Tiny House Blog

Tiny Solar House part 4 by Bill Brooks. This video covers his loft design and sleeping area. Bill also goes into some design issues he came across as he built his house. Some things he would change if he was to build it again. Thanks Bill for sharing your knowledge and your tiny house with us.

View Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and also be sure and subscribe to the Youtube Tiny House Blog Channel here. You will than be notified of any new videos on this channel.

Here is part two of Bill Brooks tiny solar house. You can view part one here. I know I left you hanging in the last video as we were getting ready to step inside the house. It just seemed like a good place to break and than move on to the next stage.

In this video, Bill shows us the kitchen, his propane heater, water storage and some of the plumbing that was involved. There are lots of little details that go unnoticed because they are hidden and this helps give you an idea about the work involved.

Again, I am learning and the video is proof of that. I am getting a little faster at pulling them together so in the next post you will probably see 2 or 3 videos. Youtube limits the length so I am trying to give you over an hours worth of video in little sections so you can get the full picture.

To keep updated be sure and subscribe to the Youtube Tiny House Blog Channel.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Bill Brooks and his tiny solar house. I have featured it before in its early stages but had not seen it in person. The design is Michael Janzen’s Tiny Solar House with a few modifications by Bill.

I am attempting to create some videos and Bill agreed to be my first guinea pig. The video is not perfect (rough in a few places) but Bill does a great job of explaining the process. This is the first of several videos from the visit and I hope you will learn a lot about building a tiny home from Bill who has become an expert in my humble opinion with all that he has learned in the construction of his home. The next video will feature the interior  and I will let you know when it is ready.

To keep updated be sure and subscribe to the Youtube Tiny House Blog Channel.

My friend and fellow tiny house blogger Michael Janzen of Tiny House Design has entered one of his designs in the Free Green Who’s Next Competition. Check out his design and join me and vote for Michael’s if you like it. Here is what Michael has to say about the contest and his design.

The public voting has begun. Take look at the 400+ submissions and vote for the house designs you like best. No house in the competition is larger than 1,800 square feet (not tiny) but I didn’t see any other entries that include the designs for 4 individual tiny houses.

Cast you vote for the Tiny House Cluster here.

4 Tiny Houses in 1 Set of Plans – My submission is essentially 4 tiny houses arranged around a central courtyard. If my plan wins the competition FreeGreen.com will develop the design into a complete set of plans. The public voting is just the first step but it will get us closer to having FreeGreen.com help develop this concept. Thanks for voting!

Michale just put the finishing touches on the latest issue of Tiny House Living, a blog based newsletter MIchael publishes weekly about the tiny house world. In this issue are some articles with topics like: Finding Land for Living, Small House Online Networks, Octagonal Tiny House by Salman, and a there even a progress update on Bill’s Tiny House. Bill is building an 8′ by 16′ tiny solar house from one of my Michael’s free house plans which you’ll find at the Tiny House Design blog.

Tiny House Living – Issue 36

Michael has been busy over at the Tiny House Design blog. He made a big milestone today and posted his 400th post. Congratulations Michael!

To celebrate Michael announced his new plan called the Tiny Solar House a Simple Do-it-Yourself Plan. He is starting a new series of plans and is making them very affordable. You can get your own set for only $9.99.

I’ve had the opportunity to preview the plans and in my humble opinion Michael should be selling these for much, much more.

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Michael Janzen of Tiny House Design just introduced a 65 page house plan ebook. It’s called Tiny Prefab, A Do-It-Yourself Prefab Building System and contains the plans and instructions for creating tiny prefab structures that are easy to build from common building materials. The book is a bit of a hybrid between a set of plans and instructions for building and assembling a panelized prefab tiny house. A wide variety of sizes of buildings can be built but the roof plans in the ebook are designed for an 8-foot deep tiny house. The smallest size building is 8’ by 8’.  If more space is desired it’s length can be increased by increments of 4 feet so if you want a structure that is 8′ by 20′ this DIY prefab system will work fine. Below are small screen shots of all the pages in the ebook so you can get a good idea of what is included before you buy.

I’ve had the opportunity to look this book over and I highly recommend it, as it is very detailed and just about anyone should be able to follow these plans and build this structure. The price is $27, so he has priced it to be affordable for everyone. Visit Michael’s blog to purchase your copy.

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)

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