A Little Bit of Everything #3

I'm starting a new job installing solar systems next week so I've been making a push to wrap up some house and yard projects before then. In the garden, we've been eating up and pulling out all of the summer veggies and preparing for the winter with cover crops to help build up the soil. I also rebuilt the fire pit because the thistles were taking over since it was usually too hot and dry this summer for fires. Now that the nights are cooling off, I am excited to relax by the fire again!

I found an awesome cantilevered polycarbonate awning with aluminum brackets for above my door so now I'm ready for the rainy season! I'm curious to see how it functions in the rain since the panel has bent up flanges on the top and bottom to help direct rain down and then sideways so you aren't walking through a waterfall to enter. This should help to protect my door hardware as well though I plan to change it out with something of a more square/rectangle design next year. I decided to purchase rather than make the awning since I haven't worked with polycarbonate before and have heard that welding aluminum is challenging, especially for a beginner. I also didn't want to spend much time on that project and was able to find a quality product at a reasonable price. The polycarbonate is also unique in that it's UV layer reflects the sun's rays to keep my house cooler inside. The original design idea was to have a single awning extending from the front of my house but due to various reasons (including the angle limitation above my door since it swings out) it didn't work out that way. I also really like the aesthetic of a colored canvas awning but it wouldn't hold up in the rain here and I would need to develop an anchor system to attach the outside points since there aren't any trees near my house.

I have been working on my "great room" wall design by adding fruit crates which also act as shelves and mirrors which are fun since they add to the perceived space and also offer snapshots of different parts of my house. One thing I just noticed is that I can see into my bathroom from my loft (the bathroom is underneath)! Don't worry, eventually I will have a sliding door there for privacy (and I still need to rework the toilet design and functionality). I'm going to add another shelf above my jackets but am hoping to design some unique bike brackets to hold it in place and/or replace the jacket hooks for a more streamlined design. Part of me wants to find a locker for them and my shoes but I decided to live with a more open aesthetic for a while and redesign as I am inspired.

The other area of my house that has transformed is my kitchen. A friend built me some panels and drawers as well as a countertop the the steel frame I welded together. I decided to go with a red stain for the side panels and most of the drawer fronts so the wood grain shows through. The drawer boxes and slides are black as is the top drawer (as an accent) which is designed to store my induction cooktop when not in use and then pulled out when in use so I don't loose any countertop space. The countertop is black laminate which isn't my favorite but it was inexpensive since I was able to use scraps from the shop next door. We thought about using a walnut butcher block top but it just didn't fit the design. I may swap it out later with some kind of composite material or stainless steel. I also changed up my wall storage with more IKEA products. My plan is to keep a visually open space above the counter for a while now that I have some of the clutter removed from the lower storage area and see how I feel about that over time but I may add some metal upper cabinets to minimize visual clutter.

That's all for now!

Sun Power: Solar!

This week we installed my small solar power system! It was very exciting to see this transformation after saving up money for months to finally make it happen. I originally did not plan to install a solar system for this house due to cost and power limits but I really wanted to learn more about solar and create a porch awning which also starts to realize my original design intention: a clerestory roof.

Since I decided to go with an all electric setup, I was somewhat surprised to learn how much power was necessary (to code) to run all of the lights and appliances. Obviously, I only use a fraction of that power most of the time and it makes sense to connect to the grid while living in a city. I do plan to move to a more rural location in the future and at that point, depending on power resources, I may swap out my electric appliances for propane and then use the solar system for lighting and electronics charging so I don't have to rely on grid power.

Tom, who I met while volunteering at Cycle Oregon last year, had his solar charging trailer there and suggested that I make a solar awning for my home. Since he has many years of experience designing and building portable solar systems, I thought it would be awesome to work with him on my project.

The solar power system we installed consists of the following:

(2) LDK 280 watt - 24 volt poly solar panels

(1) 30 amp / 24 volt PWM charge controller

(1) 400 watt / 24 volt modified sine wave inverter with two 120 volt AC plug-ins

(2) 12 volt deep cycle sealed batteries

To install, we through-bolted a hinged attachment so that I can fold down the panels during transport and also change the angle of the panels to match the ideal sun angle depending on my location. We used 2x2s to create a lattice frame and connection for the panels to the hinge bar. These may be swapped out later for stronger metal supports. After bolting the panels to the lattice frame, we swung them out and used two 4x4s for support. Ideally the support posts would be adjustable to change the tilt angle for time of year and location to maximize the sun's energy which may be a future iteration.

