T42 Sealing & Priming

When we wrapped up the second T42 Build Blitz a week ago, we'd put in 8 build days and we'd completed all of the following:

• T42 Undercarriage & Floor Insulation
• T42 Subfloor & Bottom Plates
• T42 SIPs Prep
• T42 Wall Raising
• T42 Roof Raising & Storage Loft

Over the past week, we've slipped in a couple half-days of building in amongst the project management and design work I've been doing for my two Package Deal clients and prep for the upcoming Tiny House Collaborative Tiny House 101 Workshop in July.

Early this week we had a fabulous visit from my aunties and my baby cousin (technically a first cousin, once removed, but "baby cousin" is easier, even if she is 14 now!) My lil cousin was eager to help out with my tiny house (though I'm starting to think it's bribery to get me to come help her with her tiny house someday!) She's an incredible artist so I'm hoping she'll be up for helping when we get to finish work, but meanwhile, priming the interior seemed a good next step, so that's what my baby cousin helped me out with this week! She quickly declared that priming is boring, but she stuck with me until we had the walls primed as high as we could reach. (And she also thoroughly enjoyed exploring our build site Green Anchors.) Additionally, she has proven that it really is more fun (albeit slower) to apply primer with bare hands! (Good thing we're using Safecoat, right!?) We also had a bunch of fun designing her tiny house the next morning before they left town!

Additionally, this week Isha and I added more staples to the roof seams and sealed up exposed framing with R-Guard Fast Flash. Once the sealing around the top of the SIPs roof box was done, we were able to install cedar roof extensions, which are important since the roof of the house matched up with the walls on our SIPs kit. The extensions will enable us to add a rain screen and siding without dumping water from the roof right into the siding! Our windows, which we ordered 10 weeks ago, were supposed to be here 2 weeks ago, but they've been delayed three times now. They're now scheduled for Wednesday of next week.

Our next Build Blitz will kick off on Monday with preparation for installation of our windows and siding. Join us if you can or follow along virtually on Instagram!

My Tiny House Air Barrier

On Friday we had My SIPs Wall Raising under the expert leadership of Patrick Sughrue of Structures NW. Yesterday we applied the R-Guard air barrier system by Prosoco with the help of Tom Schneider. What a fun day and what a neat transformation for my little house!

I first learned about the R-Guard air barrier system through my work as the Living Building Challenge Coordinator for the Breathe Building. Cody Hakala at Atlas Supply told me I had to learn about Prosoco's liquid-applied air barrier, which had been used on another Living Building Challenge project, the Bullitt Center in Seattle. I invited Tom Schneider, the chemist who invented R-Guard, to come talk to Mike Vogt and me at the Breathe Building. He told us about the benefits of liquid-applied systems, the ease of using the product, and the story of how the Bullitt Center inspired him to reformulate the entire product line so that it would be Red List Free. Needless to say, we hadn't talked very long before Mike and I were convinced. Not only was this an amazing product, but it was invented by an amazing person! We're thrilled to be working with companies like this for the Breathe Building.

At the Breathe Building's Groundbreaking Celebration I mentioned my gypsy wagon to Tom and he said he wanted to hear more about it. It seemed to both of us that a liquid-applied, color-coded waterproofing system was the best bet for do-it-yourself tiny home builders like me. I asked Tom dozens of questions about the product line so I could learn how to apply it properly and Tom offered to provide the waterproofing for my wee house AND show me how to use it!

So yesterday my Tiny House Helpers and I prepped the surfaces by furring out the corners where the SIPs come together with strips of 3/4" subflooring left over from my floors. Then Tom introduced us to the R-Guard line and taught us how to apply it. We spackled all the joints with pink Joint & Seam and Tom coached me through applying the Fast Flash to my kitchen window rough opening. He was able to do the other two windows in the time it took me to do one, but I managed to get the same effect, just not with the same finesse. As Tom told us, "the slower you go, the quicker you'll finish." He says once someone has flashed 10 openings they've usually got the hang of it. I picked up on a couple tricks that helped so I believe him. Still, it reminded me of the summer I finished out Tandem and I was A Jill of All Trades - just as I was getting good at something it was time to move on to the next thing!

Once we had our seams and openings complete we rolled on the orange Cat 5 with 3/8" nap roller brushes. We had to make sure we were applying the right amount to provide a complete air seal. Fortunately, Tom made it easy. When you can't see through the R-Guard you have applied enough of it! We worked in a team with me, Audrey and Tomas working low, Chris on the ladder getting the high parts, and Randy doing detail and quality control. Meanwhile, Angela spot sanded My Curved Rafters so that they can be installed tomorrow.

By late afternoon my house was wrapped in an orange rain coat with pink and red accents and it was time for a beer at Occidental Brewing Company. I'm grateful to all my Tiny House Helpers for helping me make these transformations for my little house so quickly. A special thanks go to Tom for sharing his product, his time, and his expertise. You can Support The Lucky Penny, too, by offering physical, emotional, or financial support.

Tomorrow we will attempt to install my curved rafters and the skylight box. Wish us luck!