Tiny House Blog

Dax Wagner from Southern California went to two home shows that featured small homes over the last weekend. Dax explains what he saw below:

We ended up also attending the Dwell On Design Show which was held on the same day at the L.A. Convention Center. The first two pictures are of the Modern Shed. The rest are of the IC Green shipping containers. Two different sheds were represented, one at each show:

Modern Shed Interior

120 Square Foot Cabana

First (at Dwell On Design) was a 120 sq.ft. container with no plumbing. It was used as a “cabana” with a portion of the container used as a small porch so that there would not be any permitting requirements. They offered it at $9,500.

120 Square Foot Cabana End View

The 2nd (at the CA Boom Show) was a 320 sq. ft. unit with full IKEA kitchen and bath. VERY nice, livable unit with lots of windows. Offered at $25000.

IC Green Inc. Sign

320 Square Foot Home

The representative said that different basic configurations are offered at about $100 per sq. foot. Not bad at all, but to get full insulation, radiant heat flooring and an A/C unit installed, it would be more like $145 per sq. foot. This, of course, does not include the land and prep work for the foundation. Go to the IC Green site here to learn more. Overall is was a grat day at two shows!

-Dax Wagner

Kitchen Living Area

Bathroom

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For those who really want a taste of solitary living, have you ever dreamed of getting away from it all in a fire lookout tower? In nearly every state of the U.S., fire lookout towers have been built in wilderness areas to watch for forest and wildland fires.

The first fire lookout was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad on Red Mountain near Donner Summit in California to watch for train fires. Initially, fire lookouts were crude camps temporarily set up at “patrol points” where an observer might ride his horse to make observations. Others were “crows nests” – platforms built on top of the highest trees. Fire watchers often doubled as fire fighters. Spotting smoke, he would hop on his horse or hike cross-country to quench the fire.

By 1914, construction standards were in place and soon thereafter, both wooden “live-in” cabs and steel “observation only” towers were being built. Two years later 81 permanent lookout structures stood on key mountain tops.

Each of these lookouts were similiar in that they were small, usually between 9×9 feet to 18×18 feet, supplies had to be hiked or ridden to the tower and they each had a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

Bear Basin Lookout in Six Rivers National Forest, CA

Yellow Peak Lookout Tower in Northwestern Nevada

Many fire lookouts have now been abandoned, vandalized and even destroyed, but there is a growing trend towards lookout revival. Groups of enthusiasts are organizing to share information and enhance public knowledge and awareness of fire lookouts. Lookouts are now considered functional for non-traditional uses and are being restored to serve as museums, interpretive centers, wildlife observation posts and vacation rentals.

Swede Mountain Lookout Tower in Libby, MT

In the recent issue of Via Magazine by AAA, an article gives tips on how you can rent a fire lookout tower. The U.S. Forest Service offers them for about $40 a night. To rent a tower:

1. Go to the recreation.gov website.

2. Choose cabins or lookouts from the ‘Looking for’ pull-down menu on the left under the “Find Sites” sidebar.

3. Choose your state in the State field pull-down menu.

4. Leave the Park of Facility name field blank unless you know the name of the lookout that you want to rent.

5. Choose specific camping dates to search.

6. View the results and reserve your tower!

Lookout towers are not luxurious destinations so be prepared for primitive accommodations. Most lookout towers do not have showers, flush toilets or running water. You will need to carry water for all your cooking, cleaning, and personal grooming needs.

Many towers do contain simple furnishings including a mattress, propane camp stove, desk, chairs, and, if you are lucky, a propane refrigerator.

If you do fall in love with living in a lookout tower, you can build your own. This couple built a tower retreat in Western Montana with many of the same aspects of an original fire lookout tower.

