Recent Comments

• Jon (Dad) replied to Roof Sheathing & House "Wrap-up" on 19 October 2016 1:42 am

  Some great new photos, Mike!

  I would just like to add that applying house wrap is absolutely, unquestionably and totally necessarily a more-than-one-person task - even when you are unrolling the wrap horizontally at the lowest level, where one of you can be standing on the ground while doing the job! The full roll - I think it was 100 feet long and 5 feet wide - is pretty heavy when you first start, and one of us (I) had to be the roll supporting and unrolling guy; while the other, Michael, monitored the horizontal alignment and tacked in the staples at two-foot intervals.

  It proved helpful to put staples in only along the top edge of the wrap at first - then to come back later and finish stapling at bottom and other levels.

  The wrap material tended to form ripples in places, which we generally smoothed out by adjusting the height of the roll itself as we advanced and applying moderate tension to the unrolled material before stapling it. Where the wrap material passed over an opening and there was no sheathing directly under its top edge, the wrap seemed to want to "billow" either into or away from the opening - even with some tension applied. We didn't fret much about this, as that material will be cut away (if the windows ever get here) before long.

  The practice we got by covering the lowest five vertical feet of sheathing all around the house with only one of us (the stapling guy, Mike) on a ladder was invaluable when it came to wrapping the next five-foot-high strip just above and overlapping it.

  For that next level, both of us had to be on ladders. We happen to have a very unwieldy, super heavy and ancient wooden stepladder about 7 or 8 feet tall; and it worked out that I, still the unroller - could rest most of the weight of the heavy roll either directly on the top of the stepladder or use the top to brace my left elbow while supporting the roll against the sheathing with my left hand. We progressed around the house in about two-foot intervals - moving first my ladder (while Mike stood on his ladder and held the roll temporarily for me) and then following with his ladder after he passed me the roll again in my new position. We got to be fairly proficient at this repeated routine. Had I not had the top of the stepladder to rest weight on, the job would have been much more awkward and exhausting. I never thought I would ever really appreciate that monstrous old stepladder!

  -Jon (Dad)

• Kel replied to Roof Sheathing & House "Wrap-up" on 18 October 2016 8:49 pm

  This is in CT? Where at?

• Skyler Irvin replied to Walls! on 14 September 2016 1:08 am

  This is great. Love the design and the realistic reports. I'm just started something similar, 90 percent done with building the trailer, and about half way on the sub floor. I def under estimated the price of materials so far.... Looking forward to more posts!

• Dana Seccombe replied to Wall Framing Complete - Rafters Going Up on 20 August 2016 2:40 pm

  Out here in California I've had occasion to research "shear walls" whose purpose is to keep a building from falling down in an earthquake. I would have thought screws would be the better way to build one, but nails are. The reason: in a high "strain" situation, where the building may move inches, a nail can pull out, say an inch, and still maintain its structural strengh (though the walls will be deformed). A screw will strip the threads if moved one thread pitch-- and lose a lot of its strength. So, screws provide higher initial strength, but once things progress past the shear strength of wood, nails are actually better. You still probably made the right choice with screws, but I found this topic interesting when I researched it...

• Melody replied to "The Trailer" no more - now "The House" on 9 August 2016 10:51 am

  Ahhh it's a HOUSE! It's beautiful.

• Mike replied to Teeny Tiny Cardboard House on 15 February 2015 7:59 pm

  Thanks so much for the kind words, Sally. I am working on a second, smaller model right now which shares a similar aesthetic. A lot of tiny houses try to fit a lot into them with very little breathing room for each "zone", which--to be fair--may be required if more than one person will be sharing the space. But I'm focused more on designing a space that is optimal for one full time occupant, with space for visitors when they drop by.

• Sally replied to Teeny Tiny Cardboard House on 15 February 2015 9:37 am

  I am loving the model of the tiny house with a modern aesthetic, it seems to build on the uncluttered and open feel of that style, and it seems that anyone planning to downsize to a much smaller house (even if not a tiny house!) should be taking lessons from your designs!

• Mike Spooner replied to Tiny House Loft (Re)design on 12 November 2014 12:21 pm

  Thanks so much, Gabriella. I'm honored :) Your home has been one of my inspirations.

• Gabriella replied to Tiny House Loft (Re)design on 12 November 2014 12:05 pm

  I absolutely love your design! Can't wait to see it built!

• Mike replied to Next Steps on 29 October 2014 3:39 pm

  Thanks Susanne. I'm building in my backyard, but not sure where it will end up after that.

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