The video shows the couple towing their new home along freeways and high mountain passes and parking it on their new piece of land.

“To see that little, tiny house on this huge, beautiful landscape really feels like home,” said Merete.

Video courtesy of Fox 31 Denver

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Kelly is unofficially calling the two building designs ModPods. She and Pam were inspired by some similar structures they came across while traveling by motorcycle on Orcas Island, Wash.

“I nearly went off the road on my bike when I saw these tiny houses,” Kelly said.

The two offices are 10×12 (120 square feet), are 15 feet high on the back end and 12 feet high on the front end. The roofs were designed to accommodate solar panels (to be installed soon) and are situated for solar gain through the sliding glass doors in the winter. When the farm staff began to move into the first office, they didn’t have heat, so they covered the existing walls with cob for insulation. On the day I was there it was unseasonably warm outside, but at least 20 degrees cooler in the finished office – even up in the loft. The loft (accessed by a ladder) is large enough to stand up in and will be used for a working and lounging space. Downstairs in the finished office is a small bathroom, a sink, a desk and some storage space. Kelly would like to install a small kitchenette by Avanti in the second office.

The structures were built by the local Boy Scouts and volunteers over a couple of months, but Kelly said the structures are designed to be built in about four days and for around $15,000. HabeRae will build each unit for approximately $27,000. Each of the buildings are on a slab foundation.

In addition to the two offices, the Urban Roots staff also built an experimental greenhouse/storage shed out of old wood pallets covered with cob and a tin roof. A bunny named Dandelion lives in a cage in front of the cob structure. Dandelion will be joined soon by a goat, some bees, a few chickens and a pond full of frogs. Urban Roots receives most of their supplies from donations, Habitat for Humanity, Craigslist and they depend on volunteers affectionately named Worker Bees.

The farm sits behind a former hotel on 4th Street that HabeRae Homes converted into one-bedroom apartments called 14 on 4th.

The pallet/cob interior of the storage shed

Photos by Christina Nellemann

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]

My Tiny House Dilemma/Challenge. Years ago, as I was watching the Las Vegas housing market crumble, the local TV News was reporting that Las Vegas did not have to worry about the national trend in housing, because Las Vegas was going vertical! Yes, we had well over 100 huge high-rise projects on the horizon! I thought that the newscasters were out of their mind. There is no way that you can insulate one type of housing project, specially when it is an outrageously overpriced concept and believe that this will save us from economic catastrophe. Fast-forward, Las Vegas is truly ground zero when it comes to the national housing market disaster. All of the high-rise projects included, even though most were never built!

Photo Credits: Frank Dobrucki

When I looked at the floor plans of many of the projects, several entry-level models were less than 800 square feet and had starting prices of $600,000 and monthly homeowner fees of approximately $800 to $1,000. I knew that I could do a better job of coming up with the kind of housing that people really need and something that people could afford.

Whenever I looked at what “truly” affordable housing means, I kept finding these little tiny storage sheds with ladders and lofts. Nothing about these units made me feel than anybody could ever be comfortable living there. My challenge was to design a small footprint housing unit that was 1) affordable, 2) efficient, 3) practical, and most important, to me 4) comfortable and fun to live in.

I knew that I would be designing a one-story unit. The idea of climbing up and down a ladder did not appeal to me. The ladder concept excludes a lot of people and I can just imagine how dangerous a fall could be in the middle of the night when you had to use the bathroom. Not to knock the green movement, but I wasn’t really all that excited about the woodsy look either. I think that color and texture play a very important role in the design process and well insulated drywall that can be painted or wallpapered is much more adaptable to a greater variety of people. I also knew that I wanted a great kitchen. I love to cook and I wasn’t interested in a little electric burner and a microwave that is nestled under the counter somewhere. Finally, I wanted a real bathroom. The standard bathroom is designed as a 5’X 8’ room. This is mostly specified because a standard tub/shower enclosure comes in a 5’ length. Interestingly, just because it really fit, I came up with a 6’X 9’ bathroom.

In the end, I came up with a 24’X 24’ cube that intersects the needs of many things. As there are no walls separating the living room, dining, kitchen or bedroom areas, the space seems much bigger than it actually is. The ceilings are 9’ high, which also contributes to the feeling of a much larger space. There is plenty of storage. I call this project the “Domain-Studio” and the total living space is 576 sq. ft. You can see the “Domain-Studio” at: www.dropitanywhere.com

When I finished this design, I actually built the first unit. It was so incredibly exciting to see my drawing come to life. I am absolutely crazy about the “Domain-Studio” and believe that this housing unit could revolutionize the concept of affordable housing in cities across the country. The main difference with the “Domain-Studio” is that it is meant to be a stackable unit. The primary design calls for a building-block technology that can be fitted on top of commercial buildings. Most commercial buildings have flat roofs. Look at most supermarket shopping centers; strip malls, even downtown commercial buildings. Most all of these buildings have flat roofs. Why not take advantage of these flat roofs and make affordable housing available where people want to live, in areas where driving would not always be needed. Look at all of the mall properties across the country. Many of these malls are dying a slow economic death! Imagine what kind of life-support could be achieved by placing several hundred living units “on-property.” Many of these malls could be reinvented to include late night dining, coffee shops and other business that could serve as social gathering places because of the new resident population. As a real estate developer, nothing excited me more than being able to build a housing project without have to buy any land!