Montana Fire Tower Retreat

Montana Retreat Family/Sleeping Area

Montana Retreat Patio

National Forest Service Fire Lookout Program

Forest Fire Lookout Association

By Christina Nellemann

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I want to take a moment and extend a welcome to Ryan Mitchell who will be presenting his thoughts and experiences as he joins the Tiny House movement with his new blog The Tiny Life. Here is what Ryan says about his plans for his blog:

The Tiny Life is a resource for those seeking information on Tiny Living, Tiny Houses, etcetera. Our Localize component of our website is to allow those who are interested in these topics to connect with people locally, reguardless of where they may live.

We seek to provide more than just information on Tiny Houses, we aim to have discussions on Living life…..Tiny! So we refer to our site as a Tiny Lifestyle blog.

Ryan lives in Charlotte, NC, he has been following the Tiny House movement for almost a year now and had decided to become a part of it by launching this website! He hopes to build his Tiny House within a year, where he wants to take it with him to pursure his Doctorate in Industrial Organizational Psychology. If you have any comments, concerns etcetera, please don’t hesitate to contact him.

So bookmark Ryan’s blog and visit often. Welcome aboard Ryan!

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Greg submitted these pictures to me for the Tiny House in a Landscape feature, here is what he has to say about them.

I’ve been reading the Tiny House Blog for a few months now. It’s always surprising to see how little one actually needs to live a contented life! I know I feel better when I have less clutter around to distract me.

I saw these small weekend getaway cabins on the edge of a river in Cisco Grove, California and stopped to take a look. I took a few photos and thought I might share some of them with you for your blog. The stone cabin looks like it was once a roadside retail establishment before the construction of I-80. Someone definitely cares for this little building (15′ deep by 25′ long by my paces). They’ve built a new roof and repaired the stonework but left it pretty much in it’s original shell condition. There’s some nice stonework on the fireplace and you can see some stone ledges built into the walls near the back door if you look carefully. It looks like it was quite a cozy little home at one time although I don’t see any evidence that it ever had indoor plumbing…

Gregory Smith, Architect
www.gregorysmitharchitect.com

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Tiny House Workshop Bridgewater, Vermont

Photo Credit: Seth Butler http://www.sethbutler.com

Tiny House Workshop with Peter King, as seen on “Stuck in Vermont,” ”YouTube” and Vermont Tiny Houses.

Learn basic carpentry skills and Tiny House design. No experience needed, just a willingness to learn.

As a team we will build a 12′ X 16′ house with a loft, and a 12/12 roof. 90% of the material will be pre-cut, allowing us to build from foundation to roof ridge cap in two 8-hour days!

The two-day workshop will take place in the Bridgewater area, Vermont.

• July 11 and 12, 2009
• 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Saturday and Sunday

Bring a sketch pad and a lawn chair.

The cost is $250, including cooked meals and refreshments.

Camp area available.

Please reply via tinybuilder@gmail.com or call 802-933-6103.
Thanks so much! We look forward to meeting with you all.

Matt sent me an email recently suggesting a solution for temporary housing while constructing your tiny house.

Matt said he had his land but needed a place to stay while constructing his tiny house and these truck tent campers are very low priced. For between $200 to $300 you can have a place off the ground and dry plus have a place to call home for a short time. It does of course require you to own a pickup truck.

The tent in the picture above is he Adventure I Truck Tent which allows truck owners to set-up camp on any ground surface, sleep comfortably and adapt their truck box into an enjoyable camping experience, and because of their unique design no floor is needed. No floor means, easy  to clean and maximum use of your truck bed.

The Adventure I Truck Tent is designed to encompass the tailgate and due to its patented conestoga tent style design, the tent is extremely spacious with 145 – 195 cubic feet of tent and truck box space. You can walk in and out of the tent, no crawling in to stand up. That means that there is 5ft 6 inches throughout the tent, not just in the middle. The truck tent is lightweight, weighing only 11 lbs, and is stored in a small stuff bag, measuring 22″ x 11″.

Of course the other alternative is a standard tent and these can be picked up for even less money at Walmart or elsewhere but you will be on the ground and in the elements that go along with that.

Here are a couple of links to the temporary home alternatives featured in this post:

• Adventure Truck Tent
• Sportz
• FlipPac (not in the $200-300 price range) but cool idea!

