AGNEW TINY HOUSE: November 2014

Installing the insulation was a project in it’s self! We worked almost straight through for 3 days stopping only for brief moments to put food in our stomachs, sleep for a little while and go to our real jobs which we came real close to calling in sick for. This was definitely our hardest and longest working weekend and by far the messiest job EVER! We can finally say we know how to GET DOWN AND GET DIRTY! (pictures to follow). Fortunately all in all we managed to keep ourselves in good spirits most of the time and work together as a strong team.
When buidling a tiny home, or any home for that matter one has to decide what is the best option for insulation. There are several options for insulating a home, including fiberglass, foam and cellulose. After doing quite a bit of research on insulation and ease of installing it was a clear and easy decision to go with blow-in cellulose. There are many reasons why we opted for this. Cellulose insulation is made simply from recycled paper and boric acid. So its earth friendly and non-toxic. A very big plus! It has a very very slow burn rate. When lit with a flame torch a penny will melt faster than the cellulose will burn. It also burns 60% slower then other comparable insulation types. It has an adjustable R value of 13-60 depending on how dense you pack it in and it’s relatively easy to install....that is, once you get the hang of it and don’t mind getting super messy. But that’s all apart of the fun!

We purchased the insulation from our favorite Big Orange Box store and rented their “Green Fiber ” blow-in machine and hose. They offer a pretty reasonable deal where you buy 20 bags of insulation and get the machine for free for as long as you need. One tricky situation we thought we would run into was the purchasing of a whole role of "blow-in-blanket", which is the material that holds the insulation in place when blown into the wall. It comes in a HUGE roll, far more then we would ever need for our tiny home.

Fionnbharre called around to check different local insulation places for prices. Luck was on our side again and the owner of Tracy’s Insulation in Sequim Washington was so kind enough to just GIVE us the entire roll, to take what we needed and then return the rest. He would then charge us according to what we used. It was amazing because he didn’t even bother to get our phone number or address. He just gave us the roll and trusted we would return. Fortunately we are trust worthy people. Although after having the roll out for a week, the business owner and a fellow employee of his started making bets whether or not we would actually bring it back. The owner was happy to see Fionnbharre’s face and his roll of blow-in blanket again!

Once we had all our tools in hand we were hard at work Saturday morning and ready for our unexpected 16 hour day! A consistent phrase around this project is “ Wow, I didn’t think it would take that long!” But its not about how long it takes it just important that it gets done and gets done properly! So we spent all Saturday prepping the walls to be insulated. Every part of the wall that is going to get insulated has to be covered with the Blow-In-Blanket (BIB). The BIB is attached to the wall with staples and then every single 2x4 that comes in contact with the BIB has to be glued with good-old fashion Elmer’s glue that’s been watered down a bit. we almost went through this entire container. THATS A LOT OF GLUE!

The glue was rolled on just like paint and set to dry over night. Had it been warmer outside the glued would have dried in about a half hour. But in 40 degree weather some things just take a little bit longer. It’s really important to make sure all the 2x4s are glued well and there a not any gaps between the glue. If the 2x4s are not glued probably the insulation will make its way around the wood and will create all sorts of bulging problems and will be a major pain later.