Then Tom got to work on the wiring. He had to drill a hole through the wall to get the connectors from the panels into the house to the charge controller. The charge controller regulates the power going to the batteries which then supply power to the inverter in my loft. The inverter has two AC plug-ins which I can use to charge my phone, laptop, light, etc. Since the batteries are sealed, we could store them inside in my closet. Tom wanted to keep everything as close together as possible to maximize efficiency.

I am excited to see how this system performs over time and to enjoy a covered outdoor space as the rainy season draws nearer. Check out my flickr for more photos!

I've Got The Power!

(cue Snap...)

Well, it's been about a month since we made the final connections to connect my house electrical to the sub-panel in the shed. It was quite the process, trying to figure out what components of the boat and RV worlds to use and how they can (and need to from what I found) work together. Since I built my house to electrical code and don't currently have any propane appliances, I decided to go with a Camco 50 amp extension cord with an RV style plug on one end and a marine style plug on the other end. (Note: You may be able to make your own cord for less money, but after pricing out 6 gauge wire and the different style ends (about $100 just for the marine style end), I decided a manufactured cord was best for me at around $200.) 

This cord has four 6 gauge conductors (1 ground, 1 neutral and 2 hot for 120/240V service) which is sufficient for my electrical loads. The RV end has a PowerGrip handle which makes unplugging much easier from the standard 50 amp receptacle we installed on the outdoor shed. The marine style end has a twist-lock design with a threaded locking ring for a secure, waterproof connection to the Marinco power inlet I purchased. It came with a rear safety enclosure for use within a floor or wall, with 6 gauge conductors connecting directly to the panel but since I chose a surface mounted design, we had to find a different way to connect it to conduit through the floor and up the wall. Luckily, with the generous help of a friend, we found a weatherproof electrical box and extension ring with gaskets that were compatible with both the power inlet and the conduit.

Once we had all of the pieces necessary, we measured, marked and drilled yet another hole in the floor. Somehow I was about 3/8" off from missing the rim joist (I still can't figure out why other than having to remember shell construction from a year ago) so we had to cut that out a little. Oh ya, and we had to jack up my house again since the hole we were trying to drill was in the same place as a CMU foundation block (of course). I worked at breaking the block in half so it could support my house and still leave space for the hole and cord to plug in while my friend assembled the weatherproof box pieces and inlet. Once that was complete, we connected the conduit to the box and electrical panel via set-screw connectors. Then we pulled wire, made the connections, secured everything in place and plugged in the extension cord.

Finally, we flipped the breaker in the shed sub-panel, started flipping breakers on in my house and everything was a success! It's been really great to have my own fridge running to keep things cold in the summer (though I may go back to outdoor refrigeration in the winter), warm water to do my dishes, ease of plugging in kitchen appliances and my fan, and really awesome to flip on my light switch to this!

A photo I took while at IKEA which is a better illustration of the ambiance.

Learning to Weld

Learning how to weld had been on my "to do" list for some time. I had signed up for an intro class at a community college a few years ago but since I didn't have a specific project in mind or even know just the basics, I was a little bit intimidated in participating in a class which did not really have a structured learning progression, instead more like open shop time. I had my trailer custom built and worked with welders on the structural steel interior components (joists, ladder and sink brackets) during those parts of the build. I wanted to build some more interior components with steel so in May I signed up for some welding classes at ADX, a maker space in Portland.

The first class I attended was an intro to metals class where we learned all about the different tools to cut, bend, grind, sand and weld metal. It was interesting to compare and contrast them to the woodworking tools with which I am familiar. We learned about different types of metals and some of the uses for them. We also were able to get some hands on experience using scrap pieces and most of the tools available. The other two classes I took were intro to MIG and intro to TIG where we focused on welding two pieces of metal together in different ways (butt joints, overlaps, inside and outside corners, etc.). The class sizes are kept small so there is a good student to instructor ratio in order to get quicker feedback and questions answered. I would have liked to learn more about designing and building projects from these classes as well but understood the time constraints and scope of the classes. Maybe in the future, they will offer more advanced or project based classes.

