Tiny House Blog

How would you like to experience tiny house living without having to build one for yourself? This one has been popping up all over the web recently, and I wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to see it. I would like to thank Alex of Shedworking for pointing this one out to me.

Located on Bowen Island in British Columbia, in a cool out of the way spot and called the Eco-Shed, this little place is available for rent on a nightly basis.

It’s design is green construction, has a passive-solar design, reclaimed and FSC-certified wood, super efficient fixtures and windows, and nontoxic materials and finishes.

It is situated in a peaceful setting, with a fantastic view. To find out all the details on rates, location and reservations visit the Eco-Shed website.

Photo credits Eco-Shed.

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William Kastrinos of Tortoise Shell Homes has come up with the perfect answer for the do-it-yourself tiny house builder. He has constructed a 128 sq ft, 8′ x 16′ home built from Codding Steel with a built in full size shower already plumbed and ready to use. You get all this at a low price of just $7,500. Bill calls this home the “Naked Galapagos.”

You as the do-it-yourselfer get to choose your siding, roofing, interior walls and appliances. The cool thing is that you can build this and pay as you go. Complete it in a week or a year, you decide.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing these in person and they are well constructed and have been test driven all over the Sonoma Coast. These are built to last and with proper completing should give you years of enjoyment. If you are looking for that tiny house to live in full time or that vacation get-a-way, or an extra room to add to your existing house, be sure and check out the “Naked Galapagos” from Tortoise Shell Homes.

Pictures below give more detail to the Codding Steel construction of the home. The Galapagos is also available as a finished and completed home for $19,500.

For more information contact Bill at 707-206-7581 or email him at info@tortoiseshellhome.com and let Bill know that you heard about the “Naked Galapagos” from the Tiny House Blog.

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New Englanders:
come build a tiny structure on wheels this summer!

This summer, Elizabeth Turnbull is designing & building her own tiny house to live in as a Yale graduate student.  Come join her!  She  is opening the building process to the community in a series of ‘burgers & barnraising-style’  building parties with family, friends, small house enthusiasts and other interested folks.  The structure is being built on the campus of The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, MA.  Elizabeth will supply all your meals and can even offer places to stay.  Her last two building weekends are July 26/27 and Aug 2/3.  Please RSVP to turnbulltinyhouse@gmail.com if you are interested – you’re welcome to come for a few hours or the whole weekend.

Framed on an 8 x 18 flatbed trailer, Elizabeth’s house has solar power, a composting toilet, a kitchen, a sleeping loft, and a generous workspace.  It has been built with the most environmentally considerate materials she has been able to find.  Her goals for the project are elaborated upon below.

Her local newspaper is following the story, too.  You can check out the first four articles here:

Newburyport Daily News Article 1
Newburyport Daily News Article 2
Newburyport Daily News Article 3
Newburyport Daily News Article 4

Elizabeth says that many organizations and members of the community have offered generous donations and materials.  A roof & hardwood floors have been donated, as well as lights, cedar paneling and interior faux-painting services.  Check it out!  Visit the Turnbull Tiny House.

Big Goals for a Small House

• Make it beautiful and lovely to inhabit
• Source reclaimed and recycled materials where possible
• Build without VOCs, formaldehyde or toxic materials
• Incorporate energy-efficient LED & halogen lights and minimal appliances
• Celebrate a small budget!  Sustainability and Economy are sisters and should be treated as such

Minimize  fossil fuel use:

• Live near enough to Yale to easily walk, bike or use public transit
• Insulate well with natural materials

Educate and inspire with a running blog exploring the design/build process, detailing my budget, and providing resources for low-budget, low-impact structures

Open the tiny house to the communities at Yale and New Haven as a learning and demonstration opportunity.

turnbull.e@gmail.com
(978) 758.1051

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Tortoise Shell Home

Model 1 – Sale (Sold!)

Originally $14,900 – Now $9,800

• Built tortoise shell tough
• Size 8×14
• Fully insulated, vinyl double-pane windows
• French front door
• 1/4″ fir wood-paneled walls
• Vinyl flooring
• Kitchen area has two base and two wall cabinets, plus sink, hotplate and refrigerator.
• Bathroom has 4′ shower, toilet and wet sink.
• Energy-efficient demand hot water heater.

