I am looking for other co-owners or investors for a perfect property for a tiny house eco village on Vancouver Island. This would be a permaculture site for tiny homes with organic gardens, chickens, rainwater collection, and greywater recycling.

The property I am looking into is 5.5 acres and has one conventional house, three mobile home pads – ideal for parking Tiny Homes, and an RV pad (which could also be used for a Tiny Home that uses less electricity). There is also a workshop on the land, where you could work on building your home!

The mobile home pads have 70 or 100 amps and a fresh water hook-up. This is the ideal set up for a Tiny House ecovillage! It is very difficult to get zoning for this kind of set-up, and on top of that it can be expensive to set up this type of infrastructure. This property is very unusual in it’s zoning and is a perfect opportunity. I am currently looking for other co-owners or investors for this property.

The property does have a septic system but I am interested in sustainable permaculture systems that save money, recycle wastes and turn them into resources. To his end, our grey water would drain through an outdoor filter system and the water would be reintegrated to treed parts of the land. The toilets in the Tiny Homes will be composting toilets, eliminating the blackwater issue.

The conventional house can be used as a shared building with a communal kitchen and dining space as well as shared laundry. It could house wwoofers or other volunteers to help with the garden. We will save money by pooling our resources, buying food stuffs in bulk, and cooking en masse. You could have your own kitchen as well in your Tiny Home, or choose not to!

The tiny homes can be DIY or built by one of the many budding Tiny House companies. They would be made of salvage or other green materials. I am currently building a Leaf House, pictured above, with totally chemical-free materials, as I suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. Therefore this community would be ideal for others looking for a scent-free and chemical-free environment or simply those interested in sustainable living systems and leaving a smaller footprint.

There could be room for more houses if others are interested in living off the grid. Especially for seasonal visitors or for houses not containing plumbing (to get around zoning laws).

If this property sells, I will be looking at other options on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. For a link to the property and other options that could be considered please see my blog: http://mychemicalfreehouse.blogspot.ca/p/tiny-house-eco-village-bc.html.

I write about how to build a chemical-free house for anyone interested in exploring that further.

Please feel free to contact me at corinne_segura(at)hotmail(dot)com

Dimensional lumber — 2x4s, 2x6s, etc., are about as ubiquitous as suburban sprawl is in America. (Maybe there’s some kind of relationship there..?) 2x4s are an industrial product, only becoming a dominant building material in the last century. As priorities have shifted to speed, uniformity, and ease of production, more traditional building styles have fallen out of favor.

However, it is almost certainly time to rethink how we build our homes, addressing not only downsizing possibilities, and the size and efficiency of spaces, but how we build houses themselves, and what materials we use. I believe timber framing, and specifically roundwood timber framing, fills a great need, enabling more holistic and sustainable home construction.

Building Locally?

Here’s a great passage from the USDA Forest Service’s “History of Yard Lumber Size Standards” (warning: PDF link) that hints at industrialization beginning to seep into the world of construction:

Until the middle of the 19th Century, building lumber was usually produced in a locality close to the place where it was to be used. Sizes were not a problem. The needs of builders in the locality were well understood and carpenters were accustomed to much more hand fitting on the job than they are today. As the forests were cut back from the centers of population, lumber had to be shipped greater distances. By the last few decades before 1900, lumber was no longer a locally made commodity. It then became apparent that the sizes used in different trading areas were not uniform and as a result sawmills had to cut lumber for the markets they wished to serve. Continue Reading »

You have been asking for this for quite some and it has taken longer than planned to finally get it to you. The Tiny House Magazine is finally available in PDF format and you should be able to read it on most any devise.

I am running this as a test for the next few months. IF there is enough interest I will continue to publish the Tiny House Magazine in both formats.

Go to the Tiny House Magazine Website at http://www.tinyhousemagazine.co/ there is a special discount right now and Issue 5 will be out later this week.

iPad Magazine	PDF Magazine

Guest Post by Alex Pino

This May 25-26, 2013 Dan Louche and I are hosting a Tiny Home Builders workshop in Alpharetta, Georgia.

This location is about 30 minutes north of Atlanta so it’s easy to get to from anywhere.
It’s a lecture and hands-on experience led by Dan Louche and myself. We’ve already reserved space in a warehouse for this event so that participants will get to:

• Listen to lectures on tiny houses
• Tour a real tiny house between speeches
• Practice building house components using real tools
• Meet and connect with other tiny house enthusiasts

Photo by Dan Louche

What You’ll Learn at a Tiny Home Builders Workshop

Dan Louche is a design and build expert who’s going to explain things such as:

• How to design & build tiny houses
• How to use plans to prepare and build
• What tools you’ll need and how to use them safely
• How to find the best deals on materials
• What you need to know about trailers

What’s even better is that as he explains these concepts, we’ll get to have a real tiny house nearby to reference. Continue Reading »

Hi, I’m Elaine Walker of the Tiny House Community website.

I’m organizing the Tiny House Fair hosted by the Yestermorrow Design/Build School (nonprofit) this June 14 through 16. We have a terrific line up of presenters from across the country who will share their expertise in specialized carpentry, creative design, legal issues, systems (solar, water, toilets for a tiny house), sharecropping, and community formation. They will also talk about their personal experiences in downsizing and what it’s like to live in a tiny house.

Tiny houses encourage intentional living and thoughtful ownership. We would like to open the workshop to people who are unable to afford the registration fee. This campaign seeks funding for 2 scholarships.

To learn more and make a donation please click here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tiny-house-fair-scholarships

Tumbleweed Workshops

Four Lights Tiny House Workshop

Los Angeles Workshop – April 6-7

Join seasoned tiny house builder and designer, Jay Shafer and construction expert, Daniel Bell, and experience a whole new way of thinking about house design and the spaces we live in. During this comprehensive 2-day workshop, Jay will share his unique subtractive design philosophy while walking you through everything you need to know to design and build your very own tiny house. There will be action-packed hands-on demonstrations and in-depth discussions about the best tools, methods, and materials for tiny house building. From practical planning and design tips that you can’t get anywhere else, to the building and construction knowledge you’ll need to see your project through to finish, we’ll guide you every step of the way.

Click Here to Register

PAD Tiny House Workshop

With Dee Williams in Portland, Oregon. April 27 and 28.

Here is what you will learn:

• How to anchor a stick built house to a utility trailer
• How to prevent and control moisture
• Water, gas, and electrical setups
• How to find a place to park, live and call “home”
• How to deal with codes, insurance, and more

Click Here to Register

Tiny Home Builders Hands On Workshop

May 25-26, 2013 in Alpharetta, Georgia. Dan Louche and Alex Pino will be hosting a 2-day tiny house design and construction (hands on) workshop.

Tickets for this experience are on sale until 3/31. A payment plan is available in case it’s more convenient. On 4/1 the sale ends and price goes up.

Click Here to Register