Back in the 1980’s, I ventured in the mobile home park area. I actually owned a park in New England for a couple of years. I learned a lot about manufactured housing and saw the pros and cons of cheap inexpensive housing. Today, I am playing with a totally new concept and that is with the idea of a vertical rental tower. The idea would be to build a steel cage structure where you could simply slide in Domain units and the owner of the Domain unit would rent the tower space much like a mobile home owner rents the ground in a mobile home park.

The “Domain-Studio” is a $69,900 priced home. This unit would cost approximately $500 per month to “own.” While I never thought that I would or could design anything smaller than the “Domain-Studio, — I did! I went back to my drawing board and actually came up with two smaller units. The first is the “Domain-360” — which is exactly as its name suggests, a 360’ square foot unit. The motivation for the “Domain-360” was to accomplish one thing that the “Domain-Studio” could not. The “Domain-360” is built on one single all-steel super floor platform, which means that this unit leaves the factory 100% finished. There is no onsite work needed to button up or connect anything other than exterior connections for water, sewer and electricity. Both Domain units are 24’ long, which means that they can be stacked side by side in the same building configurations. The “Domain-360” uses the same basic layout of the larger unit, with virtually the same Living Room, Kitchen and Dining area. The difference is in the bathroom, closet and bedroom areas. The “Domain-360” does not have a dedicated bedroom area, but instead uses a MurphyBed wall system, which also doubles as an office/study area.

The “Domain-360” is priced at $59,900 and the monthly cost would be approximately $400 per month to “own.” Both Domain units come completely finished with cabinets, appliances, mini-split electric heat-pump HVAC and Kohler bathrooms. With 9’ ceilings, there is plenty of space to extend cabinets in the closets for additional storage.

My final design was for a very small unit, which I see for people that truly want the most minimal experience. I call this unit, the “Domain-Shelter.” The Domain Shelter is a 10’X 14’ cube that has 140 sq. ft. Everything is minimized, but I tried very hard to keep to my practicalities and not compromise on quality and comfort. The “Domain-Shelter” has factory-built kitchenette unit that has a small two burner stove, with an oven, under counter refrigerator, and built-in microwave. There is also a 4’ Kohler bathroom with a 4-piece fiberglass shower unit. One really neat feature of the steel super floor is that you can include outdoor space for a deck that will have incredible support and strength. One idea that I have is to include an 8’ deck on the back of this tiny unit, which would you an extra 80 square feet of outdoor living area for dining, outdoor grilling, and entertaining. Like the other Domain units, even the “Domain-Shelter” is able to be stacked.

Theses are my three Domain units. My challenge now is to get my first development project off the ground.

(This information is for the UK not the United States)

Getting a surveyor on-board for your tiny house project can seem like a relatively daunting step. It can be the moment where your tiny house makes its first real steps into becoming a reality. That said, it can also bump up the expense of the project, so it is not a decision that will be taken lightly by those with grandeur objectives for their tiny home.

It should go without saying that it won’t be necessary to bring the technical expertise of surveyors into smaller micro-house projects. There are circumstances, however, where you will bring in the expertise of builders, architects, and indeed, surveyors.

With this in mind we’ll look at the value a surveyor will bring to your project and the circumstances that would predicate this decision.

This article will provide an overview of the role a surveyor plays in the construction of buildings and look at why they may add value to your projects.

There are three factors that will determine whether you will consider using a surveyor:

• The size and complexity of your project
• The budget for the project
• Your prior experience building

Of these three factors, the size and complexity of the project is ultimately the most important. (These however, are often defined by the project’s budget.)

In any new building project, the design is likely to chop and change as the structure begins to take shape. Let’s have a look the responsibilities of a surveyor in a construction project.

Cost Management
The role of a surveyor from your point of view boils down to two words: cost management. On smaller projects, this task can straight forward to manage yourself, but with any job of a significant cost, it’s not recommended you go it alone.

Why?

At the start of any project, you’ll have an approximate idea as to what it is going to cost. There are always (always) unforeseen changes to the project that can cause its costs to escalate.

Whilst this deviation may not be a major problem in small projects, in larger ones they can add up and jeopardize the projects chance of completion.

An architect may have an idea about cost, but they are not qualified to account for the management of building costs as they change over time. The surveyor’s cost management role continues throughout the project,
particularly in accounting for the value of a builder’s work on a month-by-month (or week-by-week) basis.

