Congratulations to our Winner Kelly Foster! Thanks everyone for your participation!
The following is an excerpt from the upcoming book Tiny House Decisions: Everything I Wish I Knew When I Built My Tiny House, by Ethan Waldman.
If you are looking into building your own tiny home, I highly recommend Ethan Waldman’s book. Ethan answers the questions you should be asking yourself from the start. He walks you through construction decisions and the infrastructure of where and how to place your home and much more. A must read.
We are giving away one complete digital edition of the book- be sure to read to the end to find out how to enter.
Is a tiny house right for you?
You may assume you’re past this question, but I think it’s an important one to cover before we go any farther. People who look at gorgeous, quaint tiny houses on Pinterest all day are not getting the full picture. Aside from all the space issues, living in a tiny house comes with its own set of challenges.The biggest one of these is that tiny houses are either explicitly illegal or fall in a legal grey area when you decide to live in one full time.
The laws in your individual municipality will be different than the laws in mine, but building a tiny house will likely mean building a structure that doesn’t fit so neatly within the letter of the law. Out of this very challenge, though, comes an opportunity: One of the big advantages to building on wheels is that your house will likely not be subject to building code, because the house is not considered a building. This is good because it allows you to build whatever you want, wherever you want, without any interference. However, when you turn around and decide to live in that same house, since it’s not considered a house by the building code, it will be subject to other rules. It’ll likely be considered a “temporary structure” or lumped into the same category as an RV or travel trailer. Do you see the paradox here? You can build the house any way you like because it’s not considered a legal “house,” but that very same rule will prevent you from living in it legally full time.
As far as I can tell, even in my rural town of Morrisville, Vermont, my tiny house falls in the same category as a “camper.” The code states that campers “shall not be used as living quarters for more than 30 days within a 12-month period.” So if you take a literal interpretation of the code, I am breaking the law. And it’s likely that your tiny house will be illegal in one way or another, too:
- It may be legal for you to build but illegal for you to live in all year round.
- It may be legal for you to park but illegal to hook up to utilities.
- The way you park it may be illegal; for example, it may need to be on a concrete slab or a certain distance from other structures.
- Your loft bedroom may be illegal due to lack of egress.
- It may be illegal for you to build a “house” without a flush toilet.
I could go on, but I think you see the point.
I’m not saying that these laws are fair or come from a system that’s designed to encourage small or sustainable building (it’s not), but this is the reality of the current legal landscape. And it’s something that you, as a potential tiny house owner, need to be aware of.
What the legal gray area means for my tiny house, at least, is that I am unwilling to purchase land for the house. Since I rent the land that the house is on, I could always move it if I got in trouble. If I were to purchase land and then get kicked off, I could be in a situation where I’ve spent a lot of money for land that I can’t live on in my tiny house. That would not be good. Rather, if I were to purchase land, I would work with the local municipality to get a pass to put my tiny house there before I ever started building.
However cute they are, keep in mind that tiny houses are still new and the establishment is still figuring out what to do with them. I have no doubt that the tiny house movement will wind up on the “good guy” side of history, but in the meantime, you may be limited by both where and how you can live. If you’re okay with this small level of legal ambiguity, then a tiny house may very well be right for you.
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That is just one small taste of over 200 pages of tiny house decisions, explained in clear language with pros and cons for each choice. Tiny House Decisions is an excellent resource!
Ethan is providing one complete digital edition, featuring multimedia extras to one reader of the tiny house blog. This includes:
- Tiny House Decisions in PDF, Mobi, and ePub Formats
- 8 Audio/Video interviews with leading tiny house experts
- 12 video system tours from Ethan’s own tiny house build
Learn more about the book and all of the packages here.
Enter to Win the Complete Digital Edition
To enter the contest simply write in the Comment Section below and tell me how Tiny House Decisions will help you overcome the challenges of your dream tiny home. On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 I will announce the winner. The winner will be chosen using Randomizer where I will enter how many people entered and it will choose one randomly. I will then contact you and connect you with Ethan to to receive the book. Good luck and thank you for your continued support here at the Tiny House Blog.
Coupon Code for Tiny House Blog
Ethan is also offering a limited time launch discount to the readers of Tiny House Blog. Between now and midnight eastern time on Monday, September 22nd, you can get 15% off any of the Tiny House Decisions packages by entering the coupon code tinyhouseblog2014 at checkout!
My wife and i are starting to make plans for a Tony house. This book would be a great resource to get started
I would love this book, thanks for the contest. I have thought of living in a tiny house before , so your information would answer all my questions in one place.
being of an advanced age I think I will only get to do this once. I have built 3 standard size houses and there was always something I wish I had known or had a chance to live with first. I think this book would be of great value in avoiding the pitfalls of building a tiny home for a tiny lady on a tiny budget. I surely hope I win this book. thank you for writing it.
Tiny house decision ebook will allow me to invest wisely in a house that fits my adventurous lifestyle and professional musician lifestyle
It would help me chose my ideal type of THs.
As they say, knowledge is power, so this book will help me by showing me what the author learned as he researched and went through the process himself. Why reinvent the wheel when you can get guidance from someone that has gone before you? I look forward to reading the book. -Rick
Ethan’s book would help my husband and I very much! We’re still in the initial designing/planning stages and most likely are a couple of years out from building our tiny home but I believe that now is the most important time to be doing as much research and learning as possible. Having a good knowledge base in the very beginning will help us be better planners so that we aren’t constantly having to redesign or fix things during the build that could have been easily prevented.
It’s awesome to have a Tiny Home person put down all the challenges that lead to major decisions in writing.
It makes every decision much easier. I’m retired on a small pension, and tiny home living is perfect for me.
Now I will be able to nip every problem in the bud prior to construction.
As a newbie to the tiny house movement, I am looking for as much information as possible to help me on my tiny house dream journey! This book sounds like just what I need!
To have information from Eathan Waldman’s book, about the pitfalls of building a Tiny House, before doing so would help me immensely.
Regards
Jacques
I DEFINITELY plan to build a tiny house, hopefully within 2 years (not getting any younger). And plan to have help from friends who’ve done a lot of building themselves; but having the book would do SO much to avoid many of the frustrations involved (totally unnecessary, but……that’s government for ya) and provide the necessary information to have a much more pleasant & knowledgable build.
My wife and I are currently renting and we have been searching for a piece of property which we can build on. I am hoping to find out how I can build a tiny home without incurring additional debt (build as I can afford it), whether that home is on wheels or on a more permanent foundation. Thank you for your blog; it is very thought provoking as well as inspiring.
Rick
I love the tiny house blog and the whole movement. I often think what it would be like to have my own tiny house.
Having. A copy of the book will give me insight beyond the articles and pictures to the lifestyle and the preparation needed to build a tiny house.
Since my separation and having to live in a relatives basement, I can’t afford a place of my own. I love the idea of simplicity and building a house that suits me. Someday I will own my own tiny house!
my wife and i lived in our rv for two and half years with our two kids. have since moved into a larger home, but have always longed to go back to that way of life.looking to make the change again, as well as building the house ourselves
I think this would help my husband and I to truly look at the decision of building and living in a tiny home will be for us.
We will be retiring soon and have spent the last few years down-sizing and minimizing our life-style. We’re looking into building and living in our own tiny house but have many questions about how to go about determining a location, the legal aspects of ownership and general building guidelines. Hoping to win a copy of Ethan’s book as it looks like the perfect place to start! Thanks for your website and the wonderful information you provide to those of us who want to SIMPLY LIVE!
I’m interested in building a house, but I do get overwhelmed with the decision making process. Would love some solid advice.
The question I would want to answer is this; should I build build a small house on a foundation, or a tiny house on a trailer?
I need all the help I can get in making decisions regarding a tiny house. I think it would be a viable retirement housing option for me — in a few years.
I would really could use this book. My project has the following challenges I must address: to be confortable and energy efficient in the cold climate of Québec; then I want to make ure that I define the best way to design and place everything essential in an efficient matter.
Thanks!
As a grandmother and retiree I would love to downsize and glean experience to free myself of extra baggage. Then i could pass the skills on to my grown children to help them become free of electric bills and mortgages. Even at this late stage in my life I dream of this kind of freedom.
Thanks, Norma Jean
knowledge lessens fear, and fear is about all that’s standing between me and my tiny house right now…
Planning to build a tiny house to move into when the kids go off to college. Need all the help I can get!
I am embracing minimalism and trying to redirect my life so that I am living it and not just existing in it. I am currently an elementary school media and tech specialist, with a biology degree, working towards becoming a virtual science teacher. I share a passion for tiny houses with my husband and teenage daughter. Though, she would like her own! Ha! Our goal would be true freedom! Freedom from the typical American dream we thought we wanted and all the trappings that come with it.
Thank you for your consideration…and rock on with that tiny house of yours! You inspire sooo many!
I’m so excited to be able to read all the pros and cons of tiny house living from an expert! It will help so much to have insight into all the woes and wows along the way that those of us dreaming of embarking on this path don’t stop to think about during our daydreaming. Thanks for letting us know about this book, I’m looking forward to more learning!!
I have been looking forward to this book coming out as it should help with things previous builders have done/not done and what they wish they had done differently.
I collected all needed legal information for my area. Hope, this book will help me to “organize” myself before build… Wouldn’t want to have doubts regarding some of my steps.
This eBook should help me get a handle on how to manage a family in a tiny house.
Thanks for the chance to win!
This book will help me make a final decision as to whether a Tiny House can work for me with my disability. Thank you for this opportunity!
I Would Like To Open Up A Tiny House Hotel in my area just like the one in Portland,Oregan. Having my own business would give me more time to spend with my family. I would be able to home school my four children and quit my job as a school teacher. This would be a great experience for my family to help me build the tiny houses for the hotel as well as educational. When my children go off to college I plan to build each one of them their very own tiny house to live in while they are in college. It makes a great starter home for them, they can move it anywhere, and it will cost less than the dorms or an apartment. When it’s all paid off they will start their lives off debit free. This book will make this all possible. It will be a dream come true for my family for now and years to come.
For two older adults, one with severe OA in one ankle, and pets, the standard Tiny House is not an option for us as a full time home. But adapting the concepts for use in a “grounded” house, or possibly building a Tiny House to live in while redoing or building our grounded version has definite appeal. Having a source book from someone who has already found out what works, and more critically, what didn’t, would be vastly helpful.
I am considering building a tiny home in the next 3-5 years. I am trying to learn as much as I can, and this book seems like it will answer many of the questions that i have.
I have been dreaming of a tiny house, but do not personally know any Tiny House owners or builders. “Tiny House Decisions” would be like having an experienced friend guide me through the process. What a Great resource.
I would use the book to help me uncover the “unknown knowns” (what others have discovered, but I have yet to encounter 🙂 of building and occupying a tiny home.
I have been researching tiny homes before they were called Tiny Homes. I have never had much money. I have been called “gypsy” by my daughter because of my moving around. I am pushing 60 years old with disease that I will eventually die from. I just want place I can call “my own” and can take with me wherever I go. Be creative in. Have my own habitat how “I” want it, not how others want me to live. If I want plant hanging, fine. If want to oil paint in middle of night, fine. If I want the walls to have painting on them, fine. Just want a place to call my own. Do not need much space. Love outdoors and doing things.
