Tiny House Blog

Tiny Tack House

by Malissa Tack

A short story of how we came to build our very own Tiny House.

It all started with a meeting at the Apple Store. My husband Chris, while at work, had a chance encounter with a very adventurous lady. She tells him about this idea she has for living small, Chris is intrigued by this and asks to know more.

Later that day, Chris informed me that he was going to send me a few links, info about the Tiny House Movement. He said that he was working with Candice at the Apple Store and she showed him all about the Tiny House. He didn’t go much further into details, but I was curious. The next day, while working on the computer, I remembered what he was talking about and decided to do some investigation. I searched Tiny House Movement, and was blasted into another world… a much smaller one. The houses were amazing! So small, sleek and stylish… and had all the comforts of home. I’ve lived in my fair share of apartments within the past 10 years, and I know the feeling I get when I come home to them… empty.

Powering our Tiny House, The SolMan Portable Solar Generator

by Kent Griswold

Guest Post by Merete Mueller reposted from Tiny

Perhaps one my favorite things about our tiny house (other than falling asleep to the sound of rain on a steel roof) is that it is entirely off grid.

Christopher and I are both environmentalists of sorts, having spent chunks of our lives studying, researching, and telling stories about humans’ interactions with our natural resources and waste. Part of this tiny house experiment has always been about learning to lessen our own impact.

And there’s also the practical side of things: 40 miles from a major town, our tiny house doesn’t have access to a “grid” of any kind. No gas lines. No power lines. No water lines or sewage system. We’ve had to figure out our own solutions for each of these utilities.

Park County, Colorado gets an average of 246 sunny days each year, so solar power was an obvious choice for our electric needs. Throughout the building stage, Christopher looked into rigging up a system of his own design, but when we heard about the SolMan portable solar generator, we decided it was worth it to purchase a professional, pre-made solar unit than to build our own.

Glacier Trailhead Cabins

by Kent Griswold

Montana Mobile Cabins have been quite busy again so far this year. They recently delivered two cabins to Glacier Trailhead Cabins. Both cabins are 18 ft x 24 ft using square log construction. Both cabins were delivered as “dry” cabins, the clients will be finishing out the cabins themselves, as … Read more

Recycling Old RV Trailers

by Kent Griswold

by Abel Zyl Zimmerman

I recently bought and dismantled a 14 ft. RV trailer for tiny house parts. I thought you avaricious do-it-yourselfers might find the story interesting.

It was a pretty moldy RV, with some appliances inside and an undamaged trailer frame. My goals were to get those two things out of it, and when all was done, I was about 80% successful in doing so.

Costs:

Purchase price: $300
Licensing: $23 (it had current tabs)
Work gloves, dust masks: $10
Sawzall demolition blade: $7
Contractor trash bags (for loose debris and fiberglass): $12
Diesel fuel for the project, towing it home and delivering recyclables: $55
Local landfill fee (plywood, broken glass, fiberglass) $99
Read more

TINY Documentary House on Fox 31 Denver

by Christina Nellemann

Christopher Smith and his girlfriend Merete Mueller of the TINY movie project were recently profiled by Fox 31 Denver. Christopher and Merete have towed their 127 square foot house to their remote property in Park County, Colorado. Their tiny house is nearly finished, but according to the video, the build … Read more

Wee Irish Cottage New Build

by Kent Griswold

Mike Irish just contacted me with an update. He says, “Last year I bought a big house to remodel and it seems to take lots of money and time. I think I like the wee houses better.

The good new is I have another Wee Irish Cottage almost finished. It is 8ft X 26ft with 8ft X 20ft insulated living space with loft, and a covered 8ft X 6ft trek deck porch, insulated windows and door. The outside is covered with cedar bevel siding and the inside is T&G pine with bamboo flooring.

There is a small kitchen with a sitting area and under counter fridge, 36 in. shower stall and composting toilet. Downstairs there is a hide-a-bed if you don’t want to use the loft. I am advertising the Irish Wee House on Portland Craigslist for $12,500.

