September October Build Update

A September holiday and an October build update

👋 Well hello there! It’s been quite a while since our last blog post, we’ve been busy exploring the big wild world. Back on home soil we crack on with cladding the house 🏠

The past months have been a whirlwind of adventure, starting with a journey to the United States for a wedding - congratulations Visrut and Ruhani! We travelled from Australia to the U.S. and embarked on an adventure that took us from the vibrant streets of New Orleans all the way to the iconic city of New York. Along the way, we had the pleasure of exploring the stunning natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains National Park. Our hike along a small section of the Appalachian Trail was a definite highlight. A huge shout-out to Kat, Erny’s frisbee friend, for being our guide and teaching us about hemlock, spruce, and fir trees.

We also stayed in a teeny tiny house in Asheville, NC. It was hand made and very much inspired by Jay Shafer, author of The Small House Book. We’ve stayed in a few tiny houses now and this one was filled with wood, wonderful books and was smaller than ours (sitting at a pretty 9.1 square meters)! You can find their listing on Airbnb here.

What we returned to in October

Upon our return, however, we were met with an unexpected challenge. The cladding we had lovingly oiled for our tiny house had begun to turn green. Naturally, we (read Lys only) were distressed and initially suspected it was mould. Spot cleaning efforts were in vain, prompting us to seek assistance from the helpful Cutek Oil team. They enlightened us about a copper additive in the oil that can, on rare occasions, cause light-coloured wood to turn green. Apparently they don’t see this happen often - luck was not on our side, and we were among the “unlucky” few. The good news is that this greenish tint should fade over time. If we’re feeling impatient, we can opt for an acidic wash to expedite the process. We’re still contemplating our next steps, but it’s a relief to know that our cladding isn’t harbouring mould.

Our construction efforts continue, with a focus on cladding the short wall of our tiny house (with pine weatherboards that Erny got for free). Achieving a level finish has proven to be quite the challenge, and our workflow is deliberate and time-consuming. Each piece requires custom cutting to accommodate the picture window, painting of the ends, a patient wait for them to dry, and meticulous pre-drilling of holes before the final installation. It’s a labour of love, but with each addition, our tiny house is taking on the appearance of a true home. It’s also the final layer of protection, giving our hard-working sisalation a well-deserved break.

What’s next?

All in all, it’s been pretty slow-going. Our goal is to complete the exterior of the house by the end of the year, with December 31st being our unofficial deadline. We’ve got a few hurdles to solve like what sort of lock we’ll use on our vintage French doors (a problem we’ve been procrastinating on) and installing over 1000 flat head screws. However, life has a way of throwing delightful distractions our way, like Christmas parties, weddings, and celebrations. We shall see!

Catch ya later, Lys & Erny