UPDATE!  UPDATE!

It's hard to believe I haven't posted since April.  It has been busy times for the backyard cottage.

FLOORING

I decided to go with a concrete floor as opposed to wood, laminate or whatever.  Wood is lovely and I do enjoy getting used wood from Second Use (my kitchen floors are made of old bowling alley flooring from Lalani Bowling Alley found at Earthwise), but wood can be damaged, renters are assholes, cork flooring is too soft, laminate doesn't rock my world, so concrete won out.  Turns out there are multiple types of concrete for flooring (who knew) and my contractor almost spooked me out of it but...I just had the concrete slab ground down...simple as that!  The concrete grinding team took a day to grind it down and then put down two coats of sealant since concrete is very porous and will absorb spilled coffee, wine or whatever.  I just have to have it resealed about every 5 years - they told me, "The concrete will tell you when it's ready for more sealant."  These guys were hardcore, and I bought them beer when they were finished.    

ABOVE:  The massive machine that is used to grind down and vacuum up the concrete floor.  It has to be plugged into the washer/dryer outlet - it's that heavy duty. 

ABOVE:  This is what the concrete slab looks like when it is all ground and sealed.  I would have loved to install heating coils in the concrete floor so it is nice and warm but that would have been an extra bitch so decided against it. 

BATHROOM

Okay, admittedly not the greatest photo but this is the shower.  My contractor found an awesome tile guy who was anal but not annoying about it.  The space was just wooden studs, insulation, a shower drainpipe and vapor barrier covered in dirt.  He installed the shower backer board, poured concrete around the drain, put in the shower pan...essentially did everything which not all tile installers do.  He would show me his process as he went which was very cool.  I didn't realize the intricacies of what goes into putting together a proper shower.  

ABOVE:  The wall tile I got from Tile for Less and the floor tile I found on Amazon.  I went with 'raven' colored grout.  I was surprised how difficult it was to find a tile store in Seattle.  Most didn't make it through the pandemic.  The shower divider is a piece of plexiglass I found at Second Use...wayyyy cheaper and safer than glass.     

 

ABOVE:  The washer/dryer/hot water heater and prison lavatory sink that took me 20 years to find.

ABOVE:  This is the bathroom door.  Remember those wooden doors I posted about oh so long ago?  This is the one I chose for the bathroom.  The stain glass insert is still to come.

KITCHEN

Sorry guys just now lost the kitchen images so you will have to wait on those.

LIVING ROOM

Whew...this little woodstove was quite a challenge.  In all of my 'tiny house woodstove' research I learned that the majority of tiny woodstoves are actually gas/propane powered.  I have no interest in running a gas line to the back (I am allowed to tap into my pre-existing gas line but not allowed to run a whole new gas line...at least not in Seattle) and was therefore looking for a wood powered stove.  I looked at wood powered stoves that are on sailboats and, although interesting, are way too small.  Did you know sailboats can have woodstoves?!!  The other thing I had to consider was installation and maintenance.  A stove may be cool to look at but not everyone can install everything.  I wasn't comfortable purchasing a strange, cool looking stove from New Jersey but can't find anyone here to install it, especially with all of the codes, etc. in our city.  If this was Alaska, my brothers could install a woodstove and call it done, but not here.  Hell, if this was Snoqualmie, I could install that shit myself and be good.  What I discovered is that there are three woodstove stores in our area, and they will only install stoves purchased at their shop.  So, I wonder who is going to install those woodstoves you can buy at Costco...good luck!  Rich's in Tukwila wanted $15,000 to install, Sutter in Fremont wanted $10,000 and Max Heat wanted $7,000 for the stove AND install.  So, I went with Max...the other two can kiss my ass.  I also learned from the City of Seattle that as long as the stove is in the initial design drawings I submitted for a construction permit, I don't need a separate inspection/permit for it.      

ABOVE:  This is the little woodstove that was such a pain to find and have installed.  It is wrapped in soapstone and really lovely.

LOFT

I really wanted an accent wall in the loft to give it a little extra something.  I found some wormwood at Second Use and asked the finish carpenters to mix it up with the leftover cedar siding and they really came through - I think it looks amazing!