We finally finished putting the BIB up and glueing everything at 12:30 in the morning! That was a LONG day and we still had all of Sunday to go! The goal was to get the entire house insulated by the end of the weekend. We didn’t quite reach our goal but we came pretty darn close!
On Sunday we were up at em early again and ready to man our stations. Fionnbharre was in charge of the blowing the the insulation in and I was in charge of the Green Fiber Machine making sure that he always had enough insulation coming and never ran out. There was a bit of learning curve with the insulation. Fionnbharre had to figure out how much to put in each space being careful to pack in full so it doesn’t settle but also being careful not to over-pack so it starts to bulge or over flow all over the place. Fortunately if it does overflow or get all over the place, which really is inevitable you just pick up and put right back in the Green Fiber Machine. At the end of the day we had about 90% of it done. There were 3 ceiling panels left, and the exterior part; the overhang underneath the trailer. The only reason why we stopped that night was because we ran out insulation. We were 3 bags short.
But since we both worked in the morning stopping at 9 pm was the better thing to do and we would just pick up right where we left off on Monday. Monday Evening with shivering legs and finger tips and bodies covered in dust and insulation this phase of our house was complete! Having the part done feels like such a huge accomplishment and the start of new phase of the house. Our house is quickly making its way to home-hood. Just putting the insulation in makes the house feel completely different. It’s sounds different, it looks different, and it’s even a little bit warmer. This makes one more thing to check off our check list, and one step closer to having a home.
It’s getting more and more exciting watching this whole process evolve and watch it get closer every day to being done.

Let us Begin

Rolling out and Stapling the Blow-in-Blanket

Me trying to look cool using an office stapler. NOTE: Don't waste your time with office staplers...They don't work for this job, use a hammer tacker stapler.

Glue Time

Putting on the final bit of BIB in the wee hours of the night

Alas! We are ready start blowing the insulation in!

Setting up to blow in the insulation

HERE WE GO!

Our Pre-Insulation Photo

Fionnbharre's cool contraption to create a right angle and make blowing in the insulation easier made simply from PVC pipe.

After the project was finished this was all that we had left! Hooray for little waste!

and when all is said and done.... I think it's time to shower!

We make such a cute couple!

INSULATION COMPLETE!!!!

Brrrrr...... The cold weather is slowly creeping its way into our lives. But I think we are ready for it. It IS time. We could not have asked for a better summer and it is now time for a seasons change, and I get the feeling it's going to be a WET one! Time to throw on those galoshes, your rain coat and start jumping in some puddles! Or for those of you who aren't into puddles you can hang by your warm fire with a cup of tea. But then there will also be those us slaving away in our little tiny house continuing to piece things together.

Things are still coming along great! It's seems like very little has happened these last few weeks but that's not the case at all. Everything has just been subtle looking to the eye. We've been trying to tie up a lot of loose ends with the exterior and begin working on the interior. We finally got the final piece or roof flashing that we've been waiting to get for weeks now. And due to a wonderful sunny day on Saturday, 2/3 of the final shingles have been put on. In the mean time, before that piece came Fionnbharre has been dilegently working as usual to wire all the electricity and the plumbing on top of tie up loose ends ( hammering in Nail plates, and hurricane straps, trim, etc). We are wiring the house to run on AC and DC. It is our goal to make the place sustainable to be off the grid if needed and desired at some point. I'm learning through process that Fionnbharre and I like light.... and lots of it. Hence all the windows and lots of wiring. I don't think we'll have any trouble seeing at night. I'm very excited to share that after seeing the cost of lighting fixtures that we will be making all our own from scratch and reused materials. There are so many creative things you can do with lighting I almost can't imagine buying light fixtures ever again... except for the really awesome color changing LED tape lighting we are getting!

We are doing all of our plumbing with PEX pipping due its ability to expand and contract without breaking. It will help save a lot of trouble later when freezing temperatures strike. These pipes are great because they are color coded Red and Blue so you always know where your hot and cold water goes. Providing you have hooked them up correctly in the first place. Oh and I should also add the PEX pipping makes for a great hula hoop...just a little FYI. There have been quite a few changes with the plumping since we started putting the pipping in. Originally we were go going to heat the water with an on demand water heater only. But now we will use 2! One will be an on demand heater located in the bath room and the other will sit right above the wood stove and will be heated with the wood stove. I'll see if I can get Fionnbharre to type this out in further detail.

So I do have to admit I have been slacking on the picture taking department. But the reality is there are only so many pictures of wires and PEX pipping that one can take before you start feeling redundant or really boring your audience. But there are indeed enough to share... just don't fall off your seat from all of the excitement you will see!