We are retired and the trailer park we live in (we own our 1971 Moduline) dropped a tree on us! Now they won’t fix it! We want to build our own little house! Mr. has AA in Carpentry and I’ve worked in Labor Union! Thanks for sharing this! And thanks for the chance!
My wife and I have been following this small house movement for more than a decade… and each step along the way, we have catalogued issues that may come up in terms of the build. I think that for us the most realistic first step is moving into a much smaller house (sub 1000 sq ft) that is already built, living in it for a few years… mostly to help us whittle away at the extraneous stuff. I am very curious to see this new book. I am sure so many of our questions are addressed in this book. Fingers crossed. Thanks.
It will show me the ins & outs of what to expect so I do not get blindsided.
A small house would help me to become more organized and eco-friendly
Interesting to read of the gray areas and the law. This looks like it would be a fascinating book, even for someone like me who will probably never build a tiny home, but remain forever curious about them. Thank you.
I’m reading, reading, reading, but need more! Ethan’s book sounds like having the sage, “been-there-done-that-wiser-now” advice I’m looking for to really cut through the nuts n’ bolts of design. Bring it on!
tiny houses are the best! it appears Ethan knows the rules and regs and this book will steer us clear of many obstables.
Learning to live with less, easier said than done.
totally intrigued with the idea of retiring in a Tiny Home of my own — think your book would be an excellent reality check to get me started
The book might give me the correct rebuttals to arguments used against building and living in tiny houses.
Please consider me for the free digital copy of Tiny House Decisions. I think Tiny Houses are amazing and I would like to retire in a Tiny House.
Cordially
Richard Willett
Since I have been building my teeeeny one level Irish vardo out of a $50.00 trashed trailer I took apart with hand tools and am rebuilding with reclaimed wood, by myself, as a 55 year old woman who is homeless (on a friend’s couch)…this book would be really useful to little ol’ me.
Thank You-
This book looks great, I think it will help me talk thru the decisions of how/where/why to build.
It will answer many of my questions or at least point me in the direction to ask the appropriate questions.
I am planning on building a Tiny Home over the Winter. I need a book like this to help with the decisions about placement of the Home, Alignment, Plumbing, Services, Interior Design……
Planning and preparation are keys to success. I’ve been planning and preparing to build a Tiny House for some time now, and your book would no doubt help me plan and design a better Tiny House. It is so much easier to change something on paper than on the Tiny House itself! John Collins
This sounds like a great book! I am in the planning stages of building my tiny house and any information I can get would be helpful!
My retired military husband and I have been renting for some time and find the Tiny House lifestyle liberating. With my 63rd birthday coming up this week, look forward to putting the valuable tool being given away to work as the best gift EVER!
Tiny House Decisions will be very helpful because it will force me to face some of the difficulties associated with building a tiny house, and work through how I will deal with them. So far, I’ve been one of those people in love with the idea of a cute, petite dwelling, but have not done the hard work of analyzing just how and where I can put such a house, hook up to utilities, etc.
The tiny house decision will help me navigate through the variables to start living a tiny life. I am tired of working to make the rent payment and I don’t sweet a huge mortgage in my future at age 51, I see this as and opportunity to make life simpler and allow me to travel more to see my grand kids and let not worry how I am going to live in the future.
My family is seriously considering a tiny home and we have been actively looking at plans, watching documentaries and tv shows. The downside of many of the resources we’ve explored is the lack of logistics. Tiny House Decisions appears to address many of the questions/concerns we have. Great resource!
I have worked in emergency managemement for 24the years and have a 2 year degree in architecture. Tried condos but still too much control by others. Also have a physical disability so want to design something efficient and convenient for my needs but lets me spend most of my time helping others in response, recovery, and disaster mental health.
I want my husband to build us a travel trailer with the tiny house design We like to travel and since I have MS it would be much simpler to have out own private home to travel in and stay in. You have some very beautiful designs and if he can get some time off he wants to get started right away so any tips would be very helpful.
All kinds of troubling questions have now been raised and sadly have me wondering. Thanks for the heads up. Now I need to go into deep research mode as we seem to live in a time that does all it can to discourage downsizing, simplification and economizing.
Hi,
I was exposed the the Tiny House Movement very recently. Ever since I’ve been looking up how to videos and books to give me more information. I am literally obsessed with Tiny Houses and am at the point where I am trying to decide if tiny houses are for me and start building my own Tiny house. This book would be a great tool, giving me a good picture of what I need to know before I make any serious decision. Thank you 🙂
I’m hoping this book will answer many of the questions I have about legal code and building techniques! I’m not exactly a carpenter, and I love any building tips.
My boyfriend and I are planning on building a tiny house for the freedom given by it, but have so many questions we would like answered before we build. This book covers the finer points and would be an excellent resource for us!
We are building a “tiny house” out of a Race Car Hauler…. it will be a mobile home on our country property that we can move to a different setting when we please. Need help with the interior. I have a feeling the book will cover some of our concerns.
Thank you.
Having lived in a moldy, and often smoke filled old house with tiny north facing windows I am anxious to make some changes. A tiny house may be my ticket out of here.
Like all good ideas …there are many unforeseeable details one must to try and foresee or back track to overcome or accommodate before anything is ever accomplished…I feel that your book was made to clarify the non-simplistic part of simple living I really love the tiny house movement… I also have quite a few facets of my life that are not so compatible with tiny spaces…better to engage the whole debate to see if my life can be fit into these cute little circumstances before i try …
My dream is bigger than just one tiny house. I dream of creating a small and sustainable village here on my family farm…and really I need ALL the help I can get!
I live in a 2000 sq. ft. house that I built in ’83-’84. We’re thinking of downsizing as we’re both now in our ’80s and we don’t need as much room now.
I would love to build one of the Tumbleweed 3 bedroom homes, and this book would be a great tool to help me accomplish that goal.
I plan to retire in January 2015. I am starting to build my home, 7′ 5″ x 16′. I never even thought of some of the question you mentioned above…. like living in the home all year round. You book would make a great birthday present to me [September 25th] along with a great relieve to all the worries that comes with out doing the proper research before I retire. I would be ever so grateful if you find it with in your heart to award me the book.
Best regards,
Bob
I have a vision of land that I can build several tiny houses or yurts w one common building. I want to move from being a woman who works 60 hrs a week to someone who spends those hours w family/friends… In my “golden years”
This book would answer all of my questions, so maybe I could make up my mind about building a tiny house.
I don’t even know where to begin, but I REALLY wanna do this!
I’ve been looking at plans for several years now, trying to decide what I *really* need. I’ve got the location, and have a good idea of a budget, but I think this book will be a great help for realistic ideas.
Really, I need all the help I can get. My wife and I live very simply and we are (almost) minimalists. I’m would like to build a tiny house as an itinerant spiritual hermitage, living out of it for extended periods. It would need to be cozy and comfortable, beautiful and functional, but it need not provide everything all the time. The hermitage would provide a place to get close to nature in silence and seclusion for extended reflection and reading, writing and prayer. The THD could help me make the most of this dream by avoiding pitfalls others have encountered in building and code enforcement, as well as living in and furnishing such a place.
It appears to be REQUIRED reading, before you pick up your first tool!
I need a gentle hand to help fill out my limited knowledge. I know he will answer the questions I have not even thought about yet.
Looking forward to reading it!
M
Im just now fixing to build a small house for me and my son. We live in West TN. Ive been looking,reading, and just trying to find out everything I need to know and do to get this built for me and him. Thanks
To be able to let go of “things” I’ve been holding on to, decluttering my life, and being able to “live” instead of “survive”…..
Living in Austin,Tx in my particular ZIP code has become quite expensive in property taxes. I own my home and have been living in my garage apartment to cover the mortgage by renting out the house.
Austin is becoming Condo City . I value not having to share my walls with anyone.
I am a believer in living smaller . I am getting older and would love to stay where I live on my own property, offering me a chance to afford to stay here.
Just thinking about all the “unknowns” of zoning ,how to have a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom etc.,etc. is all very overwhelming to me !
Having an accessible reference guide would be a boon !!
Valli Pappas
I really want to live with my family in a tiny house. It would help us spend $ on medical care and childcare, rather than rent and storage for stuff! I am currently building my skills and searching for our ideal build. Thanks for all u do Kent!
My husband and I are looking to build a tiny/small house for our family of 6, that’s right, I said 6. We would be building more of a permanent home, instead of a home on wheels and need to know the ins and outs of what it takes to do it. Thanks for this great blog!
Ethan, Thank you for this opportunity. Since I want to build my tiny house for financial reasons (I’m losing my house and land to foreclosure while waiting on disability determination) I will not have a penny to spare. Mistakes are costly – I can’t afford that – I’m losing everything during this wait – and cannot work. The downsizing doesn’t bother me – I’m already letting go of my possessions and come to terms with the probability of living in an RV park – but need to get it built right the first time! As things stand – until that disability comes in – I can’t even afford the book! So winning it would be a God send.
My obsession towards tiny homes started 7 years ago. I have never gotten to stay in one, so I wouldn’t know living in whichever certain size is right for me. I have seen people’s review in how much tiny homes have helped them financially too. But besides that would a tiny home gives me that feeling that I always wanted, that homey feeling?
I believe this book will lead me to the right path. To seek the answer I questioned. To guide me to have my dream home, my very own tiny home.
Buying a small 20′ x 25′ cottage…
Needs work … want to learn from your experience …
I had a heart transplant in 2009 and am now doing very well and want to have a home that will travel with us. My husband and I have been interested in tiny houses for several years and it seems just the ticket for us!
I would love to have this guide to help me plan for the tiny house I hope to have someday! I want to do as much thorough research ahead of time as I can, to make sure I do it right the first time. This guide would be a huge help!
MY WIFE HAS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND WE WANT TO BUILD AN RV LIKE YOUR TINY HOUSES SO WE CAN GO TRAVELING AFTER I RETIRE THEY ARE REALLY BEAUTIFUL THINGS
I have no idea where to start! I am sure reading someone else’s experience would save me making many more mistakes than without some information. I also liked the picture from the book and thought it would give me ideas for my own tiny house.
I am planning on building a tiny home in Tennessee in the next two years where my husband and I will retire. I want all the information I can get in order to make decisions we will be happy with for a long time. I want this to be our final destination and I know the more informed we are the more happy we will be.
I would live to win one of the Tiny House Decisions books as my partner & I are in the process of buying fishing property & will be building a Tiny House to retire on it. We love reading Tiny House Blog and discuss every issue. Thanks for writing it!
I have wanted to explore living and building a tiny house for many years, my husband has not. I have been ridiculed by family and friends for this idea. There is a chance in the next few years my son and his family may be moving this way. We own a home on a large lot and would have plenty of room for a tiny house if we were to let my son’s family live in the “big” house. So, now is the time to seriously explore the idea of living tiny. I have been trying to read and to learn the realities of this lifestyle and your book would be a good next step. Thank you.
I am a 65 year old retired woman with a handy son who has offered to help me build a tiny house . I have not yet decided where I will build it , but your book will certainly help me with my many of my decisions. Just reading the small excerpt has made me think about legalities and other obstacles in a different way.
Tiny House Decisions would help me in my desire to live in a tiny space because it spells out the pitfalls and explains how to consider them and overcome them within your personal limits and choices.
