Kanga chose the kangaroo to symbolize their company and product because of its strength, agility and the ability for a kangaroo mother’s pouch to be a natural portable home. Because of this, Kanga is also committed to using sustainable materials and energy efficient products whenever possible while still keeping their structures affordable.

Kanga currently offers several options: the Kanga Studio is available in the The Modern and The Country Cottage styles and the Kanga Cabin is a larger structure that can be constructed to accommodate a bathroom, kitchenette, a separate bedroom and a loft.

The Modern design offers clean lines, a progressive style and can be constructed to sizes large enough to accommodate a bathroom and a kitchenette. The Modern comes in eight sizes: the 8′x10′ for around $7,150, the 10′x12′ for around $7,900, the 12′x14′ for around $9,200, the 12′x16′ and the 14′x14′ for around $9,860, the 14′x16′ for around $10,670, the 14′x20′ for around $11,999 and the 14′x24′ for around $13,400.

The Country Cottage has an open, airy feel in a classic design. The base model includes a skid foundation, floor system, 8″ lap siding, one door and two 24×48 front windows. The base models start at $9,950 for the 10′x12′ and go to $15,550 for the 14′x24′ model.

All kits include the following:

• 4″x 6″ treated skids cut to length for foundation system
• 4′x 8′ wall panels sheathed with 7/16″ OSB w/ radiant barrier
• 2×6 floor system sheathed with plywood decking
• Roof system panels with R19 insulation and 8″ pine tongue & groove applied
• Roof decking with 7/16 OSB w/ radiant barrier
• EPDM roof membrane
• 6″ galvanized facia flashing
• 12″ Hardie fiber cement open joint siding with EPDM moisture barrier
• Cedar accent siding
• 36″ Metal door with full lite glass
• Door knob with lock and key set
• One 18″x36″ window (fixed glass with wood frame)
• Transom windows with structural steel window frame
• Laminated roof support beam cut to length

Upgrades and extras include updated doors and windows, pine beadboard paneling, pine, oak, bamboo or cork flooring, paint, upgraded lighting, a front or side deck, wiring packages, a metal roof, and installed bathrooms and kitchenettes on models 12′x14′ or larger.

The kits come delivered with instructions and can be assembled with basic tools such as a shovel, level, hammer, circular saw and power drill. A pneumatic finishing nailer and framing gun make for a quicker and easier install. Shipping costs will depend on the location of the building site.

Photos courtesy of Kanga Room Systems

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The one-bedroom, one-bath home comes with all of the closets, cabinets, countertops and flooring installed. Both the kitchen and the bathroom contain IKEA appliances which includes an induction cooktop and convection oven, a counter depth refrigerator and dishwasher, a two sink vanity and a front load washer and dryer. Buyers can select their own wall and floor colors and, of course, they can fill it with IKEA furniture.

The aktiv is just over 53 feet long and about 14 feet wide with sliding glass doors. It’s priced at $86,500 which does not include delivery or utility hookups.

Photos courtesy of IKEA and ideabox

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The first product sold by the company is the Wallowa. This tiny house is 8 feet by 12 feet and includes 2×4 framing, a standard home size entry door, two windows, double wall construction, cedar lap siding with cedar trim, and metal roofing guaranteed for 35 years. The interior clear ceiling height is 6 feet 8 inches, and the interior loft height at the peak is slightly over 3 feet 8 inches. The overall height with the building on its mobile chassis is 13 feet 5 inches, just under the legal limitation. Level One ($429) includes a complete set of detailed building plans, actual photos of construction and an instructional video. Level Two ($9,850) and Level Three ($15,975) allow the owner to design and build their own interior including wall covering, floor covering, plumbing, electrical, appliances and cabinetry.

The Wallowa has several options including a gable overhang porch, additional side windows and a loft. These options can be added onto Levels 2 and 3 for an additional price.

