When my husband and I first moved to the country after 20 years of living in the big city, we talked a lot about the different possibilities for housing. We were both sick of apartments. We fantasized about the different natural building techniques like cob and straw bale, but worried about exorbitant land prices here in California.

About five or six years ago we stumbled upon Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed website and were completely charmed. This was pre-Oprah, before he was so famous. We had a free private consultation with him within the first few weeks after he moved out to California. A couple years later we went to one of his open houses, and recently went to his first showing of his new Craftsman style cottage. We love his work, but his prices were too high for our budget. Building it ourselves seemed too difficult, though I’m sure it is possible for some people.

The tiny house bug had us. We now knew how we could own our own home without land or a mortgage, but we needed a place to put the house.

After a couple years of searching we found a lovely RV park that would take us as long as the house was an RV. We knew Bill Kastrinos at Tortoise Shell Homes usually builds his as RVs, with the DMV doing an inspection and giving a license plate. For a time we were also looking at Little House on a Trailer in Petaluma, and Molecule Homes in Santa Cruz. Both of those guys also do lovely work. But we finally decided on Bill.

I spent long months designing my floor plan. Bill was kind and built me a custom house. The build was exciting. We were close enough to him to be able to visit every weekend and watch the progress of the build. My husband got lucky on his commute home from work on delivery day, and ended up driving behind our house as Bill hauled it down the highway to our RV spot at the campground.

We have now lived 3 months in our new home and have loved every moment. It being a studio and only 150 sq. feet (8’ x 18’), we wouldn’t recommend this size for couples that don’t get along really well, or for those with complicated hobbies. For us it has been wonderful though. Our main hobbies are watching DVDs, reading, and hiking. We are using our computer as our TV to save space. We don’t feel claustrophobic, having a view out our great-room window of the rolling hills of a horse pasture. We can’t really see other dwellings or people for the trees. Our first utility bill was only $28.00. Our house is all-electric, we use a little space-heater to heat the house.

At night we like to look out our big window at the constellations. I’ve never had such a view of the sky at night before, it’s quite magical. Our loft we only use for storing all our stuff. We bought a very comfortable futon couch which we convert into a queen-size bed at night, and that seems to be working for us. For those that don’t want to negotiate ladders, we recommend futons. My husband does have a camping pad up in the loft and likes to take naps in the daytime once in awhile, he calls it his ‘man cave’.

Here are pics of the loft, and my hubby having a nap in his ‘man cave’. Also, the closet which covers the whole end-wall by the door. We were originally planning on having enclosed his and her closets on either side of the window. But changed our minds once we moved in. There’s still a window behind all those clothes, so if we decide someday to have enclosed closets we could still do that. It’s messy now, but very easy access which we like.

Here is a pic of our little kitchen which has granite counters that I absolutely love. The other pic is of our recessed shelving, which was one of my best ideas. It is built into the interior wall between the kitchen and bathroom, next to the bathroom door.

In a way this book is like a printed version of the Tiny House Blog but with Lloyds great writing ability and layout. Plus he has added many tiny houses that I have never seen. He has pulled together a book I think every tiny house enthusiast will want to own.

I recently visited Lloyd and his team at Shelter Publications and saw where these wonderful books are put together and distributed.

In this book there are some 150 builders who have taken things into their own hands, creating tiny homes (under 500 sq. ft.). Homes on land, homes on wheels, homes on the road, homes on water, even homes in the trees. There are also studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses.

There are 1,300 photos, showing a rich variety of small homemade shelters, and there are stories (and thoughts and inspirations) of the owner-builders who are on the forefront of this new trend in downsizing and self-sufficiency.

Lloyd just released a new video where he takes you through a two minute walk through of the book and Shelter Publications.

You can purchase the book through Shelter Publications http://www.shelterpub.com/ or at Amazon.

Thank you Lloyd for sharing your talent with this wonderful new book.

The squared off logs are neat also and make the little cabin fit into the landscape beautifully. The photo was taken by Erik Sundström not to far from his home.

The details are below on how you can win your free copy. I will be giving three copies to Tiny House Blog readers and you might just be one. Derek the author of this fantastic book and I will be the judges.

I will email the winners to get your address and mail your copy to you after the selection is made. I will also post an update so everyone knows who won along with their tip. I’ll turn it over to Deek to tell you what is new with this book and how to enter for your chance to win.

Hey Kent,

Here are a few copies of the new edition of “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks“, as promised, to give away to your readers. The book is up on Amazon.com for only $11.25 right now. I suggest you determine the winners through bouts of ultimate fighting, which we can then film for youtube. No, not really, but I have an idea I’ll recommend in a minute….

