Wind Wind, Go Away

We’re in the middle of five straight days of winds over 25 mph. I’m tired of it already, and it’s going to keep up until late Wednesday! I can’t really work on anything outside with this going on. I’ve tried but after about 5 minutes it feels like I’m being battered!

I did get the floor framing all done before the wind arrived though. Here is the floor flipped upside-down with  1/4″ hardware cloth stapled on. I used tons of staples so no little mousies can possibly find a way in!  And I’m proud to say that the frame was absolutely square…the mesh went on straight in both directions.  The hardware cloth was 36″ wide and since my floor joists are 16″ on center, it overlapped by about 4″ in a couple places.

Then my kindly neighbors Frank and Tracy came down and helped me flip the whole thing over. You could only do it this way with a VERY tiny house!

I attached the framing to the foundation beams with metal hurricane ties like this:

Next comes insulation. I’m putting 1/2″ of rigid foam between the joists, on top of the hardware cloth, then R19 fiberglass on top of that. I am not looking forward working with the fiberglass, especially since I can’t rinse it off. I suspect I’ll be gladly paying $5 to take a shower at the little store up the road! I am chomping at the bit but must wait for the wind to die down, darn it! Starting Thursday the forecast for the next 5 days is for light winds, but some heat, up to 85 degrees.  I hope to get the floor all done so I can start building studwalls. Hopefully things will go much faster then.

I’m having a terrible time with the propane refrigerator in the camper. This wind keeps blowing out the pilot light, and by the time I notice it, everything in the fridge is warm. I’ve been trying to pay closer attention to it lately because I can’t afford to let the food go bad! It has happened three times already just today. I have stuff piled in front of the outside vent to try and stop the wind but so far it’s been ineffective. I’m tempted to just tape some cardboard over the whole vent but I’m pretty sure it’s there for a reason.

I have shelved the water tank problem for right now. I think the best way to deal with the oil in the tank is to borrow a trailer, wrestle the tank up onto it, and take it to a carwash where I can use hot water, soap and plenty of pressure. I have a 55 gal. drum that contained honey that needs cleaning out too.  As much as I would love to have a good supply of water, I hate asking for even more help from the neighbors! I just hate not being able to do everything myself.

I have been waking up way too early. Roxie starts fidgeting as soon as it gets light, around 5:30 a.m. There’s only about 6 or 7 square feet of usable floor space in here but she manages to stomp around and make her four tiny feet sound like a hundred! The more I ignore her, the harder she stomps. And the really funny thing is, once I sit up or get up, she goes and lays down and can be content for up to an hour before I actually get around to taking her out!! She just wants me up.  Man’s best friend? I think not.

Here are some items that have been recently purchased through Amazon. I REALLY like the Luci Lights…I have tried several different brands and the Luci ones have superior battery strength, and I like the one with the frosted side panels as opposed to the original Luci Light that’s clear. And they float, how cool would that be in your pool or a lake at night?!   They’d be great for power outages too. Anyway, feel free to use these link to access whatever your heart desires on Amazon.

MPOWERD | Luci EMRG – 3-in-1 Emergency Inflatable Solar Light

CyberPower CSB404 Essential Surge Protector

Davidson’s Tea, Tulsi Pure Leaves