I need to be able to rely on it no doubt. My biggest concern is the ability to heat and cool it. This place is going to be my sanctuary! :D

So tonight I resume filling in the rigid insulation under the floor. 8 bays left, then 3 sheets of sub floor, then frame the back wall, then remove the roll up by August one, to meet my goal.......... More photos soon!

And here they are! 3 bays left. I'll be picking up the subfloor and glue tomorrow. Already have the screws. :)

looking great! i don't see the plumbing yet?

Thank you Sam! Plumbing is going to be entirely to the inside of the insulation, and accessible. Basically it's going to run along the outside of an interior wall, and be covered by a chase / base board that is easily removable. It's been minus 35 degrees here before, and so I don't want any freezing at all, and I want to be able to access the plumbing should the need arise. Additionally, the kitchen sink and the shower / toilet are going to be right next to the other for simplicity in the plumbing loop.

I took a few days off, but Friday night, I finished the floor insulation and sub floor sheeting. Photos coming soon. My next move is to frame up the rear wall, rip out the roll up, and tip that wall, which will have a 3-0 full light man door.

Start building the rearward wall tomorrow. In the meantime....Photos of the progress thus far......

Cut the parts for the rear wall, and scoped out what was in the way of removing the roll up. Looks fairly straight forward, though the grinder and cut off wheels will be on site just in case. I start assembly tomorrow.

Wall framed and sheeted. Laying on the floor. I'll wait until this weekend before I drop the roll up. I'll need a full day for this, because I need to install the man door and be sure nothing can get in the truck before I go walking away from it. Photos coming!

I used plywood for the rear wall, and glued and screwed the sheeting with cabinet screws, so it's really solid. Employed elements of "green" framing in that there's no conventional headers and minimal framing. Top and bottom plates are 1X4. All framing is glued and screwed with torx screws. Pocket screw jig was employed for the header connections. Didn't have any house wrap or tyvek so we utilized some good old fashioned 15 pound felt for the vapor barrier.


Now the photos!

Love the kreg set for joints, you moving a long great.

Sorry if I missed it....

Where are you located at? -35 can be pretty cold and I am curious how the non freezing plan will work out.....I can’t even get the pipes in my house to stop freezing every winter.

Pics are always great. When is the expected completion date?

It hasn't been that cold in awhile. I think all the Californians moving up here has contributed to warming trends in the winters.... :rolleyes:

Anyhow, I live in Priest River, Idaho. At this point, we typically get our first snow fall a day or two before or after Halloween, and my goal is to have heat in the living space by then so I can work on the inside during the Winter months.

Just stick a Mr Heater in there with 5 gallon propane tank and it will warm right up with 9k btu on high.

My only concerns about that would be the tightness with respect to air infiltration, and the Co2 as well as the moisture. I'll likely put in a cadet wall heater for the times when I'm on shore power, but I REALLY want one of those diesel heaters.

Roll up door is gone. Lots of time with a cold chis breaking spot welds on the track, but the whole affair is in a pile on the ground. Put up my shed roof flashing and tipped the wall in to place. Full light man door is in place now. 2-0 X 4-0 single hung window has been ordered. Not tempered glass though. Couldn't afford it right now.

I have one of those cheap Chinese diesel heaters though not yet installed future endeavor. Did you get dual paned window at least with argon fill?

I did! The man door is just a regular household man door with glass. It's a Stanley, fully insulated. I'm on hold on the single hung window, but my studs for the walls have already been cut and awaiting insulation hold strippage. I rip those tonight and start putting them on the studs.

..............Photos!

Showing the notched studs and hangers at bottom. Note the stops to keep the rigid insulation off the box wall for exterior space venting. The stops also allow additional seal with the silicone sealant. There will be a 1x3 top plate to keep the tops of the studs in check as far as layout. These will be attached with pocket jigged screws.