The new edition is being put out through The Lyons Press (home to work from David and Jeanie Stiles, Shay Solomon, and so on), and has quite a few new aspects to it as compared to the old hand assembled versions out there. PS- if any of you own the green cover version of the old book (only about 30 were made), some wacko bought one off some online seller for almost $100 not that long ago- yeah, stupid, I know….

Anyway, the new, expanded version of the book has….

• 14 New full page cabin designs/small living sketches
• A new 16 page color insert photo section showing some of the things I’ve designed and built, in addition to almost 40 cabins, shacks, and tiny houses that others have completed. A decent chunk of these are photos I’ve personally taken too- so there are a few things no one has seen, blog-wise, before.
• A new chapter called “Tricks Of The Trade” where I interviewed the likes of Lloyd Kahn, Jay Shafer, Mimi Zeiger, Michael Tougias, Cathy Johnson, Alex Pino, Gregory Paul Johnson, Dee Williams, Colin Beavan, Duo Dickinson, Tammy Strobel, and Alex Johnson, for their own tips and ideas on designing with space efficiency, minimalization, and storage in mind.
• Many other new sketches to accompany the text sections
• An intro/foreword written by Author/Architects David and Jeanie Stiles (one of my favorites/influences)

To win – we will select the three best “Tiny House Storage Tips” (Making/Saving Space). Even for those who don’t enter, it might make for a read in the comments section. I’m sure we could all learn something from it. We’re looking for more than just cut and paste links. Please show us applied and tried techniques that most might not have thought of or considered, you know if you want to win and all.

An example: “The space over doorways in homes is often neglected. If you’re looking for an extra storage spot in your small home, toss a simple bracketed bookshelf over a doorway or two, and you’ve created stow-space that otherwise wouldn’t have been used.”

Good luck to all! (Assuming, Kent, that you choose this means over the ultimate fighting one).

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 7 so get your tips in NOW!

Thanks Kent- a 2012 workshop is in the works, MANY new episodes of my show too (several have already been filmed, and we shoot three in Seattle soon (our first BIG trip away from MA with the show (well aside from NY, ME, NH, and CT). An episode on Nicolette’s wagon in Germany too. I’ll be teaching some Tumbleweed Courses the first in Miami April 14-15, come and have some fun!

-Derek “Deek” Diedricksen
Relaxshacks.com
Host of “Tiny Yellow House” TV

Read the full article and see more photos at the Fine Homebuilding site.

Photo by Kent Peterson

My Tiny House Dilemma/Challenge. Years ago, as I was watching the Las Vegas housing market crumble, the local TV News was reporting that Las Vegas did not have to worry about the national trend in housing, because Las Vegas was going vertical! Yes, we had well over 100 huge high-rise projects on the horizon! I thought that the newscasters were out of their mind. There is no way that you can insulate one type of housing project, specially when it is an outrageously overpriced concept and believe that this will save us from economic catastrophe. Fast-forward, Las Vegas is truly ground zero when it comes to the national housing market disaster. All of the high-rise projects included, even though most were never built!

Photo Credits: Frank Dobrucki

When I looked at the floor plans of many of the projects, several entry-level models were less than 800 square feet and had starting prices of $600,000 and monthly homeowner fees of approximately $800 to $1,000. I knew that I could do a better job of coming up with the kind of housing that people really need and something that people could afford.

Whenever I looked at what “truly” affordable housing means, I kept finding these little tiny storage sheds with ladders and lofts. Nothing about these units made me feel than anybody could ever be comfortable living there. My challenge was to design a small footprint housing unit that was 1) affordable, 2) efficient, 3) practical, and most important, to me 4) comfortable and fun to live in.

I knew that I would be designing a one-story unit. The idea of climbing up and down a ladder did not appeal to me. The ladder concept excludes a lot of people and I can just imagine how dangerous a fall could be in the middle of the night when you had to use the bathroom. Not to knock the green movement, but I wasn’t really all that excited about the woodsy look either. I think that color and texture play a very important role in the design process and well insulated drywall that can be painted or wallpapered is much more adaptable to a greater variety of people. I also knew that I wanted a great kitchen. I love to cook and I wasn’t interested in a little electric burner and a microwave that is nestled under the counter somewhere. Finally, I wanted a real bathroom. The standard bathroom is designed as a 5’X 8’ room. This is mostly specified because a standard tub/shower enclosure comes in a 5’ length. Interestingly, just because it really fit, I came up with a 6’X 9’ bathroom.

