My original intent was to design and construct a simple, light weight, water tight insulated box on wheels geared for the northwest climate that an urban street person could reside in (with all the comforts of home of course) and have an area to display and sell handmade wares.

Wayno is demonstrating the proper way to push the shelter. All 225 pounds of it, empty.

Many homeless people are actually more creative than you might think, and not all want to beg or go rummage around in trash cans all day for a living. Homeless people have pride too! Also, this I think would make a better connection with the public.

So, what started as something that was suppose to be simple and cheap, well, let’s say I got a bit carried away…

What we have here is the Cadillac of homeless shelters…

Paul has developed a complete water collection system and other necessities into this homeless shelter. You can see more pictures and explanation of his design at his blog HighMileageTrikes.

The Homeless Shelter is 78" long, 36" wide and 51" tall. The sitting room is 42"wide. The wheels are 8" in diameter and lockable. The unit rides 9.5" off the ground. (Wares example)- Displayed wire sculptures from recycled wire.

Construction progress.

As you can see I'm very comfortable in this arrangement. More time and money could have been put into these cusions but they, as with most of my projects, are merely for proof of concept.

The two vents in the rear will soon have some sort of louver adjustments in case strong winds blow too cool of air in.

Originally I was just going to use the spigot on the 5 gallon container, but after some thought I installed a spigot over the sink (bread pan). This view shows all the doors open.

While poking around online we happened to come across Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed Tiny House website and the light came on in our heads! We would build a tiny house! A palace on wheels! We’d already rented out our home in the city and moved to the country in an RV, so why not build a small home, we didn’t need the space anymore, and wild horses couldn’t drag us back to city living.

It’s been months and months of planning, but we are finally underway, building our very small home that will accommodate our needs and desires for years to come. It was important for us to try and stay as green and non-toxic as possible in building our home, so finding all of our supplies has been challenging and time consuming to say the least, but we’re always amazed at how open and helpful people are when we tell them about our project.

While we have used many of the tiny homes already built as inspiration, we’re finding that sometimes the best way to do something is to make it all your own. Initially we planned to find a free travel trailer off of Craigslist, strip it down and use the frame, but ended up splurging on a brand new custom length flatbed car hauler frame instead. The 24’ frame will allow us more interior space so that I don’t have to give up the luxury of a washer and dryer, and my hubby can have his larger loft space with room for a built in dresser.

We’re excited to start our journey once our house is complete and start looking for a piece of property to call our own and begin living a self-sufficient life in harmony with our surroundings. Check back with us to see how things are progressing, or take a drive out to the beautiful Washington Olympic Peninsula and come for a cup of tea and a visit )

Mark and Olivia

www.naturallytiny.blogspot.com

Move in ready-this cozy free standing cottage offers new carpets, paint, updated kitchen with maple cabinets and new tile backsplash. Patio & garden space is partially fenced for privacy. Excellent location close to freeway access, shops, movie theater and much more! Excellent use of space with lots of windows making the home open and bright. Great condo alternative. Stop renting & enjoy the benefits of home ownership! Arch home affordable housing, subject to income guidelines. The cottage is 510 square feet and listed at $157,790, you can view the MLS listing here.

This Quaint Bungalow Would Make A Great First Home Or A Vacation Rental. It Is Conveniently Located Near Scenic Downtown Walla Walla, And Is Priced To Move. Owner Offering Lease Option. At 420 square feet and a price of $25,000, this would be a neat little house to own. At that price I imagine it might require some work, but worth checking into. Sorry, no interior photos or floor plan. You can view the listing here.

Please contact Steve Rodrigues email:olympicforum2000@usa.net or cell 206-234-2045.

Seeking new or used for a lease, sale, or lease-sale option.

Price and terms negotiable.  The Kalakala’s Walk of HOPE departs from Seattle 2/27/10 and tours USA to east coast and back by 6/27/10.

If you can help Steve out please contact him as soon as possible. Thank you!

Pennypincher is introducing their own pre-cut timber frame buildings. One is featured in this post and the details follow below.

Nearly complete! Our buildings are designed to accept most types of siding and the cedar lap siding came from a local mill. Pennypincher’s rustic wood windows fit neatly in the dormers. Glass door blanks are installed both fixed and operable to create a wall of windows.

