Tiny Bungalow

Our plan is for our tiny house to have a Arts and Crafts / Mission sort of look. To that end, I slapped together a mock up of the porch light fixture.



The final one will look a bit different, but will have the same sort of aesthetic.



See! The electrical system actually works!

Electrical complete

While working on the electrical system, I wrote a number on each wire and kept detailed notes about where each wire started and ended, as well as any details about junction boxes. In the first picture, you can see the start of this list and some of the rough wiring.



In this one, where the wiring is complete, you can see how much the list grew.



Finally, we hooked up a 30 amp recepticale and and tied it into a 110 extension cord. When we plugged it in, we tested all the outlets and switches and everything worked!



What I didn't know is that it might have better to hookup the switches and outlets after finishing the inside walls. Now we'll have to tape them. But it did give me great satisfaction to have it all done.

Electrical Map:

(click for larger version)

Up next is windows.

Electricity

Some things just take longer than you think they will. I've been working on the electrical system for our tiny house (so we should have a tiny electrical system, right?) for a few days now, and it is still not done. Part of the time was spent consulting with my friend Mike, who is an electrician. We started by creating a list of our electrical needs.


From this list we find that we can do pretty well with just 15 Amps (a good heavy duty extension cord). But we are wiring it for 30 Amp capacity. We will still be able to plug into a standard outlet, but we could take advantage of a 30 Amp outlet too. Once we had the list, we made map of wires, outlets, lights, switches and the circuit breaker box and junction boxes. Then I got to work.



Certainly, drilling holes, running wire and connecting up the circuit breaker box took a long time, but one of the biggest time drains was going to the store.



I'd get moving along and realize I need a certain kind of connector, or I'd run out of wire. I never tried to figure out how much wire I'd need. I assumed the leftover roll of romex 14 gauge wire that we got for free was enough. When it wasn't, I bought another 50 feet. Then another. But it does make sense. The trailer is 18 feet long and the wires go up and down and from this light switch, to that light...



Anyway. I have completed what my friend Mike calls the "rough wiring". I still need to skin the wires and hookup the switches and outlets. The light fixtures will come a bit later.