Tiny House Blog

This off-the-grid cabin in Northeast Oregon, named the Signal Shed, was recently featured in Sunset Magazine, and the couple who spent two years planning and two weeks building the cabin are now offering the plans and prefab models for sale.

Mariah and Ryan Lingard fell in love with the woods and lakes of Joseph, Oregon and purchased some partially burned, partially logged land after seeing an ad in the local paper. The 100×150 foot parcel of land cost them $47,000 and is located smack dab in the middle of hiking, skiing and snowshoe territory. The couple has a full-time home in Portland, but they make the 6-hour trip to the Signal Shed about four times a year.

After two years of planning and extended weekend camping trips to their land, the couple built the 130 square foot cabin over a two week period with friends and family. The materials cost about $10,000 and the cabin features several recycled windows, IKEA cabinets and laminate flooring. They found the barn door hardware and the woodstove on Craigslist. The cabin rests on a floating pier to minimize impact on the land and cedar screens used to lock it up when Mariah and Ryan are not around. The Signal Shed has no running water, no electricity and the couple uses the woodstove for heat and some cooking. Continue Reading »

LEAP Adaptive sells modern, green home plans online and they have recently designed their smallest home plan and are making it available to owners, contractors and architects. The Hummingbird is a 480-square-foot home that is energy efficient and utilizes a passive photovoltaic framework, low-VOC materials and the latest in green technology.

The Hummingbird has a living and kitchen area with a fire-ribbon fireplace (which requires no venting) and a large, covered deck which LEAP calls a “chill” space. A small bedroom and bathroom suite are also included. Plans for the hummingbird are priced at $995, the building kit is around $55,000 and an on-site built Hummingbird is about $80,000 which does not include the general contractor fee, building or permit fees.

Other green options included in the Hummingbird are:

• Cement board or teak siding
• Trex recycled content-engineered deck planking
• Low-mass Structural Insulated Panels
• Multi-unit sliding glass doors with dual-pane Low-E glass
• Simpson “Strong-Wall” seismic resisting brace-frames
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures
• EnergyStar rated Heat-pump HVAC system, lighting and on-demand water heater

LEAP Adaptive is a home design group in San Diego, California. Design director Brian Darnell has spent the last 22 years designing multi-million-dollar residential estates, but realized that “the lust for size and granduer has given way to the realization that the economics and ecology of our flattening world can no longer support such extravagance.” LEAP seeks to create environmental designs that are easier on the owner’s wallet as well as on the earth.

Image Courtesy of LEAP Adaptive

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

I have been working with Gabriella Morrison wife of Andrew Morrison of Strawbale.com to put together a special package for tiny house enthusiasts. The Morrison’s have put together a package that includes the Sunset Cottage Plans, the How-To Guide To Building With Straw Bales (Post and Beam) 2 DVD set, the How-To Guide To Plastering with Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL), and the How-To Guide To Pouring a Monolithic Concrete Slab Foundation. Five and a half hours of Andrew’s video training. The usual retail price of this package is $375 and for a short time they are giving readers of the Tiny House Blog a discount price of $99.

Andrew Morrison is an easy to understand instructor and you get a little feel of his teaching ability in this video below. He has produced a number of hot selling videos and I will be reviewing his latest How-To Guide To Building With Straw Bales (Post and Beam) next week.

This charming cottage is perfect for the Tiny House enthusiast! Straw Bale construction lends itself very well to space-conscious builders because the thickness of the bales allows for all types of carved-in wall niches to be created, allowing for storage/shelving right in the walls. Straw bale window sills are also wonderful for creating window seats, eliminating the need for chairs.

The Sunset Cottage has room for a full sized fold-down couch, a large set of wall shelves, a large work desk with file cabinets on the side, a substantial window seat, a small set of shelves, and plenty of floor space to walk around the room in. And with a little modification, you can create space for a tiny bathroom and kitchen as well.

So if you have been thinking of building your first straw bale structure purchase the Sunset Cottage Plans Today by click here.

Your purchase helps support this blog. As an affiliate of StrawBale.com a percentage of the purchase goes to the Tiny House Blog.

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.

Joe Chipman has updated “The Hermit DeLuxe” plans as he has been building this tiny house on wheels and making a photo journal of the process as well updating any changes to the plans. The plans now consist of a 68 page ebook with detailed photos of the construction. I’ll let Joe tell you more about it.

The Hermit DeLuxe is a 160 square foot complete house on wheels with the basic needs for the new digital age hermit. Private bedroom with loft style single bed above, large computer desk below, storage bin, large window, and clothes closet. Ample kitchen area with deep laundry sink, mini refridgerator, camper style gas stove with oven, range hood, and plenty of storage above and below. Central heating area with both woodstove and 120 vac wall heater.

Private bath with sawdust toilet and splash shower with floor drain. Upper double bun area with storage and book shelves. Work height countertop with storage above and below.

Using standard home construction methods and materials, plenty of elbow grease and the labor of family and friends, I believe this project could be done under $6,000 to $7,000 using every trick to save money but not sacrifice quality or livability.

The plans are available for a small amount of $27. Anyone who purchased the plans previous to this new addition will receive the update shortly via email notification. You can purchase right here or on the “Plans Page.”

The Hermit DeLuxe Plans $27

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