Shivering in the Cold

I am currently in a rent house.

It’s a nice rent house and I have a great landlord.

But I am shivering.

The house is a 1930’s cottage: With little or no insulation in the floors, walls or ceiling/attic space. 

This is one area I am now firmly convinced that I will be spending enough money on so that I will have a warm in the winter and cool in the summer vardo. 

Spray Foam will be in my future!

With good windows too.

Happy New Year everyone!

One welding class done

Just a quick update to let you know, I finished my welding class with an 'A'

My instructor suggests I take TIG welding next term.

Then the Prefabrication. and Layout class. But seeing how I really need to start working on my PhD.

I"m not sure I'm going to have time.  

I want one.

So I have been sick for the last week and getting nothing done on anything really.

Trolling through clips of Pennsic I find the following cottage on wheels

Now this is truly beautiful. I wouldn't mind something like this.

Welding Class going well. Random Thoughts...

I have been to three of my welding classes, there will be 14 more to go.

Our first test on material in the book is this next Friday. That's a week earlier than what was in the syllabus because we are moving along so well. My instructor (the welding guy from previous posts) seem to think that I'm doing well on the practical portions of the class at least. I think, that he thinks that he's going to turn me into a welder. If I do, it won't be stick welding, my arms are to short.

So I'm doing some sewing and working on a build list this weekend; I'm online to make an update post here, but first I checked my email on yahoo. There on yahoo is this article on living only on social security in a person's old age.  (And I know that it is being published at a time to scare or shock people so close to the U.S. elections Or blame President Obama or the republican nominee, I didn't look that hard to figure it out.)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tightwire-act-living-only-social-154206642.html

That's not the point: What I got out of it was...

This article is describing my mother and many more like her.
And I started to wonder is this what is in my future too?
I too am living paycheck to paycheck, having only just paid off my student loans, and am working hard to pay off the rest of my debts. I have a small emergency fund in the bank but Social Security and my Teacher Retirement Fund will be all I have when I retire.

So, should I be building a tiny house instead of vardo?
Or, should I make the vardo as large as I can because I may need to live in it one day.
If I make a tiny house I could make it look like a Danish Half Timber affair.

I'm just going to work on the welding class and the base before having to make more important decisions.

Sigh.

100th Post

In honor of the 100th post...

And because I'm still waiting on the welding....

I've signed up at my college for the Introduction to Welding Course.

Because if I can't get the welders at the college to do it for me, I'LL DO IT MYSELF.

Does anyone know where you get a welding helmet, jacket, steel toe boots and gloves.

Size small?

http://www.aws.org/w/a/

UPDATE: First class today... I had the wrong book, the wrong helmet and the wrong gloves...And the first thing out of my professor was... "I knew I wasn't going to get away from that trailer..."

But other than that...Everything is great!

A Door

So I was able to wander into my local-ish Habitat for Humanity Re-Store today.

and I found...

The perfect door for the Vardo!

Yes, I'll have to build a door jam for it, plus purchase hardware, and have an expert to install it...
(I would like it to work correctly, and I'm only at a basic carpentry level if you know what I mean...)

But for the whopping price of $45 plus tax it a deal I couldn't pass up.

The size is 24 X 80.  Yes, that is one foot wide double pane insulated glass right down the middle!

The other side is white and I'll stain the interior you see in this pic with a light wood stain to show off the grain.

But it also means I'll have to figure out exactly what I'll need in my kitchenette area, because at 24 inches wide I may not be able to get cabinets in the Vardo after the door is installed so purchasing them before I am ready might be a nessesity.

I'll be picking it up on Saturday as I had a full load in my truck already on the way home.

200 days til Gulf War and I feel like I'm getting something done, Finally!

UPDATE: 8/25/2012: The door has been picked up from Habitat for Humanity. A shop keeper in town lent me an extra blanket to make sure the door came home in one piece, because he needed a blanket that the Re-Store lent him just the day before, returned.
Life is funny that way.
Off to learn how to rough out frame a door.

Welder's AHOY

The original welder from work is back on campus after summer break!

He has been giving all the information about the build.

Again...

I have explained, that a) the guy he sent me too, dropped the ball and b) didn't send me to anyone who could do the job either.  Next that I was not happy, and that I really wanted to wring someones neck but that I'm not into violence.

So I went over the plans, explaining my slight modification so it will be even easier to do... I need holes for the carriage bolts etc. several times, plus told him that either he helps with the welding and SOON OR he gives me the name of a welder he trust.

He promises that he'll work it into the welding class as the first project.

At this point, I'm not even going for 'done' on the vardo. I'll take it partially built as long as it is fully enclosed and weather tight so I can take it down the highway, I can work on the inside later.

