One of my readers, Ben sent me this cool ad that shows a unique form of short term living or extreme living. These are loft beds used in rock climbing and I know climbers can spend many days climbing and living literally on the edge.
How could this loft approach be used in a more permanent tiny house? I’m open to suggestions and ideas. Please comment below.
hammocks – look at boat/truck travel in south american countries.
A great idea for a single person in a tiny house or to use when guests come…
If you do a search for Xuankong Si, it’s obviously possible to build on a cliff and has been done for a long time, but there’s something rather scary about a first time builder [with probably no structural engineering education or experience] building a structure of any sort on a steep hill or cliff. Maybe they’re willing to risk the unknown, but if they ever sell it or it somehow end up in other people’s hands, the assumption then is that it’s safe and the results could be very bad. There’s many many layers to building on a slope that need to be taken into account, like the soil/rock stability and strength, erosion and rain/snow, load capacity, the design of the structure and how it anchors into the ground or hill, if the ground will compress or slowly shift, and so on. Lots of factors, but the same risk in the end: support gives way and structure goes down possibly with someone inside.
Hey Kent.
Having slept in a “portaledge” many a night (i’m a climber), I can tell you that they offer a great night sleep! I’m sure most people are familiar with seeing them in pictures on the side of El Cap in Yosemite, and Trango Tower in Pakistan etc. If you want to see them set up in various place just google ‘portaledge.’
Not sure how to use it as a permanent residence although I did have mine hanging in my living room a few years ago until the wife made me take it down.
I think a practical application for a tiny home would be to use the portaledge on a pulley in the ceiling and you could raise it in the daytime and lower it at night for sleeping.
how about a hammock… i sleep in the one on the porch all the time in the summer… when your not on it you jst hang it on one hook instead of tow and its out of the way…
tow = two
Whoops looks like I totally read the post wrong, I guess that’s what happens when you’re multitasking. Isn’t a murphy bed a permanent luxury version of the same principle? If it’s for guests, it could always be semi permanent with spots to anchor in and a way to hang it, then take it down when they leave.
The only issue I see is a tiny house rarely has actual free wall space since it’s almost always filled with storage cabinets or bathroom/kitchen.
I broke into a cold sweat just looking at this 😉
It would make a great extra “Murphy Style” bed.
elise
The portaledge reminds me of this:
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/single-hauz.html
Cool.
A portaledge is the no-frills version of a Murphy bed. In a tiny house, multifunction Murphy beds are a good design feature. Companies make Murphy beds that have tables or couches attached so that when the bed is up, the other aspect is in use. Since not many of us use the table or couch while we sleep, this is an efficient use of the minimal space in a tiny home.
Of late, I’ve been wondering about the drop down beds used in trains. Since they come with ladders built in to climb into the upper berth, perhaps one could be placed high enough on the wall to be out of the way of the floor space. The only problem is, I can’t find any companies that sell them.
Carey: Here is a site that buys and sells parts for restoration of rail cars. You could browse their classifieds and see if you can find anything. If you don’t see anything in the ads, send them an email. I think the guy who runs the site, Dave, has tons of stuff. I inquired last month about dining car tables and chairs and he had quite a few. Bear in mind, they may not be cheap nor in very good condition, but I would bet he would lower the price if you haggle. Also bear in mind shipping costs.
http://railswap.org/
Note: By the way, I didn’t buy a table due to price and cost of shipping across the country, however seeing what he had (he emailed photos) I got some ideas for building my own.
I am a great fan of this blog, in fact I check it every day.
I think short pieces like this one, would be great for week ends, but would prefer some thing with a bit more meat and substance for a week day read.
Perhaps you could find a way to get your readers more involved in writing in depth pieces on what they are doing, building or planning.
I would love to hear some stories from people who have made the transition, and what kind of problems they have encountered, how they have dealt with them, and what they would do differently.
Perhaps, the canvas on the bed could be decorated w/ a painting, etc. on the bottom and double as art when in the “up” position. One of these and a folding privacy screen could provide a nice instant guest bedroom.
I really like the use of a sleeping loft w/ a memory foam mattress, etc. w/o the bed frame and box springs, thus negating the need for a full size room. Just make sure ventilation is adequate as heat rises to these lofts rather well. The garage featured last week was a stellar example.
These are a great idea for climbers. It is amazing some of the ingenious products people come up with.
Though I have to admit I would still be afraid of rolling around just a little too much…. And you would definitely want to have a secure holding on the ledge!
Wallbeds, or murphy beds, are a similar option as mentioned earlier, because you only use them when they are needed. Great for small homes with limited space.
Take a look at http://wallbedsnmore.com to see what sort of options are available out there.
Ha ha! I’ve spent a bunch of nights on portaledges during big wall rock climbs and they’re comfortable if you’re really tired. Unless they’re anchored really well on each end they tend to swing like a see-saw if the weight isn’t balanced (like when you get in and out of them). If you’re not used to them you can scare yourself silly getting into and out of them (think going to the bathroom in the middle of the night).
Cool idea, but even in a tiny house environment I think there are much better solutions, like murphy beds or other hide-a-beds. Plus, at about $400-$600/ledge they don’t seem that cost effective for what you get. They’re a pretty specialized piece of climbing equipment that seem like more of novelty when set up in someone’s home.