I am deciding if I can move from 600 sq feet into 125 sq feet. Need all the input I can get.
I’d love to win a free copy of the book because this is deflating my balloon of enthusiasm just a little but at the same time it’s making me more determined to forge ahead. My Tiny House is probably 4-5 years away and in that time I’m going to work on TPTB in my city and try to at least get a feel for the legalities in my area. If I don’t win a copy I’ll probably still by one with that nifty discount code.
Hello! I would love to win a copy of Ethan’s book. Since the winner is picked randomly, I won’t go into my sob story of being unemployed for the last few months, but luckily I do own a home with enough equity to build a small place and not have a mortgage. I am unusually attached to my current house and could only sell it if I were to be able to build an equally fantastic place. I have so many questions and could use the answers provided in this book. Thank you!!!!
for 3 years i have been thinking about building a tiny house here on my land to downscale…….and making the decisions on my own is very challenging, even after having taking one tiny house building workshop. so i would love to get one of the packages!
Tiny House Decision will hopefully add to the knowledge base that we are accumulating by reading the Tiny House Blog and other tiny home resources. Thanks!
I am currently planning a vacation at a tiny house hermitage, to see if tiny living is for me, which as a minimalist I believe it is. I’ve been researching tiny house living for over a year, and need to know the things in this book!
I have recently built a tiny home on my truck and now I am looking into buying land to build a tiny home amongst other structures to live on and I’ve been very curious of the legalities.
hello,
for 3 years i have been thinking about building a tiny house here on my land to downscale…….and making the decisions on my own is very challenging, even after having taking one tiny house building workshop. so i would love to get one of the packages!
Winning a copy of Tiny House Decisions will help me in not impulsively making too many mistakes prior to building or purchasing a tiny home. My dream was to move back to my home state of Vermont to be closer to my mother as she ages (83) and not have worry of my current mortgage hanging over my head. I am finishing up a degree in mass communications/mixed media, and plan to make the transition in 2017. This book, I beleive, is essential in making this transition and already answers many questions I have about legalities of a home on a trailer, and about buying a piece of land to put it on etc.
Thank you.
Interesting. My wife and I are considering building a tiny home on a foundation, next to her mom and dad’s, so we can help out as they get older. Surprisingly, the county we are looking to build in just voted to have no building codes, whatsoever. Although, not good for property values, excellent opportunity for tiny-home builders! Would like to see what other hurdles there are out there. We’ve been putting it off too long…
This book would be a great help in analysing the various code issues.
My husband and I have decided to build a tiny house. Being a single mother and raising 4 kids was definitely a challenge but i can say i am truly blessed that they are grown and on their own. My husband and I have been married a year on October 11 and want the experience of living on the beach or on the river as we r nature lovers. It has always been such a struggle for me all of my life working 2 jobs to survive and pay bills. I know a tiny house will free us from this burden and let us enjoy life one day at a time and grow old together happy and free!!
This book would help me, by giving me the questions to ask, to insure everything, I want to do is fully legal, so I won’t wind up with a hand full of citations,or a bunch of court dates.
My mister and I have become slaves to daily life, stuff, and jobs. We have been talking seriously for two years about tiny living. Freedom and adventure in change.
We however want to start a family and foster kids are more than slightly on our radar. However, the legal ambiguity of tiny living makes us feel uneasy about wanting more out of life than just the two of us on this journey… We’d love to read Ethan’s thoughts and see his perspective.
Our “Tiny House” is 1511 square feet….we have really downsized in our life in all aspects…we had a much larger house, more acreage and have downsized the last three houses. But, that being said, we constantly debate on whether or not to build a second, secluded house and it being tiny, 8 X 20 or so…I read Tiny House Blog every morning and also subscribe to anything that Jay Shafer is doing….looks like a fine bit of reading concerning making valid decisions on building and the philosophy behind it.
The tiny house movement is one that I believe in and would like to be a part of. As my mother said it’s always good to have more knowledge than what you need, but more importantly to have a understanding how the tiny house concept works and how you can make it work for yourself. I plan on building a tiny house for myself but I also plan to build a retreat for artists. A place that they can come and get help and renewed. One of the major concepts of the retreat is using tiny house design. For me the book would be a major resource to see what can be done and what can’t be down and how far we can push the boundaries. Thank you for your time
Sincerely
Monteque Pope-Le Beau
Family concerns (death, divorce, no support) and health issues (workers comp) have forced my hand. I have been very interested in tiny living for years, but now MUST make some steps (and I have. Currently holding sales and will do the big estate and house sale soon.) to rid myself of a 3,000 sq ft house with 3 car garage, which is worth about my mortgage payoff. 2 kids in college, about to graduate. I could really use some of this guidance in my next few weeks and months.
As the adage goes, 2 heads are better than one. I read my emails and view pics of quaint tiny houses, but no one ever addresses construction height limitations, building on a metal frame, going solar….. to name a few. This book would help addresses obstacles such as these and many more I will be encountering.
Tomorrow is my birthday and I will have reached senior citizen status. I have given to others, started and ran a Christian ministry with the little I have made. Done without and had hard times and happy ones too. When I was young I was told that if I worked hard and saved my money I could retire without any problems. Fast forward to the world we live in today. Enough said… My dream is not of retirement it is to find a way to live and feed myself without being dependent on the government. Can you show me the way?
I want a tiny house for retirement and want to start planning now! I know there are a lot of decisions to make and this book would be very helpful.
I want to do this, but I don’t know how to get over the hump and pull the trigger. I keep asking myself, “Have I thought of everything?”
I am a stuff person and I want inspiration to be motivated to get rid of the “Stuff” and eventually be able to move into a tiny house.
I really want to pull the trigger…I’m ready…BUT I keep asking myself “Have I thought of everything?”
I am looking forward to building a tiny house and hope this book will help me do it all in the right way.
I am actually thinking that the big decisions are the easy part for me. If I have decided that a tiny house is for me, I will overcome those roadblocks. The details of living in a tiny house are what interest me. Honestly, can I really do it? I am 6’1″. Will I fit and how? That is is my main question. What if it rains for days straight? Will I get cabin fever? That is the big one for me.
Excited to learn as much as I can before building my dream tiny house!!
I would love to have the decisions book, my husband and I have just discovered tiny houses and are seriously considering building one.
I’m hoping to put up a tiny house that will be deemed a “shed” as our codes here don’t require permits for a shed. I think it will be on skids. I wonder if it needs to be tied down somehow. Lots of questions about building as I have never done anything like that! I expect the book will help me sooo much.
I can’t understand why you all are trying to reinvent the wheel,,,or house on wheels,,,isn’t this just an extremely heavy and ungainly trailer house, loft or not I’ll take my 1956 Spartan Executive Mansion, for life, and it’s a legal mobile home…
He who is forewarned is fore-armed. He who is four armed is… half an octopus? But seriously 😉 knowledge, especially from those who have traveled the path already, is valuable.
Hi,
I’m one of those who loves the idea of a tiny house but have no real idea what it’s like to actually live in one. I frequently look around at all our ‘stuff’ and realize that the vast majority of it won’t fit in a tiny home. And we don’t even have all that much stuff! Still, the book will help me answer the questions I know I have, and also the ones I haven’t thought of yet.
Thanks so much for your blog, it is fascinating, encouraging and educational.
Natalie Hyatt
The tiny house decision book will help with some of the questions I may not have thought of and help take some of the quess work out of planning.
I think having the book would be a good guide for us as there are so many things to think about when your planning a tiny house construction project. Love the fact that is so much more help out there. Thanks for your blog and for this opportunity. Beth
I’m working on simplifying, minimizing, and eventually living in a tiny house on the beach. Any information that will help me make the right choices would be great. I’m on a budget, so winning this ebook would be a great help. Thanks!
The launch of Tiny House Decisions comes at just the right time for me. I’m about to purchase between 2 and 5+ acres of rural property in my home state of Indiana where I hope to build / have built a compound of tiny homes. The trailer vs slab and utilities vs off the grid are still some of my big decisions. Not to mention a state notorious for curmudgeon building codes . . . .
Tiny House Decisions sounds just like the tool I need to be in my toolbox along with my other essential tools.
I would use the book to gain knowledge of where and how to place my new home, how to make a stronger structure and remember always use hurricane clips at floorline and roofline to help against strong winds. Then using the book I would have the correct roofline and all will be wonderful in my new house
Wow! I think this book would help me get over my stalling tactics and really get started on making my dream a reality.
winning this book will help me in my tiny house process as i have a brain injury and thinking things through the way i used to is much harder. even taking on the project is daunting, but it’s possible tiny living may be the best thing for me right now.
I love the idea of a tiny house, but I am not sure I would be comfortable in one. I have laid one out on graph paper. I feel that a book like this would help me clarify issues and decide whether completely off the grid, mostly off is better and other issues of the same kind
We just sold our log cabin on a private lake in Michigan, and are going to live on our sailboat until we find the right place to build our “Tiny Home”. This book is obviously a necessary piece in the puzzle that is building an unconventional home in todays bureaucratic society.
My boyfriend and I are in the process of planning for our Tiny Home. He has a background in construction and architecture, but I need more information to be able to contribute to the design. It’s hard to know where to start because I don’t understand the implications of each decision. I’m sure this book will give me the direction I need!
The book would help me with some logistical questions that are holding me back!
Thanks for the giveaway; just learning about tiny houses and would love to learn more….
The kids are grown, I’ll be retiring in a few years. Have always had a passion for “living of the grid”, and looking for viable options. Thank you,
Kathy
these are some of the things I’ve been thinking about as well. I want to convert my shed into a tiny house but I’m not sure how to go about it
This will be a good resource on deciding if a tiny house is what I really want to pursue.
As I near retirement in my community-of-choice, I find real estate taxes are standing between me and being able to live in my own home. I need this book!! I’ll be 70 in three years and want to begin my adventure soon.
Betty
Austin, Texas
Would appreciate the insights provided enabling me to consider what I have not hitherto broached.
When my wife and I were married 14 years ago, we had nothing. Since then we have had 2 beautiful children, and a great 2400 soft 2 storey house full of poop. I lost my job 18 weeks ago and we are going to “downsizing” since we can’t afford the $1300.00/mo mortgage note. I remember when we had less, but had more. More family time, more together time, and less stuff to clutter our life. We will he moving soon, just staying here on borrowed time right now, and looking for the right direction. We know which way we must go, just starting down that path is difficult but necessary. This book I feel will help with that decision.
As I explore and consider various options for downsizing to a small or tiny house, it seems as though this book would be extremely helpful in helping to organize my thoughts and plans.
This would book/package would be great to help manage all the decisions and learn from others expertise and experience (and have it to refer back to along the way!).
The book seems as though it would be extremely helpful in providing guidance for planning for starting the process of building a tiny or small house.
I have been following your Tiny House blog for some time. My son would like to live on our five acres. It was just this past week that we talked seriously about how and what to build in addition to doing it in a legal way. Etan’s book would be very helpful in figuring out what to do next.
My wife and I are nearing retirement age and the tiny house options looks good for us. We would probably not use a loft for the bedroom unless we build stairs. I was actually lying in the bed the other night thinking up a counter-weight “tiny elevator”. Seems a bit in-practical in the light of day, but then again Tiny houses are all about imagination.