Adventure Truck I

SportZ

FlipPac

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Most of you have been following the development of the Sonoma Shanty plans, workshop and kit. Stephen Marshall of the Little House on the Trailer has taken the Sonoma Shanty one more step and added wheels and a little more space.

The Sonoma Shanty on wheels, is a completed shell on wheels that is designed for the do-it-yourselfer to furnish and complete. Stephen has attempted to make this the most affordable base unit on wheels.

At $9,000 you get an eight foot by twenty foot home with 160 square feet, it is a nice size area to develop as a home.

Easily design a bathroom and shower in the rear, with a kitchen galley on one side and storage on the other. The main living area would be in the front of the shanty. A loft could be put above the bathroom and kitchen area for additional storage or sleeping.

By using Sing Panels (SIPs) this home is already insulated and ready to complete. All you need to do is add wiring and plumbing and do the finish work and add the appliance and fixtures you want.

You as the designer could complete the interior to your own taste and design as you get an open canvas to work with. A basic home at a very affordable price, one more option for a tiny house.

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Tiny House Living is a weekly newsletter that covers the world of tiny houses and the people that choose to live this simpler life. This week Michael covers the Tumbleweed Lusby for Sale, small prefabs, a historic tiny house renovation, building with awareness strawbale houses, $100 homes in Detroit and a clever loft bedroom and kitchen. Michael than introduces his latest brainchild Tiny House TV. So go check out the latest issue here. You can Subscribe by Email to Tiny House Living and stay up-to-date on the news and events in our community. You can also Follow us on Twitter.

How to Start Living in a Tiny House

This article appeared on wikiHow yesterday and I thought it was worth republishing here for you to read. Enjoy!

Living in a house smaller than some people’s walk-in closets may not be for everyone, but those who are able to do so reap many benefits for themselves and for the world around them. Here are some tips for choosing the best type of small house for you and how to simplify your life so living in a small house is enjoyable and not confining.

Steps

1. Do your research. There are many types of tiny homes, from as small as 9 square feet up to 837 square feet. Look at the designs, which range from traditional to ultra-modern in design. Some incorporate off-the-grid designs like solar/wind power, rainwater collection, and composting toilets.
2. Decide what you need from your dwelling and what you want from your dwelling. Most people need a comfortable, dry, quiet place to sleep; a clean place to perform personal hygiene (toilet, shower); a comfortable place to sit or lie down during the day; a place to store, prepare, and eat food for the day. You may want other creature comforts such as long-term refrigerated food storage, a clothes washer and dryer, a whirlpool tub, a state-of-the-art entertainment system, a power generator, a dishwasher, private bedrooms, workout facilities, wall-to-wall carpeting, granite countertops, T-3 internet access, and so on.
3. Look at the benefits of “living small:” less space to clean; less pack-ratting of unneeded clothes, broken appliances, etc.; lower energy bills and a greener environmental footprint; fresher food that is purchased, caught, or harvested on a more daily basis; more time available for outdoor activities and entertaining; no need to sell your home when you relocate (if your tiny home is towable).
4. Realize that small houses cost more per square feet than large houses. Designing for smaller areas is more complex, as items such as built-in furniture have to be custom made to take advantage of all the space. Compact appliances sometimes cost much more than full sized appliances. If you are designing or building your own home on a trailer bed, you need to take plumbing (grey water and black water storage and disposal) into consideration.
5. Decide if you will build your own home from plans, or if you will buy an already made home new, or if you will buy a used home. There are also “kits” available which come with all or most of the supplies for building the house, along with instructions. The cheapest option for small living is to buy a well-maintained used RV or travel trailer. Craigslist usually will have several listings under $5000. You get the advantage of having something already designed and constructed, but you have the disadvantage of not being able to fully customize your home to your needs and wants.
6. Pare down your belongings: we spend about 80% of our time wearing 20% of the clothes we own, so by getting rid of most of that wasted 80%, your life becomes immediately simpler: less laundry and less indecision about what to wear that day. Instead of having 3 TVs, 2 computers, a VCR, DVD, Blu-Ray, and 3 different game stations, reduce to one computer–transfer your movies to a hard drive and a flat screen monitor can double as a TV. A laptop with a TV tuner is even more energy efficient.
7. Be creative about storage and multi-function furniture: a bed platform could have clothing storage drawers underneath. If you make a built-in sofa (without a bed) you can use the space underneath to store lots of things. A table can be made with shelves for storage underneath the table surface. Or you could design a table that folds out of the wall, then folds up and down to become a bed.

