Progress

Remember that container?  Turns out it's like this:

There is a lot of water damage and the wood is completely crumbly.  So what does that mean for us?  Well.  We can't (won't) use it, of course.  And.  We have decided to build the same structure with new (mostly) material because:

1. we were planning to have a sleeping loft or second floor anyway,
2. we need a shed,
3. ttBOY wants a climbing (bouldering) wall/room,
4. it is much easier to have the shower in a building rather than on the bus because tBOY is too tall for a bus shower.  So we would have had to cut a hole in the floor (hence structure) of the bus - which may not be such a good idea.

So considering the cost to build all these things separately, it makes $ sense to build one bigger (30'x10') structure to house it all.

What we did find out in choosing to use the container is that the plumbing/septic is already set up in its existing location.  It makes sense to build the new structure in the same location.  Which means we need to dismantle the container before we can start building.  Sigh!  tBOY, tBrother and tFriends will get on that this weekend.

On a more productive note, some things started to happen yesterday!

tCarpenter scored 2 skylights at the building recycling centre.  Instead of paying $350+ and $250+, we got them both for $55!!  So he got to work right away and cut out the first hole in the kitchen area.

The landlord began taking apart the brick structure (where we were initially going to build a concrete pad for the bus).  It'll be great when all this is gone and it is only greenery!  He got help from 2 young travellers who are working for him for room + board.  He also started to cut down some tree branches to make a passage for the electrical lines that will be installed (soon?!)

As for me, I took things to the dump.  It was my first time driving with a trailer.  Not so straight forward :)! But I managed.  And then I went (twice) to the building recycling store to pick up the larger (4'x4') skylight (didn't fit in the car, had to return with the trailer).

The day before, I bought my first garden tool (we have always been able to borrow/share with neighbours).  A shovel!  The landlord gave me some compost (thanks!) and I started mixing it into the soil.

Of course it would not be a home building day if we did not encounter some sort of challenge.  Remember how we were so fortunate to have friends who lent us a generator until we got power hooked-up?

Well.  It's not powerful enough to power tCarpenter's tools :(!  Renting a generator costs $250/week and that does not include the gas we need to put in it.  By the pace of things so far, I think it is reasonable to assume that we will be without power hook-up for a good many weeks.  BUT!  tCarpenter (yah!) was able to borrow one from a friend who is willing to be paid back in beer!!!  Oh.  He will get so much beer he won't remember that he owns a generator!!!

Phew.  Another obstacle overcome.

Destruction Construction

Oh what a difference a week makes.  Yes.  I know.  I said that before.  I'm saying it again!  We are onto tCarpenter #3.  #2 was lovely and really wanted to work with us, but his schedule is too busy to accommodate our needs (read: full-time and a half!)  tCarpenter #3 is a keeper (I hope!)

More changes.  (What else is new?)  So remember the double decker idea?  Scrap that.  No more building on top of the bus.  We have decided to buy what we thought was a steel shipping container from our landlord (that is already on the land):

It turns out that it is not made of steel, but is a wooden frame covered in metal sheets.  No problem.  We will strip the metal off and create a wood finish.  The reason for this change in plans is that this is the structure that we wanted on the bus, but
1. it's much cheaper to buy this than to build our own from scratch,
2. we save time building from scratch
3. we are recycling,
4. we don't have to figure out how to mount and secure it onto the bus roof,
5. the logistics of moving it are less complicated than removing/moving a structure from the roof.

So today, tCarpenter and I got to work!  tCarpenter emptied all this:

from inside the container.  Then it looked like this:

Notice the 70s wallpaper - eek!  tCarpenter and I pulled off all the wall covering.  My garden gloves came in handy, not to mention my backpacking hiking boots cum steel toe boots :)!  We managed to get all the walls down to the insulation + frame:

So to recap.  So far.  Our school bus construction project has included grinding and removing all the bus seats.  Ripping out rubber bus flooring.  Ripping out existing wall covering in the container along with window frames, built in heaters etc.  Nothing has been built yet :(!  I guess destruction then construction is the order of things thus far.