I am approaching the age of seriously planning for retirement. My husband and I have talked about building a Tiny House to live in for retirement since it would enable us to move around the country if we so desired. This book would help clarify some things and help identify other that need to be clarified before we start this endeavor. I’ve already put him on notice that we need to sign up from some free classes at Home Depot. 🙂
My wife and I run a free, open-source social movement, Friends Along the Road, which provides caring support for those in grief. We wish to have a mobile FAR bereavement sanctuary that we can live in with our cat as we travel the back roads, being a sort of old-time medicine show and a safe place in which one may grieve on his or her own terms, without being pressured by the agendas of others. A very tiny house built on a 4X8 trailer might be perfect – maybe in a lightweight conestoga style, or vardo or sheepherder’s, because we only have a Chevy Equinox with which to pull it. This book might answer some of the many questions I have about taking on such a building project. Thank you for listening.
I’m 69 years old and stuck in a mc mansion under water that I can’t sell. Since the winter when I first found out about Tiny Houses. I decided to build a tiny house. I’m researching what I would build. Help!!! The book looks tremendous.
My wife and I are working through the process right now. It would be nice to see more of what others have found out along the way.
At the beginning of planning my tiny house for retirement. Getting these questions answered or knowing what to ask will save time and money.
The book would really help me get a realistic, practical view of how to make the transition to a tiny house. So far I am pretty much one of those he mentions who have just been looking at pictures of tiny houses.
I’ve been haunting this site for a while trying to get all the information I need before plunging in. I have several friends on board with me (might have a community in the making!) that would love this kind of information. Thanks for offering it.
Having been watching the tiny house community over the past 4 years…one of these days I am going to actually take the plunge and live in one myself. Would love to see where the author would do things differently after he built the house…hindsight is always 20/20.
The more information the better informed the decision. I’m getting closer to my goal of actually building my tiny house, just waiting for the last of the savings to accumulate but it would be good to see what pitfalls might still be lurking once things are really in motion. It’s nice to have other people’s input and not have to reinvent the wheel every time.
I’m still years away from retirement but this is how I want to live. I definitely want to figure it out before I get there. This book will help.
My husband I live on the water in South Alabama (No Zoning)and we have only one guest room. I have a large family that gets together for fishing and swimming but I never have enough room for more than one couple. Since we have bad weather (hurricanes) The tiny house looks to be ideal for us as a second guest room and since its on wheels, we could not only move it to safe ground but use during hunting season up North Alabama.
I’m a widow with a house that’s far too large, with too much stuff, with a years long desire (and invitations) to go on the road with a tiny house and split my life into thirds with each of my three children. The stuff is almost gone and I’d love to start building this spring!
I started saving for retirement late in life. The idea of having a home that is all my own is fantastic, not to mention the potential for living a mortgage free life. I believe I can start now and by the time I retire have fulfilled this dream. I am really interested in having this book as a tool…whether I win or not.
Hi,at the moment i am one of those that is looking at pictures and dreaming about the lifestyle that a tiny house can help me live.your book would be a great help in assisting me to ask myself the right questions in order to be as preparedas possible.
I think this “Movement” speaks volumes to those like me who want freedom from monopolized monthly obligations. I am a 4 year law degree student with a Bachelor’s Degree living in what I call “Emasculating” Phoenix Arizona. I have an empty nest now and want to use my Tiny House to travel to see friends and family and be free financially for the first time in my life. Hoping to use my degree to help others when I travel maybe even with the laws of this movement if I can. I think this book will help iron out questions that I have before I start my build.
My Husband and i are in love with the tiny house movement, I am definitely not as knowledgeable as i need to be before we dive in.
this book would be a great starting point for us to move forward and work through our tiny house dream. =)
My Husband and i are in love with the tiny house movement, I am definitely not as knowledgeable as i need to be before we dive in.
this book would be a great starting point for us to move forward and work through our tiny house dream. =)
Let do this!!
I love the Tiny House Blog and enjoy reading it daily for inspiration and ideas, so thank you for this.
I am actively looking for land to build a tree house in which has been my dream for the past 4 years. The Tiny House Decisions book sounds like it would be very helpful in building my dream home.
I want to build myself a tiny home so that I can maintain an independent lifestyle in retirement…This book would offer invaluable information because there are not many books in publication about building a structure on a trailer. There are plenty of videos but little solid information…
I would love to build my own tiny house so I read this blog daily. Your book would be of enormous benefit to me to share your experiences and move me closer to the start of my own project. Thanks for putting it out in the world and helping this movement evolve into a reality for so many!
My husband and I are now at the point where we need to downsize. I have been following the Tiny House blog for a while and see there can be many pitfalls. It would help to see what we can really do; the doable difference between,” Oh, that’s neat!” and “Oh, it’s not legal”. My husband is disabled, so no loft climbing for him, and probably a mobile scooter would have to be part of the plan.
My husband and I have to downsize. He is disabled, so no loft climbing. There would have to be room for a mobile scooter. This book looks like it would show what is doable and legal, compared to what is clever and not legal.
Looking to build a tiny/small home next summer; seems like this material would be a great help!
I have been following the tiny house blogs and web sites for quite some time. We are wanting to do a small house or tiny home after we sell our current home (which is on the market now). If would be a wealth of information to be totally prepared ahead of time and to benefit from the knowledge of those who have been through this process before. We look forward to the simpler life!
In the next couple of years, my husband and I will need to downsize. Our current home is 1180 sq ft; we would like to transform my 196 sq ft craft cottage into our living space, and let our daughter and her blossoming family take over the ‘big’ house. Even though I’ve been a fan of tiny living for many, many years, there’s always more to learn. We need all the help we can get with logistics and efficiency.
Thanks for the great article about the gray area of tinyhouse legality. I think it is important to consider these things to balance out all the pie in sky day dreaming I tend to do about how cool it would be. I’m still comitted to doing this, just with a better sense of the challenges ahead.
regards,
Ramon Hildreth
Seattle, WA
My husband and I are just starting to think about building a Tiny House. We love the freedom it represents, and we would love to have this book to answer all the questions that are coming up.
I built a 2,800 square foot house in 1990 (with my ex-husband). We lived in a 29′ trailer on the property for 4 years while we were building. I loved my big house but what I really long for is the simple life of living in a trailer . . . my son is grown and on to his own life. It’s now me and my (second) husband. He’s not quite of the tiny house mindset but moving more in that direction. At 59 I’d like to build one more time but not take 4 years and use less of the earths resources. I’ve built a big house so I know I can build a tiny house. I’ve lived ‘tiny’ but my husband is still ‘on the fence’ about whether he could or not. I share the houses I think would appeal to him and it’s edging him more in the mindset of small is good. I’d love the book of course, but either way I’ll continue to read, enjoy and learn from your blog. Thanks so much . . .
Bought lots of books and plans, have lots of ideas, one day I will build a tiny house, so I may as well learn from some one else’s experience 🙂
Cant get enough info, fast enough. We were evicted because of age restrictions. Refusing to pay 1/2 of earnings for a place to live, we stay here and there. We are hoping to find land soon and build a couple of tiny houses. We will definitely read this book.
I’m very interested in the Tiny House movement and I feel this book will give me the final pieces of necessary information to make an informed decision.
We want to go much smaller but aren’t sure just how small we can (legally, physically) go.
I think a book like this will be very popular and useful. Although it might seem that laws and building codes are restricting tiny homes, not all laws are bad. I have often wondered about fire safety up in a sleeping loft – often built without a fire escape. I am all for tiny houses as long as they are safe.
We’ve been talking about putting a tiny house on some property but haven’t made it past the dreaming stage. It seems overwhelming – would love to have a good reference to keep us organized and hopefully avoid beginner mistakes.
I like the idea of a Tiny House, but I would want to make sure it would work out for my husband and I. Even as a local planning commissioner, I have no idea how many hoops I would have to jump through to build one in my town. It would help so much to hear from someone who has been there/done that!
I’m in the beginning stages of my tiny house quest……I was raised in a 550 sq ft home with 4 people and loved it was always cozy. Hope I win ????
I’m in the beginning stages of my tiny house quest……I was raised in a 550 sq ft home with 4 people and loved it was always cozy. Hope I win ????
It is interesting what she has said about renting land vs living on land in regards to legal issues of living in your tiny home. I personally am struggling with a lot of these decisions. We have a five-year plan, in which we will hopefully build and move into our tiny house. We also wish to be snowbirds. Do we buy land, or do we rent land? Do we build a permanent tiny house on land and then have an RV to be a Snowbird, or not? We want to do all of this without getting in debt as well, so there are a lot of issues I can’t foresee yet. I suspect this book will help me better foresee those problems – why reinvent the wheel? Right?
I would like this book, appreciate the tiny house movement.
My partner and I want to own a house, but local real estate prices are out of reach. We are looking at tiny house living as a possible solution.
My husband and I hope to build a tiny house as part of our retirement plan. This book would no doubt help us to do this is the right way to help save on time and money.
Thanks for the chance to win!
Apologies if this is a duplicate comment; I hit a bug while trying to post before. My partner and I are living in an area with very high real estate prices and think that tiny house living might be our way to get into our own home.
As someone who has owned and sold a tiny house, I would love to have this resource to begin building my own dream home, tiny! I have been reading, watching videos on special tiny houses and they all have some unique features that I am incorporating into my design. Ethan’s book seems like an awesome resource for me or anyone ready to build their tiny dream home! Thanks for considering me for this resource!
I am interested in purchasing a piece of land and building two tiny homes. One for my wife and I and one for my daughter. So I am sure this would be extremely helpful in knowing the legal issues, etc. Especially since I did not know some of these things could cause problems.
My Husband and i are in love with the tiny house movement! I am definitely not as knowledgeable as i need to be before we dive in.
this book would be a great starting point for us to move forward and work through our tiny house dream. =)
Let do this!!
Tiny House Decisions will help me overcome the challenges of my dream tiny home because I didn’t realize there were so many things to think about!
I’m in the research phase of living my tiny house dreams and I think this book will serve as a proficient and realistic start to that process. I’m already thinking about the “big decisions” and what that means for me and the community in which I live. Hopefully through this opportunity, I will learn more and determine truly what’s the best path for me. Thanks!
i want a tiny house to put on vacation property. it will help me understand the questions i need to ask.
I’m interested in a Tiny House simply because retirement is looming and I’m tired of the 1600 sq.ft. sytle of living. Too much stuff and I’d rather live well than large!
At 65 I hope to build a tinyhouse on a gooseneck trailer frame which I can then park on the property owned by my daughter and son in law.
This book will provide me with the questions I need to ask of the county officials prior to moving my tiny house onto their property.
It allows for an informed decision
I have just completed my 1st 3-D interior of my Tiny House and am pretty comfortable with it, tweaking it as I learn more about plumbing and electrical, etc. I know there is a lot I haven’t thought about and think this book would be a great help as I continue to plan my Tiny House. 🙂
the dream is to build my very own tiny house and this book would help clarify whether it would really work for me or not. thanks for the opportunity.
I love the tiny house movement and can see where this needs to become somewhat mainstream. Prices keep going up but money is getting harder to find. This movement would help a lot of people.