Since my classes came with an unlimited month pass to use the space and tools, I wanted to be able to complete at least one project for my house. I decided that the first project would be welding a frame for my kitchen storage next to the fridge where I am currently using water heater stands as temporary storage shelves. I drew up some sketches of a basic cube frame with horizontal supports for the shelves. I thought about using angle iron to create an L shape perimeter for each shelf so that I could insert a piece of plywood and there would be a lip around the edges to keep items from falling off. I talked this idea over with a woodworker friend and he suggested using 1" tube steel due to its superior rigidity and to support drawer slides so I could have easier access to the items in back of the shelves. Since he said he would be willing to help me with the drawer part, I went ahead and picked up the tube steel from the steel yard and got to work at ADX.

First, I cleaned all of the steel with Simple Green to get rid of the oil and grime. Then, I made a cut list of all the pieces I needed and made the cuts using the horizontal bandsaw which uses a lubricant to help cut through the steel. Once I had finished cutting all of the pieces, I filed the rough edges and then laid out the pieces for one side of the frame. I decided to use the MIG welder for this project since it's faster and easier than the TIG welder even though you don't get as nice of a weld joint but I didn't really care about that for this project. 

I tack welded each seam on one side, then flipped it over and repeated on the other side since I was trying to minimize deflection. Then, I ran full beads on each seam facing up on each side. Even though I tack welded first, the metal still deflected due to the heat of the weld.

I decided to use the magnets and clamps for the opposite (mirror) side of the frame to see if I could get better results. I also used extra pieces of the tube steel underneath the parts I welded to help create a more flat plane since the shop table wasn't perfectly flat. I then repeated the welding process from the other side and did experience less deflection of the metal.

After I made the two side components, I needed to stand them up and connect the corners with four more pieces. Once again, magnets were my friend. I tacked everything together before running full beads and found that one of the four sides was out of square. Luckily, I was able to borrow a pipe clamp from a friend and use that to pull it into square. I had to keep it in place for the full weld bead since the tacks were not strong enough to hold it there. I finished welding all of the remaining joints and then took it to the grinding room where I used an angle grinder and a flap disk to grind down the welds to create a clean, seamless look.

I definitely have more to learn about welding and more time practicing weld joints but I think it turned out pretty well for my first project! More to come with the sliding drawers...

Tiny House Electrical

Wow! It's been another month since I last posted. Many life events have happened in the last few weeks including paying off my last student loan (yay, no debt!), buying a piano, starting welding classes, working on the garden and the front yard, and finding a female electrician to work with to help me plan and wire my house!

Since I was hesitant to install any propane appliances in my home, I went all electric (for now anyway). Fire hazard safety and cost were both on my mind in this decision. Since then, I have decided that I would be ok with propane because my electrical loads are actually higher than I realized they would be (we designed to code). I originally thought I would have a 30-50 amp panel since that is typical to small homes, boats and RVs. That size of service makes it easy to plug into standard RV or dryer hookups.

What I actually needed (to code) were six 20 amp circuits (the outlets and light could have been on a 15 amp circuit but for ease of buying and installing the same wire size we kept it at 20) in a 125 amp panel. This size of panel is standard for some "normal" size homes and while it may seem overkill for a small house, when you think about it, it makes sense.

Here's the breakdown for each circuit:

1. Bosch Tronic 8 gal point of use water heater - 1440 watts

2. Kenmore mini fridge - 1725 watts

3. Kitchen GFCI and Panasonic bath fan (17 watts)

4. Kitchen GFCI (Code requires 2 and you can't run an induction cooktop (Nuwave: 1300 watts) and tea kettle (1250-1500 watts) at the same time on one circuit for example. I also have a popcorn popper which runs at 1440 watts.)

5. Space heater (can be used as a regular outlet for much of the year) - 1500 watts

6. Outlets and one hardwired light fixture and switch

Realistically, I am not going to be using anywhere near the full capacity of the system since I shower elsewhere (low hot water use), cook infrequently or outside on my RV/boat stove, barely used a space heater this past winter (due to warmer temps as well as a well sealed and insulated shell, even with a window open) and plan to use solar to power my phone, laptop, lights and other small electronics. I'm learning that solar can effectively be used to completely power a home, including heating needs, as long as there is space for a large enough solar array, which I plan to do when I purchase land eventually.

