PRIORITIES

Prior to starting my build I had looked at some books and websites. If you want to know ANYTHING about the creation of and dwelling in a Tiny House, just google, it’s there. The effort that people have made to share knowledge is astounding (plus, they’ve monetized it, which is fine by me). I started out looking for ways to use recycled materials, visiting ReStores and combing Craigslist. I found an oak kitchen cabinet set that was advertised as ‘solid wood’. What a find! Now I could design around the cabinets and their layouts.

But, fairly quickly, my focus shifted. At 64, I realized that a top priority was minimal maintenance and quality products. I am a utilitarian pragmatist at heart. My Tiny House was not going to be a work of art; it would be super functional, clean, crisp, and simple. So my choices were based on no painting, no replacing, no rusting, no rotting, no leaking.

I was also inspired to put my past LEED Green Associate certification with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to good use. In a small space like a Tiny House, indoor air quality is crucial. There are so many building materials that are laden with toxic chemicals and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). For more and more people these chemicals are causing discomfort and illness. I have loved ones who suffer from that sensitivity.

So these were my two goals: low maintenance and low/non-toxicity. Luckily, it is entirely possible to achieve these goals with some research and a small additional upfront cost. You may end up, as I did, educating lumberyards and hardware stores about what’s available. Indeed, Home Depot was a surprisingly good source for non-toxic materials, even though their pro desk personnel weren’t aware that they were. Let me share with you the products I found.

• ·      Columbia Forest Products Purebond birch plywood is formaldehyde-free using soy-based glue. It’s also FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. It’s not exterior grade so I had to be careful about keeping it dry as I built (no small task!). I used ¾” for the subfloor and ½” for the wall and roof sheathing. But I also used it for the finish paneling of the interior, and it’s gorgeous. (Available at Home Depot in the store)
• ·      Eco-Bond panel adhesive has zero VOCs, no smell, no petroleum base and earns points in LEED certification. I used it to glue down floors, roof sheathing, window casements, etc. (Amazon or Home Depot online)
  



Cousin Jeff assisting with the non-toxic foam insulation.





• ·      Foam It Green is a spray insulation with zero VOCs and a good R-value. I used it to fill in gaps in rigid insulation for floor, walls and roof. I found it worked great the first time but was very runny the second time I used it.
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• ·      Foamular extruded polystyrene insulation has an R-value of 5 per inch. It is certified by GreenGuard Environmental Institute as a Low-Emitting product. There is no formaldehyde used to make it. I used this rigid insulation top to bottom- 3” in the floor, 4” in the walls and ceiling. (Available at Home Depot in the store)

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• ·       Cork Interlocking Floating Flooring- This ‘highly sustainable’ (the cork regrows in 9 years) flooring earns 4 LEED points: (1) EQ4.3 (Indoor Environmental Quality) Low Emitting, (2) MR 4.1 (Materials and Resources) Recycled Content, (3) MR 6-Rapidly Renewable Materials, (4) ID 1-Innovation in Design. It’s great underfoot. (Home Depot online)
• ·      Vermont Natural Coatings Polywhey – I coated my birch plywood walls, couch bases, shelving and window casements with the satin non-toxic, neutral scented, quick drying finish. The cork flooring received the semi-gloss for higher durability. (Ace Hardware carries it.)
• ·      Paint- Most name brands of paint now carry a no-VOC type of paint. I used Behr for no particular reason.

  

  KathKath helping me install the steel roofing.
  The ProtectoTape can be seen around the
  Fibrex windows.

• ·      Protecto Super Stick Building Tape 'is a greener, cleaner building tape solution that offers no VOC’s, HFCC’s or CFC’s. It is non-toxic and non-allergenic. No off-gassing  is produced during the manufacture or installation of this product.' 

• ·      Enameled Steel Roofing- For longevity, for potential  water catchment, and to receive solar panels in the future.
•      Fibrex Anderson Windows – These wood and pvc double-paned, e-glass windows are an alternative to vinyl, wood or aluminum. They are imbued with the color, never needing painting. They won’t rot or warp and don’t degrade over time.  

                                                      

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  Fiberglass door and NH pine siding 

  Fiberglass Door- It won’t rot, rust, warp or need painting. And it isn’t off-gassing polyvinyl compounds.  
•      New Hampshire grown pine and ash- My buddies Dylan and Russel provided me with the vertical pine board and batten, and the ash interior finish trim. All harvested within 10 miles.
•      Miscellaneous-   Latex mattress for the couch cushions, cotton curtains, butcher block countertop with milk paint and tung oil.   

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The biggest almost-failure in my mission was the discovery when I picked up the kitchen cabinets,

Oak cabinets during installation.

months after buying them, that they were NOT solid wood. There was pressboard and luan hiding behind the solid oak drawers and doors. I almost wept with the disappointment of compromising my efforts. But the cabinets had been made over 25 years ago. When I researched how long it takes for pressboard etc. to outgas, it’s done in about 10 years. So I decided that my effort at using a recycled material had worked after all.

