Grant from the far northern suburbs of Chicago sent me pictures that he took of Jay’s open house at the Hilton in downtown Chicago. Here is Grants commentary:
***Note– still need photos from Iowa – Thank you!
A nice overview of the Fencl. From here you can see the exhaust port of the marine heater, as well as an access cover for the conventional 6 gallon rv style water heater. When asked, Jay simply said “I don’t remember why we didn’t do a tankless water heater, but we had a good reason.”
Jay Shafer, owner, lead designer, and primary build of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, smiles for the camera while politely answering all questions thrown as him. He struck up a conversation with a young architecture student whom specializes in disaster relief housing in South East Asia.
Jay describes how smoothly the house travels. Questions asked included how hard was it to downsize (apparently not very), If there was anything which you missed from full size living (anything important enough, he made space for), and how much work does it take to make a lived in home ready to travel. The answer to that being not much, as the vast majority of the user storage is right over the axles.
A close up of the Marine stove which Jay uses on most of their homes. This little guy, with a flame not much bigger than a pair of candles keeps the whole home toasty and warm.
A close up of the heater exhaust port. Much smaller than a conventional chimney.
A view of the back of the loft, from the ladder. At 6’3 I was supprised by the size of the house. Not once did I have to duck in order to fit in some places. Only here, when I tried to turn around, to view the great room did I feel cramped. If you’re as large as I am, this is only going to be for in and out, not turning.
As an interesting side note, the house has not one but two ladders facing each other letting someone climb up with a foot on either side of the main hallway.
A view of the kitchen, showing the two burner gas range and refrigerator. There is quite of bit of cabinet space under the sink. This model didn’t have any hanging cabinets, but including some would provide plenty of space of a toaster and microwave oven. the water heater is in the right corner.
A view of the bathroom, from the shower, looking tward the rear of the home. From here you can see the RV style toilet, with it’s pedal style flushing system. You can also see a nook for all your bathroom necessities. Just one of the many nice small touches in this home.
Another view of the bathroom, this time from the toilet looking to the front. A full shower, 3 foot squared makes sure you don’t feel closed in. However, at 6’3, my head only cleared the ceiling in this part by about two inches. That put the shower spigot at about eye level, and the shower head at my chin.
Another look at the side of the house with me, just to get some scale. The home is 8 feet wide, and about 16 feet long. The total height is about 13 and a half feet, which is the legal limit on highways without a permit. Jay admitted that he has concerned with driving in the city due to the many low bridges and overpasses. Thankfully it seems he didn’t have to much of a issue.
A similar view from the other side.
A close up of the traler hitch. Here you can see the propane gas line, ready for some portable tanks,. You can also see what looks like a garden water spigot. This is actually the water main line, which you can power with a garden hose and a female to female coupler.
A side view showing the gray water (from the shower and the sink) and the black water (from the toilet) drains. Ready for hookup to either permanent or RV style hookups.
Another close up of the hitch area. Here you can see a gray box which is used for the electrical connection. The house is wired with a single 15 amp 110V circuit which is all coming from this little port. the plug is a perfectly conventional 3 prong US standard. No need for less common 3 phase or 220V connections here.
Jay’s Fencl as we left, a stark contrast of the concrete parking lots and Skyscrapers of downtown Chicago. Maybe even a bit of sensibility in a land of urban madness.
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