How would Ethan Waldman’s upcoming book, Tiny House Decisions: Everything I Wish I Knew When I Built My Tiny House, help me overcome the challenges of your dream tiny home? The answer’s in the book’s title: You don’t know what you don’t know. Ethan’s valuable, first-hand ‘lessons learned’ will, no doubt, provide me with not only a frame of reference, but, quite likely, an invaluable blueprint to map out a successful project!
This book would help answer a lot of legality questions that I have.
I’d love to read this book. I am very near the point where I can make my move. Do I buy land and build a tiny house, do I build one on wheels, do I try this in the US or go expat overseas? So many options. So many unclear rules and regulations….
In about two years, unless something miraculous happens, I won’t be able to afford my mortgage any longer and I’ll need to sell my house. I don’t want to rent and I think the tiny house on wheels is a good alternative for me. I live in California and would like to stay within CA. I would like to live near my grandchildren in South Lake Tahoe and maybe in a few years, near the beach.
I love building sheds and always wanted to build a tiny house. The book would be a nice brain enhancer.
My Son And I Would Love To Build A Tiny Home Whether It Is On A Piece Of Property We Buy Or Rent..Or Find A Tiny House Community To Move To. Who Knows, Maybe We Can Even Find Enough People To Start Our Own Tiny House Community. Because Of My Son’s Special Needs…We Certainly Want To Make ALL The Right Decisions. We Have Already Paired Down EVERYTHING We Own To Just What We Need And No More.
I Will Soon Be Settling On A Claim, And TRULY NEED This Book To Make Sure That We Do EVERYTHING We Should, And Don’t Do Anything We Shouldn’t!! We Are So Excited About Tiny House Living!!
I’m NOT INTERESTED in your gift book, THANKS for giving it away to some lucky person … I can afford to purchase it, and will glean the ideas best suited for me. I will start my build as soon as the Florida summer humidity is over, I hope someone who wins your book will appreciate it to the fullest ………….
I have been fascinated by The Tiny House movement for years, have a huge file on my computer, and see the next year as the time to get serious about building my home. Your book would be ever so gratefully received.
I followed Ethan’s build from start to finish and was always delighted when he shared the ‘next phase’ of his beautiful little home. I’ve been following the THM for well over five years…and have followed more building processes than I could count at this juncture! I’m so longing to step out in faith and start planning for my own tiny home…Ethan’s book would be a perfect beginning. Many thanks for your generosity.
I just spent the summer living in a borrowed tent trailer on a farm and while coming up against some difficulties have fallen for the tiny home lifestyle. I am not able to continue living that way for a few reasons at the moment, but I hope that this will be a short interlude before building my first home. I have been moving from place to place for years and now long for somewhere to call home. A tiny home will let me keep moving, as my future is not certain, but make my dream of home come true, and this book will help me along the way.
Hayley
ElizabethsForrest.blogspot.com
I am 22 years old and due to situations beyond my control i now help pay my parents mortgage (for the next 6 years) among other bills. I am a college student and already have loans i must pay along with my own personal bills. I discovered the tiny house movement and i am now determined to create my own tiny home. I want my parents mortgage to be my only mortgage i ever have. I may not be able to change the world, but i could change my world…
Amen Brandy – sounds like you’ve got the right idea
I am a 70 year old widow and have very limited funds monthly. I think living in a tiny house would help me finacially in the years to come. I need to know the facts before I start a project like this. My brother is a contractor and he would be my builder so I know it can be done. My grand-daughter lives on a 42 ft. sail boat with her boy-friend and she has gotten me interested in living with less, with only what you need. Very exciting to me. I would love to be the one to receive this wonderful book. Thanks, Jeanne
PERFECT TIMING!! I was just Googling information on codes and such to plan my tiny house build when I saw this blog post. Honestly, I’m going to purchase this information anyway but I still want to be considered for the contest. This will help me build my place and help show others how to do the same. Thank you Ethan.
I’ve been interested in tiny houses for a long time now, and I’ve thought through a lot of the questions and concerns surrounding them. I would like to read the book to see if there are any questions or concerns that I haven’t thought of, especially from someone who has lived in one and has real experience with a tiny house.
You raise an important point about legality. For someone who’s job takes them around, they can live in it full time but would not stay in one place long enough for it to be an issue. And they bring their home with them. Tiny House Nation had an episode example.
Those that wish to put down roots and stay legal might wish to consider an RV park or similar that has an open mind. You’d want to build your tiny accordingly too (to RV standards). The talk of a tiny community set up somewhat similarly might also be more comfortable for regulators as standards and expectations are being met.
It’s actually one of the big questions I’m mulling – I enjoy community, so how do I go tiny while not being pushed to the boonies. I’d love to be able to build my own home (have done major renos) and do so debt free. I already live in a small studio.
One local person getting a custom built tiny plans to stay in an RV park in town. But the pad rent is as high as an apartment… (as in $1100/mo)
I am a 47 year old woman and have never lived independently. I went from my parents care out of college to getting married. After 23 years of an emotionally abusive marriage, I find myself facing independence with great trepidation. When you combine this with my philosophical and cultural differences from mainstream society, a tiny house is a dream on the horizon for me. I’ve begun the journey with various sources of research, I would love to continue on with this book under my belt. Thanks
I am just getting into the “tiny house” building. My husband is disabled so we need to find inexpensive housing for the future. I definitely need any info I can get my hands on. This book sounds great.
My husband is a hoarder, so unless he’s gone, my chances of getting a Tiny house is almost impossible. I just want to simplify my life and feel that I am just to overwhelmed with too much material things that have no meaning to me at all but does for him. So I dream of being in a tiny house someday. Growing my gardens from north to south travel so I can grow all year round. This book would help me realize if this could be a reality or not.
My love of Tiny Houses has led me to study Architecture. I’m in my first year (just started). I would love to have this book, as I am sure it would inspire me!
I would give it a prominent place on my tiny bookshelf in my tiny cube where I do my drafting–and dreaming.
Thanks!
This book couldn’t be better timed. We’re planning to start building our tiny house in December and the number of decisions is mind-boggling. I can’t wait to start reading!
I’ve lived in an RV for about 10 years. Recently I had to sell. I’ve been looking into building a tiny home for a number of years. I like the idea of being able to use some of the ‘real’ (& small) furniture that I own, have my own home and being mobile. I read whatever blogs on ‘tiny living’ that come my way as inspiration for how I should design my home, and whether I should have the shell built by someone else.
I think this book would help my husband and I in two ways: to start our 10-year retirement plan and to explore ways of speeding up the process of getting small and tiny houses included in building codes.
My wife and I really want to get the ball rolling with our home, but are too afraid to make a wrong step along the way. We’d love to learn from your experience.
I have been following this blog for awhile & am fascinated about downsizing into something smaller. This book will give me the additional info. Fingers are crossed!
This book would be immensely helpful in getting my plans off to the right start. There is so much beneficial knowledge that comes from an experienced builder. It looks like a great book!
My husband and I are just starting out and are skeptical of buying a house and taking on all the debt that comes with it. We are looking at building a tiny house, in order to avoid bills and live freely on our own terms. However, we’re also skeptical of the practicality of raising a family in a small structure. I’d love to read through your book in more detail, so we can better evaluate our options!
My husband and I dream of putting a small cabin on his land in SD on the Lakota Sioux reservation where he was born and where we lived during the first 15 years of our marriage. We’re in our mid-60’s, so we’d better start building soon. We’re retired teachers, but he’s always been a jack-of-all-trades–built decks, furniture, playhouses, fixes anything that needs fixing. He wants to build his cabin himself, and when he does, he’ll have lots of relatives coming ’round to help and to learn. There is a critical shortage of housing on the reservation. “Tiny House Decisions” would help us jump-start our dream.
I’ve been researching affordable housing since 2005; I’ve had to constantly revise downward. I’m looking for hope here, and some practical answers.
I intend to buy some property here in South Carolina and build 5 tiny houses; one for my wife and I, one each for my two daughters, one as a common kitchen/ dining room, and one as a guest house, all connected by boardwalks (for those rainy days). I think this book will be great intro to the process, and look forward to either winning or buying it.
I’ve been hopelessly possessed by tiny houses ever since discovering their existence. the last several years have been trying and traumatic, and I’m ready to take a deep, liberating breath and really start living. I plan to build the majority of it, and have lots of research ahead of me. this book would be an invaluable resource.
The Tiny House Decisions book will help me overcome the challenges of my dream tiny home as I have no clue where to start on the legal side to accomplish my goal and I am very interested in reading some best practices to be successful in planning and transitioning to a tiny house.
I am absolutely obsessed with Tiny Houses!! I am set to retire in 6 years and am researching this extensively. This book would be perfect for my husband and I!
I just purchased my trailer this past weekend, now I have so many decisions coming due soon. Considering SIPS vs. Steel framing at the moment. This book looks like it could really help me through some of these decisions. Love your site, Thank you.
As my interest only mortgage runs into it’s last few years, I’m faced with a stark reality. I will never own the house that I live in, and the capital I will get out will not be enough to buy somewhere to live. Rents are becoming extortionate. And I’m one of a growing number of people in this position.
Then, I happened upon the Tiny House movement, and i have hope again.I will have enough to construct one of these, and living in a holiday arrange, there will be places to park and hook up if necessary. Advancing off grid tech, and small efficient wood burners will make it more achievable. I can visualise designs and spec and know folks who will help me raise this singe woman’s dream.
But i also need practical nitty gritty facts and advice. Yeah I’m working on it!
I have been following the tiny house movement since 2008. It would have been great to have a tiny house over these years, since I have been a bit transient! I’m still struggling with challenges that involve finances and parking that I hope to figure a way around. I think I would be suited for a tiny house long-term, but maybe your book can help me decide and get me started! Thank you for considering the gift!
As my interest only mortgage runs into it’s last few years, I’m faced with a stark reality. I will never own the house that I live in, and the capital I will get out will not be enough to buy somewhere to live. Rents are becoming extortionate. And I’m one of a growing number of people in this position.
Then, I happened upon the Tiny House movement, and i have hope again.I will have enough to construct one of these, and living in a holiday area, there will be places to park and hook up if necessary. Advancing off grid tech, and small efficient wood burners will make it more achievable. I can visualise designs and spec and know folks who will help me raise this singe woman’s dream.
But i also need practical nitty gritty facts and advice. Yeah I’m working on it!
I feel this resource will help me make wise decisions about building a tiny house without making many mistakes.
Thank You!
John
I am always interested in supporting the tiny house movement whether mobile or stationary. I am in the early stages of building a shipping container home which has its own set of issues. This blog is invaluable for a source of information and providing access to books on the subject for purchase.
I would love to receive your book!!! I have been following the “tiny house movement” for the last year and want nothing more then to start building my own home!
My partner and I are beginning to plan our build and have many questions that need answered about how to make our house as sustainable as possible. Love this site and very appreciative of the great community! I hope everyone here will get to realize their Tiny House dreams somewhere down the road 🙂
I have been following tiny houses online. I am getting toward retirement and want to downsize in Portland, Or (where they seem to support the movement. I look forward to seeing more ideas.
The book would enable to start the process of creating my own tiny home and hopefully teach me what I need to know to begin.
My husband and I are just drawing up our blueprints for our first tiny house! This book will save us from many a “D’oh” moment, I’m sure!
I don’t even know where to start! This would be so helpful!
