Spoiler alert: I did it. I accomplished the task. I did the thing that I didn’t know I could do. 

That feels good. 

Wait, good is too generic, it might be more like: satisfied, empowered, a little weak in the knees, surprised, confident, tingly, grounded or walking on clouds. I sang a little “I jacked the house up” celebration song dancing around the yard if that gives a visual indicator of this feeling.

I bet you have a similar story. My guess is you have something you never thought you could or would do, then you do it, and you feel like this. The tiny house is giving me ample opportunity to challenge myself with a variety of outcomes. Today’s was a success.

So what DID I do you ask…?

I jacked up my house and put it on jackstands. I did this by myself. (Have I mentioned I’m feeling rockstar status??)

My tiny is on a trailer. I LOVE the idea that it moves but generally it’s going to sit, in one place, for a long time. General knowledge says to preserve your tires and trailer parts you get the weight off the wheels. I’ve been procrastinating this step because … well because I’ve never done it before, it weighs over 8000 lbs and I’ve gathered most of my knowledge off the internet. I prefer a real live person with experience to show me or guide me, but I’m on my own for this one. I DO have a trusty friend Martin, who I can ask clarifying questions and safety tips. Afterall I am using his jacks and wood blocks and cement pavers…. But I don’t want to be a burden or take too much of his time so I get his quick tutelage then spend time deciphering what he said and filling in the missing pieces with the internet and my own brand of smarts.

Jacking up your house means running around outside adjusting the jacks and then checking the level on the floor inside. I felt like a mouse scurrying about, crawling around on the ground, gingerly stepping in and out of the house door.

At one point I had four bottle jacks going at once. Sometimes one wouldn’t jack it high enough so I had to take the jack down and build up what it was standing on and resume work. This happened more than once. So did weird creaks and noises as I hoisted the trailer. That was scary and warranted a safety check with trusted Martin. But I did it. Little by little I raised it probably 5 inches. That may not sound like a lot but it sure felt like it was. I’m proud to report it is spot on level.

At the end of the day my tiny is sitting on 4 jack stands and I learned all sorts of interesting things like:

1) a bottle jack won’t actually lift if it isn’t strong enough to handle it 

2) jack stands can look flimsy but really hold 6000 lbs each! 

3) cement blocks are strong in a certain direction 

4) distribute the weight over the cement block with a board

5) wear knee pads when you do this kind of work. (I suppose 5 is optional)

6) I can do things that sound hard or scary.