Tiny House Blog

Take a look at that window. That glorious window was the catalyst for the design of Laurie Halse Anderson’s cottage in the forest. Laurie is the author of several young adult books and historical thrillers and she writes in a small cottage in the forest. She expressed her need for a “room of her own in which to write fiction”, and her video from 2009 recounts the conception and building of her writing cottage. It was built over the course of a year by her carpenter husband and several of his friends. Laurie and her family wanted it to be off-grid, made with reclaimed materials and easy on the environment.

That amazing window (which Laurie called “a magic window”) was found lying up against a barn and turned out to be a church window from the 1800s. Custom glass was made for each round section of the window. She and her husband also perused the salvage yard and found old growth pine boards to use for the floor and chimney pots for the roof. Soybean based foam insulation was sprayed into the walls and the roof is Vermont slate. The house is powered by wind and solar. Continue Reading »

Like an Amish barn raising, Evan and Gabby’s tiny Tarleton house is going up piece by piece with the help of friends and family. The Illinois couple were inspired by the Tumbleweed houses and decided to downsize their already sustainable lifestyle even more. With no prior construction experience, they have been working on their tiny home for just over a year and plan to move in (along with their two cats) soon.

The couple also plan to move around the country, staying in campgrounds that offer year-round rates. They then want to purchase some land where tiny house living is more acceptable.

Their 117 square foot Tarleton, built on a car hauler trailer, will have a great room, a sleeping loft above the bathroom and kitchen, another storage loft above the door and a bathroom with a custom shower and composting toilet that vents to the outdoors. The kitchen has four feet of stainless steel countertop, a two-burner stove, a bar sink, a toaster oven, a small fridge and – rare for a tiny house – a combination washer and dryer that they got from a family member for free. Continue Reading »

Fans of Country Living may already have seen this tiny refurbished cottage with an interesting past. The cottage was recently moved hundreds of miles from Central Illinois to a camp in Wisconsin and refurbished by Tereasa Surrat. In its past lives, the cottage was used as a roadside cabin, a “den of iniquity” and a temporary office space for a trucking company after World War II.

Tereasa, her husband David Hernandez, and her brother moved the cottage from where it stood next to her grandmother’s house. Tereasa then proceeded to restore the cottage to complement the other buildings at a resort that she and her husband are also renovating. The cottage now rests on the edge of the woods next to Wandawega Lake. It’s decorated with flea market furniture, thrift store finds and $15 curtains. Continue Reading »

Last week I gave you a tour of Bill Brook’s tiny solar house. He was inspired and has started a series of videos as he completes his home. This is Bill’s first attempt and I think he did an excellent job. Bill shows how he prepares his loft area for the mattress he plans on sleeping on in his tiny home and than installs it. I look forward to seeing many more videos from Bill. Thanks for Bill for sharing your knowledge and skills.

Nearly 85% of college graduates move back home after they finish school. George Hemminger, who runs the YouTube channel Survive and Thrive in the New Economy, has a small solution for these “boomerang kids”: build a tiny house.

George built a small house, inspired by storage sheds he had seen at Home Depot and Lowes, for only $1,200. It is partially off the grid and the windows were about $100 each. He used styrofoam insulation and basic off-the-rack supplies. He feels that most young people out of college can build what is essentially a box in a backyard and live cheaply while getting their first jobs and paying off school debt.

George has other videos on issues facing the traditional American including unemployment, the economy, suburban flight and living off-grid.

Sick of Living at Home? Build a Small House.

Photo and video courtesy of Survive and Thrive in the New Economy

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Nineteen students at Green Mountain College in Vermont have recently built a tiny 8 by 12 foot house (97 square feet) as part of an environmental studies course. The tiny home was built almost entirely from reclaimed materials and cost only $1,927.The students helped pay for it with a $100 per student course fee – and only went over their budget by a few dollars.

The students visited the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vt. for inspiration and ideas for their tiny house and they decided to design a rectangular building with one low corner to create a curved roof that rainwater can pour off of and be collected. A loft, furnishings and lighting fixtures were also designed and constructed by the students. Sheep wool was added for insulation into the window casing, the hardware and metal roofing was purchased from local building supply companies and the threshold to the front door is slate from a local quarry. The house will have a solar powered electrical system installed as well as the rainwater catchment system. The house will then be sold by the students to recoup the costs of the build.

The tiny house represents an excellent learning opportunity for students in the College’s REED (Renewable Energy and EcoDesign) certificate program. During the design and construction process, students adhere to sustainable building practices as well as learn about the real estate market. A video was created about their build and can be see on the Green Mountain College website.

Photos courtesy of Green Mountain College

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Mel Koresh contacted me recently to share an invention he has developed and he thought tiny house builders might be interested in. I am going to let Mel explain it to you.

I’ve been a siding contractor for 11 years here in Michigan (Pro-Tech Siding Contractors) and working as a machinist for 8 years allowed me to come up with this design to help make siding more economical and efficient. The Side Track handles siding with ease and also works great for remodelers and carpenters since it will cut a variety of materials. The shipping box is 24” x 60” x 4” and the Side Track needs only minor assembly.

The Side Track Saw Table by itself measures 2’ x 5’ and it’s a very lightweight portable saw table made of 1” square aluminum tubing with an aluminum extruded saw slide system and has a ½” thick work surface. The Side Track comes with a DeWalt 6 ½” rechargeable saw, battery and charger specifically designed to fit the Side Track, no mounting plate or bolts are required. I also recently redesigned the Side Track to fold in half making it even more portable so it will fit in the trunk or back seat of a car or truck. Current saw tables on the market are 6’ long and weigh 80 lbs. and require an expensive mounting table and use electric saws that need cords and generators. With the Side Track, batteries can be charged using your car or truck cigarette lighter outlet. So you can basically build anything anywhere even with no power!

This saw table will cut most vinyl, aluminum, wood and hardi plank siding material. It will also cut most lumber 1 ½” thick such as 2×4’s up to 2×12’s and decking material. Another unique feature is that the Side Track locks into 18 pre-set roof pitch positions from 4/12 to 12/12. Once you know your roof pitch you just move the saw slide to the appropriate pitch, tighten the knob and you are ready to cut. Moving from straight cuts to angle cuts only takes seconds. You can cut a complete rafter without a framing square. The Side Track will set up on folding saw horses or can be mounted to a DeWalt miter saw stand using the pre-drilled holes for the brackets. And because it weighs less than 40 lbs it can be used up on scaffolding since it doesn’t require extension cords.

The Side Track is patent pending and I’ve use it extensively for 2 years siding all day every day working for 18 area builders on new home construction and cutting a wide variety of materials on remodeling jobs.

I’ve been selling the Side Track on my web site and have had good results and I’m look forward to having the Side Track in area siding supply stores in the near future. To learn more visit Mel’s website www.SideTrackSawTable.com

Here is a customer’s response to Mel’s design:

Mel,
Its funny you should email today.
This was the first day I’ve used it….installing some hardi plank.
Man what a great track saw!!! Very smooth and supper easy to us.
Not to mention how light this baby is…you nailed the design.
Everyone has asked me about it.
I would highly recommend this side track to anyone in the construction industry.
I will get some pics for you when I get a chance.
The job I’m on now wouldn’t do justice…but I have a renovation coming up
that’s all hardi plank, 2 story’s high plus gables…..I’ll be sure to send you some good shots. It will be around the first of the year before I can get them to you via email.
Thanks again and good luck. -Jonathon -Sneed Perpetual Builders Inc

Side Track ready to ship