In the end, I came up with a 24’X 24’ cube that intersects the needs of many things. As there are no walls separating the living room, dining, kitchen or bedroom areas, the space seems much bigger than it actually is. The ceilings are 9’ high, which also contributes to the feeling of a much larger space. There is plenty of storage. I call this project the “Domain-Studio” and the total living space is 576 sq. ft. You can see the “Domain-Studio” at: www.dropitanywhere.com

When I finished this design, I actually built the first unit. It was so incredibly exciting to see my drawing come to life. I am absolutely crazy about the “Domain-Studio” and believe that this housing unit could revolutionize the concept of affordable housing in cities across the country. The main difference with the “Domain-Studio” is that it is meant to be a stackable unit. The primary design calls for a building-block technology that can be fitted on top of commercial buildings. Most commercial buildings have flat roofs. Look at most supermarket shopping centers; strip malls, even downtown commercial buildings. Most all of these buildings have flat roofs. Why not take advantage of these flat roofs and make affordable housing available where people want to live, in areas where driving would not always be needed. Look at all of the mall properties across the country. Many of these malls are dying a slow economic death! Imagine what kind of life-support could be achieved by placing several hundred living units “on-property.” Many of these malls could be reinvented to include late night dining, coffee shops and other business that could serve as social gathering places because of the new resident population. As a real estate developer, nothing excited me more than being able to build a housing project without have to buy any land!

Back in the 1980’s, I ventured in the mobile home park area. I actually owned a park in New England for a couple of years. I learned a lot about manufactured housing and saw the pros and cons of cheap inexpensive housing. Today, I am playing with a totally new concept and that is with the idea of a vertical rental tower. The idea would be to build a steel cage structure where you could simply slide in Domain units and the owner of the Domain unit would rent the tower space much like a mobile home owner rents the ground in a mobile home park.

The “Domain-Studio” is a $69,900 priced home. This unit would cost approximately $500 per month to “own.” While I never thought that I would or could design anything smaller than the “Domain-Studio, — I did! I went back to my drawing board and actually came up with two smaller units. The first is the “Domain-360” — which is exactly as its name suggests, a 360’ square foot unit. The motivation for the “Domain-360” was to accomplish one thing that the “Domain-Studio” could not. The “Domain-360” is built on one single all-steel super floor platform, which means that this unit leaves the factory 100% finished. There is no onsite work needed to button up or connect anything other than exterior connections for water, sewer and electricity. Both Domain units are 24’ long, which means that they can be stacked side by side in the same building configurations. The “Domain-360” uses the same basic layout of the larger unit, with virtually the same Living Room, Kitchen and Dining area. The difference is in the bathroom, closet and bedroom areas. The “Domain-360” does not have a dedicated bedroom area, but instead uses a MurphyBed wall system, which also doubles as an office/study area.

The “Domain-360” is priced at $59,900 and the monthly cost would be approximately $400 per month to “own.” Both Domain units come completely finished with cabinets, appliances, mini-split electric heat-pump HVAC and Kohler bathrooms. With 9’ ceilings, there is plenty of space to extend cabinets in the closets for additional storage.

My final design was for a very small unit, which I see for people that truly want the most minimal experience. I call this unit, the “Domain-Shelter.” The Domain Shelter is a 10’X 14’ cube that has 140 sq. ft. Everything is minimized, but I tried very hard to keep to my practicalities and not compromise on quality and comfort. The “Domain-Shelter” has factory-built kitchenette unit that has a small two burner stove, with an oven, under counter refrigerator, and built-in microwave. There is also a 4’ Kohler bathroom with a 4-piece fiberglass shower unit. One really neat feature of the steel super floor is that you can include outdoor space for a deck that will have incredible support and strength. One idea that I have is to include an 8’ deck on the back of this tiny unit, which would you an extra 80 square feet of outdoor living area for dining, outdoor grilling, and entertaining. Like the other Domain units, even the “Domain-Shelter” is able to be stacked.

Theses are my three Domain units. My challenge now is to get my first development project off the ground.

(This information is for the UK not the United States)

Getting a surveyor on-board for your tiny house project can seem like a relatively daunting step. It can be the moment where your tiny house makes its first real steps into becoming a reality. That said, it can also bump up the expense of the project, so it is not a decision that will be taken lightly by those with grandeur objectives for their tiny home.

It should go without saying that it won’t be necessary to bring the technical expertise of surveyors into smaller micro-house projects. There are circumstances, however, where you will bring in the expertise of builders, architects, and indeed, surveyors.

With this in mind we’ll look at the value a surveyor will bring to your project and the circumstances that would predicate this decision.

This article will provide an overview of the role a surveyor plays in the construction of buildings and look at why they may add value to your projects.

There are three factors that will determine whether you will consider using a surveyor:

• The size and complexity of your project
• The budget for the project
• Your prior experience building

Of these three factors, the size and complexity of the project is ultimately the most important. (These however, are often defined by the project’s budget.)

In any new building project, the design is likely to chop and change as the structure begins to take shape. Let’s have a look the responsibilities of a surveyor in a construction project.

Cost Management
The role of a surveyor from your point of view boils down to two words: cost management. On smaller projects, this task can straight forward to manage yourself, but with any job of a significant cost, it’s not recommended you go it alone.

