Tiny Green Cabins
Inspired by David Thoreau and energized by the opportunity to live a more sustainable and simple life, Jim Wilkins of St. Paul, Minnesota, has designed and built several tiny green cabins available for sale.
Each of these cabins have been developed to be multi-purpose, eco-friendly, transportable and stylish.
Tiny Green Cabins are earth friendly cabins ranging in size from 48 square feet to 252 square feet.
The Wildflower cabin is 120 square feet and built with green certified materials and reclaimed products as well as recycled materials. The walls and the floor are insulated with Soft Touch Cotton insulation made from recycled blue jeans.
The 8×18 foot Wildflower cabin base price is $19,900. Several options are included such as pine or cedar paneling, a propane fireplace and solar tripod. An upgraded model is for sale for $23,500 which includes Trex decking and wavy edge cedar wainscotting (which I just love!).
Two other green cabins profiled on Jim’s website are the 6×8 foot Mini-Sota which starts at $8,358 or the 8×10 foot Sunflower Starting at $10,499.
Neither price includes cabinetry, appliances or shipping. A $2,000 deposit will reserve a production date for a Tiny Green Cabin. A 50 percent deposit is required two weeks prior to production, with the balance due upon completion and delivery of the home.
Standard Items in the Tiny Green Cabins:
- FSC Cert. Mixed * SW-COC-000669 Lumber
- Ultra Touch Cotton Ins 6X16 – Recycled Denim (cotton) Insulation – (Blue Jeans)
- Finger jointed 2 X 3’s and 2 X 4’s
- Recycled & Reclaimed Lumber
- Anderson Silverline Windows
- Pro-Rib Steel 29 gauge panel – Emerald Green
- Trex Decking (recycled plastic and wood fibers)
- Low VOC paints
- Acrylic caulks
- Energy Star Electrical Boxes
- CDX roof and exterior sheathing
- Tyvek Exterior building wrap
- Vertical OSB substrate “Smart Panel” exterior siding
- Rebond (recycled) carpet padding
- Insulated windows (low e on some models both in recyclable aluminum and vinyl)
- Type 6 nylon carpet from Shaw
Optional Items in the Tiny Green Cabins:
- Recycled tires and axles.
- I-beam manufactured from scrap, recycled steel
- OSB Floor, Wall, and Roof Decking
- “James Hardie” Cemplank exterior siding
- Title 24 interior lighting
- Insulated fiberglass (50 year warranty) exterior entry doors.
- “Rinnai” tankless gas water heater
- PEX water systems (recyclable with no solvent connections)
- DR 24 PVC and ABS drain lines, less materials with recycled contents
- Gypsum panels (recycled paper)
- Energy Star appliances (most standard models and all up grades)
- Programmable thermostat
- 2×6 S4S Cedar Porch Decking
- Spray foam exterior wall insulation
- Electric Fireplace
- Cordwood Simulated Siding/Wainscoat
- Wavy Edge Rough Sawn Cedar Siding
- Water saver toilets, tub and shower diverters
- Quick recovery water heaters
- Aluminum (recyclable) mini-blinds
Jim also offers custom services for those that desire new designs along with products that can be incorporated into the tiny cabins, such as denim/cotton insulation, recycled and reclaimed materials, FSC Certified lumber products, solar panels for power off the grid, homemade soaps, organic products and other earth friendly sustainable products.
By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)
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Ecopods
Building houses from shipping containers is not new, but I think this might be the first company I have seen that builds smaller homes that are environmentally friendly and can be secured tight like a tiny little bunker.
Ecopods are built from recycled 8×20 steel shipping containers transformed into living, working and high end display spaces. The Ecopod is a transformed, designed built, multiple use, eco-friendly, building that promotes the best use of portability, off grid power supply capabilities and low environmental footprint.
The Toronto based company wanted to go even further with this ethos, so they incorporated rubber flooring recycled from shredded car tires into the design as well as an entire range of off-grid options including a solar-powered refrigerator, XM radio and 12V lighting and wall outlets powered from a roof-mounted solar panel. Even the composting toilet requires very little maintenance and costs a fraction of the traditional septic bed system. Download a PDF of the Ecopod brochure here.
Matthew Davies, the publicist for Ecopods.ca includes the following:
The ecopod started its life as a shipping container and traveled most likely half-way around the globe before being converted into the Ecopod. When the added hinged deck is raised the Ecopod maintains both the strength and proportions of its predecessor. It was our intention for the Ecopod to work ‘off grid’, although you can use it either way.
We first cut one twenty-foot side out of the shipping container and re-manufactured that steel wall into a deck that was then hinged back to the unit with six custom-designed offset hinges that allow the deck to lay flat and fit into its original position when closed. The deck is fairly heavy, so we engineered a 12V winch apparatus that has a lifting capacity of at least 4000lbs – its 12 volt battery takes its power from the solar panel. If you are leaving the Ecopod for an extended period of time, you can close the deck by flipping the electrical panel switch to supply the power to the 12 volt winch and the door closes by means of a handheld remote control. It takes about a minute to close and with the back doors locked, the pod is again returned to the form and strength of the original container.There is no conventionally-constructed building on the market that can compare to the strength and durability of the Ecopod.
Maintenance on the unit requires very little effort. The original steel walls and frame are made from a product called corten steel. Corten steel has a natural rust inhibitor that stops rust at the surface. The interior and exterior floor surfaces are covered with a product that looks very similar to cork flooring but is made from recycled car tires. This product has excellent interior and exterior performance qualities and is both impervious to water and easy to keep clean. The entire wall and ceiling cavities have been spray-foam insulated with the latest environmentally-friendly soya insulation available on the market today. It is a rigid ‘closed-cell’ insulation,’closed-cell’ meaning there is no moister transfer. All interior walls come clear-coat birch finished with a hidden fastening system and trimmed with aluminum. There are no visible mechanical fasteners in the wood finish. The front sliding glass doors and front glass side panels are double-glazed thermal pane units that allow you to enjoy all season weather conditions. We have equipped the pod with two electrical wall outlets that can supply power from the 12 volt battery through the inverter or are switchable to 120volts should you have access to either house or generator power. An 80 watt solar panel and 12 volt battery are included in the basic model.
Our intention was to give someone the option of enjoying a recreational property while creating a very low environmental footprint. The Ecopod can be used as a stand alone unit working off the grid or in conjunction with established building or cottage sites.
The Ecopod comes complete with all above-mentioned conveniences and finishes, all for a price of $26,650.00 CDN dollars.
What attracted me to the Ecopod was that it was not too expensive for a heavy duty self-contained space, and that you can completely close it up to protect it from animals, weather, vandalism and break-ins.
For Tiny House Blog readers who live in the Toronto area, you can view the Ecopod this month at the Green Living Show on April 24-26.
Photos by Ecopods
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