Tiny House Blog

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.

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Craig one of our readers had the opportunity to go to the Solar Decathlon in Washington DC. and wanted to fill us in on this exciting event. Here is what Craig has to say about it.

Sorry to take so long to get back to you on the Solar Decathlon houses on the mall in DC.

I’d taken pictures, but they didn’t turn out so great what with all the crowds. As it happens, the solar decathlon webpage has some great videos for each house on the front page that do a far better job of showing off the houses than I could.

Team Germany was just announced the winner, though my favorite was Team Louisiana’s Beausoleil house. They plan on marketing the houses as modular homes in the next couple of years with a price around $120,000 including the solar panels.

The maximum size limit for the houses was 800 square feet and they all had to be off the grid/independent. Continue Reading »

13 months in a 21 square foot, Mule drawn Tiny Home

Bernie Harberts of River Earth recently bought a set of Sonoma Shanty plans and when we were communicating by email because he is wanting the shanty on wheels version, I discovered his website and learned about his interesting story.

Bernie recently downsized his wagon for a second journey across America, he went from 60 square feet down to 21 square feet in order to cut down weight and make his home more easily pulled by his trusty mule Polly.

Everything I ever built in my life has/had wheels under it: from the boat I sailed alone around the world to the boat I built and sailed from Canada to the Bahamas to the wagon I lived in while voyaging from Canada to Mexico.

Bernie’s old wagon was 2360 pounds, empty and he designed his new one to be only 800 pounds. Here is what Bernie has to say about his design.

This time I paid closer attention to what the original pioneers wagons measured. I took a tape measure to my mule skinner buddy Tash Hudson’s wagons. The beds on his traditional wagons measured 36″ to 48″ wide, fully 2 feet narrower than my original wagon. Another friend, Sue Maska, who spent 5 years traveling the country with her husband in their horse-drawn wagon, gave me tips on a practical interior layout. Their wagon was only 3 feet wide.

Then I fired up my welder and got to work. Using 1 1/2″ X 1/8″ angle iron, I welded up a steel frame that weighed 100 pounds.

To that, I attached lightweight walls fashioned from 3/4″ foam insulation sandwiched between two sheets of 1/8″ plywood.

The new wagon measures just over 2’ 6” wide by 8’ long. A 3’ covered area where I sit while driving, what I call the front porch, brings the overall length to 11’. Headroom inside, instead of 6’, was reduced to 4’ 10”.

Bernie is an author and sold books along the way to help pay for his trip. You can see two of his books pictured below. I want to encourage you to go explore his site and learn more of his story as I can’t do it justice in a short post. Visit his the General Store if you would enjoy getting one of his books and getting the full details of his travels.

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Mike one of our readers sent me a note about this yurt option that is both easy to assemble and affordable.

These fiberglass yurts range in size fron 15.4′ diameter (181 sq.ft.) to 51.3′ diameter (2011sq.ft.) pre-insulated. Pricing ranges from $15.00/ sq.ft to $20+/sq.ft.

Here is what Alternative Buildings says about their product: Alternative Buildings is your supplier for truly unique and innovative buildings, utilizing an insulated fiberglass panel system. Our new modern composite Yurt assembles fast, is easily customized, and best of all, the cost is very affordable. We have several sizes and options to choose from, making it possible to fit almost any budget.

Fiberglass Yurt Applications

• Residential: As a permanent equity building or money saving family home.
• Recreational: As a second home, hunting lodge, or campsite.
• Temporary Shelter: As an emergency and short term structure. (Assemble in 4 to 6 hours with hand tools even in remote locations.)
• Industrial/Commercial: As an equipment shelter, supply storage, retail shop, temporary office, etc.

Design Services Offered

• Custom Design: We offer custom design services to help personalize your Yurt.
• Customized Rent-To-Own Program: Custom tailored programs available for all fiberglass yurts.

So for pricing starting around $6,500 for the small yurt and going up to $31,200 for the largest yurt, you get a basic insulated shell to complete and finish as you like. For more details visit Alternative Buildings Fiberglass Yurts and see if this is the type of home you have been looking for.

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On one of my visits with Bill Kastrinos of Tortoise Shell Homes, I noticed a new small structure sitting off to the side of the Tortoise Shell Nursery.

Bill put me in touch with Malcolm Davie who has just given me the go ahead to go public with their new product. I will let Malcolm tell you more about his new product that I personally think fits in as a new option for a tiny house space.

YardPods are pre-fabricated, steel frame backyard rooms individually configured by the customer using a large catalog of modular, eco-friendly parts and materials. Pre-assembled in precision engineered panels at our factory and fully assembled on your site.

