Tiny House Blog

Treehouses, homemade canoes and Labrador Retrievers. What more can you ask for in a radio show?

Eric Rochow of GardenFork recently spoke with Deek Diedrickson, microhome builder and author of the new “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks” book in an episode of GardenFork Radio.

Deek and Eric (two men cut from the same cloth) discuss the merits of publishing your own book, using recycled and curbside found materials for tiny homes, how to build and anchor a treehouse and how Deek is able to make a living with his various building, music and drawing hobbies.

They also talk about Deek’s future plans which include teaching a few of the Tumbleweed Tiny House workshops, building a houseboat, a treehouse workshop and writing and publishing another book.

You can download the episode from iTunes or you can listen to it on the GardenFork website.

Photos courtesy of Relaxshacks.com.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Lesle sent me this photograph of a tiny building decorated for the holidays. Although the landscape is rather invisible because of the white out the building is attractive and the wreath is beautiful. I like like the pine boughs used to decorate the edge of the roof. No lights here, just natural decorations. You will need to use your imagination on the landscape and put it where you would dream this little building should be located. Thanks Lesle for this holiday picture.

The Cae Mabon Retreat Centre in North Wales has been building small, natural dwellings for their residents and visitors since 1989. This intentional community is located in the best of what nature can offer: in the woods, by a river, near a lake, at the foot of the mountains and within sight of the sea.

Cae Mabon’s principal creator is Eric Maddern, who was inspired to create the community after spending time with the Aboriginal people in Alice Springs, Australia. He wanted to create a place that was not the ostentatious beauty of the wealthy but the humble beauty of the simple and natural. The buildings he created are mostly made from timber, stone, reed, straw, grass, lime and clay and they blend in with their surroundings. Continue Reading »

Guest Post by Andrew Morrison

Straw Bale construction is an old technology that has grown to become a respected and viable building option in most locations and climates. Not only is it beautiful and energy efficient, but it is also three times as fire resistant as a conventionally framed home and does extremely well in natural disasters such as earthquakes and extreme wind conditions. Straw bale and tiny house enthusiasts have a lot in common in that both are invested in being responsible earth stewards, want to reduce their living expenses, aren’t afraid to try something new and do things on their own, and are committed to creating a new model of sustainability by living within their means financially and from a resource stand point. Here are 9 reasons why we think you should consider building with bales:

Reason #1 Energy Efficiency.

A well built straw bale home can save you up to 75% on heating and cooling costs. In fact, in most climates, an air conditioning unit is not needed in the home as the natural cooling cycles of the planet are enough to keep the house cool all summer long. In addition, a simple heating system, very often radiant floor heating, can inexpensively supplement a passive solar design to keep a house warm all winter long.

Reason #2 Sound Proofing.

Straw bale walls provide excellent sound insulation and are superior wall systems for home owners looking to block out the sounds of traffic, airplanes, or other urban sounds. The assembly itself, a rigid skin of plaster sandwiched around a softer core of bales provides excellent sound absorption.

Reason # 3 Fire resistance.

Straw bale homes have roughly three times the fire resistance of conventional homes. Dense bales mean limited oxygen which in turn means no flames. Now wrap the dense bales in over an inch of plaster and you have a superior fire wall assembly.

Reason # 4 Environmental responsibility.

Building with straw helps the planet in many ways. For example, straw is considered a waste product that is either burned or composted in standing water. By using the straw instead of eliminating it, we reduce either air pollution or water consumption, both of which impact the environment in major ways.

Reason #5 Natural Materials

The use of straw as insulation means that the conventional insulation materials are removed from the home. Standard fiberglass insulation has formaldehyde in it, a known carcinogen. Bales also eliminate the use of plywood in the walls. Plywood contains unhealthy glues that can off-gas into the house over time. By building with natural materials, a healthy home is created from the start.

Reason #6 Aesthetics

There is nothing as calming and beautiful as a straw bale home. Time and time again I walk people through homes and they are immediately struck by the beauty and the “feeling” of the walls. I really can’t explain this one, you’ll just have to walk through your own to see what I mean. There really is nothing like it.

Reason #7 Minimize wood consumption.

If built as a load bearing assembly, the wood in the walls can be completely eliminated, except for around the windows as necessary to attach them to the structure. The harvesting of forests is a global concern and any reduction in the use of wood is a good thing for the long term health of the planet. Even framed walls with infill bales (bales as insulation) can reduce the use of wood by using engineered lumber for the posts and beams. The engineered material uses smaller, faster growing trees in place of larger, slower growing species. In addition, even a standard post and beam frame can use smaller timbers on larger spacing, thus reducing the amount of wood in the home and also working with the faster growing, more renewable wood resources.

Reason # 8 Built in window-seats/niches/storage

For space conscious builders, the options for creating wall niches and storage into the bale walls are pretty much endless. Because the bale walls are so thick, there is plenty of depth for people to essentially carve out niches for storage. Further, one can create window seats with some simple modifications during the construction process which creates space saving seating. The end results are beautiful and timeless.

