Comments on: Roulottes en bois Tango

By: Granny Flats

Granny Flats — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:31:43 +0000

I just found your blog on Bing and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to write but that I have enjoyed seeing it. Terrific website. I will keep reading this website very often.

By: Abel Zimmerman

Abel Zimmerman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:09:01 +0000

Eric,

I just designed, and am halfway through building one of these little houses. I appreciate that people are lobbing more than just enthusiasm for a fad toward these ideas.

The steel trailer mine sits on was built in 1973. It is as strong as the day it was built, then stiffened by a laminated plywood outer structure. I am treating the exterior better than I would any house I’ve worked on in this climate (Western Washington), so the ply structural shell should last 50 years or more… with normal maintenance (which is easier than a normal house because of the smaller scale).

Most RVs and mobile homes end up damaged by mold and rot, usually because of strange choices of material and difficult to maintain structures. Example: sheet metal over wood frame with plasticised paneling interior and bad airflow and drainage. Yuk.

Anyway, the size of these houses allows great integrity in the design and choice of materials. They are expensive per square foot, but cost is not always the bottom line in the story of our lives. Here’s to living GOOD… not big.

Abel in Olympia

By: steve

steve — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:59:47 +0000

if these smaller homes were built so that they could be easily removed from their trailers to be put on new ones i could easily see these things being passed on for generations.

these look like they are built with quality in mind. no comparison to a crappy rv imo…

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:33:08 +0000

Eric, what ways do you see of building without doubling the cost that could extend a portable or small house cost?

Very interested in long-term construction.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:40:57 +0000

Carey,

I’m not sure why you believe the quality is better, almost all of these homes are being built with the exact same stick/balloon framing methods as a 1970’s trailer home or any modern McMansion. Two by fours, plywood, aluminum or wood siding, and wood paneling inside. Sure, they look a lot nicer, but the basic construction techniques are largely the same… apart from one being built in a factory and the other under awnings and tents by someone with limited experience that is.

The mere fact that you’ve got them on an portable, exposed, steel foundation is going to dramatically shorten their lifespans. Does anyone really see these things in use by the same owner(s) in 20 years? Heck, most of the trailers they’re built on even have warranty’s that long, many are only one year. They’re certainly not something you’re going to pass down to the next generation, much less a few generations.

Again, I don’t believe you can ‘live small’ by building what is fundamentally a disposable home, no matter how small it may be.

By: Elma Ross

Elma Ross — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:27:56 +0000

I find this site fascinating. I just think that, should I embark on this, I would do two things:
1. add bigger windows, if not a door that opens to the outside in stead of every window, as it would allow more fresh air inside, and it might give a sense of being bigger;
2. divise it in a way that a tent could be added on (or just opened), should one have guests over.

By: Carey Huffman

Carey Huffman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:46:10 +0000

I absolutely love this. I truly appreciate the scaled down home look of the Tumbleweed homes, but this so whimsical it brings forth memories of youthful daydreams of the gypsy life.

In response to Eric, I certainly hope that is not the case. I see this new trend as being very different than RVs and trailers of the past. Essentially, this new crop of mini-homes is being built with the same quality and eye toward longevity as full sized homes, whereas older RVs and trailers were never meant to stand the test of time. But that is just my two cents worth.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:00:32 +0000

In spit of the owner-built aspect, I suspect most all of these ‘rolling’ homes will end up just like RV’s and trailers of the past- abandoned to the poor and then junked in a landfill. Living small… by building disposable houses.

By: TimR

TimR — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:40:34 +0000

Great post Kent!

Amazing detail and a really cool shot of it in the woods.

When you think about it these types wagons were the original tiny-house trailers or RVs from the UK and Europe.

By: XsTatiC

XsTatiC — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:30:05 +0000

Great attention to detail in that. Obviously a very skilled carpenter compared to a lot of the other tiny house builders.