My cousin Jeff is my true test. He has severe chemical sensitivity. He came over multiple times to help me for a day or two. At each phase he sniffed and walked around and then relaxed into working. He gave me the Jeff Seal of Approval.

LYME!

I left Canterbury in 2007, before the scourge of the Lyme tick hit full force. On Maui, I was blissfully safe from Lyme ticks (rabies, snakes, varroa mites, poison ivy and oak, forest-dwelling leaches (just try hiking in Australia’s rain forests)) and other things lurking in the grass. Since then almost everyone I know in NH has been bitten at least once by a deer tick and sported the horrid bulls eye of Lyme.

My brother, Ethan, contracted Lyme back in the 70s, before they even knew what it was. To this day he has psoriasis and arthritis from the dreaded spirochete. My mother was stricken on Martha’s Vineyard years ago and has recurrences of foggy-headedness, whacky balance and headaches.

Let me just say that the prospect of being in New Hampshire was 90% wonderful and the other 10% was a total panic about getting Lyme. My first few days included savage research about how to repel ticks, and regaling from friends about nightly tick checks and the ridiculous places those tiny ticks had been found.

Should I wear permethrin-laced clothing (oh no, bad for cats!), spray myself with Deet (oh no, bad for me)? Will Jill check the back end of me every night for these little buggers? Will I die?

Of course it was May, so the blackflies and mosquitoes were adding to the insect-phobia. How did I ever put up with it all for 33 years? How do all these hearty New Hampshirites put up with it and thrive? Will the insect world take over with ever-evolving toxicity and wipe out this particular host species?

Don't be telling me this isn't scary!

I DO NOT LIKE LIVING IN FEAR! But fear was in my face, up in my grill, in the form of a pinhead-sized, eight-legged blood-sucking banshee.

Nothing but wonderful, safe, dry, insect-repelling gravel all
around me!

After a few weeks I realized that I truly was in the best possible location to build my Tiny House. I spent 6 months in a 100 x 100 foot patch of gravel and a wooden building. Blackflies didn’t bother me, mosquitoes saw the dry oasis of gravel and said ‘No way’, and ticks decided the dust and rocks were just too unpleasant to go for the succulent morsel (me) that sheltered in the middle.

 I haven’t overcome my fear of Lyme and I actually think that’s an evolutionarily wise stance to take. Another brother in Pennsylvania now has chronic Lyme and is working hard to overcome the foggy-headed lethargy he’s had for months. I pray for the health and safety of all those who get ‘the bite’. Chances are good that it will happen to me someday. It is another humbling reminder that Nature isn’t done with us yet.

Lesson Number Two

Variations on a Theme

In 2016 I broke three bones. The first was a mystery break in a small foot bone, brought on by nothing in particular, causing me to wear a protective boot for 6 weeks.  The second happened in Yosemite as I tried to boulder hop up to a water fall- broken bone in my left pinkie metacarpal, Velcro splint for 8 weeks. The third was up on my Maui roof, preparing to clean my solar panels, when I hit a patch of wet mold and went down (on the roof, not off the roof)- broken right thumb, splint for 8 weeks.

I don't do casts. doctors have to work around my
claustrophobia. So everything has to be able to
Come off/be loosened.

Since Ben’s accident and death, my awareness of possibilities and consequences has heightened. If I balance that plate there, it could fall; if I climb this ladder at this angle, I could fall; if I cut this branch, it could swing back and hit me. Until now, I have not been as cautious, wanting nothing to hold me back. But, while the reason for the consciousness is tragic, the attaining of it is nothing but good. And the three bone-breaks were but a further reminder that shit happens (and can keep happening unless I really sharpen my focus).

A drill bit broke on the drill press and flicked up
to hit me in the nose. Could there be a better
case for safety glasses?

With all of that in mind, and still nursing a tender right thumb, I set out on this project that would require total physical health and wellness. There were hazards galore: ladders, roofs, power saws, drills, nail guns.  Minute by minute I had to consider the horrible fate that might await me if I didn’t pay attention to EVERY SINGLE STEP on the ladder, didn’t level it underneath and check it up above. Every time I turned on the table saw, the chop saw, the band saw, the circular saw, the router, I envisioned lost digits, copious blood, trips to the emergency room, lost days of no work.

Kiva and Beau rock climb all over hither and yon. They have
convinced me that they are supremely careful. I'm thrilled that
they get to have these kind of experiences. Truly!

In general, I am not a worrier. With my girls growing up, I always wanted them to have the adventure, rather than sparing them the risks. Even at the time of Ben’s accident, I believed that everything would be all right. I still tend to believe that; but now I work to make it so. There’s a difference between being cavalier and mindful. The opportunities for adventure and new challenges still remain (although I have to say I am done with the more overt physically risky sports, having broken some bones while enjoying those as well).

I forgot to mention kneepads. 