The second tiny house is the Bitterroot. The exterior dimensions are 7 feet by 16 feet and the interior ceiling is 6 feet 8 inches and it is also 13 feet 5 inches on its mobile chassis. The Bitterroot, with its narrower footprint is better suited to extended towing and the loss of width is compensated by the additional length. The Bitterroot’s Level One, Two, and and Three package and options are the same as the Wallowa. The prices for the Bitterroot are: Level One ($429), Level Two ($12,650) and Level Three ($17,890).

Tiny House Builders’ parent company, Enviro-Mechanical Specialists, Inc. (EMS) is long known for their expertise in providing a broad range of services to the Green Building industry. The company’s philosophy is that “less is more” and that we should do everything possible to reduce our consumption of natural resources.

Photos courtesy of Tiny House Builders

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

When is a trailer not a trailer?

Answer: when it’s a Wingfoot House! Wingfoot Homes was the brainchild of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Apparently, selling tires wasn’t enough. The world’s best known tire company tried to cash in on the low-cost, post WWII housing boom. The company’s intention was to sell a completely outfitted home (including built-in furniture) for less than $2,000. The idea was that unlike other prefabricated or mass produced housing. The house would be built completely in the factory. Most prefabricators were building components that were later assembled on-site. Wingfoot homes were not designed to go over foundations and were ship completely built – the forerunner of today’s mobile homes.

Getting It There

If you’ve read my previous posts (because you’re my friend, you take pity on me, or both), then you know that shipping is the biggest problem with most prefabricators faced. Shipping a completed house presents a unique problem – the house can’t be more than 8 feet wide! Today’s “Oversize Load” tractor trailers make wider loads possible, but they are quite expensive. Wingfoot decided to avoid this altogether by engineering their house to be 8 feet wide at the time of shipping. Once the house was on site the bedroom sections pulled out “like drawers.” The final house measures 26 X 15 at its widest point when extended. See below for plans.

Wingfoot Popularity

Wingfoot homes were popular out west, where it was difficult to get labor to build a home and where building codes were less strict. Although I cannot find any record of how many Wingfoots were produced or shipped the internet tells me there are enclaves of them in Arizona and southern California.

Shea found this ad and sent it to me, it is neat because it is in color. It would be fun to find a current photo of one of these. I’m sure one is out there somewhere.

ideabox is a small home design company based in Salem, Oregon. They have homes ranging from 200 sq ft to 1250 sq ft, all prefabricated and ready to go.

It’s one thing to be small. Quite another to be so full of personality you live beyond your shell. Everything minibox is about is living big. Clever combinations of natural cedar and galvalume metal creates a confident exterior and a totally cool persona.

Step inside. The ceiling soars! So much glass it’s like your outside only inside, (or is it being inside only outside?) Complete with a real, albeit small, fully functioning kitchen cooking will be a delight.

It’s everything you need and so much more!

We found materials that offer long life, easy maintenance, and create a sense of personality. We’re big on minimal impact to the environment, so every product uses resources and energy carefully.

Ideabox is releasing the mini’s at $42,500 all interiors included (less furniture). You can visit the ideabox website here. I can’t wait to see pictures of the first one when it is completed.

Following are more details from Joel:

This is a project two years in the making. Since I (Joel) opened my design studio in January of 2010, I’ve wanted to design, build, and market affordable, modern, modular homes. This project is called the Beta Home 984 – it features two bedrooms and one bathroom spread over two levels – with a total of 984 square feet to enjoy.

The floor system is insulated to R40, with the walls sitting at R22, and the roof at R50.

The home also features bamboo flooring throughout both levels with a front load washer dryer in the bathroom.

Our goal is to provide a high quality product, at an affordable price range unlike many other architectural firms selling modern modular home packages.