Reason # 9 Perfect for the Do-It-Yourself builder

Building with bales is frankly, quite simple. If you’ve spent time building with legos, you already understand the basic principles of baling! The baling process goes very quickly and is extremely fun and rewarding to be a part of. Working with a natural material is also a wonderful way to connect with responsible building practices. It doesn’t take long to learn. In fact, we can teach people how to bale their own homes including the electrical and plumbing and plastering systems within our 7 day workshops (www.strawbaleworkshops.com).

This is just a short list of reasons to build with straw bales. This construction technology is widely accepted in nearly all building municipalities in the US and other countries around the world and many locales even have their own straw bale code for straw bale. You can run electrical wiring through the bales without any problems and have plumbing in the house as well. It is possible to get insurance and bank funding. This technology has really come a long way from when it began in the mid-west in the late 1800s!

If you are interested in learning more about straw bale construction, please visit www.StrawBale.com for tons of free information. We also offer instructional DVDs showing the whole process step by step at www.LearnStrawBale.com.

Andrew Morrison
Consultant, Teacher, Inspiring Change

===================================================
Learn the Secrets to Successful Home Construction:
www.BeYourOwnContractorTraining.com

===================================================
Get Your Straw Bale Construction Questions Answered at:
www.StrawBale.com
====================================================
Sign Up For a Seven Day Straw Bale Construction Workshop Near You at:
www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com

====================================================
Work Directly With Me at:
www.StrawBaleConsulting.com

Follow Me on Twitter: @StrawBaleTeach

*Note if you purchase the DVD’s or workshops through the links above  a portion goes to support the Tiny House Blog.

For next summer, I’ve been looking at taking a cob building workshop to update my building skills, learn some natural building techniques, and get closer to the natural world. The process of building a tiny house out of earth and found materials is very appealing. While doing my research, I came across a few tiny cob houses that I thought epitomized how warm, human-scaled and friendly they can be. Some of these were so beautiful, I just had to share.

Continue Reading »

For only a week out of each year, Black Rock City, the home of Burning Man, is the fourth largest city in the state of Nevada. While the festival participants’ camps are only temporary, a lot of work goes into creating a comfortable, beautiful tiny shelter. These tiny “houses” have to be able to withstand up to 80 mile an hour winds, have to protect their inhabitants from the desert heat and cold, and the notorious dust storms of the Black Rock Desert. It also helps if they are colorful and attract attention. It makes them easier to find in the mass creativity that is Black Rock City.

Our neighborhood of 3:15 and Inherit in Black Rock City, NV

While at Burning Man, you “live” in the city. When someone asks you where you live, you say something like, “On the corner of 7:00 and Chaos, right next to the giant spaceship.” (referring to the horizontal “C” street and vertical number street of the Black Rock City map). This year’s city was 9,460 feet in diameter and included 44 miles of streets. It helps to know exactly where your tiny house is located.

To the un-Burned eye, Black Rock City looks a little beat up and run down, but when you are in one of the most inhospitable places on earth, any little bit of comfort is appreciated. The inhabitants of Black Rock City are an amazing group of people with extremely creative ideas and skills who create little laps of luxury in the desert.

These are some of my favorite tiny houses of Black Rock City:

Hexayurts were quite popular this year

So were tipis

I even found a half-finished gypsy wagon down the street

A very well insulated yurt

This structure has a central living area and a loft for sleeping

A beautiful, handmade truck trailer

This geodome uses solar panels for power

The Oliver trailer owned by Chris and Cherie from Technomadia

These tiny houses were built for storage and sleeping

The trailer of the Hollywood Death Squad

Our neighbor converted a toy hauler into a tiny shelter with French doors

This dome was used as a steam room

A lovely pink setup at the entrance to Kidsville

This mutant vehicle, also a shelter, was towed by a tractor

The inhabitants of the VW Bus Camp travel in groups

You can even have a white picket fence in Black Rock City

And my all-time favorite…

The Neverwas Haul, one of the best known mutant vehicles on the Playa

Because of the lack of space in a tiny house, a separate bathhouse can be built nearby to hold a bathing area, hot tub or sauna.

This is not only for necessity, but as a tranquil space for relaxation. On my search for tiny bathhouses I kept running into these examples built from natural materials that I thought looked so beautiful in their environments.

One of my favorites was this cob bathhouse and its accompanying yurt created by Oasis Design.

Oasis Design is a family owned, home-based design consulting and publishing business near Santa Barbara. They’ve been developing original designs for living better, cheaper, and more ecologically since 1980. Their focus is mostly on water, wastewater and energy systems.

This bathhouse at the Chinati Hot Springs in Marfa, Texas is made of adobe and dates back to the 1930s.

And this bathhouse has a living roof and is located at the Center for Whole Communities in Fayston, Vermont.

A natural bathhouse can be a celebration of tranquility and privacy, but also can make us more aware of where our water is coming from or where it should be going.

By Christina Nellemann

Copyright © 2009 Tiny House Blog

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed