School Project Tiny House
Ted Fort in Salvo, NC on the Outer banks and a group of students are building a 96 square foot house using completely found materials. The goal, and so far it’s working, is for the total cost to be nothing. I’ll let Ted tell you about it below.
Well, essentially, a group of three other students and myself in our Drafting III class at Cape Hatteras Secondary were sitting around one day and trying to design the smallest possible “livable” house on a drafting program we have. Well, we played around with some ideas, and we eventually decided that it really couldn’t be that hard to build.
Unfortunately, our drafting teacher’s supply budget was recently cut to nothing. So he had litteraly $0 to buy supplies for, well, anything. So we thought we could try and build it for free.
Since then, I’ve been spending a lot of time in dumpsters at job sites, at the dump, and generally scavenging. Luckily dumpster diving is one of my favorite things to do. We’ve had amazing luck getting materials.
***Update: Ted just put up a blog to keep everyone updated, visit The Scrap House.
We’re not trying to make an environmental, sociological, or materialistic statement, but I will say, the waste one finds is pretty incredible. In one dumpster I found 26 perfect 8 foot 2×6′s. I suppose when someone is building a two million dollar house, they don’t really care. I’ve even found several 4×8 sheets of plywood. That’s literally buying something just to throw it out!
We’ve only been working on it for about a week and a half total. We have most of the framing done, only one wall and the roof left. We have the front door, two windows, tons of plywood, a shower, a stove, a sink, cabinet doors, and a lot more… all found for free. It’s kind of a dumb experiment, but a fun one nonetheless. Theoretically we’ll eventually have a complete house with no investment but time a labor… and what’s a high school student’s time worth anyway?
The plan is pretty standard… essentially a WeeBee without the nook. The door to the bathroom is kind of cool, however. The door can close where it’s indicated on the plans, so it shuts off just the bathroom. However, the opening into the kitchen is the same size as the opening to the bathroom, so there are two striker plates. This allows the door to be locked in either position. As the bathroom doesn’t have a sink, this gives a room to get dressed in, but also allows the option for privacy if someone is in the kitchen.
We’re not sure about siding yet. Probably just going to use scraps to make clap-board. For the inside, of course we can’t find paneling or drywall for free, so our plan is to use old drop-cloths, which we will then stretch over the walls, paint, and sandwhich against the studs with some trim. That’s how the old theatres did it to reduce noice, so it should turn out well.
It’s been a cool project so far.. we hope to be done within a month.
When Ted and his group have completed the project I will post an update so that you can see the finished house.
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Gratitude Millworks on Ebay
In January, I ran an article about Kent McCaffrey’s tiny house company called Gratitude Millworks, LLC located on the east coast in the heart of Dixie in the state of Alabama.
Kent called me this morning to let me know that he was offering this beautiful backyard timber cottage, that is built like a piece of furniture for the low price of $17,900 and it is listed on Ebay right now. Only three days left and ends on May the 2nd.
This would make a perfect office or gallery or could be used as a studio cottage with the addition of some appliances and a bathroom. The quality is outstanding and the price is really low for the quality. So go check it out at Ebay and give Kent a call if you are interested.
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Jay’s Vardo for Sale
***Sold***
Jay Shafer is selling his Vardo. He built it primarily to use up some scrap he had lying around. Jay says: “My wife and I have enjoyed using it three times to camp by the beach and it was on Brazil’s version of Oprah, but, now, we could use the cash for some upcoming expenses more than we can use the Vardo.”
It would normally cost about $3500 in materials and that again in labor (about 100 hours) plus another $495 for the plans ($8,000 total), but Jay would be happy to sell it to you for $5,800 as is or for $4,800 without the heater.
Then you would have to make a road trip to come pick it up, or Jay could deliver it for $2.00 per mile extra. Any car with a hitch will pull it.
Contact Jay at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, tell him you heard about it on the Tiny House Blog.
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Tiny House Living #4
Michael just finished the fourth issue of my weekly newsletter on simple living, Tiny House Living. If you’d like to receive a summary of the top stories in the tiny house world each Wednesday please subscribe to Michael’s newsletter. You can also subscribe by RSS or Email.