Once we calculated the loads, I drew up a map of the conduit runs since everything is surface mounted. We bought around $400 of materials (conduit, straps, couplers, boxes, outlets, switches, wire, panel, breakers, etc.) and got to work!

I was mainly in charge of screwing a ground pigtail to each box, knocking out circles in the boxes and installing set screw connectors to connect the box to the conduit and to protect the wire from rough edges. The electrician bent the conduit to round corners as well as to do each box offset. Once we had all of the boxes and conduit installed, then we pulled the 12 gauge wire, ensuring to keep each circuit labeled and separate. We used solid (vs. stranded wire) because it is more typically used in homes and because we had relatively short runs. Solid wire is more difficult to pull than stranded and when we packed a 1/2" conduit run with the max of 9 conductors, it was much harder than stranded from her experience. Luckily, there was only one section with 9 conductors so the rest was relatively easy. We used fishing wire to pull it through the conduit in the tighter runs and also for the longer run to the bath fan and humidity sensor.

After we ran all of the wire, we wired up all of the boxes for the outlets, light switch, humidity sensor, and hardwired the bath fan and water heater. Since we used the shallowest boxes possible for the lowest profile, it was a little difficult to install the quad outlets but it all worked out. I am also very happy with the Decora style rectangular outlets which more closely match my design aesthetic. It was very exciting to get everything installed including my awesome ceiling light fixture (IKEA), loft outlet with USB ports and finally cutting a hole through my bathroom wall for the fan (quite an undertaking).

We wired up the panel last, connecting the ground and neutral wires to the panel and the hot wires to the breakers which clip into the panel. Next steps are bringing power out to the yard and then figuring how to connect my house. The current plan is to try out a 50 amp RV style power cord and see if I trip any breakers!

Check out my flickr for more photos :)

Directing Water: Gutters and Rain Chains

Well, this spring weather has certainly lived up to its often called schizophrenic nature with the number of dry windy days mixed with pouring buckets rainy days and very few of the typical Portland grey drizzle days. I finally decided my house was due for a gutter installation to help direct water away from the perimeter. I planned my house to have a rain screen and no overhangs since water is going to get behind the siding anyway in a climate like the PNW and because a 3" overhang will not do much to provide protection below. There is some debate about whether or not the roof can extend wider than the road legal limit but when I'm towing my house down the road, I don't want to worry about the overhang hitting things.

I probably should have put more thought into gutters when I was installing my metal roof but I wanted to wait to see what would happen with rain runoff without them. Since my house has a shed roof which slopes to the back, the water dripping off of the roof usually has enough momentum on the metal surface to shoot off and land away from my house. But some of the water drips from the roof down the siding, hitting the windowsills and the fenders. The splashback from the fenders has been somewhat worrisome so that is why I thought a gutter on the backside of my house would help. While it does help, rain has a way of falling in all kinds of directions and it looks like I will need to spend some more time problem solving another solution for that area. The wheel well on the front of my house will be covered by my solar panel awning so I'm not too concerned about doing anything there.

I connected with Taylor Metals who made my roof panels and flashing to see if they had any gutters to match my roof color. I learned that while they can make custom metal components, it is much easier and cost effective to buy generic gutter components. I decided to go with unpainted galvanized to add another visual element to the exterior. I'm sure there are more unique ways of creating a gutter and downspout system (like this one in Seattle) but I decided to keep it simple. I also considered installing a few connected rain barrels to the downspout but realized that a 55 gallon drum will fill up quickly and also drain quickly once a yard of plants needs watering. I have seen many people here use a rain barrel in conjunction with their disconnected downspouts mostly to direct water away from their homes, less so for watering plants in the summer. More effective would be a cistern which we are not planning to install on this site.

