Tiny Free House
Shipping Pallet photo by Michael Janzen
Tiny Free House
I just found a cool blog, actually three cool blogs just started by another neighbor of mine. Well within a couple of hours of where I live. Michael Janzen from the Sacramento Valley is embarking on a little experiment. He is going to build a tiny house, 90 square feet, that’s a cross between Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond and a Tumbleweed-like Tiny House on wheels. But he is going to build it without spending any money. There will be some things he won’t be able to scavenge. For these items he plans to sell things he can find for free on craigslist.org. In the end he hopes to have a tiny free house. His blog Tiny Free House will be a record of the project. He also plans to write a book on his experience as well. Below are his plans.
Shipping Pallet Construction
Michael’s main source of lumber will from shipping pallets, that you can find free in many locations.
I will post updates as Michael progresses with his project. He plans to have it completed by this fall. To learn more visit two of his blogs: Tiny Free House and Tiny House Design.
6×15 Tiny Free House
Nine Tiny Feet
Michael is not stopping there in fact, I think that he will be building the smallest house out there called Nine Tiny Feet. A nine square foot home on wheels. Quoting Michael at his blog:
OH WHY?
No I don’t intend to live in it. Building something like this will be an interesting journey and I plan to use it as a home office some or all of the time. I may also use the Tiny Free House as an office too, I just haven’t decided. The other reason is to show people how small, small can be. I’m beginning to develop a theory that nine square feet is all we really need and that every square foot after that is for added comfort, vanity, or people.
So the short version building a nine square foot house to explore the possibility to satisfy my own curiosity and explore my own values. If successful I hope it will act as a tool to help other people see that the least is the most.
View his plan below and go to his his blog at Nine Tiny Feet to follow his progress. He plans on building this after he has completed the Tiny Free House, so stay tuned.
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Building with Cob
Those of you who have an interest in building with cob as in the Little Cob Cabin posted recently, will enjoy this site by Brian Liloia one of our readers.
Brian is a 23 year old currently living at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, learning to fulfill his desires to live more sustainably and self-sufficiently.
There’s a growing need to help shape a more eco-conscious, less destructive, and healthy culture, and he hopes to share some of his experiences living in a community that values these qualities.
Building With Cob
Brian explains his cob building process that they have developed over the past few weeks.
- Mixing Cob: The first step is the “burrito”, which consists of the final cob mix of sand, clay, and straw. When the consistency is right the mixture will roll and shape into a burrito.
- Making Cobs: The second step is to make “cobs”, or little loafs of the material. Kind of like kneading dough. Each loaf should only take a few seconds to make.
- Cob Wall: The third step is moving the loaves to the wall and lining them up. The wall is soaked with water before applying the new loaves.
- Cobbler Thumbs: The fourth step is taking cobbler thumbs ( a wooden tool) and “stitching” the cobs together, by working the straw into the layer below the new cobs and blending them together.
- Cob Finishing: In the fifth step you use your hands to create a clean, plumb edge.
Brian’s cob cottage footprint is 20×16, and the structure is spiral-shaped, with an urbanite foundation and all cob walls. The house will feature a reciprocal living roof, and it will make maximum usage of passive solar and feature a rocket stove connected to a mass cob bed.
- View pictures of the cob building under construction.
- Building with Cob Work Exchange.
Cob Building Photographs
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The Small Life
A great article from the Canadian National Post called The Small Life features Jay Shafer and the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.
Jay Shafer knows all about living small. The 42-year-old art teacher and now house designer has been living in less than 100 square feet since 1997. The experience prompted him to write The Small House Book and start his own company, Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, to provide plans and build small houses for others. Daring to think small in a country obsessed with everything big, he has become something of a guru to those who believe we won’t be able to afford energy-guzzling monster homes for much longer. Shafer will be a guest speaker at Toronto’s IdeaCity next week.
Click on the title to read the rest of the article The Small Life.
Tortoise Shell Nursery Visit
Tortoise Shell Homes Visit
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with Bill Kastrinos at the Tortoise Shell Nursery in Rohnert Park, CA. In an earlier post we looked at Model 1 from Tortoise Shell Homes. On my visit, Bill showed me three of six, Model 2 homes under construction.
Simple and Affordable
Bills goal is to keep these homes simple and affordable. He has three models, ranging from a very basic unit to a loaded off the grid ready version. Tortoise Shell Homes has only been in business six months but word is getting out and he is looking to be very busy in the near future.
These tiny houses are built just like a standard home with all the electrical, insulation, etc. This model includes a full size shower, toilet and sink and comes with an instant hot water heater. There is room for a small washer/dryer unit as well. (see floor plan below) These six custom order homes come with oak floors, sky lights and pine walls.
A Company to Watch
I think that this will be a company to watch in the tiny house market. For more information visit the Tortoise Shell Home site or send an email to info@tortoiseshellhome.com or call 707-206-7581.
Model 2 Floor Plan
Seattle PI Article
Allison Arth and her husband, Bo Kinney, live in a 509-square-foot home in the Central District that was built in 1916. “It’s just a very cozy way to live,” Arth says. Empty nesters, greens and first-time buyers are finding tiny houses a good fit
by Cecelia Goodnow
If Dee Williams had the arms of an orangutan, she could touch every corner of her home without leaving her one-burner kitchen. As it is, she comes close.
With only 84 square feet of living space, Williams is an expert at living large in a do-it-yourself home the size of a garden shed.
She built her 7-by-12-foot Tumbleweed Tiny House for $10,000, including solar panels, trailer, eco-friendly denim insulation and high-performance wood windows. It brims with dollhouse charm. Her overhead: $6 a month to run the propane heater.
“I hadn’t ever taken a project from blueprint to real life,” said Williams, 45, whose tiny frame and intrepid spirit are a good fit for the Tumbleweed. “It’s, like, a really cool, empowering thing.”
Williams, a hazardous-waste inspector at the Department of Ecology in Olympia, is an extreme example of the “small-house movement,” which seeks to counter the McMansionization of America with an ethos of sustainability.
