Tiny House Blog

I see a lot of “new build” stories lately, and I wanted to share our small house with your readers, since we took a different path.

Our municipality has a minimum size requirement for new houses. At 44 square metres (roughly 475 square feet) it is not too bad compared to some places, but it still scuttled our plans to buy a lot and build a Tumbleweed New Vesica (289 square feet) on it. Homes on trailers and RVs are also specifically mentioned in the Property Standards and not allowed. Instead we bought a two-story 1907 farmhouse in the cute “Ontario cottage” style that is prevalent on the Island.

However, this old house has some important benefits that we’ve found. It’s two stories, but the upstairs is closed off with a door at the foot of the stairs, which we keep closed. There is a bedroom on the main floor which we also keep closed off and don’t use, meaning that we’re living in just 325 square feet after all! The main room is 14′ by 14′, and contains our bed/couch, the woodstove, table and dining chairs, a comfy chair, and a wardrobe for storage. The kitchen is bigger than I need at 9′ x 9′, but does provide lots of extra storage. We do go upstairs to use the existing bathroom, which is 6′ x 8′. Continue Reading »

Hi Kent,

I’ve been following your blog since November when I finally moved into my own tiny house on wheels (136 sq. feet) on Whidbey Island, Washington. I started blogging about, downsizing (‘right-sizing’, as I refer to it), tiny living and on-going improvements in October.

Since January, I’ve attended a Tumbleweed workshop and, more recently the PAD’s La Casa Pequena workshop in McMinnville. I’m in the process of deciding the next step in tiny building, teaching and consulting. Here are a couple of full moon shots I took of my wee house. Thought one of them might fit will under the ‘tiny house in a landscape’ theme.

Thanks for all you do. The tiny house blog is truly invaluable.

Cheers!

Angela Ramseyer
MightyMicroBuilt.com

Andy Hawkins submitted today’s Tiny House in a Landscape and shares the following:

The picture I have attached is of a Tumbleweed Tarleton built in British Columbia and moved out to its new home at Windy Hill Farm in New Brunswick by its builder and owner Will Pedersen. The house now plays home to the volunteers that spend the year at the organic farm helping with their thriving CSA of which I am a member. Information on Wills build and the trip from British Columbia to New Brunswick can be found here http://tinyhousejournal.com/wills-tarleton/.

Austin was only 15 when he started building his tiny house. According to Jay Shafer he is the youngest person he is aware of who is proving that anyone can build a tiny home if they choose to. Austin has completed building the Tumbleweed Fencl and he is scheduling an Open House for October 6th in Santa Rosa.

Austin has been very active and has shared his knowledge at several of Tumbleweed’s workshops. He is now 17 and a senior at the local high school.

The event is open to the public and is happening Saturday October 6th from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in Santa Rosa, California.

You will need to get the address from Tumbleweed at this link as his privacy is important and we do not wish to publish it online.

Watch a video clip of Austin on “Extreme RV” below.

Announcement

If you live in the Boston area be sure and go and visit the original Epu, the first built Tumbleweed that tiny house celebrity Jay Shafer built and lived in. It will be on display for an Open House this Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 1 pm to 4 pm in Boston, 88 Lambert Ave. (Avenue not “Street”)

If you can’t make the open house, fret not, as during the Boston Tiny House Building Workshop, you can also make a field trip to this very site, for a more intimate look at the structure, and with guest speakers galore….

• Tiny House Dweller and Author, John Hanson Mitchell
• Gypsy Wagon Builder and Dweller Sage Radachowsky
• Mariah Coz and her Comet Camper, a classic Avalon she’s renovating in a green and off-grid fashion to serve as a mobile classroom.

And perhaps more….

Also the Boston Workshop (May 19th and 20th) hosted by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen will be on hand to give you a tour, and answer any questions you might have in regards to tiny housing. Derek is also teaching upcoming workshops in DC, Chicago, and NYC. The event will also double as the delayed book release event for Diedricksen’s “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks.” which spent 15 weeks as the #1 ranked Carpentry book on Amazon).

Continue Reading »

Pat Crowe of Echo Reclamation recently sent some photos of a modified Tumbleweed Lusby he completed using reclaimed materials. He wanted to let me know that he is offering the materials for sale to tiny home builders interested in completing their homes in this way.

Pat is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The client who contracted the Lusby contraction wanted all reclaimed wood, so the interior ceiling, loft floors, walls, doors, cabinets, closets and shelves are all made of antique pine (pre-1930) that Pat brought from Texas, his home state. The exterior is of pine siding salvaged in Texas from a c. 1915 house that was slated for demolition. This is southern pine, much of it longleaf, and is beautiful material.

Pat says that using this type of material is more expensive to purchase and requires more labor to use, so it’s not a money-saving deal. But, if someone is looking for character and the satisfaction of participating in the salvage of wonderful old wood, it’s worth the extra cost. Continue Reading »