Your YardPod can be anything you want it to be your office, studio, hobby room, workshop, wine cave, whatever your dream is. We can even match the style of your home.

YardPods are available in five sizes from 8ft x 8ft to 10ft x 12ft and in three styles: Bare bones Do-It-Yourself YardPod, Almost done Finish-It-Yourself YardPod, and a ready to install Complete YardPod. Customers can configure their YardPod just about any way they choose including types of doors and windows and where they want them placed in the walls; shape of roof and‚ roofing material; type of flooring; and interior and exterior wall materials and finishes. YardPods are fully insulated and built with highly-sustainable materials and processes. YardPods can be delivered and installed on a wide range of foundations by the owner or a YardPod Authorized Contractor. Building permits are not required in most areas.

For play, for work, for escape, your‚ personal space can be only days away!

Here is a guide to the pricing:

• DIY Galvanized metal frame (floor, walls, roof) cost between $2,800 and $4,250 when collected from our factory.
• FIY 10ft x 12ft YardPods will normally cost between $10,000 and $15,000, smaller sizes will be less.
• Completed 10ft x 12ft YardPods will normally cost between $15,000 and $20,000, smaller sizes will be less.

There are MANY variations, eg: putting the YardPod on a concrete slab will reduce the price.

About us:

• Malcolm Davies, PhD Architect, registered architect in UK. ‚ Before joining Codding, I was CEO of Michelle Kaufmann Designs and before that, CEO of Gehry Technologies, one of Frank Gehry’s companies.
• Marvin Muaer, Professional Engineer has been a leader in internet marketing for many years. Formerly CEO of HousePlans.com and a Vice President at Mattel. We worked together at General Electric and at Autodesk.

Our objective is to provide high-quality environmentally credible additional spaces for people to work, rest and play. Out maximum size is 120 sq ft which does not require planning or building permits in most areas. Visit the Yarpods website.

Yardpod Options

10 x 12 Yardpod Backside

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Last Friday I had the opportunity to go on a delivery with Bill Kastinos from Tortoise Shell Homes to Chanslor Guest Ranch located 1 mile north of Bodega Bay.

The historic 378 acre Chanslor Ranch is known for its magnificent ocean views, horse back riding on the beach, ocean view rooms, wildlife preserve and the thousands of acres of Sonoma Coast State Beach which surround the property. It has also been a camping destination for the last 50 years.

Chanslor Ranch offers camping with exceptional views of Bodega Bay and Salmon beach from your own tent or an installed platform tent complete with bed, stove, propane fire pit and portable restroom. Chanslor Ranch is bordered by Salmon Creek to the north and Highway 1 to the south. There is a fishing pond available to guests and there are trails leading to Salmon Creek Beach.

Chanslor Ranch and Codding Enterprise’s Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park, California have teamed together with Tortoise Shell Homes to offer a new way to enjoy this beautiful setting. Tortoise Shell Homes is building the camping cube pictured above and another model based on the Galapagos model with loft and standard roof as an option to rent for luxury camping. Groups can rent these tiny homes and bring your own tents to pitch around the “main house” in spectacular private ocean view locations.

The camping cube includes large window areas, shower, toilet, kitchen with two burner stove and refrigerator, plus a oversize futon or Murphy bed to sleep on. These units will be set up for off-grid use and will be powered by wind and solar. They are set up with a grey and black water system so they can be pumped just like an RV.

To learn more about Chanslor Ranch visit their website at www.ChanslorRanch.com. Now you can experience a stay in a tiny house by renting one of their camping cubes.

Inside Tortoise Shell Camping Cube

Cabin Tent with Bed and Stove

Chanslor Ranch Turtle Pond

Campsite at Shelter Rock

Map of the Chanslor Ranch

Delivery of Tortoise Shell Camping Cube

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Carre d’etoiles: a Tiny, Portable Prefab Cube from France

Yesterday materialicious discovered the neatest prefab cube and I had the hardest time waiting until today to share it with you.

The concept of the design is for a vacation getaway for resorts where you can experience a window to the sky, and an island of liberty. You can rent these at several places throughout France and use the included astronomical telescope to penetrate the mysteries of the universe.

Designed with luxury and modern appliances, this tiny cube which size I estimate to be approximately 10 x 10 x 10 foot has everything you need in a very compact space. It will sleep four people, has a corner kitchen, toilet, shower, cabin bed, and parquet floors.

