As per the usual I was on Craigslist yesterday perusing the "Free" section. I just happened to go over to "Materials" for a brief look, and what do I see but an ad for a good bit of tongue and groove wall paneling. Is worth putting a bid on? Is it enough in dimension to take care of our needs? It has been my idea to paint the lower level of the tiny house white and have exposed wood for the ceiling. I have seen a few tiny houses done this way and I love the look.When I mentioned this to Matt, he said, in that case, yes we should contact the seller of this wood. He did some basic math to see what the amount we were looking at and what that would cover in our tiny house. Once he was satisfied on the numbers, he replied to the ad, and received a reply. The man selling the paneling took it out of a house that he deconstructed. He saved the wood in hopes to use it, however now he needed the the space and thought it would be a long time until he could possible use paneling. Due to those dilemmas he posted the ad to sell the paneling. He invited us to come have a look at it yesterday. He gave us the address and mentioned that we would know the place when we saw it. That sounds intriguing doesn't it!
Upon arrival the man, Dustin, pulled up behind our car. We were infront of a large building of wood and metal, built to conserve in every possible way. Dustin is in grad school for architecture and drew the plans for the house. His brother and him, built the house from 2008 and it is still under construction. Here is the link to the house
http://pdxlivingbuilding.com
He escorted us to the side of the building to unveil the pile of paneling. Possible made of birch, most pieces were 3.5" by 15'. It was all striped and denailed by his hands. He did alot of work, althought there is quite a bit more work yet to be done. We talked about it for awhile, agreed on a price and set about getting a truck to bring it home. Matt and I live with one small car. We have put loads of things into the back that we bet would not fit, but in this case, there was no way. I rented a uhaul for the last load of plywood, and I rented another one for today.
Here it is piled in the garage. It is ready to be sanded or planed. The pic below is one board planed.
It is rather handsome with all those electrifying waves.
I wanted to mention that so far we have spent very little money and look for recycled materials as much as possible. From day one, I have kept a journal, documenting the price paid along with contributor's contact information. When we do finish building our tiny house, we are going to throw a party, where all contributors will be invited. I am adding Dustin to the list. Thank you for salvaging this stack of wonderful beauty.