Pennypincher’s pre-cut timber frames can be purchased as the frame only and finished out with your own recycled or purchased materials. We can also design any of our kits using the pre-cut timber frame, shell kit materials and our custom drafted design engineered plans.

Details:

• 196 Square Foot Moutainberry Cabin Kit
• 6’ Shed Dormers, designed for future loft
• Pressure Treated Wood Foundation
• Pre-Cut Timber Frame ~ 4 x 4 Roseburg Eased Edge Timber
• Douglas Fir T&G Roof
• Locally Cut Cedar Lap Siding

The timbers were pre-cut at our shop in Rochester, Washington.

The small Mountainberry is 14′ x 16′ and is 196 square feet (because it narrows up at the prow).
You can get it with a 14′ x 12′ loft but they opted for “loft ready” on the one in the pictures. When the loft is added we include both the loft and a pull down stair.

Basic Shell Kit Price in Timber Frame $4,499

As shown with upgrades: (pressure treated wood foundation & flooring system 2 x 6 T&G roof sheathing, (2) 6′ Shed dormers, (2) triangular front and (4) wood dormer windows, sub-siding & house wrap) $7,939. Owner supplied gravel, door blanks & local milled cedar lap.

A footing was dug and the pressure treated wood foundation was buried and back filled with a load of 5/8” minus gravel and the wood flooring system was installed.

Next, up goes the frame which has been pre-drilled and will be secured using a special lag bolt screw that is super strong and has a great rustic finish.

Next goes on a layer of sub-siding. Our timber frame kits are design so that there is a space between the timber frame and the sub-siding. This is so that you can easily slip your interior wall finish, like T&G pine, behind the frame leaving your timbers exposed.

Material upgrades are available. On this cabin the roof sheathing was upgraded to Douglas Fir T & G. Eventually, the interior walls will be finished in vertical T&G and the entire interior stained. When possible, we recommend pre-staining the frame, interior finish and siding so that by the time your shell is up all the messy work is done.

Optional shed dormers let in extra light and will create more room when a loft is added at a later date. To learn more be sure and visit Pennypincher Barn Company’s website.

Jim says, “We’ve shortened the seminars to three days to focus on design development and to make the class more affordable.” The price is $295 for the three day seminar and limited to 25 students at each of the seminars offered. Register Here.

Students helping to steam bend a wagon hoop around a form.

In this three day weekend we will begin by exploring in depth how the late 19th century, English-made “Living Wagons” (called “Vardos” by the Gypsies)—were designed, built and used. Then we’ll move on to talk about how modern design and construction techniques can be adapted to create a wagon that will capture the traditional enchantment and coziness of the Vardo, yet be roadworthy for travel at today’s highway speeds. In the balance of the seminar you will have the opportunity to design your own wagon, from concept sketches to preliminary working drawings.

Some of the topics discussed:

• Designing a suitable chassis frame and running gear.
• Wheel size, number and placement
• Building strong, weatherproof floors, walls and ceilings.
• Plywood versus traditional solid wood frame construction (both are viable options, though each have pros and cons).
• Making attractive, but sturdy and weather-tight, doors and windows.
• Creating traditional carvings and decorative details.
• Designing and building the interior built-in cabinetwork
• Bending hoops and working with canvas (for Bow-top versions)
• Designing electrical and plumbing systems
• Installing heating systems
• Painting and varnishing
• Outfitting the wagon for the road.

Included in the cost of the course are drawing materials, detailed handouts and access to a free online forum where you can ask further questions and solicit advice.

Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for students taking this course other than having a passionate interest in learning how to create the most cozy and lovable living space one could ever hope to spend some time in—on the road or in the garden!

Register Here.

Pushkara in process of designing her new wagon

Steve Habersetzer talking about the design of corbels

Gypsy Wagon

This little cottage weighs in at less than 2700 pounds so can be towed easily. The cottage is ready for you to use as is for an office or spare bedroom, or a kitchen and bathroom could be added and you could have a perfect little cottage getaway or even live in it full time.

The Sing RV cottage is built using the Sing honeycomb product designed by Sing. The Sing honeycomb panels are made with patented Sing honeycomb core which is a low cost, high strength, lightweight panel. The cottage is insulated with EPS, or urethane foam which offers an insulation value of (R-6.5 per inch) to learn more about Sing products go to these links www.singtinyhouse.com and www.lightweightnews.com.

