Tiny House Blog

Jay Shafer from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has just announced his schedule for his Building and Design Workshops for 2010. He is offering a special discount if you purchase your tickets between now and the new year. You can bring a friend for free. The usual cost for an additional person is $99.

Be sure and Register Now and take advantage of this special offer. I have been to one of his workshops and highly recommend them if you are thinking of building a tiny house someday.

Building Workshops

On Saturday, Jay Shafer will explain how to build a tiny house. The language will be clear and easy for everyone to understand. He will start at the foundation with a look at different types of permanent footings and a detailed description of how to build on wheels. Explanations of how to frame, sheath, insulate and finish will follow. Particular attention will be paid to the best way one can easily guard against the condensation that small spaces are prone to. The merits of different trailers, heaters, kitchen equipment, windows and building materials will be assessed. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.

Design Workshops

On Sunday, you will be taught how to design a small home that meets your personal needs and those of your family. You will have a chance to talk with Jay Shafer, national expert on small living, about the best ways to meet your domestic needs without waste. You will be presented with seven principals along with several strategies for good design before you are asked to develop plans for your own little home. The class is open to beginners, professional architects and anyone curious about how a tiny house is created at the drafting table.

Click here to Register Now

Jay Shafer on CBS News

The Small House Movement Believes Less is More, Especially in a Recession

At only 120 square feet, two is company – and three is really a crowd. The house is too small to meet building code minimum standards. It’s a vehicle, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.

But it’s got all the comforts of home, and plenty of storage space.

Shafer is at the forefront of the “small house” movement – a school of thought that less is more, especially in a recession.

“This house, all decked out with plumbing and heating would be about $50,000 if we built it for you,” Shafter said. “But if you built it yourself, it would be about $20,000.”

According to the U.S. Census, the average single family house in America is a little more than 2,500 square feet, meaning you could fit 21 of these into one of those.

Read the complete CBS article here and visit Jay Shafer’s website and blog at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website.

Watch the CBS News video below:

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Kai Schaede from Germany recently emailed and shared his Tumbleweed Tiny House Company WeeBee build story with me and I wanted to pass it on to you:

Building the WeeBee is the way I took on the economical crisis in my own life.

My name is Kai Schaede and last year I took a look at my past life and asked some questions. Have I done everything right? What could I have done better? I felt I needed to make some major life changes. Maybe you know what I mean?

I am a dental technician and have my own business, which has not gone so well. Just the normal ups and downs of life. So I didn’t mind reducing my lifestyle and spending less. So why not start this with my home.

A trailer in my backyard would do but I don’t like trailers that much. I always wanted a house made of wood – something very uncommon in Germany… houses have to be made out of stone since they are for life here. Germans don’t sell their houses very often

I am a sailor too and a bit experienced with living in small places, I love it. If I ever win some lotto I would live on a boat.

So the idea of combining “small” and “house made of wood” came not by chance. by the way… the green idea behind it all came much later thanks to your blog, Kent, and is now one of the leading aspects of my life.

Luckily a set of Tumbleweed Plans was found on the British eBay and I bought them from a nice guy who unfortunately could not realize his dream of his own tiny dwelling. 

To be honest, only the plans for the outer proportions were used, since I had to modify the internal area for my own purposes.

The WeeBee sits on a pier foundation so I could build it much higher than on a trailer (4,30m – 14,11ft), the kitchen looks to south-west, the sunny side, no windows on the other side to make space for cabinets/shelves, 20 gallon fresh water tank under the ceiling in the bathroom for gravity feed, and a cathedral ceiling above the living room. You’ll notice the height when looking through the door, the high built in  front window does the proportion trick.

All modifications “happened” instinctively during building process.

Speaking of building process… it was a challenge indeed! An experience I would never want to miss out on! I was not experienced with carpentry and got most of the theory from Prof. Marshall Brians homepage HowStuffWorks.com.

It was a three month learning by doing process – every day after work and every weekend – and is now like an obsession… I would gladly build a few more when my bathroom is completed this April. Luckily for me I have another bathroom in the cellar of the other house I was living in. 

Since last September I have been happily living in my tiny house and have to say that every minute in it is like holiday. Even in the cold of winter.

These houses are energy efficient when well insulated! Currently there is a electric convection heater (500W) at work until I’ve saved some extra money for a propane heater. We had -28°C/-18,4°F in early January at night and it was warm inside with only 500 Watts running two times in an hour running for about 10 minutes! Unbelivable…

 I would like to see more people in these tiny houses. But you know, Europe is another continent, especially the Germans are very amused when tell them that I’m living in a 110sf house in the backyard – until they come and look and have a good time

These houses have so much potential and I would be happy if my pictures would be a motivation for all do-it-yourselfers who are in doubt. Anyone who can handle a jigsaw, a hammer and a screwdriver can build his own tiny house… it’s easy!

To view all of Kai’s pictures visit his excellent site, it is in German but like they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

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Will Pedersen from Abbotsford, BC Canada has been working on a Tumbleweed Tarleton, one of my favorite Tumbleweed Tiny House Company designs by Jay Shafer. I probably should have given him a chance to complete the project before doing a post on him, but was too excited about it and wanted to share it with you.

It has taken Will about 3 months so far (mostly working by himself) and he hopes to finish in about another month.

He doesn’t particulary recommend his techniques or materials but this is one way to go. Will has mostly adhered to the Tumbleweed plans and used materials that are mostly available and in stock at local lumber/hardware stores. The windows and door (not installed yet) and countertop are all custom made. Will says that he just loves the feel and design of the house. His cost of materials to this point is around $17,000 Canadian (about $14,000 US).

He has done most of the work himself except for the hookup of the water and drain lines where a plumber friend (a valuable friend to have!). Will has also hired someone to do the electrical work and he will be installing the lights and outlets and hook the house up to the grid.

Will is also keeping track of receipts and have somewhat of a journal of the building process, he is planning on sharing that when the project is completed.

Will lives and works at Glen Valley Organic Farm, it is a cooperatively owned farm in Abbotsford, BC. The co-op wants people to work and live here but only one single family house (already housing 5 people) is permitted on the 50 acre farm. So a small mobile house is a perfect solution to farmer housing. The co-op sells at farmers markets in the greater Vancouver area (carrots, potatoes, beets, strawberries, raspberries and more).

When Will completes his Tarleton I will do an update with pictures and more of his information from his journal and final costs. So stay tuned and thank you Will for sharing and inspiring us with your tiny house project. You can view more pictures of Will’s project on Flickr.

Trailer and Floor Framing

Wall Framing

Roof Framing

Exterior Siding Instalation

Interior Framing

Shower/Bathroom

Kitchen Counter

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Living at large in a Tiny House

by Carol Estes

“The more intentional you are in your choices, the more every change makes room for more changes … I just love that there’s this endless potential.”
—DEE WILLIAMS

Read the full article here at Yes! Magazine. Thank you Christina for bringing this to my attention.