Will Pedersen from Abbotsford, BC Canada has been working on a Tumbleweed Tarleton, one of my favorite Tumbleweed Tiny House Company designs by Jay Shafer. I probably should have given him a chance to complete the project before doing a post on him, but was too excited about it and wanted to share it with you.
It has taken Will about 3 months so far (mostly working by himself) and he hopes to finish in about another month.
He doesn’t particulary recommend his techniques or materials but this is one way to go. Will has mostly adhered to the Tumbleweed plans and used materials that are mostly available and in stock at local lumber/hardware stores. The windows and door (not installed yet) and countertop are all custom made. Will says that he just loves the feel and design of the house. His cost of materials to this point is around $17,000 Canadian (about $14,000 US).
He has done most of the work himself except for the hookup of the water and drain lines where a plumber friend (a valuable friend to have!). Will has also hired someone to do the electrical work and he will be installing the lights and outlets and hook the house up to the grid.
Will is also keeping track of receipts and have somewhat of a journal of the building process, he is planning on sharing that when the project is completed.
Will lives and works at Glen Valley Organic Farm, it is a cooperatively owned farm in Abbotsford, BC. The co-op wants people to work and live here but only one single family house (already housing 5 people) is permitted on the 50 acre farm. So a small mobile house is a perfect solution to farmer housing. The co-op sells at farmers markets in the greater Vancouver area (carrots, potatoes, beets, strawberries, raspberries and more).
When Will completes his Tarleton I will do an update with pictures and more of his information from his journal and final costs. So stay tuned and thank you Will for sharing and inspiring us with your tiny house project. You can view more pictures of Will’s project on Flickr.
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Very interesting. In your research on this subject, have you come across any “green” tiny houses. I’m thinking particularly beautiful but safe small houses for people with multiple chemical sensitivities, etc.
Hi Kim – Here are two sites you should look at Vardo for Two located at: http://vardofortwo.blogspot.com/ and Lesilie’s website located here: http://www.otterishly.com/Safe_House_Project/
Both are building tiny houses based off of Jay Shafer’s original designs but adjusted to fit their needs, which are similar to what you are looking for.
Hey Kent,
Wow, thanks for this post, I really enjoyed it. I too am going to be building a Tumbleweed home as well, the Lusby to be exact. I am from Vancouver Island, just a puddle jump from Will’s place. So I am very interested to see how he comes along with his project.
Cheers
Hi Michael,
Please keep me posted when you start to build, I would like to follow your progress and share your experience with everyone here.
Hey Kent,
I will for sure keep you posted, it feels good to be creating this community of like minded folks. 🙂
Hi Kim;
While I do not have full blow MCS, I am extremely sensitive to chemicals and am therefore building a green Tumbleweed. I’m in grad school through the end of May, so the actual building process won’t begin until June, but I have green resources and would be more than happy to share with you! Just send me an email: outlawsdaughter@comcast.net
🙂 Stephanie
Will,
Are you planning to have running water and septic? If yes, how are you planning to keep the water from freezing? We’re just beginning to build our modified Lusby and plan to keep it in Illinois and want to use it year round. Thanks
great job one? i am a plumber in nova scotia i have to go were the work is dont like hotels.will this type of home have any legal issues on the highways in canada,,thanks for any information you can provide.keep up the good work..
It is highway legal in Canada as far as I know. I towed mine across the country from BC to New Brunswick. You do have to watch the clearance (mine is 13 ft. 2 in. tall). Once was stopped by the RCMP and he measured the width, no problem there. I was able to license/insure it in BC but check out the requirements in NS. You may have to put in tempered glass windows and marker lights on front/side/back of the house (up high). To license it in BC, they first told me I would need an inspection and new VIN number but it turned out they could just change the trailer body style from flat-deck to box trailer. Anyhow, hope this helps.
“but it turned out they could just change the trailer body style from flat-deck to box trailer. ”
Will do you mind telling me what that means exactly?
I was told if it’s a recreational vehicle there are a bazillion rules that must be followed. Can it just be a box trailer?