by Marsha Cowan
My very tiny home just recently went through an ice storm here in North Carolina and she didn’t even notice it. The crepe myrtle you see laying on my tiny house was the only one along the neighbor’s fence that lost no branches to the weight of the ice. He simply laid on top of my roof until the ice melted, then slowly raised himself up back to his 25′ height.
The house in whose driveway I am currently parked lived four days with no electricity or heat. I had a propane heater and cooktop, so I was able to cook for everyone, and their four year old hung out with me a lot to warm up. I also have rechargeable battery overhead lights, and I keep extra batteries charged as back up, so I was never without lights either.
This one is called The Nest. She is my second tiny house, and she is for sale on craigslist because I want to build a little bigger one in which my family can find shelter in an emergency. However, if she does’t sell, it won’t bother me because I have really enjoyed living in it for the past 5 months, and I will just keep living here. I see her as a great place for a single lady (or perhaps man) to live near her family or at the beach or mountains.
She has been through temperatures continuously in the lower teens and single digits and done quite well keeping me warm and snug. She has held up beautifully in high wind storms and blustery wind storms without a sign of trauma. She is a tank!
Here is the craigslist ad for “The Nest”. Enjoy!
http://greensboro.craigslist.org/for/4374918558.html
I love this little home, would love to live in one, but where can you park it in North Carolina close to Raleigh?
Where I am, you can park in any RV park, and there are some with year round parking. I have also talked with a manager of a nice mobile home park here who reserves some lots for RVs who said he would be glad to have me, and that was after I showed him this picture.
Hi Marsha,
Great Job! Do you have a toilet or shower hidden in there some where?
Thanks,
Walt
You did see the galvanized tin bucket in the photo, didn’t you? Toilet, tub, and dish washing unit.
I had an aunt that lived in a tiny house (1960s) off our back porch. She had tuberculosis and it was a way of protecting the rest of the family. The unit had been a lumberjack’s shed.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4561367747_1eeb990968_d.jpg
You wash your dishes in the same bucket you use for a toilet? That doesn’t sound wise.
Allow me to clarify. The galvanized bucket in the picture is the composting toilet. Inside it is a 5 gallon plastic bucket which I have kept pretty well so that. i have only had to empty it once and that was after three months in the house, and no, I do not use the house next door:). I try to stay out of their way as much as possible. The white porcelain bowl y see in the picture is my wash basin . I heat water and mix with cold water and take pan baths. I can change the water when I want to by pouring that water in the three gallon bucket I keep for just such a purpose, then later pouring the bath water into the compost area at the back of the yard. I have a small stainless steel bowl in which I do my dishes, and again, this gets poured out at the back corner in the mulch. The tiny door is to reach through and cut the propane tanks on and off, though I do not need to do it with the heater, I do cut the stovetop off after each use.
I love it!!! Am I correct in assuming no running water or bathroom fac? She is a beauty 🙂
Actually, it is hooked up to an RV hose with an online water filter that enters under the counter near the door. At that point, there is a hose with a sprayer on it with an on and off switch. I fill up the bucket, then turn off the water and drain all the hoses and filters until I need to fill it up again. I have quick connect fittings everywhere so unattaching hoses is quick and simple. My water is good for bathing, cooking, and drinking. I use a porcelain dipper to dip it out right now, although it would not be too difficult to add a sink and faucet with a portable propane water heater on the outside. Hmmm. Good idea!
Meant to say that it is a 5 gallon food grade bucket with a sealed lid…
OMG!, you sure know how to decorate, and maximize a small space! Very impressive, one of my favorites! Wonderful trees those crepe myrtles too, glad they made it thru the storm! Thanks for sharing.
Yes, they are so beautiful all summer.
I love the details in this small place… the rails on the shelves and the corrogated roofing as backsplash… very cool. I’ve just been visiting in Raleigh this week and can attest to the colder than expected weather…. So glad you were warm through that ice…
Best of luck!
Like a bug in a rug! Thanks, Patti.
