Standing Our Tiny House Framing
Ordering & Organising
Our steel frame was supplied by the team at Steel Frame Solutions. The process was simple – we sent them a plan of what we wanted and they sent back a set of framing plans for us to check along with a 3d model. The plans were great for checking that dimensions were correct and windows were where we wanted them but what was really helpful was the 3d model. For the first time we could get a feel for the spaces within the house and whether we liked things like where we had positioned the windows.
Once we had finalised the plans, including what wind zone we wanted it designed for, it was a simple matter of going ahead & getting it manufactured & delivered. It was a super quick process and before we knew it the Steel Frame team was pulling up our driveway with a trailer load of walls! We hadn’t even received our trailer when they arrived so they sat in storage for a while, giving us time to think about the process of assembling them.
First up, we printed out a set of plans and started figuring out which pieces were what. Helpfully, the plans also showed the weights of each wall giving us an idea of how difficult each piece would be to move. We did a lot of theorising about which wall to put up first & what order to do things in. Our site has limited space so we had to consider how we would move each wall into place as well as how we would secure each wall until we got enough pieces up for the structure to stand securely on it’s own.
We came to the conclusion that standing a small piece first would be the best approach – not too difficult to hold in place while it was being secured. That particular small wall also happened to be located next to a building on site that we could attach some bracing to. Very handy!
Standing the walls & assembling the tiny house framing
Once we had the trailer on site & the floor ready to go, it was time to get the walls up. Time to call in the reinforcements. While initially we thought 3 people might be enough (the delivery guys told us they could do it with 2!), we eventually ended up with 5 people thanks to our lovely neighbours who came up at the last minute to give us a hand.
The day before we planned to stand the walls, we decided to get them out of storage & start organising them based on what pieces went where & what we would need first. This gave us a chance to look at all the pieces, see what it was like to move them around and also saved us time on the day. More space to spread them out would have been ideal but we made do with the areas we had available. We also set up some of our bracing for holding the walls up temporarily and went through our plans to number the panels in the order we wanted to put them up.
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The first part of the frame standing went smoothly. A small wall to start was definitely the way to go as we got to figure out what was required & how it was all going to work without the stress of trying to keep a heavy panel upright. Once the small, end wall was up & braced, we continued around the external walls, connecting & bracing as we went. The last piece to go in was the biggest – half of our back wall. We needed the assistance of our tractor to get that one up onto the trailer while standing it vertical.
In hindsight we shouldn’t have left the biggest piece until last – the other end wall would have been a better choice. We then could have got the big piece onto the trailer horizontally & stood it up without needing mechanical assistance. The end wall being much lighter could have then been manhandled into the remaining space.
So at the end of day 1 we had all 4 external walls up, braced & attached to the floor, although we were missing the overhung part of our eastern wall.
Day 2 came & we were back down to 3 personnel which was fine as all the remaining pieces were small interior walls or part height exterior walls. Although much easier to move around, the smaller pieces were more of a challenge to get into position. The more walls went in, the less space there was to fit other things in and as we spanned interior walls across the building, it became clear where things weren’t quite level or square. This is where accuracy really came into play. One wall that wasn’t quite right would lead to other walls or floors that didn’t fit. A slight bow in the upper levels of our long walls showed up with our bed base not sitting flush on it’s frame.
The lesson here – always check & re-check that your framing is square, plumb & level as you attach it and trust the dimensional accuracy of the framing. If we had trusted the framing we wouldn’t have had to take apart & reattach our bed!
Working on the upper levels was a bit tricky with no actual floor to work from but there was enough framing to stand on. We would recommend using some temporary ply to put across the framing to stand on though – much safer!
After 3.5 days and a few bits of re-work the tiny house frame was complete. From there is was a matter of putting in all the additional connections & bracing. Our very high wind zone required the addition of bracing straps to one of our end walls. We also had to go through & secure the framing through to the trailer with bolts at regular intervals & at specific locations next to bracing elements. It was a lot of work to drill through the steel floor in so many places but now that it’s done we can feel good about the structural integrity of the framing.
What Next?
We are really pleased with how it all came together and how easy it was to put together the steel frame. We can’t imagine having to use a timber frame. It would have been so much harder and SO much heavier. The framing company was quick & easily to deal with, the frame went together well and it all feels strong & durable.
With the framing now complete, our windows still in international waters somewhere and our roofing still going through the manufacturing process, it’s onto the thermal break, building wrap & cavity battens for the external walls. Hopefully by the time we get that all done, our roofing will have arrived & we can look forward to a slightly more waterproof building envelope.
