Final illustration to show the color scheme.

Got a little bit of work done last night before dark. This is a little section of roof next to the loft.

Below is a photo from standing on our house. Hard to tell but the roof is actually sloped about 4". 

Below is the final illustration of the exterior color scheme. The green sections actually sit above the sheathing about a 1/2 inch. I think it's called a "rain wall". The idea is that the wall breaths. 

Waterproof?

I planned to use Restore deck coating for the exterior finish. It's waterproof and has a similar texture to truck bed liner, has a 10 year guarantee and comes in many colors. I like the idea that it will look a lot like Stucco. In Mexico, everything is built out of cement, so the perception is that cement is more secure. Plus, esthetically I have the feeling it will look really nice. 

However, I recently found out that Restore doesn't work on vertical applications. Apparently it runs off. Bummer! After hours of research I haven't been able to find a suitable substitute. It only comes in 2 and 5 gallons so today I bought a couple gallons and will give it a try and see what happens. Maybe I can figure out a work-a-round? If it doesn't work maybe HD will be kind enough to give me a refund? 

$39.00 for 2 gallons and a special roller.

The other option is this Ames Block & Wall liquid rubber. It goes on like paint, but it's 3x thicker and forms a completely waterproof barrier. Most of the other similar products can't be used on wood but this can. It can also be color tinted. The only downside is that it's not textured. 

$159.00 - 10% Ace discount and shipped to my local Ace store for free = $148.17 total.

Which is where this stuff comes in. It's an exterior texture additive. You just mix it into the paint and roll it on. I called Ames and asked if it would degrade the quality of the waterproof coating but all they said was "I don't think so". I'll try the Restore deck stuff first. If it doesn't work the Ames Block & Wall will be the slightly more expensive plan B. 

Around $2.50 per gallon + shipping.

Here's a really simple illustration to show what I have in mind for the exterior. 

A race to the finish (exterior).

The neighbors have been surprisingly supportive. In fact, many stop by and ask what I'm doing. They genuinely seem to be pretty excited when I tell them, "I'm building a house of course".

However, I don't want to push it, so I made a goal of having the exterior finished by the middle of April. Tic Toc.

The color scheme is going to be the same as our "real" house so hopefully it will look better while sitting in the drive-way. At least it will be funny. "Hey look, there's a big modern house and a tiny modern house"

Over the past week I glued and screwed together the roof sheathing, built much of the loft, and finished the exterior sheathing. I used fiberglass "Bondo" to seal the seams and gaps. 

Below is where I ended the weekend. Doesn't look like I accomplished much, but the exterior is just about ready for the next step. Waterproof coating.

I can see clearly now...

I installed a couple windows and the wood siding on the back quarter to the Tiny Casita today. The wood siding is actually an underlayment. It's waterproof and resistant to mold. I also coated it with marine weather sealer. I'll coat it again once the exterior is finished. I still need to trim-out the windows but she's starting to take shape. 

I would type more but I'm too tired!

Thanks to the help from some good friends, I finally got to see my design come to life today. We made major progress. All walls and roof framing in place and some of the exterior sheathing too. And, the best news, it looks like this thing is actually going to work. Once we got everything up, glued and screwed together the entire structure became rigid and strong. The neighbors, especially those who slow down as they're driving past, must think I'm nuts! Hopefully next weekend I'll find time to get the loft installed, and finish the sheathing. 

Sayulita under major construction:

Sayulita, the Mexican town where our land is, was recently designated the prestigious "Magical Town" award. This brings major dollars for infrastructure. For the past two months Sayulita has been getting a major face lift. 50 giant palm tress were planted in the town center, new wider sidewalks and pedestrian only streets lead to the beach, and the main plaza is being completely rebuilt. Looks really nice! 

Check out the progress! 

Holy crap! I got a title!

There are more than a few hoops to jump through to get a “homemade” trailer titled and honestly, I wasn’t sure how this thing was going to go down. 

First stop: DMV to get a temp plate.

Next stop: Certified inspection with the police. Sure enough, when he was checking the brake lights one didn’t work. A couple jiggles later, I got it to work. It took about a half hour for the cop to type up the inspection. He even took my I.D back to his office. I got the impression that he didn’t want to sign off on this one but, as I have a squeaky clean record, he gave me a pass. Unfortunately, he did make me have the trailer weighed.

Next Stop: Landscape supply weigh station: I guessed that weight at 1641 lbs. It officially came in at 1680 lbs. Pretty good guess! Anything above 2000 lbs. and there is a bunch more paper work including posting a bond for double the value.

Half way to the next stop, the trailer popped off the ball hitch and skidded behind me until I came to stop. Seems the tongue weight is slightly toward the back which is exactly what I planned for. Once the Tiny Casita is finished the tongue weight should be more toward the front. I messed around for a few minutes and got the trailer re-attached and on my way, now driving much slower that I was before. Annoyingly slow.

Next stop: Car dealership to get an appraisal. The sales guy low balled the estimate which is great for sales tax.

Next Stop: Back to the DMV: where they checked my paperwork, printed me a new title, gave me a metal VIN number to attached and my new plates.

Overall great news!!!! This weekend a few buddies are coming over and we’ll start the exterior assembly. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, the Tiny house will really be taking shape. I’m sure then, the neighbors will be really annoyed!

Trailer ready for inspection Sir.

The weather was pretty nice last weekend so I had the chance to work on the trailer. I picked up a really nice matching set of used trailer tires and had them installed. Also installed the brake lights, side reflectors and (temporary) fenders and gave the frame a quick Rustoleum paint job. Next, I'll take it down to the police station for a certified inspection and apply for a flat bed trailer title. I'll decide later whether I'll update to an RV title. Once the inspection is done, I'll get back to work. The wall and roof framing is just about finished. I'm pretty sure with the help of a couple buddies we can pop up the walls and roof and install the outside sheathing in a couple days. Getting excited to start working again!

Wow! This thing is really catching on.

Check out this awesome video about the int house movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl58kpKLsFk