Please flip the horseshoe around…. all the luck is spilling out! Wonder/Cute/Cozy abode.
Really? Where I am from it is “pouring out on those who enter”.
I love your” “tiny” home! That’s a really great price for your home! The horse shoe is in the “right” direction! I believe this is the way it should be hung. Grandma always said” to those whom enter will be showered in luck and always be with you!”
Marsha,
Your homes are very detailed and lovely. Curious where you get your plans/specs, who does the actual construction. The ones you have shown are really beautiful and cheery.
Thank you so much! There are no written or drawn plans, they are just in my head and come out my hands. However, like all builders, ideas strike when least expect it, so you change a little here and there along the way until you get what your heart sees.
I am a bit confused. Yesterday you posted about a different tiny house= http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/marshas-tiny-house-and-solar-setup/
Do you live in 2 different places and have a house in each, or is the one you showed in the other post your former house?
Would you like to compare the 2 and what changes you made? Very interestng to see someone so into the tiny houses and staying as minimal in size as you have.
– Rob
Good question. I lived in the first tiny house for a out 5 months before I sold it, and then because someone told me my car would never be able to pull it. So I built one smaller, but have since found out that my car would have probably pulled the first one okay. The difference in the two houses is that with the first one I was on such a strict budget that I used a out 90% recycled materials which made it a little harder to build as you have to accommodate older and sometimes not standard sizes and shapes. I also spent weeks pulling nails out of all those barn boards, cleaning them with oxy bleach, and then racking them up to dry for awhile, but the outcome was worth it. They were beautiful, lightweight, and easy to work with. Except for plywood, most of the first house materials came from Craigslist, Habitat, and curbside. It took me about a year and a half working weekends and week days I was off? The second house was built from all new materials, so it it only took me about a month and a half to build and everything fit together like a glove. There is virtue in both kinds of building, and I love to see old things made new again. Older things have a lot of charm and character, even old wood, that new things don’t have, so I had to build in the charm. “lol”
I’m always leery of people trying to sell things using endearment terms. It’s odd to see someone using “she” or ‘”the ole girl” especially after posting recently. It may be nothing but then again, we are on the interwebz.
It’s America, ain’t it? The terms I use are the terms that come to mind, and you will have to pardon me if I do wax lyrical about my houses. They are dear to me and so I do use terms of endearment. That’s just how I am.
Very cute house, but that heater is dangerous. That’s the one thing about teeny houses. You have to be very careful how you heat it. Lots to catch fire, and no exit in an emergency. I too want a tiny house, but I will build it to be safe.
Well, my heater is not between me and the door, I always make sure of that, and it has zero clearance everywhere but the front and very top. In the picture, I have it pushed over some for looks, but when I use it, it faces out into the room more. I never use it when I sleep, only when I am in there awake. I never leave it on when I go out. It is actually one of the safest heaters on the market in my opinion, and very easy to use and very reliable.
Hey sorry for the off topic but I can’t find a forum with a recent thread on ideas for living legally in tiny home. I own some property in ca and have been told that generally you can camp on your property for up to 3 months out of the year. I own the property with my family and I started to realize how awful it is to try and go through the building department to build a house especially if it is going to be multiple dwellings for a family compound. My salut ion is a tiny home village. Let’s say the county sends a letter for an inspection. Fine I will just move the houses before the inspection. Just wondering if anyone has actually had a run In with officials and realized they can’t really enforce a law that requires 24 hour surveilence. Did they back off or did they come at you hard
I actually pay rent on the large house in whose driveway I am parked, and the large house address is my address, and inside there is a bedroom room with a shared bath and kitchen for me. I just choose to hang out in my tiny house instead.
http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/tiny-house-building-code/
It won’t necessarily help with the confusion, but it is a place to start.
Congratulations on a truly wonderful tiny space. I am inspired by what you have done. Per what Ken said you may have considered using one of the oil-filled radiator units. I live in winter in a similar size space and they do a nice job and are completely safe. Looking forward to reading about your next tiny house. Luci
I am a fan of the oil filled radiator units, too, but they are not zero clearance, so I picked a heater with zero clearance on the bottom, back, and sides with the heat just radiating from the font and top. It is designed for a tent.
I’m seriously thinking about one of those English stoves, because they’re so much cheaper than the American versions. You can get a couple shipped here for one third or one fourth what one of the Navigator stoves would cost.
Very cute and cozy. But hopefully you don’t use the same bucket for toilet, tub and dishwashing!
No! Lol! I explained all that in another post somewhere on here.
“However, if she does’t sell, it won’t bother me because I have really enjoyed living in it for the past 5 months, and I will just keep living here.”
Erm… say what? So you will just leave the new one empty? Still, nice little studio.
No, the first one sold already, I am currently living in the green one.
So the one posted yesterday with the sweet solar setup was your first and is already gone? Too bad, would have been hard to part with for me 😉 This is very nice and more than adequate if you have a granny flat in the main house anyway. (Though the toilet compost bucket up on the counter by the dishes gives me a bit of the heebie jeebies. lol.)
Oh no! That is the three gallon bucket in which I pour bath water to take it to the compost heap. I had just bought it and had it sitting on the counter when I took pictures. Didn’t really think about it at the time. Should have moved it for the pics.
Now it makes sense and I will quit hyperventilating when I see your mention of the ‘galvanized bucket’ again 😉
The horse shoe under the window is upside down. The open end is supposed to be up to catch luck. That’s why they are called “lucky horse shoes”.
Sorry :(. Where I came from, it was always turned this way to pour out luck on all who entered.
This is the second tiny home in two days by the same builder that has a stove in front of a window and a towel hanging above the stove. Ask your local fire dept. what will happen when a grease flare up ignites the towel and the open window fans the flames in a TH with only one exit. A red hot electric burner will ignite flamables just as fast as an open flame. At least there are no curtains on the window…..
Unable to edit or add to my comment so I am posting here.
I also don’t see any smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, but I do see a Buddy Heater with an open flame. Very good heater: we use one in our wall tent when winter camping, but we also have a battery CO detector to avoid dying in our sleep.
I have a CO detector. You can see on the wall next to the front door. As for the dishclothes, they are not as close to the burners as they appear in the pictures, but even given what you say, i use them repeatedly while cooking, so whether they are in my hands standing near the burner, or on a hook further away from the burner, dish clothes are a fact of life and I put them where I need them. I cook on moderate heat in a pan with deep sides stainless steel pan with no long handles, so if grease pops, it lands right back in the pan, and the flame under the pan is very controlled. My towel is hanging in an alcove to the side of the bay window, so if it fell, it would fall in the window first. I guess, though, the main point I would like to make is that when I am cooking I am always aware of the heat, flame and what is around it all and am careful to insure safety. My stovetop and heater never run at the same time. My heater never runs unless I am in the house and have cleared everything away from it, and it absolutely never never never runs during the night when I am asleep. I turn it on in the morning when I get up. Anything can be a fire hazard if not managed properly, but I am quite comfortable with the way things are set up in here and how they are managed.
One more thought…I also made sure that anything containing a fire was placed so that it would never be between me and the door.
It sounds like you have work arounds for the hazardous conditions. Is that what your buyers do too? You did let them know about these risks, right? Building something with such built-in hazards for yourself is one thing, but selling a couple to strangers without informing them is another, especially since you indicated that you were already aware of the dangers inherent in your design. Anyway, I hope you are able to sell a few more and get one for yourself free and clear: I know a traditional home builder and not so many years ago he would have counted himself lucky to sell two units a year. Just be sure to let your buyers know about these issues, it would be terrible if someone was harmed by lack of awareness of what you know already. Congratulations on the $7500 sale and best of luck with the next one: the marketing you are doing here can only help.
ps, you might want to think about using an opening window in the loft as a fire exit as others have done.
