Tiny House Blog

Homes with a small footprint often need to take advantage of outdoor living areas. Recently, a means to attach an attractive and functional porch or patio cover was invented and is now widely available. This product, the SkyLift Roof Riser Bracket, is a simple piece of hardware that can support a roof cover and actually complement the design of a small home.

People typically install a patio cover to better enjoy the outdoors with protection from the sun and weather. Unfortunately, because of the way they are constructed, many covers darken the interior of the home and lead to unanticipated maintenance and structural failures.

As a remodeler for 20 plus years, I have seen my share of patio roof attachments that seemed to accomplish the opposite of what the homeowner envisioned. That’s why I invented SkyLift. This product solves major problems like low-slope leaks and dry rot, cave-like interiors, and trapped BBQ fumes. In addition, the SkyLift Hardware ensures structurally sound construction.

For years I had contemplated the prospect of creating a better patio cover. Then one day I stood in a client’s back yard and in every direction I looked I saw sad, leaking, dilapidated patio covers. “There has to be a better way,” I said to myself. I decided to dedicate my efforts to solving the problem and after a good deal of product development, SkyLift was launched. The response from both homeowners and builders has been fantastic. Continue Reading »

Holly recently contacted me and had a question about moving a tiny mobile house once you had it near it’s final location. She had seen an article somewhere and was looking for it. I knew right off she was talking about the Powermover that Dee Williams and Logan Smith have used to move homes in the Portland area.

Photograph by Tammy Strobel

I wrote to Logan and he filled me in on what they use. Logan says: I believe the tool name is an “electric dolly” but the commercial name of the tool we purchased was “Powermover” from a fellow named Brady outside of Los Angeles, CA. The website for the Powermover is http://www.powermoverinc.net/ Continue Reading »

The Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont will be hosting the first ever Tiny House Fair June 14-16, 2013. The fair will include presentations on tiny houses from Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed and Four Lights Tiny House Company and Deek Diedrickson of Relaxshacks as well as workshops on how to design and build a tiny house, finish carpentry, using recycled materials, alternative power, composting toilets and creating a community.

Registration is open to the first 100 people who sign up and the $300 cost will include all workshops, presentations and meals. Cabin lodging on the Yestermorrow campus will also be available for $50 for two nights. Participants may also camp on-site for $20 for two nights and the lodging will be free if you bring your own tiny house or camper. Off-campus lodging includes a hostel and several hotels and bed and breakfasts.

Yestermorrow offers over 150 hands-on courses per year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft including a variety of courses concentrating in sustainable design and green building. Operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization since 1980, Yestermorrow is one of the only design/build schools in the country, teaching both design and construction skills. Our 1-day to 3-week hands-on courses are taught by top architects, builders, and craftspeople from across the country.

Photos by Yestermorrow Design/Build School and George Soules with David Cain.

Some Tiny House Blog readers might remember the backyard guesthouse project I was working on last fall. Well, the Tiny Guesthouse Challenge is complete and my mother’s backyard guesthouse now has a new bathroom and a few other additions. A 5 foot by 7 foot addition was added onto the existing building by a local builder who lives right up the street. The bathroom contains a shower, sink and cabinet, and a low-flow toilet.

We bit the bullet and decided to have a 300 gallon septic tank and leach field put in behind the house. We do not have any neighbors or facilities within 5 miles from the back of the house and the property is adjacent to a county wilderness area. The water for the shower and sinks was run from our pump house, which is right next door to the guest house. Because the addition was so small, and we live in an unincorporated area, we did not need to get a permit. Continue Reading »

Designboom is a publication and blog that focuses on design, architecture, art, photography and graphics. Their main offices are located in Milan, Italy, but for the hot summer months, the crew of Designboom recently moved their offices into a series of cargo containers on the island of Sardinia. Their DIY adventure was profiled in a recent post on their website and the results are a beautiful representation of relaxed, sustainable living (and working) on a desert island in the Mediterranean.

The government of Sardinia has adopted some strict criteria for building permits on the island to curb overbuilding. However, one way to get around the long permit waiting period is by using temporary or modular structures as housing. Designboom purchased three used cargo containers and crane-lifted them onto natural stone pavement since the team did not want to use any concrete in the construction. The outdoor flooring is made from local stone and dry set with sand and mortar. The containers are placed at 90 degree angles to each other so that their external doors can be latched together to protect the dining area from the ocean winds. Continue Reading »

The latest issue of The Family Handyman has a beautiful house on the front cover that happens to be step-by-step plans on how to build an Arts & Crafts style shed with a front porch. I think with a little tweaking, and the installation of electrical and plumbing, it could make a very nice tiny house.

This particular shed is 8×16 feet with a large sliding door on the back that runs on a track, three windows that let in plenty of light and a front door with a wonderful front porch that brings the total area of the shed to 16×16 feet. The structure can be built in four or five weekends with the help of a few people. The cost (not including the concrete slab) is about $3,800, and the skill level needed is intermediate. Experience with framing is helpful, but not necessary. Because of the sliding door (that opens up the living area) this structure will probably work best in warmer or milder climates.

Continue Reading »