ABOVE:  The wormwood and leftover cedar siding looks great!  They stained it using the same stain as the salvaged bathroom door:  Sherwin Williams Heart Redwood.  The flooring is teak that my contractor found at Second Use.

 

                                            MINI-SPLIT, WOODSTOVE AND INSULATION

ABOVE:  Got the mini-split installed and waiting for inspection.  Apparently, the installers do not install the entire unit until after the drywall/painting go up since those two things tend to damage the mini-split unit.  So, it's not quite complete yet.

ABOVE:  This is an image of the woodstove chimney.  They also do not like to install the complete unit until drywall/painting/flooring are complete as the woodstove usually gets dirty/damaged.  So, again, not quite complete.  Finding a company to install a woodstove in Seattle was a total pain in the ass!  I got 3 bids, two of which were ridiculous.  I think that those two companies just didn't want to do the job because my incredibly steep roof intimidated them so they bid crazy high.  I went with the husband/wife team who were totally comfortable with my install...Max Heat, LLC.  

ABOVE:  As far as insulation goes, did spray foam for the ceiling with batt insulation over the top and the rest batt insulation...except for around the woodstove chimney.  That has to be rockwool.  

The next step is installing the bathroom fan venting, dryer venting and stove venting.  Then after having that inspected, I can install the drywall.  I'm not going to lie; this has been a bit of a bitch.  The siding guys had to remove the siding and reinstall it because they didn't put flashing around the windows, the roofers fucked up on installing the skylights, so they leaked and that was a misogynistic nightmare to deal with!  Not all sub-contractors respect working with women.  After waiting a couple of months for them to fix that I am now having to wait for the insulation guys to come back since they fucked up and put regular insulation around the chimney instead of rockwool.  THEN, Seattle City Light came out to attach my 'service' line and said they couldn't because the electricians fucked up and installed the DADU mast 4 feet from my house mast instead of 2 feet apart.  I told them I passed the 'service' inspection and they said, "You would be surprised what inspectors pass."  I give up.  I am learning to be patient and that just because someone is an 'expert' doesn't really mean they are.  

But it's getting closer to completion which is very exciting!!!  

SIDING, PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL

 

ABOVE IMAGE:  Instead of using a Tyvek type of rain barrier, we decided to go with a rain barrier that has a rubber base and can be painted on, hence the pink coating.  Two coats and it is ready for flashing around the windows, rain screen, then siding.  

ABOVE IMAGE:  I chose cedar siding for the front.  I will have a walnut stain painted on once weather permits. 

ABOVE IMAGE:  Had T1-11 siding installed on the other three sides as it is the cheapest siding, is a wood (type of plywood), easy to install, couldn't afford to do the whole thing in cedar and I really don't see these three sides so why spend a bunch of money on expensive siding?  These three sides will also be receiving a walnut stain for aesthetics and, more importantly, to preserve the T1-11 which will rot if not cared for.

ABOVE IMAGE:  Example of plumbing and electrical in the kitchen.  Passing inspections as we go!

  

 

                                           FRAMING!!!

ABOVE:  Framing has started.  The roof is steep with a Nordic aesthetic.

ABOVE:  West facing side with front door and bay window openings.

ABOVE:  Prepping the roof.  Windows arrive in 10 days.  Once that happens, I can get the vapor barrier, siding, roofing installed. 

 

ABOVE:  View from south facing neighbor's yard.  The ground level window is the bathroom.

ABOVE:  A round window will be installed in the north facing living room wall.

ABOVE:  Interior view of East facing wall.  The window shown is above the kitchen sink location.

ABOVE:  Interior view of South facing wall where the bathroom will be located.

  

ABOVE:  Interior view of loft space located above the bathroom.  

CONCRETE POUR

 

ABOVE:  concrete truck on my parking strip

ABOVE:  little wheelbarrow tractor that the concrete was poured into and then driven to the backyard to be shoveled into the wooden forms.  Concrete guys are no joke.  I would not want this job...yikes!  And it was hot out.  

ABOVE:  the concrete forms are done, the vapor barrier/insulation and wire mess installed and waiting to pass inspection before second pour...the slab.
 

GETTING CLOSER!