Slowly but surely it’s coming together, one piece at a time. I haven’t had time to do anything with mine plus I broke my hand...
Going with polystyrene insulation behind the interior walls?

Actually going with the foil faced poly iso three and a half inches thick. What did you do to break that hand? That don't sound like a good time! ):

I suggest that then add some fiberglass or cellulose insulation to absorb sound, it’s why I didn’t fill my wall cavities full of spray foam insulation plus thermal bridging I wanted to avoid. I got angry and put my fist through a car window in junk yard that someone pulled a transmission in and did it in a order that bound up the transmission, plus couldn’t get part out in time and it’s 4 hr drive to get to it. :mad:

Yup! That'll cramp your day. Well, I hope you get healed fast enough.


Regarding the noise issue, I hope that the 3/8 inch air space will help elleaviate that. The roof will be more like 1 1/4 on account of the bows.


Today, I insulated and sheeted the inside of the back wall at the entry. All studs and plates are in on the drivers side and insulation fitting begins tomorrow, and sheeting as I go. Once I get the drivers side done, I'll start feeling like I might beat the cold.....

Here's the wall after insulation and before I sheeted it.

I believe you will beat the cold. Nice insulation job, too bad the door and the window in it will be the weak link in the armor for insulation value and for breaking in. Never liked the thought of window you can break no matter the size you can access the door lock or windows one could crawl through, burglar bars it is with emergency release. Though 3M makes a film to help thwart such problems you should look into.

Generally speaking, we don't have too much a problem with breaking in to, around here. Like our home, this will be left unlocked all the time here in the yard. Heck, my truck is sitting out in the yard right now with the key in the ignition, as it has every single night since forever! I do worry though, because the world is a changing! On the road however, we'll be locking it up and I was contemplating even installing interior shutters to close it off from the outside.

Last night, I jammed out 6 feet of wall before the wife called me up wanting my company. Can't imagine why? :D

Tonight, I took off. Here's a photo of things thus far though......


Board is holding that bay in until the silicone sets, and I can put up the sheeting. I worry about my engineering, and any issues I might be over looking, but time is running out and I need to be in position to get heat on in there when the time comes. One things for sure..... we're solid!


Work resumes tomorrow night.

Don’t mind my paranoia just war and Washington state has made me this way, especially fact of they just let them go here. Anywho nice progress and a shutter would be great not just for thieves but if a bad storm blows through. Got pretty hairy in Montana a few nights this summer and I know how most of the country is.

I was thinking a shutter just in case a window breaks in transit.

Yes, I should be paranoid too I suppose. Worlds changing and getting crazier every day I swear.

As for progress and photos........ I'm only half way down that wall. I'll be hitting it hard today though. Saw my first stink bug in a window, which means Fall is on it's way and I gotta step this shit up or I'll be framing in de cold! :eek: NOT! :)

2nd wall insulated but not sheeted. I'll start passenger side wall framing Monday.

Photos to date..........

Looks cozy to the point one could fart and warm the place up :eek:. What’s in store for the ceiling?

But if I did that, the place would be inhabitable! Three and a half inches of Iso puts the R factor above that of a conventional home and there's not going to be side windows at least for the first year. The ceiling will be 2X 6 framing 4 foot centers to eliminate seams as much as possible. There will be a little bit of linkage to address the long over spans for the lid sheeting

Tonight, I moved everything over to the other side so that operations could begin on the passenger side. Cut my bottom plates and they are setting there ready to install.

Bottom plate / passenger side installed and studs notched and in place loosely, ready to be hangered in this Friday.

Looking great and can't wait to see the floor plan come together.

Passenger wall is complete and insulating has begun as of last night. More going in tonight. Photos coming soon.

Given that I've only got 24 feet, it's going to be fairly simple, and I'm still working out a few details. :o

looking REALLY good!

Both long walls insulating is done, now starting to sheet them. Plan is to get them sheeted, then ledger and start ceiling framing, then end wall.

Crickets chirping...