In this potentially risk-filled endeavor I knew that injuries really needed to NOT be part of the picture. And they were kept to a minimum. Right at the beginning I learned the hazards of a big drill whose bit catches on that last bit of metal. Whack, one tender thumb gets a wrenching. No more of that, I called on Russel, whose extra brawn could control that torque. I used safety goggles and ear protectors and boots and pants and always a push tool for the table saw.

But most of all, the lesson was about focus. This was a place and a time for careful, controlled, thoughtful attention. Where being in present time had every sort of benefit. 

The First Lesson

The First Lesson

May, 2017- Launching into the unknown. No plan, no materials, just YouTube, Tiny House blogs and a Tiny House book to go on. And many years of building on-ground structures. The first task was straightforward: pick up the trailer, obtained through Craigslist for $500 less than the going price (thank you Gemini). Had I ever driven with a trailer hitched to the vehicle? Not that I could remember. Did I know how to back a trailer up? In theory, but not in practice. Was I nervous? Yes. But also determined.

Rainy, back roads, no one home. It was fitting: a reminder that this project is mine to make happen. No one else is going to provide the umph to move it forward. Get ready, set, go, Melanie.

Cousin Jeff and Suzie helped me get the trailer situated and leveled.

It wasn’t hard, once I figured out how the hitch worked. No lights hooked up of course- I was clueless as to how that worked. So I put my trust in the universe to get me back to the farm without a mishap or interaction with the police. Done! Arrived! The last turn to the resting place and wham! I hit the wheel well against Russel’s truck fender. I lost focus, relaxed too much, feeling triumphant. Again, it was fitting: every damn thing about this project will require focus, every day, all day long.

And so the first mistake was made, with oh so many more to come, the first exercise in humility and forgiveness. One of the gifts I brought with me for this job was the willingness to fail, to do it wrong, to have to backtrack and do over. I knew there was not a chance in the world that I wouldn’t make multiple mistakes. I could beat myself up on a regular basis, or I could roll with it and find the humor. That dented fender and smashed in wheel well were the first opportunity to practice. I would have many more. And I promise there was swearing!

Along with the mistakes, there were successes. A level trailer is essential!

Melanie On Wheels

Melanie On Wheels

What does it mean to live on wheels? The cliché seems obvious: like a rolling stone, ready to roll, commitment-phobia, just can’t make up her blasted mind. So maybe that’s me in my mid-sixties. I like to think of it as ‘ready for anything’, ‘prepared for what the universe has to offer’, continuing in the theme of ‘untethered’.

Once I finished my walk-about in December of 2016, after 6 months on the road in my Prius, all over the U.S., there was still no settling down for me. I needed something to bite into that would be a great challenge with a usable product at the end: something to keep the adventure going with lots of room for new developments.

I joined the movement of the enthralled: Tiny House Mania. There is almost nothing I’ve found that perks up peoples’ interest so much as the words ‘Tiny House’. We have to wonder what it is that makes us so fascinated with living small. Some yearning to make more sense in this crazy world, to simplify down to the bare necessities? Or the vicarious curiosity that arises watching someone else do it? Or the disbelief that 120 square feet could possibly be enough?

For me it was the prospect of putting all of my building experience to work in one manageable effort, and testing that experience to see what I actually knew, all by myself. Yes, I’d done a lot of building, but, as with everything in my life with Ben, I relied on his wisdom and experience, coupled with my own, to figure things out. Now I would figure things out under my own steam: a ‘great challenge’.

But let me be truthful, I also want the ability to easily move near my two girls. They are my magnets at this point, more compelling than friends or beautiful location. My brother has the luxury of having two daughters who very purposefully located near him and his wife. The three families are immersed in each other’s lives. My sister has a family compound where son and grandchildren are but steps away. Since Ben died that sense of family has been harder to feel, so I have gone looking for it. My Tiny House keeps me flexible and able to find the right location on an orbit around Ariel. I have to be patient until Kiva comes back from Australia so that I can find the sweet spot that puts me near both.

And then there’s just the unknown wonder that is inherent in the Tiny Home phenomenon: what’ll it be like, will I go stir crazy, can I have a smaller footprint? Having lived in a 10 x 10 foot cabin back in the 70’s with Ben, no running water, electricity or bathroom, a Tiny House almost seems luxurious. And the 6 months in my Prius set me up well for smallness, efficiency and careful storage. But day after day of winter rain could stretch the limits of my tolerance.

I have Gemini to thank for siting my build in Canterbury. “Mel, if you build it in Canterbury, I’ll help and I’ll drive it out to California.” Of course Canterbury was the perfect place to build it, surrounded by old friends, capable friends, with the spot to place it next to the shop Ben and I had built 40 years earlier. Russel was the perfect host to welcome me and make me feel completely wanted for 6 months, there in the middle of his front yard. 

And Jill and Tim were the perfect home to join in, my friends 

of 45 years.

The decision to take on this enterprise was the easiest one to make. And it has been the most fun project I’ve ever taken part in. Despite sweat, and mistakes and frustrations (there will be cursing!), I loved every minute of it. There’s more to tell.