Finally! A bathroom!

This is a momentous occasion for the homestead! Finally, after four years, we will once again have a full bathroom. I cannot even begin to express my excitement at the idea of having some privacy and a door that actually locks! When you embark on an adventure such as this, you know you will have to make some sacrifices and compromises. Some you expect and some you don't but you never truly appreciate some of the little things in life until you have to do without them for a while.

It took us a little while to get the area cleaned up where the new building would go. We decided to place it at the end of the shed so that we wouldn't have to go too far to get to it. We considered placing it behind the one we are living in or at the very end of the building with the porch facing the road but we felt that it would be too inconvenient when the weather is bad. We decided against joining the buildings because they have different roof lines and you never know if we will want to move the building at some point in the future. 

I first saw one of these buildings when I went with our new neighbor, Karin from Rancho No Dinero, to look at some buildings or her property. A building of this size is listed as a "playhouse". The outside dimensions are 8x12 but the interior is 7x7. When we first saw one of these buildings she commented that it would be perfect for a bathroom. I agreed and it set the wheels to turning in my little brain.

We wanted a painted building because the paint lasts longer than the stains put on the building. We ordered this one and had to wait two weeks for it to be built. In the pictures the paint looks gray but we had it painted a taupe color with almond trim. We also went with a metal roof to make it easier for collecting rain water. The building on the lot had a wooden door but we went with a steel door so that it will close easily and it has a lock!

As you can see from the picture above, a shed is brought in on a flat bed truck and it simply slides off into place. Once he has the building on the ground it can be leveled. We thought we might need to have some blocks to level the building but he brought some scrap wood from the plant that was used to bring the building level. 

He used a standard jack to lift the building and of course checked it with a level. As you can see the backs of the buildings are not even. We did this so we wouldn't lose the window on the larger shed by looking out and only seeing a wall. 

Of course, no sooner was the building of the truck than the kids had to go check it out. 

 Here is a picture of the inside from the doorway. As you can see, it isn't very large but it will do very nicely for a bathroom. We can put a standard size tub in it with a vanity and the composting toilet. Like so many projects on a homestead, this one will be completed a little at a time. It will take a few months before it is done 100% but hopefully we will be able to put it to use even before it is completed.

And here she is! The latest edition to the homestead. eventually we would like to build a deck between the buildings with a cover. We left about four feet between the buildings so we can get to the air conditioner and it will also give us a place to stack firewood close to the door. Stay tuned for updates. Hopefully this little project will show you how you can convert a shed into more than something for storage.

One project down...

Woohoo! We finally have one project done! Mostly. My hubby finished the storage shed a few weeks ago although it's still not very pretty to look at. We still have to put shingles on the roof and some kind of siding on it but at least it's functional. We spent all day Sunday cleaning out the tent where we have been storing several boxes that we didn't have room for in storage. We ended up throwing a good bit of stuff away and condensed down how many boxes we had. I'm happy to have that stuff in the storage shed but we still have to get everything else out of our paid storage. Hopefully by the end of next month we'll have all of that stuff here.

The great thing about this shed is that almost all of it came from salvaged lumber. We bought the door at a Habitat for Humanity store for $15 and it's solid wood. We also got the felt paper there for the roof. We did have to buy a few 2x4's but that's about it. It is 8x10 feet with 8 foot walls. We also put in two small lofts on either side for storing smaller items.

Now that this is functional the husbandly unit has started on the floor for the bathroom. He has gotten some framing done and dug some of the holes for the support posts for the floor. Hopefully it won't take as long as the shed did but at least we've gotten started on it.

I also forgot to tell you guys about the great potato harvest! A few weeks ago when we got first couple of hard freezes the potato plant started to die so we decided it was time to dig it up. It did make two small potatoes but that was it. I was impressed it did anything at all! Ah well, it was an experiment and a learning experience. We will probably use the tire method again in the spring and hopefully with some good seed potatoes.




The Great Potato Harvest

We have almost finished putting up the drywall. It stays pretty warm with our two little heaters so we have been pretty comfortable. I wish we had the chimney for the wood stove because I hate running the heaters all the time but we are having to do things in baby steps. That may be our next big purchase and then I hope to start putting money back for the pump for the well. I'm hoping that by spring or summer at the latest to have that in. Bringing water home has become an everyday task and I don't think I'd know what to do to not have to do it anymore!

Next on the project list is the bathroom of course, building the raised garden beds and a chicken coop. There are several other projects but those are the top ones for now. Until next time I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year!