Roald Gundersen, an architect who may revolutionize the building industry, shinnied up a slender white ash near his house here on a recent afternoon, hoisting himself higher and higher until the limber trunk began to bend slowly toward the forest floor.

“Whooh!” he said, jumping to the ground and gingerly rubbing his back. “This isn’t as easy as it used to be. But see how the tree holds the memory of the weight?”

The ash, no more than five inches thick, was still bent toward the ground. Mr. Gundersen will continue to work on it, bending and pruning it over the next few years in this forest which lies about 10 miles east of the Mississippi River and 150 miles northwest of Madison.

Loggers pass over such trees because they are too small to mill, but this forester-architect, who founded Gundersen Design in 1991 and built his first house here two years later, has made a career of working with them.

“Curves are stronger than straight lines,” he explained. “A single arch supporting a roof can laterally brace the building in all directions.”

This would be a very interesting way to construct a small or tiny home. Go and read the complete article and view more pictures at the New York Times website.

Photo Credit: Paul Kelley

What is the Story of Stuff?

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.

The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

I know now one of the cornerstones of the Small House Movement is to simplify life, which includes ridding ourselves of unnecessary debt. If I had learned of Kent’s Tiny House blog and read his advice about getting out of debt sooner, I may not be writing this now.

We didn’t build a lavish small house with all of the bells and whistles. We built our Little House based on what we could afford, which really meant, based on the payments we could afford. Like many people, that’s how we previously defined “affordable.”

When we signed the papers the first time, we thought we couldn’t get a good mortgage – and by good, I mean a fixed rate for a certain amount of time at the end of which you hold a great big mortgage burning party – because we didn’t live here full time.

Although our land was paid for and we had the highest credit rating possible, our city bank wouldn’t loan money for property out of state, and all of the banks in this town, save for one, refused us a mortgage.

That bank would only do a 5 year ARM (adjustable rate) with a balloon.
When we moved, we thought things would be different, but we were wrong. This time, the bank refused us a “good” mortgage because of the lack of comps, those irritating “comparables” that have become the backbone of defining what your home is worth.

We live in an area where people were buying and selling behemoth McMansions on the lake, there were no “comps” within 50 miles for acreage on the lake that housed a 480-square foot Little House.

The secondary market refused us because we weren’t asking for enough money.
It was a real kick in the pants to learn we had worked all of our lives to build our credit to an exceptional level, and even the land to support the risk, lenders thought we just didn’t have enough house.

Rather than working toward an end, we now feel we’re stuck in a never-ending cycle of 5 year ARMS that have to be renewed (possibly at much higher rates).
Had we known this seven years ago when we started building, our definition of “building what we can afford” might have been a lot different.

I’m glad we went for our dream and we are here, arriving here the only way we knew we could, but those hoping to move to a small house should be aware of the difficulties if you planned on financing all or part of your dream.

If you must use financing, I would advise seeking out a locally owned bank if you can, where they are much more inclined to work with you based on who you are as a customer, rather than placing so much emphasis on comps and minimum loan amounts.

by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell for the (Tiny House Blog)

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Ann will begin at 12:20 and the event will be over at 1:10. There will be an open house right after the lecture. If you are in the area and would like to come Ann would be happy to see you there! The address is: Alfred University · 1 Saxon Drive · Alfred, NY. You can find a campus map at http://www.alfred.edu/map/

Since our post on Tiny House Blog last spring we have had over 150 people tour Camp Coyote and Farmhouse Life. I am often surprised by people’s positive reaction to our little buildings. Most comment that Camp Coyote is the ideal place to “get away.” Proving, I think, that when we aren’t constantly bombarded by external stimuli we have the opportunity to focus on what is important. And while we are going to add small solar and wind for some convenience our plan is to keep things pretty basic.

Taking a cue from our visitors we have added a porch to our bunkhouse. We built two tent platforms that are big enough to house a large tent with room enough to sit and relax up front. A solar experiment was begun by adding a solar heat panel to heat the pool in our grain bin. The water is pushed through the panel with the standard filter pump and on sunny days will raise the water temperature by 20 degrees. There is still some tweaking to do on how to best retain that heat but we are pretty happy with the experience.

