Tag Archives: sheep

Update Videos!

May 9, 2014framing, tiny house buildbuild, framing, how to, roof, sheep, trailers, windowsseedswithwings

Hi there. In the last post I mentioned that there would be some videos forthcoming and here they are! They’re not so much ‘How To’ videos as I feel there are already many of those out there from people far more qualified than me. These are more for what we’re up to with a few how to’s thrown in for fun and feedback.

This first video was taken near the end of last year… we’re further along now!

Did you watch to the end for some adorableness? Watch to the end on this one… your heart just might explode.

This weekend we’re going to be tackling the roof.

Thanks for supporting us!

April Build Update

April 16, 2014framing, insulation, tiny house buildbuild, DIY, fixes, framing, loft, porch, salvage, sheep, siding, windowsseedswithwings

Lot’s of pictures coming up! (With lambs, of course!)

We backed the house into the barn and stored all the materials underneath it or in unused horse stalls in the back.

Joseph using the barn beams to plumb the walls of the house.

A view from where the lofts are about to be put in.

4X4 Redwood beams sanded with 240 grit paper, then put into place. It’s hard to NOT pet them as we walk under

With the help of my friend Edward, the loft gets put into place! Oh how sweet it is.

A better view of the redwood beam under the tongue-and-groove cedar loft.

Edward and I enjoying the view from what will be the bedroom!

Building up the side wall by about 6”. We didn’t extend the sheathing up past our framing (like we were supposed to do), so we’re putting these nifty Simpson plates on, to attach the sheathing and to add to the structural integrity.

Simpson plates? $.49 each. Hammer and nails? $21.86. The feeling that our house can whiz down the highway without racking? Priceless.

Sometimes you just get your head stuck in a fence……when going for the wisteria! #ranchlife

Stuffing insulation loosely into the wall headers. It’s the air that makes insulation do what it does, and if you pack it too tightly, it transfers cold and heat too easily.

Here’s Meg helping us out! Things go SO much faster with her around. Good luck in Indiana, Meg…See you soon!

Sarah and Meg knocking it OUT!

Puttin’ on the Rit…uh…. house wrap!

Cutting out the windows and flashing them.

Our window nook taking shape!

Color test for our cedar siding. We have a winner!

Porch being built.

Our new/old table saw… They don’t make them like this anymore.

How we did without it before, I’ll never know.

We want this image as a stained glass window in our work loft. 4 or 6-sided. Anyone know someone who does stained glass?

All the windows are IN! Shimmed and ready for trim, which will also double as window-holder-inners.

Breaking the shims off is the fun part.

I left a LOT of space to make mistakes for the windows, thinking I’d need the extra leeway to get it right. All I can say is, it’s just not needed. 1/2” on all sides is all you need, and it’s both easier and better insulated if your rough opening is smaller. Live + learn.

To put the windows in by myself, I made these jigs for the outside of the window. I used them to clamp onto and as spacers to allow for the 1” overhang on the outside.

The last window that went in had nailing fins… = cake!

Coop-n-Annie…

That’s all for now. I hope to put up some videos next week about all these things. Also to look forward to: bed vetting, window trimming, painting and figuring out utilities (this one makes me nervous). Oh and lambs and sheep. Plenty more lambs and sheep.

Wow… is that a new post?

January 29, 2014more stories and reflections, work and lifebuild, caretaking, community, framing, freedom, lambs, lesson, relationship, sheepseedswithwings

We’re back! Sarah and I took a hiatus from blogging and building and are just now getting back into the swing of things. The last three months have been a whirlwind of blustery New York weather, Christmas trees, and baby lambs. Yes, baby lambs and don’t worry… I come bearing pictures!

Every year (for the past three years) a friend and I run a Christmas tree stand at St. Marks Church in the Bowery in Manhattan. It’s a month of preparation followed by a month of fourteen-hour days slinging conifers in the cold. The stand is open twenty-four hours a day from Black Friday until Christmas Eve, and is such a unique, enriching community-building experience. This year a highlight for me was having Sarah come work with us at the stand. She not only heaved Fraser firs over fences with the fellas, but also put her superb eye towards making wreaths for us.

Sarah Making Wreaths — Sarah making wreaths

Joseph and Sarah + Wreaths — Joseph + Sarah + wreaths

One of Sarah's Wreaths — beautiful wreath!

I also realized that as part of my work for the stand I’ve been building a “tiny house” on the street each year. It’s a 4x8x8 structure that can cozily hold three people making espresso (yes…there’s been an espresso machine). This year I upped the ante with my newly-acquired building skills, and framed this little house in panels, built in a loft, and salvaged and installed a real door (in the past the door was hinges on a warped piece of plywood). Next December…when our house is finished…who knows what new additions will be found in the tree stand shack? Sky-light? Running water? H-VAC? We’ll see.

Tree Riders 'Hobo Shack' — Tree Riders’ “Hobo Shack”

Christmas trees wrapped, we flew back to California for some R&R at Tassajara, then back to the sheep ranch,where we had forty new baby lambs to keep track of. Laaammmmbbbiiinnggg Speeeeed! Out of the pot and into the fire we go. Two of the new babies didn’t bond with their mothers (a pretty common occurrence with first-time ewe mothers) so we are feeding them twice-a-day by bottle.

So the last month has been spent catching up on work with the sheep and lambs and observing the cycle of birth and death (to be continued in another post I’m sure). We’ve also been tying up loose ends from 2013, and doing some all-important planning for 2014 – house planning, work planning, well-being and health intention-setting, financial planning, and more. We erased our window, re-categorized some things, and believe that we now have a plan that will take us at least until July of this year…if not Christmas 😉

The tiny house is back to being built nail-by-nail, and Sarah is studying to be a certified interpreter (English-Spanish), and we’ll be posting here as we go…

Now…some sheep.