Better Built Portable Buildings
For anyone with vision, a few building skills and a great set of tools, several of these portable buildings by Dix Enterprises in Wichita, Kansas can become a personalized tiny house. Better Built Portable Storage Buildings by Dix are outdoor storage sheds, barns, garages, cabins and offices that are built onsite in Kansas and then delivered by truck. At that point they can be customized by the customer. Dix claims all of their portable barns, sheds, cabins and garages are built to hold up under heavy use and provide a lifetime of service. Most of the buildings are for storage, livestock and gardening, but three of their designs may make a great tiny house: the Lofted Porch, the Portable Casita and the Mini Cottage.
Canadian Bunkies
Join me in a round of applause to our Canadian neighbors and their love of the outdoors! Canadian “bunkies”, or small bunkhouses, are another tiny house design that can be built from a plan or from a kit. I ran across these companies that manufacture log, timber frame and cedar bunkies in various sizes.
Rangercabins, located in Ontario, manufactures conventionally framed models with timber framed components and authentic square timber log buildings. All assembly of the bunkie is included in the purchase price and all models come with a poured concrete pier foundation and a scheduled completion date. Rangercabins has four standard sizes and offers design flexibility. The standard package provides a weather tight assembled shell that the buyer can finish themselves. A buyer can also upgrade by purchasing options that are sold on an installed basis.
Rangercabin Bunkie
Rangercabin Bunkie
Every Rangercabin includes handcrafted timber framing from the finest quality cedar timbers that are hand selected and travel through a propriety finishing process. The result is a bunkie of extreme strength and rigidity to withstand heavy winds and huge snow loads. They also include unique and superior joinery techniques.
Taylor Sawmill Bunkie
I also found Taylor Sawmill on beautiful Manitoulin Island that makes cedar saunas and bunkies.
Their prefab modular 8 foot by 12 foot buildings are built with cedar or pine 2 x 6 log siding. This siding gives a horizontal v-joint siding look on the inside. The buyer can choose the steel roof color of their choice. The package comes with a cedar door and two 3 foot by 3 foot windows as well as a 4 foot by 8 foot cedar deck. Other options include a 8 foot by 8 foot covered deck that can be screened in and a built-in Murphy bed and table.
Cabana Village Bunkie
The standard Cabana Village bunkie includes extra wall height that features loft space with a ladder or hardwood stairs, an optional porch and a choice of roof pitch. Cabana Village cabin kits and cottage bunkies are great as weekenders, lakeside cottages, starter cabins or backyard retreats. They also feature cedar doors, windows and trim and are available in cedar or maintenance-free Canexel siding. All their kits have 1/2 inch plywood roof sheathing and 2×4 SPF framing.
Most bunkies are built to be used only for three seasons, but many plans and kits will come with an option for insulation. Prices will vary with size, but the smallest bunkie made by Cabana Village goes for around $7,000 for the 7 foot by 10 foot model and around $27,000 for the 16 foot by 28 foot model.
Cabana Village Bunkie
Cabana Village Bunkie
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WoodManor Playhouses
Children are lucky in many ways, but I just found a group of tiny play houses that make them even luckier.
WoodManor Playhouses offers plans, pre-cut kits and fully built playhouses for about 13 different styles ranging from Queen Anne to Condo. The largest is around 23 ft wide, 13 feet long and 14 feet high. What I liked about these homes were the details that were put into the interior which includes inside walls and staircases.
I thought these were some of the most beautiful playhouses I have ever seen. Maybe a tiny house enthusiast can take one of these samples and make it just a little bit larger for an adult.
Brigadoon – Bungalow in a Box – Update
Recently I have been in touch with Raoul Hennin of Bungalow in a Box and requested an update on his work. (read our previous post here).
Raoul has been working on updating his site with some recent projects and also has added a couple of cool videos as well. You can watch one of them on the right.
Raoul recently added a 12 x 12 addition to a home he had built for a customer a couple of years ago in Maine. He calls this project the Brigadoon and you can see more pictures at his site.
The customer is currently using the home part time but will soon be moving in full time after retirement. They wanted a space for guests and workshops, plus designed it so they could enjoy the view and outdoors. I’ve attached a few pictures to give you an idea of the project.
Brigadoon Floor Plan
Building the Frame
Installing the Roof
Looking in French Door into the Living Room
Kitchen
Loft Bedroom
Original 12 x 16 Bungalow In A Box
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Pennypincher Barn Company
Pennypincher’s is a kit company and they sell cabin and barn kits. Pennypincher’s kits include design engineered plans. Anne Masias, General Manager of Pennypincher Barns shared with me the following about how they have discussed selling standard plans but at this point they come exclusively with the kits.
That said, a 120 square foot, loft style kit has a basic shell kit price of $2880 (lumber for the exterior shell & loft, comp. roofing, hardware and design engineered plans). Doors, windows, dormers, cupolas, foundation & labor not included. Though Pennypincher does mill their own windows, doors, cupolas & dormers. Pennypincher’s has designers on staff they can modify their standard plans to meet the customers needs. Most of their designs can be done in any size and they can also engineer for additional snow or wind load or other county requirements.
Pennypincher’s can deliver a cabin/tiny house kit just about anywhere. They order your package materials in the customers locale so the only “shipping” expense is really a delivery fee or you could pick the materials up if you wanted. It’s up to the customer.
This is one of their favorite things that they offer because it’s a huge cost saver, far more eco-friendly and the customer gets to support their local economy.
Holiday Special: Anyone who orders before the holidays get a free accessory item (cupola, dormer, etc.).
The tiny house designs are new for them so they just have sketches and simple designs. They have more new designs coming soon so visit the Pennypincher site and learn more.
10 x 14 with Loft
10 x 14 Mini Barn
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