The cottage is located in McCleary, Washington and you can contact Tina via email at info@singhome.com or by telephone at 360-495-3577. Be sure and let Tina or Peter know you learned about the cottage at the Tiny House Blog.

Guest post by Laurie Kazimir

My husband, Christian and I love building beach homes and have been building and selling them for the past 5 years on the Olympic Peninsula, way out here on the edge of the country in the state of Washington. We are probably one the most pristine, remote locations in the entire 48 states. Just 20 minutes away is a one million acre national park filled with hundreds of pure rivers and forests of old growth trees that can rival the Redwoods. We are fortunate enough to be able to hike to both glaciers on the top of snow capped mountains, and to deserted beaches sprinkled with sand-dollars. The air we breathe has been rated some of the best in the country.

When we moved here 8 years ago, from New Jersey where our parents were involved in beach real estate, we realized that clean air and water, and natural space are the things that matter to us most.

A few years ago, we came up with this idea: to get an extra large multifamily lot, and build four tiny homes a block from the sandy beach. Our goal was to provide a beautiful beach home with everything a true home entails for under $100,000. These small homes were a new idea for the area, and it wasn’t easy to get the go ahead.

We had to learn and grow and work with the city to figure out ways to get past the minimum square footage requirement. At first we got a definite “no” because the city was misinterpreting the zoning codes, and thought that each cottage had to meet the minimum. We were able to politely educate them and slowly go over the rules and legal language. By putting all four homes on the lot and totaling the square footage we were able to surpass the square footage requirement.

After selling our first home, to a very nice person, they explained to us that they had been trying to build a tiny home for many, many years, and that they kept running into the same minimum square footage problem no matter where they tried to build. This person actually moved across the state, over 100 miles away from the place that they were trying to build, just so they could have a tiny home. They didn’t purchase the cottage because they wanted to be a block from the beach like most of our clients, but because they wanted a small home that was nice, new, and efficient with low maintenance and in a price range that they could afford. Needless to say, they are extremely happy, and now that they’re here, they are glad to have made the relocation, because this is a great place to live.

These experiences really showed us that building a tiny home can be impossible in most towns, but by designing a tiny home development, we could overcome all the red tape, and create a true small home community. This same concept can be implemented in other towns and cities that would not normally allow a small square footage home.. We are very excited, and we think that this concept can be repeated.

Now that the cottages are built they are absolutely beautiful. We have incorporated 9ft walls and vaulted ceilings to create a more expansive feeling. With lots of large windows, you never have to turn on lights during the day. The 400 square foot homes have a full kitchen and bath, and a custom made Murphy bed allowed us to combine the living and sleeping areas. They’re fun and affordable, and for a vacation home, that may only be used a few weeks a year, we can’t think of a better option.

Currently we have two of the four cottages sold, and we are getting lots of interest in the other two, which are available for $99,000 each. Visit the Belmar Cottage listing page to learn more.

(Tiny House Blog)

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When I first saw these huts on wheels, they looked a bit like an alien vehicle from Star Wars. The more I looked at them though, the more I fell in love with these sleek little houses.

Designed as a modern alternative to camping by Tom Kundig of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects in Seattle, the Rolling Huts are available for rent in the Methow Valley of Washington state. The huts are several steps above camping, while remaining low-tech and low-impact in their design.

The huts sit lightly on the site, a flood plain meadow in an alpine river valley. The owner purchased the site, formerly a RV campground, with the aim of allowing the landscape return to its natural state. The wheels lift the structures above the meadow, providing an unobstructed view into nature and the prospect of the surrounding mountains.

The huts are grouped as a herd: while each is sited towards a view of the mountains (and away from the other structures), their proximity unites them. They evoke Thoreau’s simple cabin in the woods; the structures take second place to nature.

Each hut comes equipped with a small refrigerator, microwave, fireplace and Wi-Fi. A sleeping platform is perfect for two, and the modular furniture in the living area can be reconfigured to sleep two more. Each hut has an adjacent portable toilet, and full bathrooms and showers are housed in the centrally located barn a short distance away. There is a water faucet outside of each hut and a picnic table in front of each hut that seats 12. You can stay in one of these huts for about $80-$100 a night.

By Christina Nellemann

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