If you’d like more information on the Beta Home 984 or Joel’s company, SMPLy MOD, visit Joel’s website here. http://www.smplarchitecture.com/

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This is an upgraded version of the Chapman Ridge that was shown on the Tiny House Blog previously. It is located in Little Deer Isle, Maine. As requested by the customer, this one has 14 windows and an added room in the back to be used as a bathroom. It also has a steel bracket that all the structural hip elements are bolted to and a windowed cupola. The steel bracket creates a round void in the peak of the roof/ceiling that allows light and ventilation to access the room through the cupola.

The building is beautifully trimmed with white and red cedar and left natural. It uses minimal glue and no plywood or engineered lumber as to not release off gases. All the wood is harvested sustainably in or around Athens Maine by a friend or myself, the builder. It is mostly wood and nails except for the windows which are Anderson’s and the roof which is three-tab asphalt. The floor is wide pine, fastened using old fashioned cut nails and finished with boiled linseed oil. The board siding and roof sheathing leaves a nice feel to the inside while being inexpensive. The customer plans to use it as a guest house during the spring, summer, and fall. Eventually they plan on insulating it and drywalling the inside. The hip-roof design allows there to be a big open room with no interior walls and a high ceiling.

The customer will divide it up into four sections. A sleeping area, kitchen area, sitting area, and dining area as well as the room in the back to serve as a bathroom.

The building is 24′ x 24′ with a 7′x11′ bump out. The total square footage is about 670 square feet. It is built using only sustainable methods and genuinely sustainable building materials. It cost the customer $27,000. Visit Hilmer Building and Design for more information.

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Mariah and Ryan Lingard fell in love with the woods and lakes of Joseph, Oregon and purchased some partially burned, partially logged land after seeing an ad in the local paper. The 100×150 foot parcel of land cost them $47,000 and is located smack dab in the middle of hiking, skiing and snowshoe territory. The couple has a full-time home in Portland, but they make the 6-hour trip to the Signal Shed about four times a year.

After two years of planning and extended weekend camping trips to their land, the couple built the 130 square foot cabin over a two week period with friends and family. The materials cost about $10,000 and the cabin features several recycled windows, IKEA cabinets and laminate flooring. They found the barn door hardware and the woodstove on Craigslist. The cabin rests on a floating pier to minimize impact on the land and cedar screens used to lock it up when Mariah and Ryan are not around. The Signal Shed has no running water, no electricity and the couple uses the woodstove for heat and some cooking.

Mariah grew up in an off-grid home in rural Oregon and is not bothered by the lack of running water or the portable toilet. The couple heat up water on the stove or in a solar water heater, and read at night by candlelight or oil lamp.

The structure was awarded a 2011 Residential Architect Magazine design award. As an architect, Ryan is now offering the Signal Shed plans for sale in limited quantities. It is being sold for $18,000 for a prefab modular structure and detailed plans are being sold for $1,000.

Photos courtesy of Sunset and Ryan Lingard

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The house was designed to act like a tree that captures energy with its solar “leaves” and sends it down to its roots, where is stored, shared, or returned to the house to produce the fruit of electricity. The house contains a “domestic metabolism” that provides a detailed real-time monitoring of its behavior and its interaction with the environment, creating historical profiles and sharing them socially.

The design of the Fab Lab house has been compared to both a boat and a peanut and has been called a “cinnamon submarine,” “forest zeppelin” and a “whale belly”. The house has also introduced significant technological innovations such as the world’s most efficient flexible solar panels, made with both Spanish and American technology. The project involved architects and experts from 20 countries as well as experts from MIT.

The house has been put up for sale for €45,000 plus VAT ($64,000). Fab Labs is offering the house for sale in several different styles including the Cottage which is 12 square meters (129 square feet), the Shelter which is 24 square meters (258 square feet), the House which is 60 square meters (646 square feet) and the Villa which is 96 square meters (1,033 square feet).

The interior is composed of an integrated social space with a bedroom, kitchen, a small Fab Lab, a bathroom and a small elevated room for guests.

Photos courtesy of Fab Lab

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]