This isn’t to imply your builders will pull the wool over your eyes, it’s simply a means of giving you confidence that the project is being completed on-time, on-cost, and to sufficient quality.

For example…
As the home begins to take shape, you decide to make a change to the home’s design; for the sake of argument, adding a window, which the builder quotes at $3,000.

A surveyor will audit this quote to ensure the cost is right. You may be adding a window, but you’ll be losing cladding, so money could be saved here.

Your surveyor will be involved in material procurement as well as the negotiation of the builder’s contract, ensuring a fair price as well as the completion of the work to a high standard.

By employing the services of a surveyor for help with the construction of your tiny home, you will introduce a series of checks and balances to the project, helping to fix the cost.

Anyway, that’s my overview of the value a surveyor could bring to your tiny house build. If you’ve any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll do my best to try answer them.

This person took an old run down caravan or trailer and used it for the base, he then rebuilt it using his design and creating a simple structure for himself. It has all the basics, a place to sleep, cook and stay warm. Maybe this video is just the inspiration you need to start your own project.

The 700 square foot retreat is constructed of two shipping containers, timber strips from old bunkers and weapons boxes and used railway sleepers. It is designed to embrace the views and climate of the surrounding environment, and create a place of relaxation and beauty while using already available resources.

Photos by Logan MacDougall Pope

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

This series of homes meets all of the fundamental criteria in a house. The space is sized to be functional while also allowing flexibility. The uses for these homes include high density small lot urban and suburban infill, relief housing, student housing, auxiliary dwelling units, and specifically, affordable housing.

The Shelter Series homes range in size from 340 square feet to around 1,400 square feet and are also designed to meet a variety of green certification programs with the real emphasis being on energy and water savings along with a superior exterior shell.

Available now is the Shelter 640. This small home features 2 bedrooms, a full bath, generous kitchen, and ample storage/closet space. The interior is filled with light from the standard and clerestory windows. The lot for this design may be as small as 30 feet by 60 feet, and the 640 can be built on a concrete foundation or a raised floor system. The Shelter 640 is priced at $47,300.

Also included in the Shelter 640:

• Prefabricated, insulated wall sections
• Insulated windows
• Metal SIP panel roof
• R-17 wall insulation and R-22 roof insulation
• Bamboo flooring
• IKEA brand cabinets and sinks
• Maple countertops
• Water conserving toilet
• On-demand, tank-less hot water heater

The Cabin Fever building packages contain everything that’s needed to build a modern cabin: pre-assembled wall panels, doors and windows, the roof system, siding, trim and the interior parts. Everything is precision cut and precisely labeled. Their prefab cabins and cottages can be assembled by an owner with building experience or by a professional contractor.

Photos courtesy of Cabin Fever

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Trick

Trick is the name of this multifunctional furniture that can be used as a bookshelf, a chair, and a dining set. The minimalist multifunction furniture is made from Milan based industrial designer Sakura Adachi.

Arrigoni Teak Table

This teak drop leaf and teak seat ottomans are the latest addition to the hi-low table line of Arrigoni Design. Most of their designs are for boats, but they can be used in tiny houses as well. The ottomans provide seating in tight spaces and have hinged up cushions for extra storage inside. Storage is easy under each side of the standard 32 X 36 fold over hi-low table.

KEWB

The KEWB is an entire house of furniture in one small package. The Sit n’ Sleep KEWB is a table, a chair, a recliner, a side table, a bed and a dining set all in one. The entire unit collapses down to the size of a side table.

Tagei Coffee Table

A graduate of industrial design, Akemi Tanaka has designed some innovative furniture. One piece is the Tagei which looks like a coffee table but it can also be extended into a bench for additional company.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The Hummingbird has a living and kitchen area with a fire-ribbon fireplace (which requires no venting) and a large, covered deck which LEAP calls a “chill” space. A small bedroom and bathroom suite are also included. Plans for the hummingbird are priced at $995, the building kit is around $55,000 and an on-site built Hummingbird is about $80,000 which does not include the general contractor fee, building or permit fees.

Other green options included in the Hummingbird are:

• Cement board or teak siding
• Trex recycled content-engineered deck planking
• Low-mass Structural Insulated Panels
• Multi-unit sliding glass doors with dual-pane Low-E glass
• Simpson “Strong-Wall” seismic resisting brace-frames
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures
• EnergyStar rated Heat-pump HVAC system, lighting and on-demand water heater

LEAP Adaptive is a home design group in San Diego, California. Design director Brian Darnell has spent the last 22 years designing multi-million-dollar residential estates, but realized that “the lust for size and granduer has given way to the realization that the economics and ecology of our flattening world can no longer support such extravagance.” LEAP seeks to create environmental designs that are easier on the owner’s wallet as well as on the earth.

Image Courtesy of LEAP Adaptive

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]