Tiny Timber Frame Office Project

It’s been a year since building my Tiny Timber Frame Office & it’s survived pretty good:

Tiny Timber Frame Office with stained glass windows — so magical at night

• there was no question about the style — the first home I bought was a Timber Frame home [oooh, I loved that house] & my studies in Medieval History only intensified my fascination

• the basic size was determined by the 10 ft. lengths of two old 1″x6″s used for the foundation, making the office 4 ft. x 6 ft. — yes, tiny!

• this baby is not permanent — the 1″x6″ base sits on 4 cement blocks & everything is screwed together [no nails anywhere] so it can be taken apart into separate panels

• walls, floor & roof are made of plywood either ½” or ¾”, with framing a collection of 1″x2″s, 1″x4″s, & 2″x4″s — almost all was new lumber

• the floor, ceiling & all of the framing were painted with a light golden stain to guard against moisture

• the two side windows [Dowel Opening Windows & Rainbow Window Opens Up View] are left-overs from my 2011-13 porch project while I simply cut a square piece of opaque glass for the door [I love the dark blue with the brown streaks through it]

 

While the dogs were not interested, Pardus certainly enjoyed the small space during construction.  Before the walls, he could survey his kingdom — before the door, it was a great snoozing spot — after that, not his style of castle.

• the walls & ceiling are insulated with light-weight 1″ styrofoam sheets — the R-value is definitely not as high as you’d want in a home but it works well here on the Isle where winters rarely go below 0° C [a small, $20 fan heater warms it plenty in cooler temps]

• inside is a plywood corner desk along the back & under the shorter window — skinny bookshelves fit along the each side-wall beside the door

• for computer hardware, there’s an electrical outlet below the desk with the wiring leading to a connector on the outside wall — from there, a 3-prong, outdoor extension cord connects to the house’s outdoor outlet

• mega years ago, I picked up a bathroom light with two sconces from a hardware store discount table for the bargain price of $8 simply because I liked the bronzed metal & ivory patterned glass — turned upside down so the bulb light faces the ceiling, the office has plenty of light at night

• the exterior walls were primed in a mold-resistant white [$10 from Habitat for Humanity ReStore] with the 2nd coat a regular outdoor paint

• the exterior trim was stained in dark brown to complete the style of a medieval timber frame building

• the door is Dutch-style with a 10″ ledge attached to the bottom half & is hung with black, gate hinges

• the back wall is approximately 4″ lower than the front wall so the roof has a slight angle for rain to run towards the back

• as well as the two coats of paint, the roof is covered with Coreplast [corrugated plastic sheeting], with two brown trim boards running lengthwise — there are no trusses or rafters & it’s not shingled [yup, not how a ‘proper’ roof is supposed to be built]

Of course, anybody with any construction knowledge would find tons of problems but since neither me nor Reddy, my redneck carpenter, had any framing or house-building experience, we’re pretty darn proud of our Tiny Timber Frame Office.

 

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Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design

Functional glass art on Vancouver Isle

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