The top story this week is that Kent Griswold (that’s me), of Tiny House Blog, launched a new website focused on tiny house construction stories by professional and owner-builders. His new website is called Tiny House Journal. For all the stories in this week’s newsletter visit Tiny House Living.
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Aqua Casa Houseboat
Aqua Casa Houseboat, The Boat of Your Dreams!
In an earlier post we featured the berkeley-engineering’s Cape Codder and I have been wanting to feature another one of their tiny house boats the Aqua Casa.
The Aqua Casa Houseboat is the result of years of boat design and building experience. These boats can be built by the amateur builder with little or no boat-building experience.
The are fully trailerable. This boat can double as a self-contained travel trailer, which you can use for any purpose, whether it is a weekend getaway or an extended trip on the road. The Aqua Casas are easy to transport anywhere that you can take your tow vehicle. You can camp in a campground or sleep on the lake! This boat gives you great versatility!
You will find a complete galley, a bright and airy cabin, full headroom, plenty of storage and storage space, complete with RV appliances, a private enclosed head, a fold-out bed, and inside or outside helm.
The Aqua Casa houseboat comes in a 16 foot model or a 20 foot model. Photos are of the 16 foot. There is a scan below of the spec sheet for the 20 foot Aqua Casa houseboat.
These houseboats easily carry 2-6 people. They can be outfitted with a 3 to 30 HP outboard motor. These boats cost about $3,500 to build, excluding motor, trailer and controls.
The Aqua Casa 20 is a larger version of the 16 foot boat. It has more spacious cabin room, and all of the features of the 16 foot version. The controls are also accessible from inside or outside the cabin. The 20 foot boat has room for a small dinette set.
To learn more go to berkley-engineering.com
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WSJ Article Advocates Small Homes
Krista sent me an email last night alerting me to an article by the Wall Street Journal that is advocating small houses.
Alex Frangos the author asks: What will the energy-efficient house of the future look like?
The Wall Street Journal asked four architects to design an energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable house without regard to cost, technology, aesthetics or the way we are used to living.
The idea was not to dream up anything impossible or unlikely — in other words, no antigravity living rooms. Instead, we asked the architects to think of what technology might make possible in the next few decades. They in turn asked us to rethink the way we live.
“This is a time of re-examining values, re-examining what we need,” says one of our architects, Rick Cook, of the New York firm Cook + Fox. “We are re-examining the idea of home.”
At the very end of the article is a very important statement that should help those of us in the small house movement:
But the most important order for Mr. Mouzon is to make the house compact. “The smaller thing you can create, the more sustainable it is.”
In fact, that’s something that all four of our architects agree on: Americans need to learn to live in smaller spaces if we are going to make an impact on the environment.
Read the complete article at the Wall Street Journal site.
Photo Credit: Wall Street Journal
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Sheep Wagons
While living in an area populated by people from the Basque region, some residents around the Reno/Lake Tahoe area will sometimes catch a glimpse of a sheepherder, his sheep and his home in the high desert: a small trailer or sheep wagon.
My post on the gypsy caravans was popular, so I thought I would do a post on the classic (and contemporary) sheep wagon.
Sheep wagons are usually about 7 to 8 feet wide and about 12 to 16 feet long. Inside the wagon is usually room for one bed or bunks, a small stove, sink and cooking area, storage for clothes and an eating area. Most sheep wagons do not have bathrooms or showers.
Old Western Wagons
Sheep wagons are more of an American West style and the gypsy caravan is more of a European style. The sheep wagon has a curved roof supported by hoops and looks more like a covered wagon. The roof can be made from heavy duty cloth or wood. I have even seen a few with tin or corregated metal roofs.
Several companies in the U.S. convert old wagons or build new wagons for vacation homes and retreats or backyard offices and country cabins. There are also a few books with great photos and information on sheep wagons including Portable Houses by Irene Rawlings and Mary Abel and Retreats by G. Lawson Drinkard III.
Old Western Wagons
Old Western Wagons
Old Western Wagons
Old Point Reyes Campground Shepherd's Wagon
Stay in a Shepherd’s Wagon in Point Reyes
Story from Mother Earth News on living in a sheep wagon
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