Contact Bill at Tortoise Shell Homes by email:

info@tortoiseshellhome.com

or call  707-206-7581

Tell Bill the Tiny House Blog told you about it.

Interior

Kitchen

Loft

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This last weekend I had the privilege of attending Jay Shafer’s Building and Design workshops in Sebastopol, California. We met at his home, in an apple orchard on the outskirts of town, gathering on the deck of his landlord’s home.

The day began with a tour of Jay’s home to give participants a look at the finished product. Most in attendance seemed to have some building experience and know the general terminology of building.

After the tour, Jay took us through the building process to the point of the framing, exterior walls, and weather wrap were on the house. We also discussed trailers and the process of mounting the home onto the trailer.

Workshop on the Deck

In the afternoon Building Workshop session Jay presented the details of how to complete and finish the tiny house. He discussed the need for precise work and the fact that the finishing of the interior often takes longer than the framing and roofing and siding of the outside of the structure.

The workshop progressed through each stage of the building process, and kept the flow of the workshop in this manner. Although not a hands-on workshop, Jay provides a illustrated color workbook that is detailed with photos, floor plans, and a complete list of tools required to build your tiny house.

The workshop is very organic and improves with suggestions and feedback from participants.

Jay later showed us the Vardo where Greg, President and co-founder of the Small House Society has been staying on this break in the West Coast tour and answered questions about its design and construction.

Exploring the Vardo

At the end of the day Jay gave a second tour of his home. Having gone through the workshop the participants had a few new questions after having more knowledge about the building process.

The second Tumbleweed Tiny House workshop is a design workshop. We had a very small group for this one, only three of us. The day started out very cool and we ended up moving from the deck into Jay’s Epu. It was very comfortable and was neat to experience a couple of hours in the space of the tiny house. We sat five fairly comfortably when Greg joined us for a short time.

Jay began the day with an introduction to the “art” of architecture. He discussed the influence of sacred geometry in design. We than went into more aspects of design and than broke for lunch.

Design Workshop in Jay’s Epu

After lunch we came back and began our own designs. With graph paper and pencil we spent the next couple of hours designing our own tiny house. The last hour was spent with Jay critiquing our work and giving suggestions

This was a very worthwhile weekend and I would recommend that anyone who is serious about living and/or building a tiny home take this workshop.

To view more pictures of this workshop visit Greg’s special blog.

Photo Credits: Gregory Paul Johnson

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I’ve had blog problems the last few days and have been unable to post. I have it working again so want to share Jeff’s story about his shanty in North Carolina.

About 4 years ago we bought a piece of property on the banks of the New River in the mountains of North Carolina.

After months of tent camping in what we later found out to be one of the few temperate rain forest in North America, we thought a better structure would be in our best interest.

We were doing real well tucked backed in the woods minding our own business when we noticed a nice little official looking note taped to the door. Well unfortunately, it wasn’t “Welcome Wagon” or a nice neighbor, but the county calling attention to the fact that we had built a structure in their flood plain without their knowledge and without a permit.

Well after some conversation we thought it would be in our best interest to move the building out of the floodplain.  I had a neighbor bring a forklift after I laid block and pick it up and set it down in its new home. I had a sneaking suspicion that eventually the county would find it so I intentionally built it less than 70 sq ft as that is what the code defines a habitable room, I thought it might work in my favor.  I do think it helped! It is 64 sq ft by the outside dimensions of 8 by 8,

It is solar and insulated and with a flat screen TV, a toilet, and a queen size bed, it has been our home practically every weekend for the past 3 1/2 years while we build a larger house by ourselves.  It stays warm with body heat (two adults and a 70lb dog) in winters that can see 40+ inches of snow.  It has been absolutely great! It forces you to get out and stay active.

View more photographs of Jeff’s shanty below.

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When living in a tiny house or small space, your bathroom is usually smaller than your average home. You need bathroom furniture to fit into these small spaces. A simple small rolling bathroom cabinet is one option worth looking into, as it can be easily moved out of the way or put under the sink.

Wall mounted bathroom cabinets are also useful as they will not use up your limited floor space. An open cabinet or a small closed bathroom cabinet would work out perfectly in your tiny house.