Over the summer we transformed our old pole barn to host events for larger groups. This fall we hosted a private screening for the movie FRESH and had lunch for 40+ people from across the U.S., Central America, and Africa who recently attended the Community Food Security Coalition conference in Des Moines. All this interest has encouraged my wife and me to finish a few last projects so we can open in the summer of 2010. I have included a few pictures on these events and you can read more at our website, www.farmhouselife.com.

I wanted to share with you my mini cabin-sleep pod I built for a recent 4 day music fest I went to. With decent tents costing up to $100, I built this for around $50.

The dimensions are 4 foot by 6.5, with a 3.5 width bunk inside with storage underneath and room for me to maneuver in. (IE, change clothes and sponge baths. Heh) Being 6 feet tall, I was quite cozy in it. Its a little heavy, but it was fairly easy for me to simply tip it and slide it into the back of my truck. I got a number of compliments.

I ended up using the really cheap chipboard as I wanted to keep the cost under $50 (the paint was $5 ‘oops’ paint) so its not something that would last years and years outdoors, but it was good practice until I want to build something a little longer-lasting. For the bed I just put down a yoga mat and a sleeping bag, it was plenty comfy.

The roof is just a thin sheet of plywood. A while back I had built a simple wooden boat called a ‘bolger brick’ and while doing that I learned one of the properties of thin plywood is it because stiffer and stronger when it is bent, thus made a surprisingly solid roof.

(you can see pics of my boat attempt here and my little adventure, it was ugly but functional)

http://www.weblamer.com/2_19_2007_From_hippies_to_punks_in_a_single_day.html

I recently discovered a new resource from the Better Homes and Gardens Network’s DIYadvice.com that is the go-to home improvement website for all do-it-yourselfers, from the novice to the experienced, containing step-by-step detailed instruction on everything from drywall, plumbing, electrical and bathrooms and much, much more. If you are building that tiny house this is a great way to get the help you need.

Be sure and Register Now and take advantage of this special offer. I have been to one of his workshops and highly recommend them if you are thinking of building a tiny house someday.

Building Workshops

On Saturday, Jay Shafer will explain how to build a tiny house. The language will be clear and easy for everyone to understand. He will start at the foundation with a look at different types of permanent footings and a detailed description of how to build on wheels. Explanations of how to frame, sheath, insulate and finish will follow. Particular attention will be paid to the best way one can easily guard against the condensation that small spaces are prone to. The merits of different trailers, heaters, kitchen equipment, windows and building materials will be assessed. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.

Design Workshops

On Sunday, you will be taught how to design a small home that meets your personal needs and those of your family. You will have a chance to talk with Jay Shafer, national expert on small living, about the best ways to meet your domestic needs without waste. You will be presented with seven principals along with several strategies for good design before you are asked to develop plans for your own little home. The class is open to beginners, professional architects and anyone curious about how a tiny house is created at the drafting table.

Click here to Register Now

Learning to complete home projects yourself is a great way to save money and gives you a feeling of accomplishment. It’s great to know there are resources out there for inspiration.

But sometimes what you really need is a “go to guide” for instruction on a project you’re about to complete, without having to wait until there’s a magazine article or television episode covering it.

That’s where home improvement encyclopedias become a big help. Here are some of the best on the web.

1. The Encyclopedia of Home Improvement – This is a simple guide to use, and it lists many different home improvement projects. Simply go to the directory and you’ll find a huge alphabetical list of home projects. Once you click on your chosen project, you’ll get step by step instructions for completing it.
2. DIY Network – Though this site is the companion site to the television network, and many of the articles are related to episodes of the tv shows, it also has a good library of articles on home repair and remodeling. You can click on the category of home improvement job you’re about to tackle and find a list of projects related to that category. If your project is listed, there will likely be step by step instructions, or at least answers to the most common questions.
3. Do It Yourself – This website is very well organized. Right on the home page you’ll find a list of home improvement categories down the left side of the page. Click on your category and you’ll quickly be able to tell if there are instructions for your project. This site has some great information, including topics you might have difficulty finding elsewhere, like air conditioning repair.
4. Home Tips – Another great site filled with articles on how to and step by step instructions. You can search under home repair and care to find maintenance and repair projects or choose interior, exterior or construction from along the left side of the page to find remodeling and building projects. There are garden and landscape projects along with house projects. The buying guides on this site are great.
5. Michael Holigan.com – This site is filled with information and instructions on do it your self projects. Click on “Home Improvement Center” and then “How to Library” to find an alphabetical listing of projects. Once you’ve chosen your project, you’ll find that the step by step instructions are clear, yet concise. On some projects, videos are also available.