I have only 206 days until Gulf War.

On the good side, I've joined the local SCA chapter* and have someone who has volunteered to share the gas costs to Gulf War in Mississippi. ( If this thing ever gets off the ground.)

*Dragonsfire Tor!

Working the Free Wood.

A picture of the free wood getting cleaned up. The delay was due to work again. I got so discouraged with progress, I went out an bought a 2x4 last week just so I could say I was doing something. I am carving time out of my schedule at this point to work on the Vardo. Plus I can only work on it early in the morning as the temperature outside by noon is a nice toasty 100 to 104 Degrees (that's 37.7 to 40 Celsius).

And just in case you thought free wood is easy...

This is a pic of one of the free pieces, while the photo does not show it well, but the whole 2x4 twists in almost a 45% angle to the left through its entire length. I'll have to find and take the best part of a straight pieces out of it or used it for fire wood. So word of advice, check your 2x4's etc. before you leave the lumberyard.

I'll be checking out another new construction site in town this week for possibly more free wood and at the  the semi closest Habitat for Humanity's Re-Store for more wood 2x4's or 2x6's on Wednesday.

But this gets stalled due to the fundamental problem of welding. All the wood in the world won't get attached to the frame without the holes needed to secure the foundation to the trailer with carriage bolts.  Welding at this point is still in a holding pattern.

224 days to Gulf War...

Off the back burner!

The reason(s) that I put the Vardo on hold.... will continue into the foreseeable future.

So holding off on the project has
a) been of driving me crazy &
b) not going to make a difference to the time space continuum.

Where to restart then becomes the question.

Plans for the (rest of the) weekend.

1. Sort and clean up the wood from the construction site. (Half done at this time...)

2. Take detailed measurements of the trailer & comparing them against the Vardo plans. (And I'm thinking that the plans will have to be tweaked.)

3. Create a tentative building materials list. 

4. Annoy the welders.

5. Still not telling my mother.

Pics of the wood pile tomorrow.

Update: I had to work until late tonight.. pics coming soon.
(And I bought a 2x4 just to say I was doing something.)

On Hold

Due to circumstances beyond my control, my building a vardo will be placed On Hold  indefinitely.

Thank you for all of you who have been watching my little blog about my vardo, and I hope to continue with the build at some future date.


Update:  May 13th 2012

For those that might be interested in why the Vardo is on hold. The situation at work continues to be vicarious, thus placing my Vardo dreams in suspension. If the situation changes, then I can not be in the middle of the build should I need to move on. Which leaves me two options. Continue to purchase materials to build and hope. OR simply bank the funds for better days. I'm going with the banking the funds option.

Wood and a Wood Update.

Ok so I still have no welder:

But the wood that has been sitting over at the construction site just rotting unless we get it out of the rain and dried out:

Is free to a good home. I know what I'm doing tomorrow!

Also, There are no pics because I lost my phone in Austin and am waiting until I get it back. Sorry folks.

UPDATE: There is a lot more wood in that wood pile then I thought. I have grabbed quite a bit.  Now more than 90% will have to be cut down as the ends have clusters of nails though them. Using them for wall support or stabilizing boards I suspect.   I may even go back for a second load before it rains.

"A welder a welder my kingdom for a welder" Richard III  Act 5 scene iv. (Sort of)

Home at last:

With the help of a friend who has been backing up trailers for years, I was able to get the trailer out of the back lot of the college and home in the garage.

I'll get a picture here when it is light out tomorrow.

I am officially on vacation for two weeks so I'll be working on (Instead of building the floor...) the welding I need done. I think it might have been faster if I'd have signed up for the fast track welding class at the college and then I could have done it myself.

Other than getting everything out of the boxes and sorted, I'll be sewing and working on the vardo.

UPDATE: Sewing going well, but still no welder on the horizon. Will continue to try to find one. Sigh.

Will Wednesday ever come

So I went down and talked to the second welding instructor. Asking him only for a referral for a welder in the area.

He said, "Now wait a minute, let me check with the guys' (i.e. the guys in the three classes he is teaching), 'to see if any of them could used the money."

I will track him down on Wednesday to find out if anyone can help, and if NOT if he can finally give me a referral!!

No Welding Today

So I got to my welder.

"I'm really sorry but...."

For various reason's he won't be able to do the welding, but I should check with the 'other' school welder on Monday... Which I will because if I don't he'll (The First Welder) hear that I didn't talk to him (The Second Welder). Which will probably lead to "I'm to busy.." I hope because then I won't have to wait again for the second welder at the school to work it into his class schedule. Because IF he had called me at the first week of class when he knew there was going to be a problem I could have talked to the second welding teacher and MAYBE, he could have worked it into his class schedule.

