Projects on the Side

As we prepare to order our first two trailers amidst the delay with the USA-Canada Border Closure we will keep busy with side projects. The first is a a Douglas Fir Bench made with material grown and custom milled on Denman Island. The two pieces used for the bench seat and bench back came from a 16 foot piece of 2 inch x 16 inch Douglas Fir. The two pieces for the bench supports came from two individual pieces of wood that were 3 inches thick, 14 inches wide and 8 feet long.

The material for the two bench supports had been sitting out in a cow pasture on Denman Island, while the seat back and bench came from a piece of material that was being used as scrapwood to walk on while building a hay shed. The first step was to cut the material to rough dimensions and start planing. On the first day of the planing process, it became apparent why they called timber that had not been dried sufficiently "green wood!" The pieces that had been lying in the ground in the cow pasture were in fact green when they went through the planer. So, it was decided to leave them for a few months to dry out over the summer.

When I came back to plane the wood in the fall the material was in much better condition and a lot drier. The material was planed, cut to dimension, shaped, sanded and put together.

Start-Up

 We have initiated the process and identified where we will purchase our first trailer from. Iron Eagle Trailers was originally mentioned to us by Peter Gledhill when we first started exploring the idea of trying to build or create a tiny home on a trailer. Peter is 75% of the way through building a tiny home for himself and has known both Mike and Shel for some time. Mike and Shel used to coach Peter in youth soccer, and now find themselves seeking advice from him regarding the initial stages of building or creating a tiny home on a trailer. Iron Eagle Trailers is located in Fairview, Oregon, which is 10 miles from Portland, Oregon.

https://www.ironeagletinyhousetrailers-mobile.com/ 

The first challenge we are going to face is bringing a trailer across the USA-Canada border in the coming months as the border is currently closed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. If we were to process and order today it could be ready for deliver in 6 weeks, however, the USA-Canada border has been closed for several months. It will now be difficult to determine if we place and order if we can actually retrieve the trailer. 

Time will tell. 

In beginning the research on our tiny home there are several vital resources available on the internet. For instance, when I googled  "Importing A Trailer From the US Into Canada" the following link came up:

https://www.morehawes.co.uk/tiny-living/tiny-resources/importing-a-trailer-from-the-us-into-canada

Whether we have done this before or not, there is a tremendous amount of information available in the popular media that will allow us to learn as much as we can before engaging on the product. Iron Eagle Trailers was able to provide several useful links for building the tiny home on the trailer which will be very useful:

Iron Eagle Tiny House Trailer
Tiny House Floor Construction
Updates to Iron Eagle Tiny House Trailer
Insulation Tips & Techniques
Why Builders Use Iron Eagle trailers
The Tiny Nest website

 

So, away we go! 

 

Trailer has been identified, now we wait on making the purchase until we can determine the delivery date and access to the USA-Canada Border. Once we have this information the trailer will be paid for and ordered. In the meantime we can and will start exploring the design and materials that will make our tiny home on a trailer unique rustic. 

 

About the Builders

 

Mike Rogers is an experienced cabinet maker, who has been handling and working with wood his entire life. Millimeter Mike is an extraordinary craftsmen with a precise and intelligent eye for small spaces. His best work comes in fitting unique and rare craftsmanship with rustic materials into modern construction. In his free time, Mike enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, gardening, camping and fishing.

Shel Brodsgaard is an avid builder with an eye for combining heritage materials and design with modern living. In the past ten years Shel has added on the an original "Dr. Suess Hippie House" on Denman Island, BC and "built a new house on an old house" in Cumberland, BC. This project took a 100 year old derelict home and turned it into a charming and cozy updated home with a combination of unique heritage character and charm. In his free time, Shel enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, raising animals on a 10-acre hobby farm, playing tennis and reading.

Both Mike and Shel enjoy utilizing rustic materials in their building and will capitalize on their local timber supply in which pieces will be custom milled for each and every project. Flooing. Counters. Shelves.