When you’re ready to tackle a home improvement or repair project, sites like these can make preparing for and executing your project simpler. You’ll get a list of materials needed, and often find a calculator to help you determine exactly the amount of materials needed for your size project. And, with good instructions, you’re less likely to make a mistake, which saves you time and money in the long run.

Mary E. Ward writes about how to get an online construction degree.

The temperatures are dipping and the weather forecasters are predicting frosts – if you haven’t see them already – and it’s time to start cranking up the heat again.

For those of us who live in smaller sized homes and have access to wood to feed the wood burning stoves, though, it’s time to breathe a sigh of relief, as we won’t be paying the high electricity bills for the air conditioning of summer.

When we built our Little House, we intended on using it primarily in the summer, so we didn’t go to the expense of installing a central air system, as we figured we could use a window air unit and a wood-burning stove in the winter – along with space heaters. I did want a beautiful rock fireplace, but given we ended up living in The Little House full time, I’m glad we went for efficiency, rather than beauty.

For four years of using The Little House as a weekend retreat and mainly over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, we never used the wood-burning stove. Even during the first year we lived here full time, we only used a space heater, as the place is so well insulated, it used relatively little energy. As well, having just moved and the transferring of jobs didn’t allow my husband the time to cut wood.

All of that changed last year during the terrible ice storm that struck Arkansas and cut its way south. We suddenly found ourselves without electricity for a full 8 days. We fired up the stove and used it for not only heat, but to cook on as well.

By this time – since my husband had been laid off from his new job after being there just a year – I was all about saving money and I was watching the electricity we used. I noticed when the electricity came back on, how fast that meter added up the units we were using when we had the electric space heater on. We decided then to use the wood-burning stove as our only source of heat.

It’s worked for us (with the exception of not yet figuring out how to regulate it so it doesn’t run us out sometimes).

Here’s some tips that have worked for us in converting from an electric space heater to the wood burning stove:

• If you’re just installing a wood burner, make sure you choose a good, quality efficient unit. My husband complained at the time we built The Little House that we could have had a whole central heating/air unit installed for what we spent on the wood burning stove and the installation. He’s glad we did that now.
• Make sure you check with codes in your area, or the manufacturer’s recommendation for installation space away from walls. We had to install so many feet of tile on the wall and floor around out unit.
• Hire a certified installer. I’m not sure our construction manager did and last year we had to secure and level the stove before we could even use it as they also didn’t bolt it to the tile properly.
• Take into consideration if you will really save money by using a wood-burning stove. I understand a cord of wood can run somewhere between $200-$300 now, depending on the area in which you live. We have access to all of the wood we need due to a few storms that have unfortunately, toppled some of our biggest trees. Our only cost comes in the form of chain saw blades and a lot of sweat.
• Wood burns dirtier than fuel, so the consideration of the effect on the environment was a concern for me. However, given we are not off of the grid, and obtain our power from the electric company, which gets it from a nuclear plant hundreds of miles to the south, we figured using a wood burning stove couldn’t be worse.
• Also take into consideration the time spent maintaining the stove. Of course, the ashes have to be taken out daily and the glass has to also be scraped and cleaned at least daily. Between working our jobs and other home projects, we have to make time to cut and split the wood and load, stoke and maintain the fire during the winter. This wasn’t a problem for us last winter when my husband was laid off, but now that I’m the one working from home, the responsibility falls on me and I’ll have to fit that into my daily routine. Also, if someone wasn’t home during the day, I doubt I would trust leaving a fire burning.
• If you’re using an existing stove, I can’t stress enough the importance of having the stovepipe (or flue in the case of a fireplace) inspected and cleaned annually by a certified specialist. We didn’t do this in the bigger home we sold and when it was inspected before being sold we were told we had a flue fire and didn’t know it. We were lucky the whole house didn’t burn due to that damage.

I would be interested to read your stories about wood burners, or wood burners in comparison to pellet burning units.