I can’t reply to your comment in the proper place, Michael, so I will reply here. There are no more inherent hazards in this house than in any other tiny house. I don’t build for other people, just for myself, and as my needs change, I sell my used tiny house on Craigslist and build another one. In fact, I have had several people and couples from other states travel here to see this tiny house and ask me to build them something a little bigger. I direct them to the Tiny House Map to find a builder in their area, and offer to help sketch out an idea, or figure a ball park price for the build if they want, but I do not build for individuals, nor take orders, nor contract in any way. If I build others, I will put them on Craigslist, and whoever sees them can buy them.
Oh, there is no loft, and the door is readily available for safe egress.
Below the horseshoe and above the heater, there is a tiny door in the wall. I’m curious about it’s purpose. Thanks in advance.
The builder stated earlier as well as in her CL ad that this door is to enable access to the propane tank to shut off the gas. It will also provide easy entry for the propane gas in case of a gas leak. The tank appears to be enclosed, this will allow leaking gas to fill the chamber and then enter the house through this door. Since propane is heavier than air it will pool on the floor until it rises to the level of any ignition source then “house go BOOM”. Putting the open flame heater under this door only makes things worse, or better: maybe the leaking gas will ignite as soon as it enters and you will only have a fire not an explosion.
Wow! Scary! You are right about propane being heavier than air, and that is why my propane storage compartment has lots of ventilation near and at the bottom where leaking propane can make its way outside. And as the tops of the tanks are level with the door, the propane would have to travel up to get to it and come in. Also, when you open the little door, you will see that it butts against an airtight border designed to further discourage anything, even air, leaking into the house. I thought long and hard about my propane use, Michael. I understand your concerns, and I hope this assuages some of your fears.
Of ALL the tiny homes I’ve seen, you’re the one with great taste yet it’s easy to see you actually make it all work. Darn right I’m impressed. This is some home you’ve got here. WOW – you got SO right!
Thank you, Bob, you are sweet to say so.
Nice finish carpentry. Good use of space. Esp like the dish rack. What is the cook stove? Something old, I assume.
Actually it is an outdoor cooktop, so that it why I turn the propane off to it after each use. I reach through the tiny door you see in the picture to do that.
Lovely job! Yes, it’s been quite a winter for NC. And you’ve answered some questions about comfort in very cold times that I’ve been wanting to know. Thanks for taking the time and your kind response.
Perfectly adorable.
So it sounds as though electrical wiring is unnecessary for this tiny house? Or maybe I’m not understanding since I guess it must have to have brake lights at least for towing? Or maybe those can be attached (clearly I have no experience and am just an enthusiast at this point). I particularly like the idea that one might not need a pickup to tow this.
Anyway it’s very pretty — all the little details are very inspiring.
The brakes and the brake lights on a trailer have separate wiring from the house. The cord from the trailer actually plugs into the electrical system of your car via a plug underneath the back of your car, usually under the bumper. That plug connects to a brake box installed under the steering area where the driver can adjust the breaking of the trailer with the roll of a tiny wheel on the brake box, so it helps keep the trailer from throwing its weight toward the car when stopping, especially on steep inclines as the trailers own brakes are stopping it. This tiny house, however, does have very simple wiring that allows two outlets that hook up to a 12 gauge cord that hooks into an RV pole at a camping site, or in my case, to an outside outlet in the house next to where I am parked.
One more thought, one does not have to run wiring in the walls to have outlets. In my first house, the 12 gauge wire ran inside and had three outlets inherent on the end of it, so I plugged my phone charger, iPad charger, and my fan up to the cord itself. It came in under the desk, so all my plugs were out of site, and the cords laid in a basket on the desk when I was not using them to charge something. I drilled a small hole in the loft floor so the fan cord could reach up to the window where I was running the fan. I have to admit, though, having outlets is a whole lot easier and you can put them where you want them. Hope this helps.
Marsha, I’m 14, my mom and I are building a 12 by 8 on an old trailer. can you tell me how you did the exterior of the nest-pictures if you have them please.
Marsha, I just purchased a shuttle bus to convert. I am going to use your little red bus as my example. Did you insulate her? I am so excited…at 62 I’m living the best part of my life.