Tiny House Blog

I just wanted to update you as to what is going on with our Shelter 2.0 project. We are working towards a goal of sending ten (a twenty foot container full) of our new version of the shelters to Haiti and have a mission group that is willing to ship them for us for only a thousand dollars as well as make sure they get through customs using their in country agents and get them where we would like them to go with their trucks once they get to Haiti.

The new version has metal on it and is we think more fitting to the needs of helping those who need shelter. After being in Haiti this summer it seemed like a crime to give families living under tarps if they were lucky a shelter that relied on the lifespan of another tarp so we designed it to have corrugated metal go around it. The corrugations are cut in the framing so that the metal goes on very easily.

This link will send you to our new website with pictures from our recent fundraiser. We also were in Atlanta recently setting up one of our shelters for a homeless shelter group called the Mad Housers.

Happy Holidays  Robert Bridges

If you are interested in purchasing one for yourself please email Robert at info@shelter20.com.

Bowen Island seems to be an attraction for tiny houses. It’s home to the Eco-Shed by James Glave and is now home to the Quarters house by industrial designer Amanda Huynh in collaboration with Anna Gukov, Lydia Cambron and Emilie Madill. Following nearly a semester of intense research in materials, compact housing and the homelessness epidemic in Vancouver, a full-scale, timber-framed unit was built to house 1-2 residents in need of a simple shelter.

The 8 foot by 8 foot structure has a built-in sleeping loft, a readily available 5-gallon bucket wash basin, a City of Vancouver rain water barrel and modular furniture, which could be easily configured to create a second sleeping space. Because the individual unit does not provide running water or electricity to reduce cost, it would function best in a community of such dwellings with central kitchen/washroom facilities. Continue Reading »

Paul Elkins previously share with us his Cadillac of Homeless Shelters and has come up with an idea for an emergency shelter that I though you would enjoy seeing.

This 12′ by 12′ square shelter design was influenced by the designer of the Hexayurt. This will be my 2011 Burningman shelter for my wife and I. It also has shown possibilities as a rapid deployment cold weather Emergency Shelter.

The design consists of 10-one inch thick 4′x8′ foil backed foam insulation panels. Like the Hexayurt, the panels will be supported with tape only. No structural framing should be needed. (I’m keeping my fingers cross) The design also makes for virtually no waist in construction material. The adjoining corners will be mitered for a tight fit, and when stored it will fold like an accordion into a 4′x8′x10″ thick light weight package. Set-up time shouldn’t take too long as only a few seams need to be tapped once it’s unfolded. To secure the structure from high winds, lines from a small aluminum cap will run down to each corner of the shelter. Continue Reading »

Drue one of my readers keeps me updated on things he discovers on the internet and recently he discovered this bike powered ambulance from Zambia. Drue says:

Zambia is a heck of a long ways off, but I found a bike company there that has an interesting product…the zambulance.

It is a bike-trailer ambulance, but looks like an interesting biker’s shelter. Certainly smaller and less useful for a tiny house, but not a stretch for a homeless person, bike camper, or emergency shelter in times of a disaster.

Photo Credits: Zambikes

Here is what Zambikes says about their product:

The Solution – A Bicycle Ambulance Trailer a.k.a “Zambulance” by Zambikes

As a result of a Zambulance, communities have access to a free ambulance service. The clients
are now able to receive medical attention in less time. Whereas it used to take between two to
three hours to take a patient to a rural health centre that was 2.5 km away using an ox-cart, it now
takes an average of 30 minutes using a Zambulance to cover the same distance. Whereas patients used to sit on the back rack of a bicycle en route to a rural health centre, now clients can lie flat on the back of a Zambulance that is much safer and much more comfortable.

Additionally, the canopy of the Zambulance now provides privacy, especially important for the
expectant mothers. The canopy also shelters the clients from the heat of the sun and the rain. Continue Reading »

Derek “Deek” Diedricksen introduces you to his world of microcabins in this episode of Tiny Yellow House. I just received this from Deek and wanted you to have first look at it.

Join Deek in the Massachusetts woods for a tour of his “Boxy Lady” vending cart microcabin complete with build notes inspired by his book, Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts, and Whatever Else We Could Squeeze in Here.

Keep up with Deek at his blog relaxshax.

A New York Times article tells about the Leeps, builders of luxury homes in Montana who when the economy turned bad began rethinking their business and are now building portable homes for disaster related areas.

For the Leeps and their partners, HabiHut is a strange new world. Money is the major difference — “We used to build houses that would buy a village for 20,000 people,” Mr. Weas said with a laugh —

Photo Credits: New York Times

Moreover, HabiHut has two dimensions. “It’s a project about providing shelter, but hopefully we can make money and create jobs,” said Mr. Weas, whose son Sean, a recent master’s graduate in architecture, is also involved in the venture. “The best of both worlds. There’s a moral aspect to it that wasn’t there at the Yellowstone Club.”

At a weight of around 400 pounds and before being assembled it will fit into a 4? by 8? crate for shipping. The tools needed are a screwdriver to put it together and it is rated to last about 15 years.

The first few dozen HabiHuts have been manufactured, with several in use in Kenya, two in Haiti and another 20 en route to Haiti for sale.

Read the complete article at the New York Times website and visit the HabiHuts website to learn how you can help get these to those in need.