An update, before I drop some info on a NEW hands-on building workshop collaboration in North Carolina (below)…
We recently just completed our Relaxshacks.com Tiny House-Building Workshop two weekends ago, and it was absolutely incredible(!) to get to hang with a group of twenty-plus people for so long a time. It’s amazing how well you get to know and bond with people when a workshop becomes a camp-out, not to mention an all-out, tiny-house-obsessed, event. We had attendees from New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, and beyond- and luckily the weather was GREAT (we got hit with a big storm two days later!)
Aside from many guest speakers including Sage Radachowsky (Gypsy Wagon Dweller), Doug Immel (Fencl Builder), Dustin “Dr. Demolition” Diedricksen (Small Home Dweller and Environmental Engineer), Tristan Chambers and Libby Reinish (who brought out their Whittled Down Caravan), and Mariah Coz (n’ Matt!) (who lugged out their ultra-cool Comet Camper), we all collaborated on building a tiny travel trailer/tiny house.
This one is real tiny – About 45 square feet, not counting a loft above (not yet fully built). It sits atop a small trailer I had recently purchased just for this workshop project. I’ve dubbed it the “T4- Tiny Turtle Travel Trailer,” but also keep referring to it as the double-meaning title “The Light Box” – as it’s, well, a light, box-like dwelling, AND I experimentally messed with adding a white poly wall on one end. At night, this wall with be illuminated from within, but being opaque, it still offers privacy. During the daytime, it allows light IN, and in both cases, will illuminate the colored glass bottles that will sit on its shelf-like supports. These 2 x 6 braces also serve as the ladder to get up into the loft, one which has almost 4 ft. of headroom in the center. The base, overall, is about 5.5′ by 8′ long. Very tiny, but its a welcomed challenge in terms of design. We’re actually going to stuff a tiny, tiny bathroom in it too (for us in future workshops as well). We also haven’t added our great little stained glass window, the recycled window (awning style) on the back end, and a home-built couch/murphy bed that I plan on fitting on the “main floor.” I know, I know, it sounds impossible, but it will work-
AND will sleep FOUR, when done. As for when those inhabitants are conscious, that might be another ballgame in such a small space….
Speaking of which…..
OUR NEXT TINY HOUSE BUILDING WORKSHOP……
Steven Harrell of tinyhouselistings.com and tinyhouseswoon.com (who came up to hang, swing a hammer, and chat to the group) and I have been talking for quite some time about doing a workshop/collaborative build, with guest speakers, hands-on carpentry, campfire discussions, some BBQ action perhaps, and group design elements. Well, it looks like we might be pulling the trigger on this in North Carolina, in April.
Tentative weekend of workshop, which you can list- April 26-28th in WILMINGTON, NC (to be confirmed soon)…..3 Days, Hands-On Building, Guest Speakers, A Collaborative Tiny House Project, Campfire Discussions/Sessions, Guest Builders, Salvage-Construction Techniques, and MORE, all hosted by Deek w/ Steven Harrell of Tinyhouselistings/TinyHouseSwoon. 25 attendees is going to be the limit, so we can keep things more intimate. More details to come at www.relaxshacks.com AND www.tinyhouselistings.com. We are taking reservations now. kidcedar at gmail dot com for more info.
I had previously designed a tiny guest house/office for Steven’s blog work, and I think this will serve as a great chance for many people to get their feet wet, meet other tiny-house-obsessed folks from all parts of the country, and well, learn a heck of alot. Yes, you will be swinging hammers, sawing wood, and helping us to design and tweak this “blog cabin.” This particular one is about 100 square feet in size.
I had SO much fun with this last workshop, that I really can’t wait to host another.
I’m also hosting upcoming workshops for The Tumbleweed Tiny House Workshop in:
and shootin’ some content/shows, as a host, for the DIY Network now- more to come on that. ALL stuff I’ve designed and built. (And I’m looking for photos of your project/builds for another book in the works). This will be a loosely-tied follow-up to my book “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks“.
-Derek “Deek” Diedricksen
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