How Long Does It Take To Build A Tiny House (Part 1) In building our 28′x8’6″ tiny house on a trailer, we have been keeping track of how many hours have gone into each task. Here are some points to keep in mind when reviewing this time log: Andrew has been building professionally for nearly 20 years. Nearly all of the tasks so far were completed by Andrew working alone. Some surprises have been how long it took to install the rigid foam insulation on our walls (10.5 hours). Another pleasantry has been how much has been accomplished in the time we have been building. In 117.5 hours we have a home that is just a few hours away from being able to be occupied if we so choose. Next steps are to complete the second loft, frame the bathroom wall, and cover the wheel wells (we used a drop axle trailer to gain an extra 9″ of head space which you can read about here). Here are updated photos of what our panelling looks like after having been painted.
9 Great Ways To Use A Tiny House (Other Than As A Home) Whether you call them tiny houses, micro-homes, or mini houses, ultra-small buildings are rapidly gaining popularity for those who want to downsize and minimalize their personal environmental footprint. It's refreshing to see so many people choosing a different path for their day-to-day living experience than the conventional oversized dwellings that make up the bulk of the houses on the market. Living in a tiny house can reap dividends beyond just being able to get to mortgage-free sooner and cutting utility bills down to size, as learning to live more simply and minimally can offer a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that isn't easily found in any other living environment. But for those who think, "I could never live in a house that small," tiny houses also easily lend themselves to a range of other uses, none of which require living in them full-time. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
A Sewer Catastrophe Companion Hay, Holy Cow! Bovine Eats Way into Buried Concrete Home Everything about this project is bizarre and inspired, from the way the initial concrete-and-hay mass was poured (into the very soil itself) to the calf that grew into a cow over months of ‘chewing out’ the hay-filled interior spaces of this wild little one-of-a-kind home. As an architectural photographer, there is no doubt that Roland Halbe (who shots these stellar images)has seen some strange and amazing structures and building designs in his day – but this ‘Truffle House’ by Anton Garcia-Abril of Ensamble Studio may blow the rest away. But to fully understand this awesome project, it may be best to start from the beginning: it may be tiny, but constructing it was no small feat. A hole was dug and a rough mound of dirt was piled up around it. The center of the resulting void was filled with hay bales, while the perimeter – a space between the soil and straw – was left for poured concrete.
Solutions To The Top 5 Tiny House Limitations by Gabriella Morrison Do you want to live tiny but are worried about having to make too many sacrifices in space and comfort? We were too but can say with total confidence and from experience that with the right design and house size choice, you can go tiny and still live extremely comfortably. We will assume that if you are reading this article on TinyHouseBlog.com that you share some (if not all) of the same dreams, goals, and values that we do. Living a life that is mortgage/rent inexpensive or free, that is abundant in time for travel, hobbies, family and friends, that is peaceful and harmonious is what we have been working towards for decades. Here’s the kicker: to our surprise we have not felt, at any point, that we have had to make any compromises or sacrifices in our self designed and built home. Here are the common areas in a conventional tiny house that typically pose significant compromises/sacrifice and how we found a solution for each:
TINY Barely There If not for the dawn appearance of the bear, which came loping toward Maem Slater-Enns and her then six-month-old daughter as they sat contemplating the water, the Enns family might still be residing in tents at their remote island summer home on Shoal Lake, which straddles the borders of Manitoba and Ontario. Instead, they are lightly sheltered by graceful pavilions hand-built by her husband, Herbert Enns, a professor of architecture at the University of Manitoba, where he also directs the experimental media program. The couple purchased the 24-acre island soon after returning from a trekking stint in Ethiopia, Kenya, India, and Nepal, when they experienced a classic traveler’s epiphany: “Canada’s greatest aspect is its landscape—and having this wild, remote place was more important than owning a house,” says Herbert. In some ways, the cabins feel more embedded in the surroundings than the tents ever did. “There’s nowhere to ride out a storm,” says Maem.
Gain 9" Of Head Space In Your Tiny House In building our 221 square foot tiny house on a trailer, we were able to incorporate design details that gave us an extra 9″ of head room without even breaking a sweat. In a tiny house built on a trailer, the head height is limited by national road height allowances. Making the most of every last inch of head room on your build is thus vital. When designing and building our own 221 square foot tiny house, I spent a lot of time researching options available to us to give us the most height in our two lofts. As a result we were able to create an extra 9″ that will go into our loft head heights. Typically, most tiny houses are being built on “deck-over trailers”, “utility trailers”, and using “standard axles”. convenient in that it has a flat deck on which to frame your walls. A utility trailer, although lower to the ground than a deck-over, is limited in width. To get around these limitations and gain an extra 9″ of height, I decided to have our trailer custom built. 1. 2.
Resources Natural Builders and Architects Cobworks, a company specializing in the construction of cob and natural building courses. (Canada) Econest, architect and builders specializing in timber frame/light straw-clay construction (Canada & US) Elke Cole, teacher, designer and consultant for natural building (Canada) Tiny Green Cabins - Tiny homes on trailers made for the chemically sensitive. Bright Green Solutions - Tiny homes on trailers can be custom made for the chemically sensitive. Green Isle Homes - Natural builders in BC Canada Swanson Associates - Non-toxic mobile homes - (US) Safe Shelters - Non-toxic custom made tiny homes (US) Leslie Lawrence - Consultant for non-toxic tiny home builders For information on building safe metal homes check out Tiny Home Book Set. Non-Toxic Modular Homes Ecobuilt Systems - Non-toxic domes that you assemble on site. Clean Air Yurts - Non-toxic yurts you assemble on site. Resources on Chemical-Free Building Prescriptions For A Healthy House, 3rd Edition MCS Treatment
log cabin, log cabins, log house, camping pods, www.logcabins.lv Archive Our Guest Cabin by Jacquelien Wubs We live in a very small house with 5 kids. My parents live 1200km away and like to come visit a couple of times a year. When we saw an advertisement for this (unfinished) cabin/shed the wheels started turning and the ideas began forming. What if we built a tiny guest house for mom and dad? We wanted them to have full bathroom facilities and a queen size bed (on the main floor). I love how it turned out and I hope you do to! We chose to go with electric heat as it would cost too much to have a gas line put in place. We have a living area with love seat, built-in bookcase and electric fireplace. There is a trap door in the floor of the bathroom that can be lifted for access to the “basement” where you can put suitcases, etc. We tried to utilize every square inch to make a comfortable and fully functioning home away from home for my parents and any one else who would like to come and visit!
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