Installation was not too difficult with the aid of tin snips, a hacksaw, pliers and drill for the self-tapping screws which connected the pieces. I also used gutter sealant (which I'm pretty sure is just silicone) at the seams. I assembled the full gutter length on the ground (they come in 10' sections) and had a helper hold it in place while I screwed in the hidden hangers to attach the gutter to my fascia board. I waited a few days to install the downspout to ensure I had a good gutter slope. I cut the downspout to length with my circular saw and metal blade. I am impressed with my metal working progression. :)

I had a leftover section of gutter which was the perfect length for my bike/tool shed so I installed it on the low side after trimming the corrugated metal roof. I experimented with cutting a hole and installing a downspout drop there instead of buying another gutter section with the downspout drop already in place. Being inexperienced with gutter installs, I prefer to use the prefabricated component. 

I had looked into rain chains, found them expensive and not quite what I wanted so I decided to make my own. I purchased some stainless steel chain, nuts and bolts. Then, I cut off the tops of wine bottles left over from a party and stung them onto the chain upside down, sliding a bolt through a chain link and adding a nut to the end to let gravity hold the bottle in place. This was not quite the elegant design solution I was hoping for but it can be easily modified over time. I still need to shorten the chain at the bottom and add something at the base. I was thinking a watering can that would spray water onto the lawn.

Check out my flickr for more photos of yard projects!

Bike and Tool Shed

Happy Spring! Today I spent the morning at my volunteer gig with Friends of Trees, a local non-profit that brings the community together to plant and care for trees. We prepped for tomorrow's planting events of which I will be crew leading at one in a nearby neighborhood. So much fun! Then I walked back to my house and worked more soil to prep it for planting some native plants. I had already prepped and planted a section of the garden for some vegetables and yet another section awaits to be worked over. It's pretty exciting to see the garden transformations over time, especially after all the time spent pulling out weeds...especially the morning glory. For two people living on this site, there is abundant space for gardening which is why I am going to introduce some native plants and ground covers to lessen maintenance and to enhance aesthetics. Native plants are awesome because they adjust to the seasonal variations we experience, growing in wet, dry, cold and hot conditions without much help once established. The area I am creating will be outside my front door across the path so I will get to see it as I come and go.

Other than gardening, I built a small shed for my bike and tools over the tongue of my trailer. I used pier blocks as the foundation since they had worked well on our utility shed. I picked up cedar 4x4 posts and some cedar 2x4s from my favorite building materials place, BMR, along with some really cool old saw blades which I'm going to be using for my reclaimed wall project eventually.

I picked up some nuts, washers and bolts along with a couple of Simpson hardware brackets that I could use to attach the posts to the roof structure with bolts. Awesome find! I wanted to bolt the separate components together so that I could more easily take the structure apart for transport and reassemble. The pier blocks bolt to the posts which bolt to the roof structure. It's probably possible for one person to do themselves but for safety and ease, I enlisted my yardie, Eric, to help me with assembly.

But then I'm getting ahead of myself...Once I had all of the materials on site, I prepped the places for the two pier blocks by measuring off the trailer and house the desired distances and then digging out a shallow hole for each. I filled them in with a few inches of gravel, set the blocks in place, leveled them together and then continued on with the posts.

Since the posts were rough cut, I needed to notch each to receive the 3 1/2" wide post bracket. I've been getting pretty good at cutting with my circular saw so I used it to make the notches. It was a little bit tricky since I had to cut from both sides and then once on the face but it worked out just fine. I cut one post to 6 feet and the other to 8 feet and then 7'6" so it would closer match the slope of my house's roof.

I set each post in place to mark the location of the bolt hole then removed the posts and drilled the holes with a spade bit. I lined up the other Simpson brackets on the top side of the posts, drilled a hole for each and then attached them with the bolt, washer and nut. Next, I set the posts into the pier block brackets and bolted them in place.

To start the roof, I cut two 4' lengths of 2x4s and set them into the top brackets to mark and drill their bolt holes to temporarily position them in place while figuring out the slope. I braced a 2x4 to hold the posts the same distance apart as the pier blocks so they were plumb. The distance was shorter than 8 feet so I rested a 2x4 on top of the other 2x4s to mark the angle cut. Once I made the cuts on the two rafters, I test fitted them and then unbolted the two ends to put the roof structure together. I cut two 2x4s to place at approximately 24" o.c. to support the corrugated tin I had found for free on top.

