Building my tiny house: installing windows

I am so excited to share this next milestone in my tiny house build: WINDOWS!

I purchased these windows months ago because I was concerned about not getting them in time due to shortages. Ha! They arrived in plenty of time. I ordered these Andersen Windows from Home Depot, who offered me a decent price. The specialist who helped me, Jodi, was also the most helpful person ever. She asked all the right questions even though this was the first time I ever had to purchase windows. The window break down:

• 72″ x 28″ sliding windows for the bedroom/loft area (x2)
• 20″ x 20″ awning window for the bathroom
• 60″ x 44″ sliding window for the office area (the front of the tiny house)
• 60″ x 40″ sliding window for the living room (the back of the tiny house)
• 48″ x 40″ sliding window for the kitchen (short side of the tiny house)
• 34 1/2″ x 34 1/2″ skylights (x2)

First, we had to cut out the plywood where the windows needed to go. With the help of a zippy saw and a jigsaw, we were able to do this. Lots of sawdust. Lots of making sure we didn’t cut into the frame. But, we did it!

Next step was to add the flashing tape. After watching a million and one YouTube videos about window flashing, I was fairly confident with this one. Basically, you want to make sure that water can always flow away from the house. First, I put a piece of tape along the bottom of the frame. Then, we needed to nail the window in.

After unboxing the window, we applied caulking directly on the nail plate for the window. While I stood inside, Doug and Phil made sure the window was nice and center within the frame. We used small pieces of wood as shims as well. Nailing in the window was kind of a pain, mostly because I have terrible aim. The hammer is not my friend. I was really nervous that I would hit the window. I used a small piece of wood to act as a shield. This worked… for the most part. 😛

After the window was nailed in, I put the side pieces of tape over the nail plate. The final piece of tape went along the top over the side pieces. This took us several days, but each window was an easy 1 to 2 hour job. I would go over to Doug’s after work to install a window throughout the week or so.

For the windows that were going to be where there’s cedar siding, we had to build a trim. I was able to use spare cedar from the siding and made a simple frame for the windows. Then, we stapled them to the sheathing. All the other windows will be in the metal siding, and I’ll use J-trim for those when it’s time.

As a bonus, I also boxed in the wheel wells. This is the part of the trailer on the inside of the house that is covering the wheels. My goal was to create a box out of plywood and leave enough gap for a 1″ piece of foam board insulation. I got about 75% of it right! I used spray foam to fill in any gaps. I used pocket holes to attach the box to the floor sheathing. Overall, it was not very fun, but I was proud when I finished! I used the table saw and everything.

(Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the skylights. These will go in after we put in the siding and before the roofing.)

Check out the action below!