Video

A tour of a house that’s less than 100 square feet.

Tips

• Don’t try to cram too much stuff into your small home–it will make it appear very cluttered. This goes double for furniture: a full size sofa, a king size bed, a 6-person dinette and a large Club chair or reclining lounger won’t leave a lot of space for you to walk around. An armless sofa, double-size or queen-size bed in a loft, and a folding table with 2 folding chairs that would allow you to seat 4 for dinner (using the sofa as seating) is more reasonable.
• Build/design for your needs and prioritize your wants and add them one-by-one to the house until it is the perfect balance of desires and space.
• To “test drive” tiny house living, you can rent an RV for a limited period of time (like six months) and get a feel for what you need – and don’t need – in terms of space.

Warnings

• There is a substantial investment involved in building or buying a tiny home. Be sure you are physically and mentally prepared.
• Check local zoning codes for restrictions on minimum room size and RV/manufactured housing on residential lots. Many codes restrict houses to at least one room of 120 square feet and other rooms of a minimum 70 square feet. Some require the house to be built on a minimum percentage of the lot. You may be able to get exceptions granted to you, but be aware that many communities see small houses as something that depresses property values. Other communities see well-built smaller houses as something good for their infrastructure–less strain on the electric, sewer, and fresh water systems–and welcome them.
• Not everyone will share your enthusiasm for living small. They will think you to be a little crazy to live full-time in something that they would consider living in only for one or two weeks, a year at the most. If you are dating or married, be sure you and your partner are in full agreement on the subject of small living. If you are planning to have kids, be sure you know what will happen to your house at that time: will you build another small house and connect them together, or will you build a brand new house?
• Used RVs and manufactured housing are prone to water leaks, so check for any if you choose to buy something pre-owned. If you design or build your own house, be sure to pay attention for potentially damaging water leaks.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Start Living in a Tiny House. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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On my road trip to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, I had to stop and take some photos of this darling little log home just outside of Cedar City, Utah. The Mini Pine Hollow log home by Pine Hollow Log Homes is 11 by 16 feet with a full loft and a 4 by 16 foot covered deck.

Pine Hollow offers this tiny cabin as a kit and will deliver it within 250 miles of Cedar City. It takes about two weeks to have a kit delivered. This particular home was unfinished inside, but the Pine Hollow website should have updated photos of the Mini log home soon.

The Basic Package includes:

• Blueprints
• Treated skids
• Floor framing
• 6″ starter/finish logs
• 6″ wall logs, gable ends
• 8″ oly screws/construction adhesive
• Calking for windows and doors
• Loft floor joists
• 2×6 rough sawn window/door bucking
• Windows and door
• Deck framing
• Roof framing with OSB sheathing
• Porch posts
• Porch framing with OSB sheathing
• Milled 3×2 handrail
• Dormer framing with 1×6 tongue and groove siding

Cost: $8,781.00 (plus 6% Utah sales tax)

The Deluxe Package includes:

• All of the above items
• 1×6″ tongue and groove soffit
• Batt insulation
• 1×6″ tongue and groove ceiling
• 2×6″ tongue and groove loft floor
• 1×6″ tongue and groove porch sheathing
• Tar paper
• Steel roof, trims, flashing and screws

Cost: $10,865.00 (plus 6% Utah sales tax)

Pine Hollow offers other log home kits, most around 1,000-2,000 square feet.

By Christina Nellemann

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