 

Getting closer is right!  The concrete company came out and prepped the area for the concrete pour.  Before we can pour though I had to have the plumber and electrician come out and put their pipes/conduit where they want it because once that concrete is poured, they are shit out of luck (they can still drill through the concrete but it's a terd and costs me more money.)  I passed the 'pre-pour' inspection (makes sure the foundation is going to be where it is supposed to be with regard to property lines and setbacks.)  Also passed the plumbing inspection and just waiting on the electrical inspection.  The UFER line (this is when the rebar in the foundation comes in handy) was a learning curve for me and pretty frustrating.  An UFER is what electrically grounds the entire structure (from lightening, electrical build-up, etc) and is supposed to be prepped by the concrete contractor via the rebar in the wooden forms.  Long story short, it is the concrete contractor's job to prep the area not the electricians!  The electrician comes and attaches their grounding wire to the rebar once it's prepped.  Learning so much!  Once I pass the electrical inspection, I can get the concrete poured and then starts the framing!

ABOVE:  My yard before the concrete company.

ABOVE:  Concrete guys digging the trench that will be where they pour the footings/forms for the foundation. 

ABOVE:  Big pile of dirt after digging out the foundation trench.

ABOVE:  You can see the sewer pipe (big white thing), the water pipe (skinny white tube) and the electrical conduit (grey pipe).  The green tub is covering the water shut off valve.  

ABOVE:  Here you can see the wooden form that was built in the trench.  Inside the wood form is rebar.  The plumber and electrician returned after the wooden form was created and put their pipes/conduit where they want it to enter the structure.  Now the concrete will be poured into the wooden forms.  Once the concrete is hard the wood will be removed, the dirt will be used to fill in the gaps and all that will be visible is a nice concrete wall.  The concrete company is also going to use their little backhoe and remove the dirt in the center as I am not going to have a crawl space but a concrete slab.  Why did they not dig out the center when they dug the trench?  Who the hell knows.  Everybody has their own way of doing things.  You can just make out that damn UFER line wire sticking up out of the grey conduit.   

 

Whew - getting closer to starting on foundation!  Had to get the small shed in the back relocated to a new spot in the back yard to free up land space for the DADU.  My contractor and I were having a hard time figuring out how to relocate a structure.  She managed to find a company out of Bremerton who moves sheds!  Better Bilt Barns, Sheds and Storage | Washington State  

Why keep the shed and not just bulldoze or crane it out?  Well, I have put a lot of time and money into that little shed and it has, over the years, really helped out a few of my family/friends get back on their feet financially by living in it and paying cheap/affordable rent.  It has a fan club and is staying in the family!

It was interesting to watch their process and the machine they use for this very specialized procedure.

Here is the shed in its original location (came with the house) and the strange little tractor/forklift thing they used to lift it on one side.  They put blocks under it and lift it a little bit at a time making sure to go slow and not break windows or crack sheetrock.  
  

As they lift and place blocks, they install two wheels on one end (the left side now has wheels under it) and use the little tractor/forklift to move the shed.

This image shows the shed being placed in its new location (you can see the wheels they installed underneath.)  It was located on the south side of the property and now it is on the north side.  It is permanently resting on skids and concrete blocks which I am okay with.  It will settle a bit but not enough to be an issue.  I am glad there is a gap underneath it so it will continue to be a refuge for transient mammals on those wet and windy nights (nothing under there for them to destroy.)

This is where the shed used to be.  We have over the years had many small mammals take refuge from the weather and night under the shed.  I was expecting to see some, The Secret of Nimh, type of activity underneath the shed once it was moved but, alas, no burrows, dens or nests of any kind.  We did find a skull attached to a spinal column and a large pelvic bone which I took to the Burke Museum for identification.  The skull/spinal column are opossum, and the large pelvic bone is turkey (probably placed there by scavengers after rummaging through post-Thanksgiving trash.)  I will be giving them a proper burial amongst my nibble garden (blueberry/raspberry bushes.) 

Now, my contractor is getting foundation bids and working out a temporary fence system to protect the fig tree during construction as required by the city.  Once we have a foundation company picked out and we pass the 'pre-construction inspection' we are good to go with the next faze!