How would Ethan Waldman’s upcoming book, Tiny House Decisions:
Being a Disabled older woman I would use it to define the aspects of the tiny house I want to have built in the caravan style. I have many challenges in the fact that I have to plan for eventually being in a wheelchair, and needing all the ADA adjustments to make the tiny home for myself compliant to the accessibility of a person in a wheelchair.
By having the book, I hope to be able to make the correct decisions for a permanent home for myself and my Service Dog, and not have to ever worry about housing again.
I’m living in a 40’s spartan trailer full-time now, and it desperately needs to be gutted, and re-built into a livable home. I don’t know how to start, and can’t afford to pay someone to do it all. I live in an isolated area, backed by Mt. Baker and Canada to my immediate north. The Fraser Valley wind blows down hard in the winter and I’m cold. Time for a new home.
I would love this book! There is so much to prepare as I plan my tiny house, I need all the help I can get!
I need all the information I can get in this regard. I am really considering the idea of having a home without the huge mortgage that goes along with traditional home ownership.
Still considering building a tiny home with cash but my family is growing and we w poo uld need at least a B53.
I have been looking into the whole tiny house thing for a couplenof years now. I am a mother of 5 married to man who love driving his big rig all over the country. When my kids have all left for college my dream is to live in a tiny house. But that won’t be for several more years. But I. The mean time I plan to build my tiny dream home and use it as an art studio where I can work on my art, without worrying about my little slice of heaven being upended when I move. Again. I really think that this book will be a huge help in making more informed decisions about the tiny house I will be building.
Determined to leave our upside down mortgage behind and be debt free. Just have to convince my very tall hubby he will not be ducking doorways the rest of his life!
My husband and I are in the beginning stages of our tiny house build (yikes!). He has extensive construction experience, and can easily complete the project, but we keep hitting walls when trying to find out very basic things, like plumbing, and the best way to do the foundation. There is just way too much info on the web, and you can never fully trust the sources. We’ve been searching for a book or manual or heck even some random guy on the street to help answer our simple questions, I think your book would be perfect in finally helping us get those questions answered.
My husband and I have been researching tiny houses for a few months now. We would love some help deciding if it’s really for us since he’s disabled and we have sugar gliders as pets. Thanks for considering me for the book!
I plan to move to a completely different state and am trying to decide between a tiny home and a berm house. This will give me a good starting point for research.
I’m in the process of building my tiny hose I have a shell of my building complete this book would help me make the best of my space I would like to learn as much as possible before I start the interior of my house to be able to learn firsthand from someone that has been there and done that would be awesome
The book would help with my quest for a tiny home. Build or have built?
This would be super helpful while planning out my tiny house. I plan on starting building next year.
I’m moving from NY to FL in 2 months, so a friend can help me build my tiny house, although nether of us knows much about doing this. This book could really be a important instrument for us to accomplish this new beginning in being healthier and happier with less. I can’t wait !!! Super excited 🙂
I’ve never built anything like this, and I have a lot of questions. I bet this book will have some answers, or provide some direction and perspective. I’m in the early planning stages, so it’s a great time to read this book!
My husband and I (no kids) went from a 3800 Sq foot house to a 725 Sq foot apartment. We sold everything we had. We’d love to go even smaller, and I think Ethan’s book will get us off on the right foot.
I am planning a new life and a new start for my daughter and I. We are in the process of reseaching new locations and building two tiny houses to live side by side. I really apreciate the offer of a good resource book to help us to make informed decisions as we work through our plans.
We’re looking into tiny houses to become debt free. Selling our current house won’t bring a whole lot of money, so this book would really help I would think!
My partner and I are designing our tiny house and have plans to build in the next two years after saving up enough money to get started. Building our own tiny house appeals to us as a way to get out of the enormous amount of student debt we are in and have a lifestyle where we are free to choose jobs we love instead of jobs that pay the mortgage. Getting a free copy of this book would help us save money by learning what costly mistakes to avoid in our journey of building our house.
My family and I are just getting ready to build our tiny house. The zoning issues seem to be the first of many hurtles we are trying to overcome.
I was just wondering which “Randomizer” you had planned to use. I have one.
I work on a piece of woodland with people with special needs. I dream of building a gypsy wagon in the woodland on a trailer I am at present hunting for at a good price. This book will be perfect to help me build it XXX
I’m sure like many we have started the process of what our Tiny House might look like and I know for me I have looked at many and saw many different things that I liked and didn’t like. I believe having “Tiny House Decisions: Everything I Wish I Knew When I Built My Tiny House” will be a great resource for all that I may not have thought of and more.
This ebook will allow my husband and I to consider many questions and issues we haven’t thought of yet, and will help guide us to the solutions we need to come to in order to make our tiny house build successful.
I’ve never owned my own home. I quit my job to work from home tolook aftermy folks. After years of taking care of my parents, I was diagnosed with a tumor and lost my health insurance and was uninsurable after that and it grew to the point where it impeded me ability to work. Being unemployed and with thousands of dollars in student loan and medical debt caused me to have to file for bankruptcy. In April of 2014, I was diagnosed with cancer, I was 28. I have since been treated for the tumor and am cancer free. I live as sustainable as possible and already use composting toilets, no paper products and garden, a tiny home is a decision I made to have years before any of this happened. Not only would a tiny house suit ny lifestyle, with my financial situation, I would not be able to qualify for a mortgage despite being able to make payments. Banks don’t care that I was sick and taking care of my parents who are in their late 70s with their own health issues or any of that. They look at paper. I have decided to build myself, following in the footsteps of my parents who hand built my childhood home without prior building knowledge. I already have the trailer as well and have downsized my belongings. This would literally give me a new life and the opportunity to own my own home, my own way and with leaving a small as possible impact on the environment. It would change my life.
I would hope that the book would tell me where’s the best type of place to put a tiny house, relocating, and dealing with city and county ordinances about living in a tiny house when it’s not specifically permitted.
This book would help me so much. I am newly divorced and really wanting to step into the adventure of building a tiny house on my own. My kids think I’m nuts. Lol I would love to know all the mistakes…NOT to make, before I start….Thank you for a chance to win 🙂
I would love to own this book. I am newly divorced and really want to focus on something positive and something for me to turn my thoughts towards. I really want to build a tiny house and it would be so beneficial to know what NOT to do before I start. lol thank you for the chance to win a copy of this book. 🙂
Will help to know what I need to have on place before I start building and what things to consider for design.
Tiny House Decisions will help me realize a dream and guide me to what is best for me in the way of downsizing to a tiny house. Thank you for the opportunity!
Dear Ethan
I think this book will help me build the tiny house that I have always been dreaming about, get past obstacles and hopefully simplify some really challenging decisions along the way.
This would help in my decision to downsize now that I’ve lost my home to the mortgage company. At least it would guide me with pointers on what to look for and what I need to take into consideration.
I’ve retired and have begun the process of seriously exploring a tiny home. The capital that would be released by selling my existing home and investing only a small portion of that equity in a new tiny home would significantly alleviate the difficulties that I might face as I become older. This book would go a long way toward answering the questions I have as I begin my explorations into this possibility.
I would like to win the book copy because I am planning g to start my own tiny house in April. I have been researching extensively how to build from the ground up. Any guidance that could prevent me making mistakes and wasting money or not being truly happy with the outcome of my building plan would be greatly appreciated.
I have just started looking into the tiny house movement and this book would be awesome to have!
I would to do this at my cottage. One of the old cottages was condemned, so we tore it down the town has changed the by-laws and we can’t re-build on our own land. Atiny home might let me re-build on it.
Thanks
I am on the journey already. I have a piece of land, the building permit application for the shed is sent, come next summer and I’ll pick up the hammer. I have less than a year to figure out the plan for the house and surroundings.
Hi, I live several hours from my family. I’m by myself and on disability. I dream daily of selling my home, which is becoming harder and harder for me to afford with rising cost of living and maintanance and then build a tiny living home on my daughter and son-in-law’s property. I would like it to be not so tiny that I can’t turn, but still considered “tiny house living”, around 475 sq’. or so. This would allow me to be back “home”, be with my family. I think about this daily. In this economy, who knows if my house would sell, if I’d even get enough to build a tiny living home. But, I can dream about going back “up home” to live around my girls, my wonderful little granddaughter and family.
I would love to build a tiny house as a project with my young adult daughter. It would help us both learn new skills while giving her the gift of future financial independence.
The book will help my desire and reality come together and compromise and reconcile. That balance will have a beautiful result.
My husband and kids would love to buy a tiny home. We cannot afford a regular house and we want out of this apartment. For our kids we want more yard than home. So we can have a garden and be able to travel. Also, I love reading.
I’m a big fan of the tiny house movement and considering my first build this spring. This book seems like a very valuable resource.
Is the life I want in reach? How can I get there?
A tiny house is a viable option for me, since my mortgage is too expensive and I can’t afford rent. I know that the book will help on my tiny house journey.
I want to live simply and with a smaller footprint on this earth. This book would be a great way to get my plans off to the right start. There is so much knowledge to be learned from an experienced builder. Thanks for writing it!
I am in my early sixties, 5 kids up & out on their own. Single and I don’t want or need a 5 bedroom house anymore. I want to go back to the country, build a tiny home and enjoy the rest of my years on this earth.
I’m looking forward to learning more about the legal aspects of building my own tiny house. Never thought about renting a property to place my house. You could secure 12 places to rent and set your house in a different location each month. thank you.
Would LOVE a copy of Tiny House Decisions: Everything I Wish I Knew When I Built My Tiny House, by Ethan Waldman. I’m sure there are many issues I have not considered and I could learn from someone else’s experience! Thanks for sharing!
Me and my husband want to live debt free but because tiny home living is not the norm in Oklahoma there’s not much support. If we were able to gain insight from this book, it would make our dream realistic. Thank you for the opportunity!
Lost my house some years ago and at 52 had resigned myself to renting as the 20-30 year mortgage, and the life needed to support it, aren’t there anymore. Finding out about tiny houses, while I’ve already been simplifying life has given a whole new lease on having my own space again and gives me a whole new project/hobby to work on and toward. Learning of the bigger learning aspects of pioneers before me is always part of my approach to getting things done. Thanks for the offer. May it go to whom it best serves.
I look forward to reading this book to figure out how best to develop a water system for a future tiny house. I would also like to learn about what we can do to buy land and avoid building permits for a future tiny house.
Last spring the winterized 5th heel trailer provided by the owners of the organic farm that I manage went up in a mysterious and pretty epic fire. I lost everything I owned short of the clothes I was wearing that day. I’ve been spending the growing season in a wall tent just trying to focus on keeping the business going but this winter I’ll be building a tiny house with the help of a carpenter friend. Obviously downsizing my belongings is not the a big deal anymore, but I’m a little daunted by the huge number of decisions I’m faced in designing and building what will be my home for the next 10 years (and after that the home of MY future farm manager).
Help a girl out?
I can use all the help I can get. This book would be a great way to enhance my knowledge.
I would love to read this book…… I am ready to downside soon. I still live in the family home where I raised 4 kids on my own, it’s way too big but I only want to make one move and keep veering between buy land or not/ build a tiny house or cabin first/or just rent a place and then build. I need help and have been soaking up all the info I can on the net but still haven’t made a firm decision and I still have to work out where this will be (so moveable may be the best option) This looks like the perfect tool to finally quiet my head space.