Other pieces of bathroom furniture to consider is your bathroom sink. A small wall mounted sink will not eat up your floor space in your bathroom. You do not have storage below this style of sink but you gain floor space and it will give you the feeling of a larger room. These sinks do not need to be plain or ugly as there are many choices on the market with a modern stylish flare.

Some food for thought as you consider making your tiny space work best for you.

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Olympia Open House

Gregory Paul Johnson and Jay Shafer, tiny house specialists are on their “Border to Border” West Coast tour. With multiple open houses and seminars along the way. Check the schedule on Resources for Life and the Tumbleweed Tiny House websites.

I will be attending the San Francisco area workshop this weekend so will follow up with a report on that next week.

Greg is using his iPhone to capture each day and report every stop along the way. From the Seattle Work Shop to meeting fans and security police on Victoria Island in Canada and today an open house in Olympia Washington.

Visit Greg’s special blog and follow the trip South.

Seattle Workshop

Just off the ferry in Washington

Photo credit to Greg Paul Johnson and Jay Shafer.

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Natural Log Rv’s are an alternative for our Canadian neighbors who are interested in owning a Tumbleweed or Tortoise Shell Home but can’t afford to have them shipped to Eastern Canada. Built in Ford Bank, New Brunswick, Canada by Ron Hessel, the Natural Log Rv’s are pioneering in the field of Log Rv’s.

These units are designed to be used year round, with fully equipped kitchens, cooking facilities, sleeping quarters, full cathedral ceilings exposed hand crafted beam work, wood fire places, power independence and much more….

Sitting on steel trailers, these units are four season friendly, and require no extra taxes when parked on any property. Imagine a portable unit increasing in value instead of decreasing…  Everything changes when you step into the world of portable log cabins!

They have two models to choose from, “The Beak Away” and “The Stay Away.”

My favorite is “The Stay Away” which you can see a few pictures of here. I contacted Natural Log Homes and they are very busy building full size homes and lodges at the moment but promised to get back to me in the near future to give me more information on pricing etc. They also make a mobile cabin which would also work if you have a piece of land to park it on.

If you are interested in one of these go to the Natural Log Homes web site and contact them for complete details.

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Another one of our readers from Rich County Utah, Sco Smith wanted to share his story about his 10×12 house, I’ll let him tell you more about it.

For years I’ve been interested in small houses and small stores and shops.  Years ago an internet search only seemed to yeild a hit on “the Smallest House in Great Britain” which is in Conwy, Wales.  I had heard about this small house when I  was on an LDS mission in England from 1984-1986.  Now you find a wealth of rich inspiring information about small houses, simple living, and a whole community of people who are just as interested in small houses as I am.

We had built a small store on a busy highway that has been open seasonally during the summer months.  Last year our family of 5 (me and my wife and 3 children)  stayed in a travel trailer behind the store – so this year I decided to build a 10×12 size little house to live in while we operate the store.  Initially my wife thought bigger would be a bit better since we have three small children, but with the 10×12 size we did not need a building permit and I am already a small house enthusiast so we went with the 10×12 size with a loft.

The loft turned out taller than we expected, but if it is not the smallest house in the area, it is definitely the smallest tallest house.

We were careful to make sure it was well anchored to the Concrete pad  We also enjoy the 6 foot porch.  In connection to our store – this house has also become a tourist attraction.  We regularly take customers who come to our store on a tour of the small house behind the store.

We built it on a shoestring and working on it off and on it took about 41 days from start to finish.  The concrete pad was poured on 30 April 2008 and we spent our first night in it 10 June 2008. We insulated it well since it is in a hight mountain valley.  The interior paint color was chosen by default – Home Depot sells “Ooops” paint so we got 5 gallons of great paint for $15.00.  It is well insulated – since it is in a high mountain valley at a high elevation.

I would love to hang a sign or certificate in this house that indicates we are part of some type of small and simple society.  The Small House Society seems to purposely not have any membership cards or certificates, but I would love to have some type of official certificate to display in this small house and even a certificate in my office that would help help promote and facilitate conversations of the small house movement.

See more pictures of the Smallest House In Rich County.

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