New Englanders:
come build a tiny structure on wheels this summer!

This summer, Elizabeth Turnbull is designing & building her own tiny house to live in as a Yale graduate student.  Come join her!  She  is opening the building process to the community in a series of ‘burgers & barnraising-style’  building parties with family, friends, small house enthusiasts and other interested folks.  The structure is being built on the campus of The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, MA.  Elizabeth will supply all your meals and can even offer places to stay.  Her last two building weekends are July 26/27 and Aug 2/3.  Please RSVP to turnbulltinyhouse@gmail.com if you are interested - you’re welcome to come for a few hours or the whole weekend.

Framed on an 8 x 18 flatbed trailer, Elizabeth’s house has solar power, a composting toilet, a kitchen, a sleeping loft, and a generous workspace.  It has been built with the most environmentally considerate materials she has been able to find.  Her goals for the project are elaborated upon below.

Her local newspaper is following the story, too.  You can check out the first four articles here:

Newburyport Daily News Article 1
Newburyport Daily News Article 2
Newburyport Daily News Article 3
Newburyport Daily News Article 4

Elizabeth says that many organizations and members of the community have offered generous donations and materials.  A roof & hardwood floors have been donated, as well as lights, cedar paneling and interior faux-painting services.  Check it out!  Visit the Turnbull Tiny House.

Big Goals for a Small House

• Make it beautiful and lovely to inhabit
• Source reclaimed and recycled materials where possible
• Build without VOCs, formaldehyde or toxic materials
• Incorporate energy-efficient LED & halogen lights and minimal appliances
• Celebrate a small budget!  Sustainability and Economy are sisters and should be treated as such

Minimize  fossil fuel use:

• Live near enough to Yale to easily walk, bike or use public transit
• Insulate well with natural materials

Educate and inspire with a running blog exploring the design/build process, detailing my budget, and providing resources for low-budget, low-impact structures

Open the tiny house to the communities at Yale and New Haven as a learning and demonstration opportunity.

turnbull.e@gmail.com
(978) 758.1051

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I’ve had blog problems the last few days and have been unable to post. I have it working again so want to share Jeff’s story about his shanty in North Carolina.

About 4 years ago we bought a piece of property on the banks of the New River in the mountains of North Carolina.

After months of tent camping in what we later found out to be one of the few temperate rain forest in North America, we thought a better structure would be in our best interest.

We were doing real well tucked backed in the woods minding our own business when we noticed a nice little official looking note taped to the door. Well unfortunately, it wasn’t “Welcome Wagon” or a nice neighbor, but the county calling attention to the fact that we had built a structure in their flood plain without their knowledge and without a permit.

Well after some conversation we thought it would be in our best interest to move the building out of the floodplain.  I had a neighbor bring a forklift after I laid block and pick it up and set it down in its new home. I had a sneaking suspicion that eventually the county would find it so I intentionally built it less than 70 sq ft as that is what the code defines a habitable room, I thought it might work in my favor.  I do think it helped! It is 64 sq ft by the outside dimensions of 8 by 8,

It is solar and insulated and with a flat screen TV, a toilet, and a queen size bed, it has been our home practically every weekend for the past 3 1/2 years while we build a larger house by ourselves.  It stays warm with body heat (two adults and a 70lb dog) in winters that can see 40+ inches of snow.  It has been absolutely great! It forces you to get out and stay active.

View more photographs of Jeff’s shanty below.

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Another one of our readers from Rich County Utah, Sco Smith wanted to share his story about his 10×12 house, I’ll let him tell you more about it.

For years I’ve been interested in small houses and small stores and shops.  Years ago an internet search only seemed to yeild a hit on “the Smallest House in Great Britain” which is in Conwy, Wales.  I had heard about this small house when I  was on an LDS mission in England from 1984-1986.  Now you find a wealth of rich inspiring information about small houses, simple living, and a whole community of people who are just as interested in small houses as I am.

We had built a small store on a busy highway that has been open seasonally during the summer months.  Last year our family of 5 (me and my wife and 3 children)  stayed in a travel trailer behind the store - so this year I decided to build a 10×12 size little house to live in while we operate the store.  Initially my wife thought bigger would be a bit better since we have three small children, but with the 10×12 size we did not need a building permit and I am already a small house enthusiast so we went with the 10×12 size with a loft.

The loft turned out taller than we expected, but if it is not the smallest house in the area, it is definitely the smallest tallest house.

We were careful to make sure it was well anchored to the Concrete pad  We also enjoy the 6 foot porch.  In connection to our store - this house has also become a tourist attraction.  We regularly take customers who come to our store on a tour of the small house behind the store.

We built it on a shoestring and working on it off and on it took about 41 days from start to finish.  The concrete pad was poured on 30 April 2008 and we spent our first night in it 10 June 2008. We insulated it well since it is in a hight mountain valley.  The interior paint color was chosen by default - Home Depot sells “Ooops” paint so we got 5 gallons of great paint for $15.00.  It is well insulated - since it is in a high mountain valley at a high elevation.

I would love to hang a sign or certificate in this house that indicates we are part of some type of small and simple society.  The Small House Society seems to purposely not have any membership cards or certificates, but I would love to have some type of official certificate to display in this small house and even a certificate in my office that would help help promote and facilitate conversations of the small house movement.

See more pictures of the Smallest House In Rich County.

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