I screwed the 2x4 frame together, squared it and then attached the corrugated tin with gasketed screws. When that was complete, we lifted it into place and secured the bolts. I added a couple of screws to attach the back 2x4 to my house so it would have a little bit more stability. 

Materials for this project cost $38. I found a used truck tool box on Craigslist for $140 so I U-bolted that to my trailer and packed in my tools. It's really great to have the extra floor space inside my house!

Design

A Little Bit of Everything #2

Wow, it's been a month since my last blog post! Sorry to keep you all wondering what I have been up to on what I am now calling the "micro house". I like the term "micro" because it goes beyond the term "tiny" since it offers a comparison, indicating something smaller that the average scale. My goal in building a micro house was not primarily to be part of a movement, but to build a simple, decent, affordable home where I could apply my experience in design and building to create a space that is my own. I work in the energy efficiency field as a home performance consultant and meet with homeowners every day. Listening to their concerns, needs and values, I realized that I did not need or want to maintain a larger space. It could be convenient to have a larger house, even just a two bedroom, so I could use that extra space to accommodate guests, as a yoga room or as a home office. But then I wouldn't be faced with the unique design challenge of living in a smaller space where everything (mostly) I own is meaningful and has its own place. Pretty neat. Ok, on to the house projects...

I have been working more at my job lately as well as setting more time aside to volunteer for causes I care about, exploring the outdoors and squeezing in some self care activities including hiking, aerial yoga, soaking and massage. This year, my educational goals are to get more involved with the aerial arts, practice raft guiding (from my training last spring) and learn how to weld (all types). I'm so excited to do all of these things but I've still got one main component of the house to complete: electrical. I have been doing some planning like calculating all of my appliance and plug loads and also mapping out where I want outlets and switches via post-it notes in those locations. We have been building a utility shed which will house the yard sub-panel. That is where I eventually will be plugging my house in for power. My yardie has an electrician friend who is helping us with our plans so more on that to come. 

I also have been talking to a friend who I met through Cycle Oregon this past fall about getting solar for my house. He had rigged up a solar charging trailer for the event so I figured he would be a great contact to help me design a portable system. I met with him today at his home to check out the components of the proposed system which was very exciting! The system will be stand-alone with batteries, not grid-tied, and I will be able to add on as necessary. Currently, I live in the middle of a city so I do not need solar for power but I like the idea of reducing my impact on the grid. I also plan to move to a more rural area in the next five years where I would like to be independent of grid power.

What else? I bought a small dehumidifier to help remove moisture (from breathing, cooking and from having a window cracked open for my extension cord) since I don't have my bathroom exhaust fan installed yet. Moisture hasn't really been an issue when it's just me spending time in the house but becomes more so when others are sharing the space. Guess I did a great job of air sealing and insulating! Anyway, the dehumidifier uses peltier technology, not a compressor, so it's barely audible. It can hold up to 16oz. of water before it needs to be emptied which I thought would be necessary every day or two but I can usually wait several days before it is even half full. I have it up in my loft at the moment which I think will actually be a good place to keep it.

Outside my front door, I added more dirt and set the feet of my steps on bricks so they are now level and not sinking into the ground at an odd angle. I scavenged the yard for random chunks of urbanite to use to make a patio of sorts in front of the steps which will hopefully help me drag less mud inside and also elevate that area so it's not a mud puddle when it rains. The ideal way to complete this process would be to dig out 4-6" of soil and create a level surface. Then lay down weed barrier, sand and/or gravel, the urbanite pavers and finally pebbles in between the chunks. Since I know what needs to go into that process and also taking into account the varying thicknesses of the urbanite, I decided to just set them in the dirt. This method actually took more time than I imagined it would since the pieces would rock if not packed tightly with soil. Eventually, I got them all in place and a few days later, I received a present of ground cover, Isotoma fluviatilis, from my yardie to fill in the spaces between the urbanite. It's a little bare at the moment but it should grow and extend to fill in.

That's all for now folks!