Relief: Now that  I know that I have to hire a welder, I might be able to get back on schedule to work on the vardo during spring break!

Quick Update

The welder will be back on Friday the 24th so I should know what's what by then.

No movement: Thinking about the roof.

So I dashed over to the welders tonight to see him about getting the welding done in time for my vacation so I could take the two weeks I have coming to get things going.

There is no one there. So either they cancelled class tonight or it's on different night this term. Annoyed, I returned to work. I'll take on the whole welding problem tomorrow. 

So for now during my vacation,m I plan on working on the two long walls and starting to build the trusses for the roof.  Its the roof that I'm thinking about in this post. A curved roof for a vardo is lovely, but it may be beyond my skill and tool level to build. I am thinking of putting a traditional roof on and turning the Celtic Vardo into a Viking Longship. It would be easier to build and would provide me extra storage in the rafters above the living areas.

Now what would I do to make the rest of the outside to look appropriate.

This is still all conjecture of course, until the welding gets done. Deep sigh.

The good news is that the kiggies are running around the house in victory laps and are much MUCH happier.

In the new house

I'm in the new house and completely exhausted. I am sorting out boxes as fast as I can and purchasing building materials for the vardo.

Which continues to sit un-welded at the welders....

One step forward and three back;

292 days til Texas Ren Faire: This year I will go in comfort!

26 days until my two week vacation when I can do (alot of ) the build.

On as side note the laptop is starting to die, so I may have to get a new one soon.

Still waiting on the welder; Decision made.

The hummingbird still sits at the college waiting on the welder to do his magic.

I am starting the packing to move to the new rent house, which is annoying the cats a great deal. :)

After consulting with three people I trust to give me an honest opinion, I've decided that as much as I like the thought of having a tiny house, what I really will continue to need is a vardo. The original reasons I planned on building one still stand, and while I will not be able to make it to Gulf War this year, there still is the Texas Renaissance Festival which is ONLY 313 days away. Plus a great deal of camping can be done between now and then. :)

Thinking:

Ok,

I got a 5x14 trailer: The Hummingbird pictured previously.

It still sits and nothing has happened on the welding end of things.

So it's given me a moment or three weeks to think and ponder the following question. 

With the economy this bad, should I build a tiny house instead of the vardo?

With this question in my mind I wondered, what would going to a tiny house cost me, on first the trailer level and then the cost of construction.  So I started at the beginning. I wandered over to Tri-Tex and asked the question. 

To turn in the new trailer and reorder a 7x14 will cost me about 400 dollars, and then factor in the cost of getting the new trailer, tax, title and licensed...about 600 bucks...

So, I'm thinking.

Any comments?

A place to do the BUILD: HUZZAH

Ok,

As anyone that has been reading my blog knows, I'm living in the rent house from BROWN,

Where the landlord will not allow me to do the build. An additional problem with the rent house is that it is small, brown, within 20 feet of the back door of the landlord's house, brown, with in 10 feet of the small efficiency on the other side, brown, very Very Very loud 75 yards away from the rail road tracks and well, did I mention it is brown*?

So today I and my assistant were driving into town to go to lunch and there was this sign outside a house on Main Street: FOR RENT.

We stopped the truck and called the number and the lady that answered, was actually in the house cleaning up from the last renter.

The major questions that came up before we talked money.

Q: Are Cats a problem?  A: Bring them along. :)

Q: Can I put a trailer in the garage in the back and work on it? : A: As long as the City doesn't have a problem we don't.

At which point I was invited to walk through the house: 2 Bed : 2 Bath,  and asked for an application.

My assistant went off and had lunch, and I filled out the application.

After lunch I returned with the application and a check for the deposit.

Ms. Mary took a look at my application and the fact that I had money in hand and rented me the place!!!


I HAVE A PLACE TO DO THE BUILD!!!!

I'll pay for an extra week in January so that I can move the cats out of this house and into the new house but HAPPY DANCE ENSUES!!!

UPDATE: 1-14-2012 The keys to the new house have arrived! And so it begins...

*Brown: The exterior has been painted, the interior carpet was chosen as it was, the walls were installed, wood paneling, Dark wood paneling, the bathtub is green and the kitchen flooring is Brown.

Another step backwards:

So I went back to go back to work today, happy to finally see my humming bird ready for painting this weekend, if the weather holds and then I can start working on the subflooring. 

And what do I find?  A finished welding job?

Nope: hasn't even been started. The  last picture is still the correct image.

I'll call the welder sometime tomorrow and ask what is going on.

So instead of trying to start the build this weekend, I am now how many weeks away from starting.

AAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!