This past winter, my brother and I decided to try our hands at a tiny house build. With my skills as a builder and my brother’s as an artist and designer, we set out with a rough design and many things to learn. We began with a modified plan that was inspired by two of Michael Janzen’s solar house plans from tinyhousedesign.com. The final product is the beaming rustic modern tiny house you see above.

Our spacious tiny house began as a 20 ft trailer with dual #3500 axles that transported a lowly camper in days bygone. Painted and leveled, construction was ready to begin.

The now completed rustic modern home is 21ft long, cantilevered a foot off the back, and semi-divided into three seven-foot sections. The square footage is approximately 130 sq ft, not including the additional sleeping loft. It has a maxed out 8ft 6 in width and towering 13ft 3in height, with a folding deck and removable awning for travel. While the weight is yet to be determined, it is estimated at 5500 – 6000 pounds.

The front and rear sections of the house are constructed with 2 x 4 floor framing. The center section raises above the wheels with 2 x 10′s. Sheathed underneath with ½ in. painted plywood and topped with ¾ in. subfloor the floor is covered with ¾ in. stained pine flooring. The majority of the exterior is 1 x 4 cedar rain-screen siding, with a ply-and-batten backside and painted pine left frontside. Nine Crestline double-paned windows fill the walls and a Crestline low-e swinging patio door transitions the space from inside to out. On top of it all is an exposed fastener steel roof.

Inside, the ceiling is 12 in. maple plywood with a narrow reveal. Walls throughout the house are painted hardboard. Corrugated galvanized steel surrounds the shower, toilet, and closet in the bathroom. Five-inch-wide pine tongue-and-grove covers the floor, stained and sealed with Danish oil. The cabinets and countertops are custom-made from ¾ in. maple plywood. The cabinets and ceiling are sealed with linseed oil and the counter has a clear gloss epoxy coating. The loft, covered in the same pine flooring, is large enough to fit a low-profile queen mattress or pad. A small open storage area is accessible from the kitchen, with additional closet space in the bathroom.

The house is plumbed and wired, similar to the common camper. A water hook-up is underneath, supplying water to the sink, shower, and 6-gallon Bosch electric water heater. Power comes through a 30 amp camper hookup. Inside, there is a 4-circuit sub panel with two 15-amp and two 20-amp circuits. Originally designed to be heated by a small electric space heater, it was later decided that heating is a personal preference. Knowing that some would prefer propane or wood heat, these can be easily incorporated. While it does not currently contain a heater, one can be installed or you may supply your own.

The bathroom houses a sawdust compost toilet, but is able to be converted to an RV toilet if you have a full-time sewer hook-up. The living room has a ceiling fan for circulation and the windows provide excellent cross-ventilation as well as ample solar heat on a cold sunny day. A window air conditioner could also be easily added in the summer months.

The house comes furnished with an IKEA sleeper loveseat and IKEA banana leaf rocking chair. The refrigerator is an Igloo two-door fridge and freezer. The kitchen’s propane stove is upcycled from the original camper. The entryway prides itself in its custom-built pine storage cubby and two IKEA chairs, able to be pulled up to the multi-purpose counter. All furniture is included in the price and decorative items may be purchased at an additional charge.

With my brother and I both being a towering 6′ 7″, Tall Man’s Tiny House was born. Everything was built with those who are vertically blessed in mind. The low points on the main floor are the standard door and entryway ceiling at 6′ 8″. Both of us are able to crawl into the spacious three-and-a-half tall loft. This house was built as if it were being built it for ourselves, no detail left undone.

The asking price is $27,000 with buyer arranging transportation. If you are interested contact Adam via his contact page: http://www.tallmanstinyhouse.com/About-the-House.html

You can also view all Adams photos at his gallery: http://www.tallmanstinyhouse.com/Photo-Gallery.html

You can list yourself on the website and find others in your area who have the same interest. If you have an open house, workshop, or are a builder you can list that too.

If you do not want to much information about yourself online you can limit it but it is nice to have a way to contact you if possible. If you have a website or blog you can list it as well.

Check it out today!

I have had the privilege of previewing both the paperback book and his electronic version. I am happy to say they are both high quality and worth the money he is requesting for them.

Michael’s book is for those of you still in the planning or dreaming stage of building a tiny house. Michael has put together over 200 plans ranging in size from 8 ft. wide to 12 ft. wide. Some finished homes could be put on a trailer and others built on a foundation. These are all floor plans that you could use, you just need to decide on how you want to build the structure to meet your tiny house needs.

One of the neat things Michael does with his floor plans is use standard size fixtures. A standard size toilet, sink, shower, couch, and bed are all included in these floor plans eliminating the need for custom fixtures for your tiny home.

Here are a couple examples of his floor plans, plus you can watch a short walkthrough by Michael in the video below.

I would recommend the book to those who have space to store it, rather than purchasing the electronic alternative. There is nothing in my mind like paging through a book. It is easy to flip back and forth to the floor plans of your choosing.

If you have an iPad, eReader, or something along those lines I would recommend the electronic format. One advantage of this format is that you can zoom in and really get the feel for the plan. It is even easy to page through the ebook using a tablet.

Michael’s ebook can be purchased at his website here and the real book can be purchased through Amazon here.

Thanks Michael for helping make our tiny house dreams come true with your great designs!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Tiny House Living – Issue 36

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.

This design is based after a salt box style with a solar flair. With it’s large windows it will bring in the sunshine by day and keep your house warmer in the evening. At 8′ x 12′ this house could be easily transported and with a total of 96 square feet should fall under just about any place to build without a permit.

I am impressed with detail Michael puts into this 40 page plan book and the instructions to build it are easy to follow. I know others who are selling their plans for many times this amount and you will not find the detail in them that Michael has included here.

I must admit this is my favorite of his designs so far and if I could I would start building one for myself and use it for a home office and spare bedroom.

Michael has not set up a sales page for this one yet but if you like it as much as I do, you can buy it here with this buy now button.

Tiny Solar House – Simple Do-It-Yourself Tiny House Plans
PDF Format – 40 Pages – $9.99

Click here to view more details and to buy

Tiny Solar House – Simple Do-It-Yourself Tiny House Plans
PDF Format – 40 Pages – $9.99

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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