So what are we doing with the container you ask?  Well.  We are connecting the back of the bus to it - making an L configuration.  The bus will house the living room + kitchen and the container will have the bedroom + bathroom + dining room (2/3 of container). 1/3 of the container will be the shed with a separate entrance on the outside.  The use of the container means that we do not have to build a new structure (upstairs) or an independent shed - which saves us $$$ (always a plus).

Today, the landlord tilled the soil in the garden.  It inspires me to get on it!  I hope to make it to the gardening store tomorrow to get some seeds.  If I have time, I'll mix some compost into the soil.

Tomorrow's (Wednesday) agenda includes the removal of the carpet in the container, building the walls of the bathroom and removing the wooden structure that is around it.

Thursday: Electrician will wire bus and container.

Friday: Another electrician will give quote re: prepping pole + submitting permits to utilities company.

Saturday+Sunday: Taking apart the brick house structure that is currently located on the site where the bus/container will sit.  This requires many hands.  All friends are invited to lend theirs.  You will be rewarded with food and beer.  Please contact us if you want to join in the fun!

Monday: tBOY is taking a day off work to take part in the destruction/construction.

Lessons learned today:

A mask is your friend in house demolition projects.  It is not a good idea to rub your eyes and face after having handled fibreglass.

Double Decker Bus!

tBOY drove the bus!  We've moved it to the land.

Bus leaving its home beside our current cabin

2.5km down the dirt road

turning down into the driveway

It's here to stay for a while, so we pulled out the STOP sign!

We hired a new carpenter.  We are learning so much: what we need, our skills and our limitations.  We realized that the first tCarpenter needed direction from us that we did not know how to provide (since this is all new to us too). It turns out that we need someone with more project management experience which we hope we've found in our new tCarpenter.

So this new tCarpenter has given us this idea to go big!  What?!  Isn't that what we were avoiding?  Yes, yes.  But... we actually really like his idea and so we have made some modifications to the design :)!  Instead of a sleeping loft (with little head room that would be potentially claustrophobia-inducing) we are now building an actual second floor.  Yep.  A 7-foot-high ceiling so that tBOY can actually stand in it.  In fact, we are building a bedroom on one side and the living room on the other.  Which means that we are freeing up space downstairs so we can have a dining area (think dinner parties!)

We ordered and paid for (eeks!) the appliances (stove, fridge, washer/dryer) which gave us the size/dimensions information we needed to do the layout:

The appliances should be here by the weekend or early next week.  Then we can put them into the bus to really get a sense of how it will feel in the space.  I also ordered the wood stove which will take a little longer to arrive.  Today, I've been researching toilets.  It's the one thing I want new (!)  I would have been fine with secondhand appliances (if we had the time to drive around town checking them out) but a brand new toilet is my one request!  We need something compact, but a specialty toilet means more $$$.  So perhaps we will just enlarge the washroom to accommodate a smaller standard toilet.  We'll see.  Please share if you have tips about toilets in small spaces.

Since we now have a tall upstairs area, we will need windows.  We want to make the space feel as open and spacious as possible and we want windows on all sides.  I went to a home building recycling centre yesterday to check out what they have:

I went there thinking that I would come home with all the windows that we need.  But it turns out that there are too many to choose from (more than in the photo) and I became overwhelmed and realized that I don't know exactly what we want/need.  Sigh!  The same went for sinks and the front door (we will sadly replace the school bus door with a real one that we can lock)...

So this morning was about making more accurate measurements on the bus and drawing a little diagram for myself (it is less convenient having the bus 2.5km away vs. 100m).  Armed with that, I'll head back to the recycling store soon. A friend has offered to give me some windows for free (bonus!)  So I'm going to check those out tomorrow.

As for construction, tCarpenter is confirming his material list with the big box home building store as I type.  Phase one will be the second floor (how exciting!!)  tBOY and I will pay for the materials and make arrangements for delivery (apparently it will be delivered with a crane - Ooo!)  And then building time: probably this weekend (have to confirm with tCarpenter).  So... our bus could look very different by next week :)!

On another note... I went and got some books from the library about gardening:

Time for some reading. Until next time :)!