Month: July 2010

Camp Coyote Update

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Our story is that the Tiny House Blog inspired my wife and I to build a farm campground using small (all acquired for free) farm outbuildings. Camp Coyote is opening for overnight stays in July and we thought we would announce it here.

The camp is seven small structures set on our farm pasture in Iowa. Six of the structures – an 8’ x 18’ bunkhouse, a 10’ x 16’ bicycle shop, two 12’ x 14’ tent platforms, a 9’ x 9’ playhouse, and a 10’ x 12’ shelter house were remodeled almost entirely from recycled materials. The seventh is a small grain bin re-purposed to house a pool inside.

The Bunkhouse was an old granary

The camp is on our farm place surrounded by acres of trees, pasture grass, and fields of Iowa crops. If things on “Tiny House Blog” strike at your core, you like to bicycle (Central Iowa’s Raccoon River Valley Trail is a 5 minute drive away), like peaceful environments, or just want a unique camping experience we think you just might like it here.

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Eco Cocon Solar House

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Almantas in Lithuania shares an ecologic straw-bale solar house.

Solar architecture is based on the efficient use of the energy and the direct solar energy utilization principle. Almost all windows are located in the southern side of the building. This way when the sun rays fall obliquely in spring, autumn and winter, more IR spectrum sun rays enter the building.

At the same time all efforts are put to keep them inside the building as long as possible: the windows are covered with selective film and the walls are plastered with clay, that among other good properties also have low thermal conductivity, i.e. it absorbs thermal radiation and when the sun is down, the accumulated heat is radiated to the surrounding environment very slowly, at the same time heating the building.

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Jenine’s Modern Tiny House Project

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Jenine Alexander my friend and nearby neighbor in Healdsburg, CA is building her second home with the help of a friend, Amy Hutto. I had the chance to stop by the other day and see the progress and it is coming along really well. They are offering it for sale and it will be ready by mid August and here is what Jenine has to say about the home.

Have you dreamed of living in a small, mobile, eco-friendly home? Our team is currently working on a 8’ x 16’ living space on a dual axle flatbed trailer. For sale, ready in August 2010 for $25K.

We build for maximum energy efficiency with a passive solar design in combination with denim-cotton UltraTouch insulation. A light-filled gem with upper and lower sleeping lofts, Ponderosa pine ceilings, bamboo flooring, and a kitchenette with marble counter-tops. Includes high end doors and windows, featuring a 6’ glass slider and bay window. Full trailer hook-ups for electric, propane, and water. Ready to go off-grid with any solar, wind, or hydro power system. Bathroom not included but available upon request.

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Tiny Parcels for Tiny Houses

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One of my readers Drue by name had an interesting suggested for another alternative for a place to put a tiny house. It is not without it’s own problems and you must be careful but I think his suggestions are worth looking into. I’ll turn it over to Drue now … Read more

The E.D.G.E

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This tiny prefab home is an experiment in all things efficient. The E.D.G.E., designed and built by by Bill Yudchitz and Revelations Architects/Builders Corp. in Wisconsin, stands for an Experimental Dwelling for a Greener Environment, and recently won  a design award from the American Institute of Architects-Wisconsin.

Several details of this design make it unique to other prefab designs. The “kinetic facade” rain screen, which consists of tall louvered panels, can be closed over the passive solar windows to insulate the interior and protect the E.D.G.E. when unoccupied. It contains two lofts with full staircases, and the furniture is custom made for the house and is multi-functional. In fact, the dining room furniture transforms into a bed.

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Laurel Nest’s Yurtle

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Asia contacted me the other day about an interesting tiny house concept. Asia is the owner of a company called Laurel Nest Yurts. Here is what Asia had to say: We just “invented” a yurt on a trailer, with a round deck.

The Mongolians invented yurts as a portable structure. Laurel Nest Yurts invented the Yurtle TM as a portable yurt structure on wheels. Our Yurtle is a mobile home that is affordable, elegant, and sustainable. Our smallest model uses less than 50 yards of fabric, 30 2x4s, 2 sheets of plywood, and 35 decking boards. The Yurtle is a tiny house with tiny materials, totaling about 110 square feet plus a small porch.

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