber Home Depot Framing        8.02
5-Aug
Waste plumbing Home Depot Plumbing       84.38
6-Aug
Tie downs Home Depot Framing       41.48
8-Aug
PT lumber Home Depot Framing       22.76
8-Aug
PT lumber Home Depot Framing       11.73
9-Aug
Waste plumbing Home Depot Plumbing        7.43
13-Aug
Screws Home Depot Framing       25.94
15-Aug
Squeegee Canadian Tire Batt Box       11.19
15-Aug
House wrap Home Hardware Siding     141.10
15-Aug
Staples Canadian Tire Tool        4.80
15-Aug
Sharpie Superstore Tool        5.59
16-Aug
Bolt Home Depot Framing        0.62
16-Aug
Sewage coupling Home Depot Plumbing        1.11
26-Aug
Stack Jacks Walmart Framing       41.99
1-Sep
Staple gun Canadian Tire Tool       35.27
1-Sep
Plumbing returns Home Depot Tool      (18.26)
11-Sep
Prosine 2.5 Castanet Electrical     225.00