Raising the SIPs, Part 1

OK! BIG DAY TODAY: 

Having conquered the challenge of the Sill Plate and the Wheel Wells, we moved on to the most exciting part of our build yet: raising the SIPs! The day started early, with us checking our materials, counting out our SIP screws, and making sure that absolutely every thing was ready for when our lifting crew arrived. 

My amazing family started to show up around 10 to help out. These are only the Early Birds, we ended up having about 6 to 8 people around for any given part of the lifting, although folks drifted in and out of the work site all day. I wish I had been able to get a photo of all of us.

The first wall was definitely the hardest: without any other parts of the structure to support it, it had to stand on its own (or rather, with the help of two support braces), and it had to be perfectly level and plumb since it was the wall to which all the other walls would be erected to match. Thank goodness my Uncle Chuck (Carpenter Extraordinare) and his Magic Laser Level were there to help. Seriously, every one was amazing, but without Uncle Chuck, I don't think we could have gotten this thing up. 

Here's my first experiment with Time Lapse photography, which captures the first wall going up: actually getting the wall vertical takes up maybe the first 5 minutes of the experience, the remaining two hours were spent making tiny little adjustments in the walls positioning to make sure it was exactly centered, exactly level, and exactly plumb. 

We finished getting the first wall in place and secured around noon and we sent the lifting crew back up to the house for lunch.  While our hard working lifters got on with their day, we prepped the first wall to recieve the second. This involved drilling holes in both the standing rear wall and the incoming side wall panels so that the electrical chases would run from panel to panel...

... and predrilling the standing rear wall at 12" intervals where our giant 6" SIP screws would go to hold the two walls together. 

Once we had both the standing rear wall and the two side panels prepped, we called the troops back. Fortunately, these next walls were much easier as we just had to marry them up to the rear wall. Because we had spent so much time and effort to make sure that the rear wall was perfectly level and plumb, once we got these walls to line up with the rear wall they were also plumb and level. It took about half the time to set a side wall as the time it took to set the rear wall.

That's not to say that it was perfectly straight forward: 

It turns out that the side walls had taken a slight bend since we picked them up from SIPs of America, but with a little frig-rigging, we were able to straighten that out. Pictured above, my cousin Janie casually holds the wall in place and checks her phone while two other cousins jump up and down on a peice of 4x6 lumber to put pressure on the top of the side wall to bend it outward. When this proved not to be enough, my dad stood beneat the two cousins on the plank and started wacking the wall with a sledge hammer. Not seen in the picture is Sam, who is  screwing the SIP screws into the side wall through the rear wall from the bottom up as we slowly bring the side wall more and more in line with the edge of the rear wall. It all sounds really chaotic and difficult- but it wasn't really. Every one was laughing and having a good time, acutally. It took us maybe an hour to get this wall up, set, and screwed in place. The third panel followed easily. 

Once we got both side walls up, we sent the lifting crew home for the day. Their work was done. These three panels together were really steady, holding each other up against the wind, so we didn't feel the need to get any more up that day. Also- it was getting late and we still had one job left: it was hammer time.

Driving 12d ("12 penny") nails every 6" along the inside and outside skins of the all 3 panels at the level of the sill plate was perhaps the most grueling part of the entire day. Our hands, wrist and forearms ached more and more with each strike of the hammer. Even the thrill of using my great grandfather's hammer to buid my own house wasn't enough to dull the pain. But we got through it, and finished the work day with a well deserved rest inside the beginnings of the Tiny House. 

We knew we would have a breif respite from all the lifting and nailing tomorrow since before we can fit the next panels on the sill plate, we need to prep them from going over the wheel well- but that's a different kind of effort, more mental than physical as we problem solve and trouble shoot. So, I'm going to get to bed now. Nighty' night.