Tall Man’s Tiny House

by Kent Griswold

Guest Post by Adam Leu

This past winter, my brother and I decided to try our hands at a tiny house build. With my skills as a builder and my brother’s as an artist and designer, we set out with a rough design and many things to learn. We began with a modified plan that was inspired by two of Michael Janzen’s solar house plans from tinyhousedesign.com. The final product is the beaming rustic modern tiny house you see above.

Our spacious tiny house began as a 20 ft trailer with dual #3500 axles that transported a lowly camper in days bygone. Painted and leveled, construction was ready to begin.

The now completed rustic modern home is 21ft long, cantilevered a foot off the back, and semi-divided into three seven-foot sections. The square footage is approximately 130 sq ft, not including the additional sleeping loft. It has a maxed out 8ft 6 in width and towering 13ft 3in height, with a folding deck and removable awning for travel. While the weight is yet to be determined, it is estimated at 5500 – 6000 pounds.

Yestermorrow Design/Build School Class

by Kent Griswold

Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont is hosting a building class focused on building a tiny house on wheels. They’re hoping to find a client who would like to offer their little house as the subject of the class — significantly jump-starting the construction process! Essentially, the client would dictate the … Read more

Laird’s Yukon Modern Tiny Home

by Kent Griswold

by Laird Herbert

Hi my name is Laird Herbert and I thought you might be interested in the tiny house I just completed.

This is my second tiny home that I have built. I lived in one full-time for a year over the winter and sold it last spring. I’m 28 years old and have lived in the Yukon for the past five. I am pretty happy puttering away building things. I’d much rather do this then sit in a cubicle! My passion is actually the design, that’s what I enjoy the most. So I’m diving into it full-time (hopefully) and will be building two more this summer (one for myself and another to sell), under Leaf House, which is my new company named after the famed Leaf House on Hornby Island which is where I spent my summers as a kid.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this northern rendition of a tiny house! It is much more challenging build tiny houses in an extreme winter climate. I’ve learned quite a bit about what you need to do when it’s -40 outside and your space is 160 ft2. I’ve also learned that it is a lot more expensive to build things in the North!

WorldHaus: Idealab Invents Super-Cheap House

by Kent Griswold

As a tiny house enthusiast I think it is important to look at all options around the world. We can learn from other people and I like to share as many of these ideas as I can. Tom Bennett recently sent me to WorldHaus a company that has come up … Read more

Tiny Offices on Urban Roots Farm

by Christina Nellemann

On a lot in back of a former motel, there is a farm. And on that farm there are some tiny offices…okay…I won’t sing “E-I-E-I-O”, but the structures being built on the Urban Roots Farm in Reno, Nev. are worth tooting a few horns about. Urban Roots is currently being created as an educational farm and community center where schools, children and families can learn about gardening, alternative building techniques and the natural areas of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Range. The farm sits on a 3/4 acre plot that was donated by Kelly Rae and Pam Haberman of HabeRae Homes (which the Tiny House Blog profiled a few years ago). Kelly and Pam also designed two tiny structures to be used as offices for the Urban Roots staff.

Kelly is unofficially calling the two building designs ModPods. She and Pam were inspired by some similar structures they came across while traveling by motorcycle on Orcas Island, Wash.

“I nearly went off the road on my bike when I saw these tiny houses,” Kelly said.

Jason’s Molecule Tiny Homes

by Kent Griswold

I featured Jason’s first Molecule tiny house a while back and Jason has been very busy designing and building more tiny homes. I thought you might enjoy an update.

Built this year, all new construction. This tiny house is 8 ft. 6 in. wide by 20 ft. long by 13 ft. 5 in. high. Including the porch and lofts it is approximately 260 square feet. It has has two sleeping lofts, one 8 ft. by 6 ft., and one 8 ft. by 3ft. The house is built on a new 12,000 lbs rated trailer, and can be towed anywhere.

The home features a full kitchen, including three burner range and oven, and a full bathroom with shower and tub. A fold down 4 ft. by 8 ft. deck, on demand water heater, double paned windows, and full insulation round out the house. Vaulted knotty pine ceilings with ceiling fan and overhead light brightens the whole house. Tough Pergo floors complement the living space. The house has all the necessary conveniences of a much larger home, despite its small size.

To view more pictures and all of Jason’s Molecule Tiny Homes and his pricing visit http://moleculetinyhomes.blogspot.com/