For now, everything has been going so smoothly. But I was stuck for a while working on the connections between the wood structure and the metal trailer. Most Tiny Houses use a version of bolt-and-plate connections: a metal plate on top of the floor structure, a metal plate on the bottom of the trailer structure, and bolts to hold them together. In fact, the importer who sold me the trailer offered to sell me these assemblies. But I didn't know if the dimensions were appropriate for my construction and I thought I could make my own.
I tried first with pieces that had round holes- I found some brackets at the hardware store that had the correct sized holes and cut them apart to make plates. I put some threaded rod through the holes and a bolt on each end. But then I realised that a bolt on each end doesn't work, because trying to tighten one bolt loosens the other one. So I put a cap bolt (the bottom version in the picture below) on the top side.
Since this looked a bit fragile with only two rods, I did a test with four. But that meant drilling extra holes in the plates I had bought- that took a long time!
After that, I remembered that the importer had told me that it might be necessary to tighten the connections after moving the trailer, in case the structure settles or moves a tiny bit. The way I had built the connections, they would be hidden in the wall and inaccessible. I realised that I needed plates that would hold the bolts in place so I could tighten them from the bottom without them spinning around. I found some bolts with square heads- but that meant I needed plates with square holes. Luckily, I found a metal-cutting company that cut for me the plates in 5mm steel, for 5 francs a piece!
It was a bit of a wrestling match to get the bottom plates on all four bolts, as they tended to splay out going through the floor. And I had to re-order some pieces with slightly bigger holes. But in the end, I managed to put in all six assemblies that were hidden in the walls. I spent a lot of time lying on my back under the trailer!
Due to the trailer shape, I also had six anchors that are not in the wall but closer to the middle of the floor. For these I decided I would just cut holes in the floor so I could access them from the top. They are in places that are not visible (under the bed and behind the kitchen) so I decided this was the best option.
I tried first with pieces that had round holes- I found some brackets at the hardware store that had the correct sized holes and cut them apart to make plates. I put some threaded rod through the holes and a bolt on each end. But then I realised that a bolt on each end doesn't work, because trying to tighten one bolt loosens the other one. So I put a cap bolt (the bottom version in the picture below) on the top side.
Since this looked a bit fragile with only two rods, I did a test with four. But that meant drilling extra holes in the plates I had bought- that took a long time!
After that, I remembered that the importer had told me that it might be necessary to tighten the connections after moving the trailer, in case the structure settles or moves a tiny bit. The way I had built the connections, they would be hidden in the wall and inaccessible. I realised that I needed plates that would hold the bolts in place so I could tighten them from the bottom without them spinning around. I found some bolts with square heads- but that meant I needed plates with square holes. Luckily, I found a metal-cutting company that cut for me the plates in 5mm steel, for 5 francs a piece!
It was a bit of a wrestling match to get the bottom plates on all four bolts, as they tended to splay out going through the floor. And I had to re-order some pieces with slightly bigger holes. But in the end, I managed to put in all six assemblies that were hidden in the walls. I spent a lot of time lying on my back under the trailer!
Due to the trailer shape, I also had six anchors that are not in the wall but closer to the middle of the floor. For these I decided I would just cut holes in the floor so I could access them from the top. They are in places that are not visible (under the bed and behind the kitchen) so I decided this was the best option.
 |
| The trailer plan with the location of the anchors |
Comments
Post a Comment