If I was going to say why I need a book like this, I would say that I am still in the learning stages. A comprehensive book like this could be very helpful in the decisions I make today. I also would like to use it to educate my friends in what options that we can do together.
I am planning on getting out from under a lifetime of mortgage payments and getting completely debt free by building my own tiny home. I’d like to avoid as many unexpected nightmares or overlooked problems that can cost me down the road. I’m OK with learning from someone else mistakes to make less of my own! 🙂
Thanks!!
Hopefully, this book will help alleviate fear of the unknown!!
Being in my twenties, I haven’t decided where I want to stay forever. A tiny house can fix that as well keep me debt/mortgage free!
With all the beauty and craziness in the world I want to be able to travel it! But I have to first have a house on wheels and be able to build it, it know who to ask for help. I think this book will help everyone decide if this is right for them, if so then it can help you get started!
I am in the beginning process of having my son build my tiny house, since I drive semi so am not home a lot to do so and my son has been in construction his whole adult life. I have bought several videos for him to look at to help him understand tiny house builds since it is definitely different than a large house as far as space consideration. We have stockpiled some materials prior to just purchasing a used trailer last week…which one of the things in the book information has a question if buying a used trailer is a smart thing? So it would be a great addition to our brainstorming to receive this book before we actually start the build in a couple of weeks, but regardless I will take advantage of the discount and get one as I would like to read it as much as have my son do so 🙂 It seems a lot of us are making the decision to go tiny in our retirement years and that is very exciting and I hope we can find more ways to create some small eco-village tiny communities for those of us who are of that age and yet want to live more self sustainable raising our own food without being by ourselves in the boonies. Again thanks for the wonderful resourse of your blog I just love it!!!!
How will this book help me: actually, it will help US. My husband and I are trying to buy land and then we are technically homeless once out of our expensive rental. We will basically be camping on our land until we can figure out how we are going to build a tiny house. I’m crafty and creative, but still have no idea what I’m doing excpet building on dreams. Someday we’ll have a family in our tiny home.
Since I have friends who are full-time rv’ers, I am interested in all the tiny house comparisons as I consider which way to go. Thanks!
I have been a full time RV’er for many years. I am looking forward to building my own tiny house when the time is right. I will be designing mine from scratch using just my knowledge of RV’s. Your insight will be invaluable!
I’m in the planning stages so this would be a great book to have
I’m alone after a 27 year marriage. I have moved to a new state to returned to college. the move itself presents a number of challenges. I am also somewhat disabled. My interest in tiny homes began long ago when I became interested in sustainability in high school, then had a small homestead with my husband. I see owning one as a way to strengthen my independence and also help me in my work as a future psychologist, when I hope to travel to help clients in disaster relief/PTSD. Thank you
The idea first came, when my wife suggested small homes for young people, to live in, between high school and college. I decided to research the idea, and a light came on. It just makes so much sense to me. We live in a society where bigger is better is the norm, where everyone is in debt to keep up, and we’re not self reliant. My wife, and I, are going to build us a tiny house, that will be off the grid, to give us freedom in our retirement years. Reduce our dependency on everything. Live simply.
My wife and I are just beginning to plan for our own tiny house, so this book would be great for helping us learn the ropes and prepare for the various issues we might face.
I have been waiting until I finished my bachelor’s and started applying for grad schools to build my tiny dream home. I have been geeking out on tumbleweeds for about 5 years and done several meetups and groups about it. This book will help me put it all together, as I start construction in the next month or so.
My soon to be husband and I are in the process of building our tiny home. We constantly have people telling us its a great idea and how smart we are for doing it instead of wasting money on renting a place forever. But without fail 90% of thise complimenting us on our “smart but bold” decision have that super judgey look on their face. I cant wait for the rest of the world to catch up with the tiny house movement and I must admit im rather proud of my soon to be home.
Decisions, decisions, there are so many options I am having trouble deciding what is best for my situation. This might help.
We have been thinking about leaving the “rat race” for quite some time and discovering the tiny house movement was just the thing we needed! I’ve been doing a lot of research but still have many questions and many decisions to make! I have always lived a simple life and yearned for an off grid lifestyle. Now it is time for me to put thoughts into action and your book would help tremendously!
For me, living small isn’t a want. It’s a need. After living in small spaces throughout college, my house (that I’m renting) feels too big and I spend so much time keeping up with the house that I’m not enjoying the beautiful outdoors. As a very recent college graduate, I’m still figuring everything out. I feel that this book would help me get from point A to point B. I am very passionate about small house living, not just for myself, but for the future of urban planning.
My husband and I want to build our own tiny home on our land. Hopefully one of our four kids will live in the family home. Then we can downsize and still be close. I would love to give this to my husband as a gift!
I have been in love with small spaces my whole life. My boyfriend and I recently made the decision to go back over the road (he’s a truck driver). It’ll mean very small living for us for months at a time. The end goal is to save enough money to build our own small house either on land, or as a small houseboat. While I’ve been fascinated with small living and following tiny house blogs for years now, he is new to the idea and excited about it. Having a book to study while we plan our move to permanent tiny living would be a huge help as there are so many things to consider when downsizing and making the move to live more green.
I know that with a project like this, there is no way of knowing all the things that could come up and even more so what feelings will come up when I run into challenges. This book looks like a good way to get some insight into those challenges and give me some things to get started researching while I’m in the planning and saving phases.
I currently live on a 42 foot sailboat. I would like to have a “land” house also but my finances are such that to buy a house I would have to give up my boat. I’ve gotten used to my tiny house and have no need for anything bigger although a laundry would be really nice. I have land to build on but I get stuck at where to start and still keep costs down. This book would help me get going.
thanks!
My girlfriend and I are tired of working all the time to pay for a home that we don’t have the time to enjoy. We love the tiny homes, of course they are adorable but the chance to own our home without being in debt all of our lives while living more environmentally conscious really appeals to us. We would love to go tiny sooner rather than later but we definitely need all of the information and advise we can get to make the best decision for ourselves and our daughter. We are excited by the possibilities but apprehensive about the legal roadblocks.
I am in my 50’s and found myself unemployed because the company I had worked for for years went out of business. This made me re-evaluate many things. I have researched the tiny house option for quite a while and decided right away that this was for me. “Things” are not what life is about. It is having what you “need” and being happy and as self-sustaining as possible to leave the smallest footprint possible on the environment. Thanks!
I’ve got my site, I’ve got a great attitude, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I am a perfect candidate for the book!
Looking for design plans, etc., for existing 1-room cabin.
I am trying to prepare for retirement and want to live mortgage free. I could use all advise.
I’m in the process of raising money to build a tiny house village for runaways. This book would help me with all stages of the build. We have been looking at different designs so that our tiny village will be unique with each home being different. The name of our tiny house village will be Haven of Dreams.
We will be helping teen runaways to have a safe environment to become self sufficient, and at the same time, become contributors to society.
We are just getting started in the tiny house world, but are serious about getting going on the project. I’d love a copy of your Decisions material to help us get started in the right direction.
I have always enjoyed being minimalist, so a tiny house would be the next natural step for me. I’m hoping one of my kids will let me park it in their backyard when I retire and maybe hide it behind the garage!
Hopefully covers decisions in Canada. Will help me decide on what NOT to do!
Careful planning is crucial to making an endeavor like this a success. Tiny House Decisions is the manual I need to get off to the right start!
After being the caregiver in Florida for my 93 year old mom for the past five years, my desire is to return to my home in MA. I have a son who is a licensed construction supervisor with a creative mind and I am sure he can create a one of a kind, relatively inexpensive tiny house for me. As MA is very expensive relative to FL, I would not be able to purchase a home there. This would be a win-win for me as I would be back home near my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
I have wanted to go much smaller and have fallen love with the tiny house. Hopefully this book will get me past the thought process and put thing into motion.
I’m planning to build a tiny house here in tiny Austria (Europe). As with a lot of social movements, Austria is a little behind… Right now there are only a few people starting to think out of the box and building tiny houses! As there are not so many real-life people around here I can ask for advice, your blog is a great inspiration for me, thanks for that! The book would be a great addition and help me get more insight and advice!
I am very interested in this book. I have been wanting to built tiny/small for a while now. Not only do I feel the responsibility of teaching my children to limit their impact on our earth, as well as consume less – but I love the intimacy afforded by a smaller living space. You have no choice but to spend time together – like families used to. My assets are limited to say the least, so I think this book would give me a lot of information that would be vital in my decision making process. Thanks!
I live in a town where people live in houses with rooms that they haven’t stepped foot in since Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t believe that people need a huge house to define their own happiness. In the near future I’ll be building my own tiny house, this book would greatly help in doing so.
In a society in which we tend to judge each other, and base our success on the amount of “stuff” we acquire, I am starting to liquidate my belongings. I live in a tiny apartment now, but dream of building my own tiny home. I already have student loan debt looming over me, and do not wish to have a huge home loan as well. Before starting the process, I would love to read this book and familiarize myself with the “rules” for doing so. Thanks!
This book would certainly make this process of building a tiny house that much easier.
I’ve frequented your blog and find it to be quite helpful. It is a great resource.
Thanks for the opportunity. My son purchased about 5 acres in Eastern Tenn in the Blue Ridge Mountains. My plans are to build a tiny house on his property. I drive from Jacksonville to Johnson City once a month clearing land and getting “my” spot ready. This book will help me answer some of the questions and help with decisions that I will be facing in another month or two.
I´m completely enchanted with your tiny houses, it´s the first time I´ve seen your blog. I had that idea in my mind, but never thought someone has the same idea so developed and in such a beautiful way. I live in Playa del Carmen, in Mexico, in the area of the Caribean sea and would like to built a house like those you have built . Your book will help me a lot to organize the ideas and make it true and real. Thank you
There’s an experience that you can only get from doing something. Ethan has been doing this for a while. After seeing his house on a documentary, I immediately had to look him up afterwards. The design is AMAZING and I’d like to build something similar 😀
After being injured on the job, 5 1/2 years and 5 surgeries ago, sitting in a 3 bedroom/2 bath/2 car garage home on 1 acre recovering, I have had lots of time to think and to research. My husband and I could not have children and we have moved around a lot (military). We never thought it necessary to buy a “big” house since it was just the two of us. Renting 1-2 bedroom apartments/small houses suited our needs fine. Somewhere along the way, someone encouraged us to buy a house as a “tax break”. That was a few short years before the housing bubble and an expensive cross-country move (that we payed for). We were left paying a mortgage AND rent until our house sold 3 months later. Because we thought it was the “responsible adult” thing to do, we bought another house, and a third. 3/2/2 because that has the best re-sale potential. We have not been truly happy with any of our “investments” and have barely made any money on any of them, because of the housing market in the 15 years we have bought houses. We were happier having just what we needed and more money to do the things we enjoy (such as travel) instead of being “slaves” to a mortgage and upkeep. In our research, we have decided that Tiny is the best way to go, for us. We are in a position to put our current “big” house on the market so we can FINALLY realize our dream of living Tiny! This book would help us in making our final decisions. The blog and newsletter have been a great source of information and encouragement for us.
