Renovating A Small Home In Alaska (Part 2)

As those of you who read my first post remember, I renovated this little Quonset Hut over a Square over a Trailer in the Fall and Winter of 2000 in Fairbanks, AK. The first part of the work was to get the kitchen, bathroom and work space done. That was the trailer half. Now I will fill you in on the rest of the house.

First off, I never did finish the bedroom, although I did have a bed and dresser in there, plus the closet you see shared with the hot water heater. Needless to say, in a small house there is very little, if any, space to waste. That was also true of clothing, so I didn't have much to try and find room for. The bed was a makeshift that you would all find truly frugal. I only wish I have a shot of it.

Living close to a liquor store has other advantages besides liquor. I was able to get boxes all the same size, fill them with empty bottles all the same size, and make a base for my bed. I just needed six, and an old door. Voila! The mattress was a freebie from the local recycling center that I mentioned in the first essay. I spent $3.00 on sheets and bought a $5.00 electric blanket and I was set. The bed was really comfy when my Husky/Malamute mix baby girl Salsha let me have any room, that is.

The "box" that was built over the trailer was basically a big rectangle. That allowed for an "entryway" into the bedroom or trailer part. I wanted to separate the bedroom from the rest of the house, as the angle was in line of site when you came into the house.

I bought some 2X4's and with one of the few tools I bought, cut them so there was a framed out wall with an entry way. I did not need to be fancy since the door was just going to be a curtain, but I did have to make sure the 4 foot long lathe strips would work. Luckily, the space between the outer wall and the trailer wall was just right. I drilled holes in the boards and screwed them to the outer and trailer walls.

Once that was done, there was a horizontal one above them, and a smaller piece between the outer wall stud and the door frame. Then, there was one vertical for the door frame. Had I to do it again, I would have just done one across the top and hung some curtains. I think my motivation was that I wanted the walls to match the trailer part, which you can see was the finished product.

The space above the trailer was actually open, and there was a bunch of junk up there. So, to hide the debris, I sat those big popcorn tins and teddies so you would have to be 12 feet tall to see over them. The lathe strips I mentioned in the first post were a godsend. They lent an air of rustic to the house, plus at 19 cents each (even less when you bought them by a bundle of 60), they were a real bargain.

Because there is little structural integrity in a small trailer, I didn't have much to nail them too. That is why I now love the caulking adhesive used for wood. I nailed what I could, but used a bead of caulk on each one for extra stability. The back arch of the trailer was actually visible. For that, I simply ran the end of the strips to the wall of the living room, so that never showed. With the uneven top making me crazy, I used a piece of 1/2 by 3 inch board across to "frame it in". Some calendar art and fake flowers and my "ugly duckling became a nice little foyer." Ok, that is a bit of a stretch but it sure looked nicer, you gotta' give me that!

The living room was not without it's challenges, too. I needed a desk/TV place and I made that with three simple things. One was 3 large metal "L" brackets, into the wall at the proper height. Two was have two scrap 2X4's cut, securing one to the wall with smaller "L" brackets on the right side of the board (so it's unseen under the desk) and one facing the door frame in the front. I put 4 more of the brackets on the second support board, two at the top and two at the bottom, so that they supported the door frame and became support on the floor.

I drove nails into those, as the carpeting hid any damage (and let's face it, the subfloor wasn't all that great). Again, I put them in so they would go under the desk. After setting the door on the supports, I screwed them to the door and I had an 8 by 3.5 foot desk for crafting, doing paperwork, and easy cable access. I fancied a curtain so I could hide ugly things underneath, but did that after I took the shot.

Entryways in AK are designed to keep a blast of wind out when you open the "mud room" door and then the house door. In other words, one door is facing one direction, then you turn left or right and go into the house. It's great for keeping out the cold, but it's also great for keeping out furniture longer than 2 feet!

I wish I had taken a photo, but I swear to you all that I took the frames off the window and slid my love seat in through it with the help of two sweet neighbors. Had it been 1/4 inch wider, I don't think it would have worked without taking an exterior wall off the mud room. Since most of them are just plywood without insulation, that would have been doable but this worked. They say when you are Alaska, you make do. Well, I sure did that day! Luckily I knew how a window is built so I took it apart and put it back together, even caulking it better when I did.

I mentioned before that if a window doesn't look out onto anything worth seeing and it's dark all the time, most of the Alaskan people insulated theirs with really nice, expensive double pane glass. Then, they have nice thick drapes that keep out the cold. The only thing I had in common with these folks is that I had a window

I found an old couch cushion at the recycling center and cut one in half. It fit inside the window just perfectly. Of course, lathe strips were used to keep them in place. Homemade curtains from an old skirt worked really well. For 4 months, two circulated oil radiator heaters kept the house warm.

My color scheme then was hunter green and burgundy, as you can see by the door, couch, and coffee table. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a quart of paint and a little time. I decorated the walls with calendar art, family photos, and post cards. My teddies and some of my snails were there to make me feel at home. I had a VCR, tiny TV, a landline, and books/crafts to keep me from getting cabin fever. Every third day, I took a bus to the library and used the computer and hit any thrift store things I might need.

The renovation took about 2 weeks, and I was there for almost 5 months. I learned a lot about myself during that time. One, I can rely on myself to do just about anything. Two, I enjoy my own company. And three, that with a little ingenuity and work, you really can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse!

I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have. I never knew then when I was taking photos that 12 years later anyone might be interested in what I did. But then I didn't know then I would be a "Thrifty Funner"now.

By Sandi/Poor But Proud from Salem, OR