It has all the modern conveniences including a flat panel TV, mp3 player ready, telephone and Internet ready.

I want one of these in my back yard, or on some remote piece of property for a get away cabin.

Visit the Carre D’etoiles website to learn more.

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materialicious pointed out a neat article on Mini-Prefabs in the L.A. Times. Here is a brief intro from Emily Young:

In recent years, prefab construction has generated plenty of buzz in magazines such as Dwell and at exhibitions such as one last year at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The original promise of prefab decades ago was savings of time and money that could be passed along to consumers in the form of inexpensive housing. But because most of the premier manufacturers today specialize in custom homes that can cost $250 a square foot and up, prefab has been far more popular in design blogs and at home expos than with actual buyers.

One exception has been scaled-down prefab construction — not entire houses but stand-alone additions. According to Casper Mork-Ulnes, co-founder of San Francisco manufacturer Modern Cabana: “Small prefab modules make sense for anyone who might need a home office, a guest house, a meditation or yoga space or a cigar room that can open to the outdoors.”

Modern Cabana is one of several companies poised to thrive while weak real estate values force homeowners to stay put rather than trade up. Some prefab manufacturers produce utilitarian buildings; others, more stylish ones. All provide extra living space.

KitHaus, among the most fashion-forward of the bunch, is based in Van Nuys and sold through Design Within Reach.

Modern-Shed, located in Seattle, has sold half of its 140 prefab buildings in California, where interest in contemporary architecture abounds.

Read the complete article at the L.A. Times.

Photo Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

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Dave Ortlieb from The Barn Raiser in Saugerties, New York recently discovered the tiny house movement from a recent customer. Dave contacted me and wanted to share his business as another option for tiny houses. Here is what Dave has to say about his business:

We’ve been in business for 6 years and are a member of the Better Business Bureau. Our company offers quality structures of all different shapes and sizes built by Amish craftsman.

I have actually been in this industry for nearly 11 years and went on my own 6 years ago. Up until about 3 years ago all of our structures were delivered completely assembled on special hydraulic trailers. We were restricted on how tall these buildings could be due to over the road travel.

That all changed when together with our Amish builders we came up with our modular 2- story buildings. These buildings measure a minimum of 17′ from ground to peak and offer a full second floor.

We started with a single wide 12′ x 24′ 2- story a-frame and that led to our 2- story double wides. We now offer them in three different styles ( a-frame, gambrel, and quaker ) and also three different sidings.

They are available in sizes from 10′ x 12′ all the way up to 28′ x 58′ and anywhere in between. Customers have used these buildings for hunting cabins, office space, studios etc.

We can modify these buildings in many ways to satisfy each customers needs. The great thing about these structures is they are totally modular and typically are assembled in one day.

We’ve developed a roof system which we raise on site and requires no cranes.

Another great thing is the cost. By being 95% completed at the shop, we can offer these at great prices. Last year we delivered a 24′ x 24′ 2- story garage to a customer in Anza, California. He had been a contractor for over 27 years. He loved the building and as important, the money he saved;over having it locally stick built.

Recently a customer had come in looking for one of our structures to convert into a small living space. He looked at all the different single level buildings we offer and found numerous options.

He then looked at the 2- story buildings and was amazed at the possibilities. It was this customer who turned me on to the Tiny House Blog site. These buildings with some modifications offer a great option for a small living space.

Visit The Barn Raiser site to learn more.

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Yesterday I stopped by Little House on the Trailer to see how the Sonoma Shanty on wheels was coming along.

The Sonoma Shanty Hybrid shell on a trailer is 20 feet long versus the 15 foot long shanty built on a foundation. When I stopped by it was not completed, but the picture above gives you an idea of what it will be like.

This is a simple and affordable tiny house that you can buy as plans, a kit, a complete home, and Little House on the Trailer is offering workshops to show you how to build one. I put the video below together to provide an overview of the structure itself. Here’s the price list:

• Plans for stick built: $27.00
• Workshop (limited to 6 participants): $250.00
• Stick built kit (plans plus precut and labeled parts): $2,000.00
• Sonoma Shanty Hybrid Kit (honeycomb floor and end-walls, stick built pre-assembled side walls and roof): $3,500.00
• Sonoma Shanty Honeycomb Kit: $4,000.00
• 7000# capacity trailer frame with brakes, lights and breakaway emergency brake: $3,000.00
• 160 square foot hybrid shell on trailer: $9,000.00
• Kit assembly on site: $1,000.00 plus $4/mile travel cost

The plans will be available soon and I will let you know how you can get a copy, so stay tuned.

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