If you're using a timber frame for the walls of your tiny home, you will need more than just timber and tools to put it together. To ensure your wall is straight, sturdy and long lasting, you need a few extra accessories, especially if you're building your tiny home on a trailer. Here's what to consider:

1. Large Washers

When you sink bolts into the bottom piece of timber to the metal of the trailer, you will need to use long bolts that go through the wood and into the metal. So that the bolts stay put in the wood without eroding the wood and digging more deeply in, especially when the trailer is shaking as you move it, you need to brace each bolt with a large washer.

To place the washer, use a chisel to hollow out enough space in the timber to place the washer. Then, drill the rest of the bolt hole through the notch and into the rest of the wood. Place the washer into the notch you have made, and then, drill the bolt through both the timber and the metal frame. As the washer is large and flat, it doesn't create friction against the timber in the same way that bolts may.

2. Sill Plate

Also called a ground plate, a sill plate is the piece of timber that you attach the wall of your tiny house to. Attaching the wall to a sill plate provides extra stability. After you have framed the trailer with timber connected with bolts and washers, attach four sill plates to the pieces of wood attached to the trailer. Connect the sill plates to the outer edge of the bottom of the frame.

3. Plumb Bob

When framing a tiny house, you should build the walls on the ground next to the home and then lift each of them into place as a single piece. Once the walls have been lifted, use heavy duty screws to connect the base of the wall to the sill plate. Then, create a square corner using a plumb bob.

A plumb bob is an ancient level based on a design that has endured for thousands of years. Quite simply, it's a piece of rope with a weight attached to the bottom. Hang the plumb bob from the top corner made by your walls. If it is allowed to hang freely, the rope should show you a perfectly straight line from your top corner to your floor. Adjust the walls as needed to ensure they are straight. Then, connect the walls together, using two pieces of timber oriented at a right angle to each other and parallel with the plumb bob line.

Once your walls are even and secured, you're ready to start working on the roof. If you need tips while framing your tiny home, contact a professional in roof and timber wall frames.