I’ve been dreaming of building a tiny house for the last year or so. I have two small kids and a husband and owning a home where we would like to be just doesn’t seem attainable in our area within our budget. We have been brainstorming home ideas to make having a place of our own more attainable, and this certainly might get us there.
I try to build a tiny home for my family and Tiny House Decisions will help me to build it hopefully without fails.
I am hoping to build a tiny house village on my meager 5 acres. I need the information in order to know how to legally build and have my homes ready for my family members. Thank you for this opportunity.
At age 75, I don’t have the luxury of”tons of time”, so I would use this book extensively to cut out most of the “running around” that everyone does just to find out all the basics! I’m sure that Ethan has done all of that for me already and I can use his “young” advice & knowledge.
As a PhD student who is debt free and living on a miniscule amount of money annually, I have seriously considered taking a summer to build a tiny house with my father. If I could significantly reduce my housing expenses I could be much more flexible about what jobs I can consider. This book will help me make an informed decision about whether or not this is the best next step for me.
I hope the book will give me options to legally build my tiny dream house close to my family and friends.
I just love the Tiny Houses,would be great for me since i’m retired now,snd alot easier up keep and cleaning .
I need to downsize and I want to do it correctly. A tiny house will give me financial independence (no mortgage) and by using your book to determine how to design and build it – then it will meet my needs for many years.
We are in the plans of starting a small homestead and buying land. Our family could really use this book as our guide as we build our own tiny house!
I am planning to sell my ranch house and build a tiny house for me and my 11 year old son to live in. Then we plan to build one for my 22 year old daughter so she can finish college and still have a place to live. I am committed to this huge life change and both my kids are on board. We would love to have a copy but will buy one if we don’t win. Thanks!
After living my entire adult life thinking you had to have all this ROOM to breathe in and rooms to put STUFF……I cannot wait to build my own tiny house and become debt free in a world that gets financially scarier by the year.
I love this newsletter and have been thinking about building a Tiny House on Wheels. There is so much in this country that I want to show my daughter. I think that living and traveling in a tiny house will allow me and my wife do just that. I think that this book will help us with the decision making process. PLUS it will help us introduce tiny house to our area.
My husband and I have decided to build a tiny house, but I am so lost on where to start. I believe this book will be a great help whether I win it or not.
I think this will be a eye opener for me. I built a small house structure that has a small loft with a composting commode. I don’t have running water to it. It has baffled me on how do make that happen. My husband and I are now planning on how to keep downsizing and simplifying .. Can’t wait to read the book..
My husband and I have begun the process of seriously considering tiny house living. We have agreed to spend a year researching as much as possible so that we might make the best decision for us regarding size and layout. This book sounds like a wealth of information for anyone getting ready to make serious decisions about tiny house living.
Because I am saving to buy my own piece of land & I want to do it right the 1st time! What better way than to learn from folks who have already done it?
My partner and I have just ordered our trailer, and we’re working on fleshing out some of the details of the interior design of our house. I think this book could help us make some important decisions in terms of layout.
I love your blog and love that this book was written to simplify smart research before deciding to go the Tiny House route. Thanks!
I’m most interested in learning about finding locations to put a tiny house, both in the US, and internationally. Other than that it’s always good to learn any of the “gotchas” that others have already encountered. No use trying to reinvent the tiny wheel!
Entering for my husband and my friend Stephanie. Stephanie wants to build her on tiny house, and my husband want’s to build a tiny house village. Our first tiny house we are starting with a pre built shed, and fixing it to met her needs, to test run living small. She want’s to build her own from scratch in a year or two but needs to save up. She also wants to take a building workshop. My husband wants to build tiny houses, to offer as low cost housing for friends. Alays looking for information that helps! — Also are there any reviews of the book? Will it be available on the kindle for purchase?
I’m a 67-year old woman with a few health problems. I think this book can help me decide if I really do want to sell my current home and go for a tiny house, which appeals to me. This group is also a big help.
This book will help me analyse most of the issues involved in building a tiny house, and let me know I am in for! lol!
Designing a a tiny house to suit your needs is easy with all the on line resources out there. Simplifying your lifestyle to actually live in a tiny house is challenging as only you can do that.
Finding a legal place to put your tiny house is the hard part.
Have you ever said to yourself “I wish I would’ve known that before…” I believe this invaluable resource would help answer some of those questions before we start the actual build of our tiny home/bunk house this winter.
All the way from little ol NZ, i am a student currently living in my van withing out a working engine , in a shed, as rent prices are too large in the city i am in. Living like this for the following year to come (due to studying) is looking less then ideal, so a tiny home option is looking more and more appealing every day, i dont have a cooking facility or toiletries in life in the shed, it is pretty dark and dingey too, so owning a tiny home will help me get out of this place , and give me an investment for my future! NOW WHERE TO BEGIN!?? (my sketch book is awaiting 🙂 )
I prefer to not be surprised when it comes to things as serious as building a tiny house. This book would help me avoid unpleasant surprises in the whole process!
My fiancee & I are considering a Tiny House in the future. Sounds like a book we should read. If we don’t win it, I’m sure we’ll buy it sooner or later. Thanks !
My husband and I are trying to plan our future after the kids are grown. I personally love the tiny house idea. Now I’m trying to convince him that it’s something to consider.
My wife and I are ready to start living tiny. But we know it will be a five year plan. Our two kids and myself back in school play big time restraints. This collection will help us plan our families future. Looking forward to the read.
I am nearing retirement age and want to be able to travel and visit family without being a burden to them, yet live comfortably in my own space, affordably. I have been studying Tiny Houses for years and planning and designing in my mind and on paper. It would be amazing to have a little bit of wisdom in my pocket from someone who has “been there, done that” to guide this single mom through making my retirement dreams a reality. Pick me! Pick me!!
I sooooo NEED this book! We are establishing a community for Tiny Home people and we will be building our personal tiny home in January. While I have designed, redesigned, spoken with, taken workshops, written, asked, bought DVD’s, etc. and really need this perspective! What an AWESOME collection of information 🙂 Please chose us! Cannot thank you enough for all you are doing! Peace & Blessings…. RJ
Having the tiny house decisions book will greatly aid in my decision to build a tiny house or not in my area, especially considering Canadian climate and regulation.
My boyfriend and I are deciding whether to build wider than 8’6″ or not, and also whether or not to buy land to park our tiny on. We understand we wouldn’t technically be legal, but we may be willing to take the chance depending on where we are able to find land. I think a book like this would be very helpful for making those decisions!
I love the concept of tiny houses! I’m currently in the “collection” phase for my own tiny house, as I intend to build mine entirely from re-used or re-purposed materials. Thank you so much for providing folks like us with a guide to our tiny living!
My wife and I are planning and collecting materials for our building project. This would be a great resource for us. Thank you for this opportunity!
I have decided to make the jump! While I currently live small in a 500 sf cabin, I am building a tiny house this spring and moving in sometime in August of 2015. My only concerns now are finding a piece of land to rent to put it on and find out how to comply at least a little with local law. Living small-easy, getting others to see it your was-not so much. This book will help me forsee issues and problems I haven’t even considered yet and make the process that much better, learning from another’s experience.
Thanks!
I’m a Realtor in Vancouver BC Canada and I sell big expensive homes & condos, but I’m fascinated by tiny homes. As I say, the bigger the home, the more time it takes to clean… Yeah for tiny homes!
The book would help me organize what I need to do. Building a tiny house dream is not easy and I am not very savvy at building nor do I own many tools. But at least I can outline a process and hire the appropriate help. Best regards.
I would love to have this book. We are planning to build tiny house, but you are correct in saying there are so many decisions. Having this book would be like having a third opinion that is just sharing knowledge but not trying to interfere in our own preferences. I hope I win. 😉
My boyfriend and I have been planning our tiny house for over a year, and we still feel a little nervous about the little details. We want to make sure we consider everything we can to make the building process as smooth as possible. It would be awesome to have a copy of this book!
This book sounds awesome. We are always looking for books and videos by people who have built their own house on a trailer. It really helps to see the challenges and problems that others have worked through to make their home a reality.
I am just starting the planning for a little house – luckily there are a few trailblazers here in Ontario – but I want to make sure I’ve thought of everything before I get started.
This book sounds exactly what I’ve been looking for! My husband and I deeply resonate with the tiny house movement and this book would be a tremendous help to us in our research about tiny homes, which we hope to own in another year or two.
My boyfriend and I find the happiness in the smallest things as a couple and in the world. We do not desire cable, name brands, and the latest technology. We even value our love and commitment more than we do rings or a 10,000+ wedding. We enjoy the outdoors, adventure and every moment spent together is what is most valuable. We feel like a tiny house is our calling and our recent biggest obsession. We wish to travel the world and spread the happiness of the little things in life. Love, peace, health, environment and the fact that this Earth is Home not a 2,000+ sq ft house. People are so consumed by technology, reality tv, and the new fads that they are missing life. This is our dream. This book would help us establish that dream and help spread positive vibes all over the world. We would appreciate the help. We will accomplish this dream and love to share our journey.
I just purchased my first tiny house on Sept. 16 and I am drooling at the thought of this book. To have ideas and suggestions from someone who has already been there…wow…just wow!
Since having a home foreclosure for medical reasons, I continue to “live the dream” that I too will be a Tiny House owner.
I read everything I can, make copies of cool ideas and dream and improvise. I “keep the dream alive on line daily.
I just purchase a small building that I am turning into a tiny house. This book would help me to consider things that I may have missed in our current efforts. I am excited to see what insights it has to offer.
My wife and I are the leaders of an international children’s choir and we are full time RV’ers in our mid 20’s. We currently live in a 36ft long 5th wheel and are in a location every two days. After this tour we want to settle down for awhile and have no desire for a large house, nor the debt, hassle, and responsibilities of it. We love tiny living and want as much information and help as possible in building our own tiny home. 🙂
I am a disabled veteran, on a fixed income and student. I am looking forward to building my tiny house this fall and this book would be just want I needed to help with all of my questions.
I have dreamed of living in a tiny house since I was a child, long before the movement had even begun. I am now at the point in my life where it is time to decide what is next with respect to my living situation. I already live in a tiny apartment, which I chose purposefully to help me decide if tiny living was right for me. I would love the book to help me get on the right path to tiny living.
Not only would I benefit, but potential members of my camp meeting could learn so much from this book. Trying to show people that 500 sq. ft. max. cottages are livable can be a challenge. We’re trying to preserve an historic landmark of over 70 cottages.
I’m very interested in living in a tiny house from the next year to be more environment-friendly. However, I’m at a loss as to whether to build, buy a new house or buy a used house. In addition, making it safe to live in the New England weather is daunting. Your book will truly help me!
I’ve been researching the possibility tiny home living for about a year. I hope to retire in two years having 0 expenses.I’m very much in the research mode and hope to make some definite decisions in the immediate future.I would really like to benefit from those whom are living in a tiny home setting!
This book will help me decide if the Tiny House lifestyle will be a fit for me.
I been researching for a year and I want to attend the March workshop in Madison, Wi. I feel I am really ready to making a decision to the layout and Tiny House Newsletter has been great to a wealth of information.
Since I am 60 and work in a noble yet underpaid career, I want to create a retirement home form myself. I feel this book will move me to the next set.
I like to do as much research into something as I can, I have already put a lot of time and effort into deciding on living in a Tiny House, but now I need more information on how to build.