Bathroom Walls

For months, I have been trying to figure out what material would be best for my bathroom walls. Since the whole space is essentially a wet bath with a stainless steel shower pan beneath wood slats (the compost toilet on one side will be buffered from moisture with a shower curtain), I wanted all of the walls to have a waterproof finish. I had originally considered using stainless steel as well for the walls but felt apprehensive about the look and feel of so much steel in that space. It would also be a fairly expensive and complicated system to install involving custom bends, bracing and rivets. Many tiny housers use fiberglass shower enclosures since they are lightweight, inexpensive and easy to install. I'm not a huge fan of the aesthetics of fiberglass and those products don't really lend themselves to customization. Fiberglass reinforced panels (FRPs) exist, but after our experiment with them for the floor undercarriage, I was not eager to try them out again. Some people have used cement board, mortar and tile but I had concerns about the tile cracking during moves, also it's a heavier option. I had someone suggest to simply try a thin-set mortar with a latex additive which would be easy to patch when cracked. It would likely have the ability to be tinted but the finish wouldn't be a consistently smooth surface. Someone else suggested using Redguard over Hardie backer but that should only be used as a secondary waterproof surface behind mortar and tile. Others suggested cedar since it would look and smell wonderful, but it can be difficult to clean and I would be worried about moisture working its way into the seams and potentially into the wall cavities. A good solution for a short time was composite tongue & groove decking. It would be easier to keep clean than cedar but the downsides are that it's more expensive, difficult to find in that profile, and usually a thicker dimension (1" to 1 1/2") which would mean loosing some interior space. An interesting solution involved the use of glass or Plexiglas over a colored or patterned surface. The tricky part would be finding a way to attach that system. Finally, someone suggested building the bathroom like a boat with marine grade plywood and a marine grade epoxy resin coating. I liked this idea since it seemed approachable so I purchased some materials from Tap Plastics and did a test on a scrap piece of plywood.

The epoxy resin I used is a two part system with a 4:1 ratio consisting of a base and a hardener. The result is a clear finish unless you tint it with a color which is what I tried. It is somewhat difficult to get a smooth surface when spreading the mixture with a brush. On the test, I tried varying the thicknesses so I could more or less clearly see the wood grain of the rotary Fir. I liked the look of the lighter application but then learned that in order to coat it to the correct thickness with a color, you should not see the material pattern behind. So I could coat with clear to see the wood grain and use the screws for attaching the panels as design features. Then, a friend brought up the idea of epoxy paint so we went to Miller Paint and talked with a salesperson there about the project.

He recommended a waterborne epoxy two part system with a base and activator. They only offered a white base so I would have to choose a lighter color. I liked that idea more than the one about bold red walls. I chose a light yellow with a red tint after spending time going through an extensive paint sample pack. I ended up really liking the lighter color because it helps brighten up that space without needing a window or artificial light.

I looked into marine grade plywood from a few sources and chose to buy some 3/8" from Mr. Plywood which is where I purchased the wood for most of my framing. With the help of a friend, we measured and cut the five panels needed. Since I was trying to conserve material and save money, we used the three cut-off sections from the other panels to make the splined panel for the wall adjacent to the toilet and closet. That option also created a smoother wall surface with fewer visible seams and reduced the need for additional blocking. At the bottoms of the panels, we cut a rabbet on the backside so they could overlap 1/2" of the metal pan upturn. Before installing, I applied a bead of caulk to the rabbet to seal that seam. After installing, I applied another bead of caulk around the bottom perimeter as a double measure of sealing that joint. I used stainless steel screws to attach the panels to the studs and blocking, then filled them with spackle and sanded smooth after hardening.

Then it was time to paint! (I had applied a primer coat in the wood shop next door before installing.) I used a 1/4" nap mohair blend roller cover to apply the paint. The epoxy paint rolled on easily although I was skeptical after the first couple of coats if it was going to be capable of really filling in the shallow grooves in the plywood. Light sanding beforehand may have helped. I was told to apply at least 3 coats, 4 would be better. I had enough paint for 5 coats and a little left over for touch-up, so I figured why not, if only one last thing I would have to find a place to store.

The paint off-gassed more than expected since it was supposed to be low-VOC so I borrowed a small fan to move air around. Unfortunately, this cooled down the space when I wasn't running a heater (because I had the windows open) which made drying less ideal. I alternated between heating the house and ventilating it. A week later, the walls seem like they will be able to withstand water. The full curing time is at least 14 days so I will wait for a little while longer to test them out.

I'll be taking more photos in the next week as I wrap up the trim details and will post them in my flickr album!