Tiny House Blog

Jay Shafer from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has just announced his schedule for his Building and Design Workshops for 2010. He is offering a special discount if you purchase your tickets between now and the new year. You can bring a friend for free. The usual cost for an additional person is $99.

Be sure and Register Now and take advantage of this special offer. I have been to one of his workshops and highly recommend them if you are thinking of building a tiny house someday.

Building Workshops

On Saturday, Jay Shafer will explain how to build a tiny house. The language will be clear and easy for everyone to understand. He will start at the foundation with a look at different types of permanent footings and a detailed description of how to build on wheels. Explanations of how to frame, sheath, insulate and finish will follow. Particular attention will be paid to the best way one can easily guard against the condensation that small spaces are prone to. The merits of different trailers, heaters, kitchen equipment, windows and building materials will be assessed. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.

Design Workshops

On Sunday, you will be taught how to design a small home that meets your personal needs and those of your family. You will have a chance to talk with Jay Shafer, national expert on small living, about the best ways to meet your domestic needs without waste. You will be presented with seven principals along with several strategies for good design before you are asked to develop plans for your own little home. The class is open to beginners, professional architects and anyone curious about how a tiny house is created at the drafting table.

Click here to Register Now

Jay Shafer on CBS News

The Small House Movement Believes Less is More, Especially in a Recession

At only 120 square feet, two is company – and three is really a crowd. The house is too small to meet building code minimum standards. It’s a vehicle, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.

But it’s got all the comforts of home, and plenty of storage space.

Shafer is at the forefront of the “small house” movement – a school of thought that less is more, especially in a recession.

“This house, all decked out with plumbing and heating would be about $50,000 if we built it for you,” Shafter said. “But if you built it yourself, it would be about $20,000.”

According to the U.S. Census, the average single family house in America is a little more than 2,500 square feet, meaning you could fit 21 of these into one of those.

Read the complete CBS article here and visit Jay Shafer’s website and blog at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website.

Watch the CBS News video below:

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Cheesecake, Beer, and a Tiny Rolling Home

Lellewynn sent a few pictures and a little more info about the Salt Lake City open house I thought you might enjoy reading. I still need pictures and a story of the Boulder Colorado stop so please if you were there give us an update. Here is the rest of the story… 

So my husband and I went to see the Fencl on Wednesday. I was so excited! We got into Salt Lake at about 1pm and just kind of puttered around the city, looking at stuff, we took some great pictures. Then we wanted beer so we drove all over Murray looking for a place that served beer. We finally found the Cheesecake Factory. Oh my goodness it was wonderful! Everyone needs to experience cheesecake and beer at least once in their lives!

Then we waited. And waited and waited and looked around for other people who were waiting too. Finally we found one person, a photographer named Mark. After that we were attracting tiny house enthusiasts like flies to a really smelly garbage can. I felt like such a nerd because I guess I knew the answers to the questions everybody was asking. I must have had a sign on me that said “tiny house nerd” because I was the go to girl for all the stats about the Fencl and everything else in the tiny house world… To those who were there, I’m glad I could help! Thats ok though because if I was the go to, Mark was the “get stuff done” guy. He wasn’t afraid to call Jay’s office and find out where Jay was (he was supposed to be there at 6).

Anyway, Jay finally arrived at 8:30pm and the poor guy just looked exhausted. I guess he had some truck trouble and had to rent a Uhaul to finish the trip to SLC. He looked like he needed coffee something fierce! As soon as he got out of his truck, the masses converged upon him. He opened the door to the Fencl and about a million miniature humans (kids) stampeded into the house. I like to imagine it was because it looked just like a playhouse and they couldn’t help themselves. I know I could hardly wait to walk inside!

I hung back and waited for most of the people to take their tour so I could get some fairly decent pictures. It was so cool to walk into a space that small and have it feel so big! When I was inside, there were about five other people in there. and we all had room to maneuver.

Then the moment of truth… I introduced myself to Jay and my face, as I thought it would, turned bright red. It happens anytime I meet anybody for the first time. Poor Jay probably thought I was a deranged fan or something! But he was super polite and answered all mine and my husband’s questions.

Somebody suggested that we all get a picture together. Jay was such a good sport! He smiled big and we got our picture.

All in all it was a pretty fun trip, except the driving home part. We didn’t get back until 2am! As we were driving home I asked my husband “Could you live in that house” and he said “Yeah, it’s bigger than I thought!” which is such a step for him because he was so skeptical. Now he’s on board for Project Rolling Freedom for sure!

Jay pulling in...

Jay getting setup

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