Why?

At the start of any project, you’ll have an approximate idea as to what it is going to cost. There are always (always) unforeseen changes to the project that can cause its costs to escalate.

Whilst this deviation may not be a major problem in small projects, in larger ones they can add up and jeopardize the projects chance of completion.

An architect may have an idea about cost, but they are not qualified to account for the management of building costs as they change over time. The surveyor’s cost management role continues throughout the project,
particularly in accounting for the value of a builder’s work on a month-by-month (or week-by-week) basis.

This isn’t to imply your builders will pull the wool over your eyes, it’s simply a means of giving you confidence that the project is being completed on-time, on-cost, and to sufficient quality.

For example…
As the home begins to take shape, you decide to make a change to the home’s design; for the sake of argument, adding a window, which the builder quotes at $3,000.

A surveyor will audit this quote to ensure the cost is right. You may be adding a window, but you’ll be losing cladding, so money could be saved here.

Your surveyor will be involved in material procurement as well as the negotiation of the builder’s contract, ensuring a fair price as well as the completion of the work to a high standard.

By employing the services of a surveyor for help with the construction of your tiny home, you will introduce a series of checks and balances to the project, helping to fix the cost.

Anyway, that’s my overview of the value a surveyor could bring to your tiny house build. If you’ve any questions, leave them as a comment and I’ll do my best to try answer them.

Scott says: It’s built like the tiny houses I build and could easily be set up as a house with addition of a bath and kitchen but was built to be my personal office and has been great but some new business additions require more office space so I would like to sell this one. It’s built on a trailer with two axles and bumper hitch, it is 8′ wide and 20′ long including a 6′ front covered porch.

Insulated and wired it has ext ceiling fan and light on front porch, ceiling fan with light and hanging globe lights inside, rustic pine lap and gap and barn metal interior, also has barn metal porch ceiling.

Vinyl flooring, three 3×3 windows with window in back wall having a plug for a window type heat/ac unit in place.

Scott is asking $6,250 for the office as is. If you would like Scott will add a bathroom for $2,000 which would include shower, toilet, sink/vanity and water heater. With that addition it would make a perfect guest house or dorm room for a college student.

Contact Scott Stewart at 870-213-5310
Slabtown Customs
Mountain View, Arkansas
Email: ozarksbest@yahoo.com

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Photo Credits: Scott Stewart

You have to wear a few hats to stay busy in a small town, but I’ve always managed to.

Thank you Dave. I plan to feature this cabin again when it is completed, so, readers stay tuned.

Photo Credits: Dave Stonehouse

Palmer Lake, Colorado is unique. A spring fed lake, it sits on low spot of Palmer Divide between Metro Denver and bustling Colorado Springs. Its waters uniquely drain both North and South. To the North, into the Platte River, route of the Oregon Trail, to the South into the Arkansas River route of the Sante Fe Trail. This little mountain lake links the two most famous historical trails of U.S. History. In the late 1800s when Civilization caught up with the west. Culture came on its coat tails. One of the cultural things folks did was retreat to Palmer Lake for it’s Chatuaqua Festival, a kind of celebration of Arts, Music, and just a slow down from bustle of both Denver and Colorado Springs. Enterprising craftsmen recognized this as opportunity to provide summer housing vs. canvas camping. In addition to pavilions for all to gather in they built cute efficient tiny houses for folks to enjoy their Mountain retreat. The area to immediate south of Palmer Lake is where these Tiny Houses were perched on ascending hillsides at the very edge of Rocky Mountains. They called the area “The Glen,” probably a tribute to romantic Scotland.

My tiny house was constructed in 1924 late in this Chatauqua phenomena. It is one of four within 50 ft., with identical primary dimensions, 17 1/2 ft. by 20 ft. Each of the four has sprouted unique additions. Mine has rooms added to the narrow side of central core. To the North my Library and craft shop were added, measuring 13 1/2 ft. by 6 1/2 ft. To the South end, my Bedroom was added, measuring 17 ft. by 8 ft. with one end a closet. Ceilings in central core area are 9 ft so there is illusion of spaciousness instead of confinement. This also provides opportunities for vertical storage as in bathroom already. Plan a chair rail type fixture at 8ft. to display my “hat” collection from coat hooks with cross shelves in corners for “sombreros” and other glorys of haberdashery. My herd of buffalos led by Buford and Betty (White of course) are feeling at home on the range. I look forward to fitting myself into this niche of time and space.

A lifelong passion for history has led me to this destination. I’m comfortable making this smaller footprint. Tiny houses offer unique opportunities to interact with our surroundings. The unique surroundings of Palmer Lake,Colorado have hosted that interaction for over a century. Its fitting that my old “Tiny” house is on the cutting edge of this efficiency and quality of life vs. quantity of space.

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