WALSH Seattle builds two homes for homeless families in the Tiny House Village in SE Seattle.

Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), a client that WALSH Seattle has worked with for many years, approached John Gilson to see if WALSH would build two homes for the new Tiny House Village in SE Seattle. The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd and LIHI have partnered with Nickelsville to provide 15 tiny homes for homeless families before Christmas, 2015. Nickelsville is a multi-site homeless encampment consisting of tents and tiny houses throughout Seattle.

Each house will provide living and sleeping space for one to two people and is fitted with a window, door, and a ventilation fan. Proper ventilation is important since the volunteers made sure to spray foam in every potential leakage point. The structures are insulated with rigid throughout. A separate kitchen and restroom structure will be provided on site.

WALSH and RDF employees worked evenings and Saturdays over the past two months to build these structures from the ground up. Our building science and carpentry expertise proved invaluable in figuring out flashing, air-barrier, and framing details. Some of us gained hands on knowledge of applying liquid applied membranes, installing insulation, pre-flashing doors and windows, as well as the tricks of the trade to install lap cedar siding at gable ends.

Manor Hardware & Overland Framing donated many of the materials that were used to construct the homes, and Fawcett Painting brought in a crew, at the twelfth hour, to paint the tiny homes in SeaHawks colors. The CEC warehouse generously donated their space for the houses to occupy during construction.