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200 Sq. Ft. Off Grid Tiny House


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This is a 200 sq. ft. off grid tiny house sent in by Andrew Cox.

Hey there, check out my 200 sq. ft. tiny house. It’s hidden in high desert of the Pacific Northwest and is 100% off the grid. Composting toilet, 12 volt power (totally wired and lighted throughout), propane & wood stoves. Easily sleeps 4 and totally set-up for the prepper. Completely over built and over insulated as the weather varies wildly between the negative teens and triple digits. Buttons up nicely for long term storage.

Please enjoy, learn more, and re-share below. Thank you!

200 Sq. Ft. Off Grid Tiny House

Off Grid Cabin 001

Images © Andrew Cox

200 Sq. Ft. Off Grid Tiny House 002 200 Sq. Ft. Off Grid Tiny House 003

Images © Andrew Cox

Interview with Builder

What are the dimensions of the cabin?

Outside dimensions are 10x20x12.5′ high ( the exact dimensions that let you build in the county without a permit)

Did you build it yourself? Who helped?

I hired a contractor after interviewing a ton of guys that could share my vision of long-term storage, low maintenance, and survival of the elements.

How long did it take you to build it?

About 3 weeks. 2 weeks to build and another week to outfit/wire/furnish

How much did it cost you to build?

Just about $18,000 not counting the land. It was $3000 to clear the land and pour the concrete pad and $12,500 to build it. Then $2000 for the super-low clearance wood-stove and pipe. The rest was furniture, the rear cabinet /counter unit, toilete, wireing, etc.

Why did you build it? What’s the main goal for it?

Having a get-away in the desert was the main reason, somewhere for enjoying the sun when the weather is garbage in portland (our home town) and being able to enjoy the stars. The other reason was to have a secondary bug-out location for the immenent zombie invasion (or other disaster)

How long have you been wanting to do this?

I’ve owned the land for a number of years and always wanted to do something with it. One day I just decided to do it. It’s walking distance to an airport and I have a pilot’s license so it’s a good, strategic location.

What’s the best part about the cabin to you?

The best part is the off-the-grid feeling with all the comforts of home while remaining very green. We have a toilet, radio, power, woodstove, solar shower, etc. The only shortfall is packing in your own water for use in the sink. That’s why I have a gutter and rain collection system in case we run out. It’s a very cheap, awesome weekend getaway and is an awesome place to stay on the way to backpacking trips.

What’s the biggest thing you learned from the experience?

The desert is a b****. I have to repaint about every year because the weather is so harsh. The ice wreaks havoc on the concrete and the wind pelts the walls. The sage/juniper takes over if you don’t stay on top of it. ‎It’s the worst conditions for a building the the world. Luckily I knew that going in to it.

Our big thanks to Andrew Cox for sharing!

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 23 comments… add one }
  • CathyAnn
    July 14, 2015, 2:09 pm

    I like what you’ve done, keeping everything to a minimum yet very functional. I find it inspiring.

    Thank you for sharing!

    • Andrew
      February 6, 2016, 4:17 pm

      Thanks Cathy! I appreciate the comment. I love the place!

  • Glema
    July 14, 2015, 4:20 pm

    You might consider stucco for the all but the roof? Rather than painting it so often I mean. It does last longer in hot temps. I was in Southern California and our place was stucco then. Just a thought! Love the “bug out pad” 🙂 God bless and keep you! Thank you for sharing!

  • Lynnette
    July 14, 2015, 5:53 pm

    Toss in a tiny water closet and I’m sold!

  • Josh
    July 14, 2015, 9:16 pm

    Great Idea. The concrete pad gives it a nice sense of permanence and the large roof for water collect was well thought out.

  • Kristina H Nadreau
    September 10, 2015, 4:20 pm

    Finally, a tiny house that is not some air BNB!!!! this is a private place built inexpensively to the exact specs of the owner/user, thus I love it, even tho I would modify some of his choices merely to suit myself. I did not notice anything about an underground water cachement system. I assume that is present or planned for the future. It will not take much to make this into a very comfortable/functional space for full time living when the zombies come.

    • Andrew
      February 6, 2016, 4:21 pm

      Thanks Kristina! I appreciate your comments! I love the place and was actually thinking of air B&B-ing it sometime just to see if people would rent it! Thanks again for the Kudos!

  • Tom Zollinger
    September 11, 2015, 6:20 am

    Beautiful! Who cleaned it for the pix? Is your off grid electric more expensive than you expected?

    • Andrew
      February 6, 2016, 4:23 pm

      Hey Tom, I get down there every couple months and swifter the thing out! The electric set-up is pretty good and the tender panels do a great job. Two deep-cycle optimas always have enough juice to run all night and they charge back up fast with the panels out.

  • TLane
    October 2, 2015, 12:35 am

    Do you have plans you used?
    Do you have construction photos?
    Is there anything you would do differently?

    • Andrew
      February 6, 2016, 4:24 pm

      Hey T, I designed it myself without plans. But I do have construction photos. Email me at [email protected] and i’ll send them to you. Thanks!

  • Theo
    March 2, 2016, 1:23 pm

    Loft bed, outdoor loo. Wonder if that outdoor slab attracts snakes at night on hot nights.

    • Comet
      March 3, 2016, 1:09 am

      Nah—-it only attracts zombies. Apparently this is a real sort of thing in some peoples minds. Too much time in the sun–or too much time watching Walking Dead?

    • Andrew
      March 3, 2016, 7:04 pm

      Hey Theo, there are plenty of snakes, but the slab is solid and this (6″) so nothings getting under there. thanks for the comment!

      • Theo
        March 3, 2016, 7:52 pm

        I wasn’t curious about that, just if snakes were attracted. A few rattlesnakes would definitely make a night-time trip to the loo ‘interesting’, to say the least. One more argument for indoor loos.
        Stupid zombies, indeed.

  • Large Marge
    August 5, 2016, 6:11 pm

    Simple. Competent.

    Coleman camp stove. Thumbs up.

    Snakes are good eatin’. Tastes like chicken. Think it’s creepy? Get over it. This is a BOL.

    Dern zombies!

    The FEMA Block Captains in the office (all of us) add:
    Seriously, after the PNW offshore ‘event’, expect the bowl of Portland to be below sea-level permanently. Your place near a landing strip makes sense. A hundred miles south in Eugene, we anticipate hundreds of thousands of refugees on foot after bridges and overpasses collapse, consuming ev

    • Large Marge
      August 5, 2016, 6:22 pm

      [Rudely interrupted]
      …consuming everything in their path like locusts. And they will head south since bridges over the Columbia may be untrustable, and east is nothing but self-reliant ranchers and Indins.

      You have the right idea, owning and building before the apocalypse, since full-time locals may be, shall we say, reluctant to accept refugees.

      Thumbs up! Have enough ammo? Ha!

      • Andrew
        August 19, 2016, 4:07 pm

        Thanks! I really like it! was thinking of air B&B-ing it as it doesn’t get used a ton. how cool would that be?

  • C Yapes
    August 7, 2016, 5:07 pm

    You might want to look at the products of Ames Reasearch, over in the Salem, Or. area for your exterior wall coatings. Not cheap, but some really great stuff.

  • jean mcconkey
    August 15, 2016, 8:32 am

    what a great site! i have had a dream of building a small cottage for so many years. i am still considering straw bale construction in VA for the simplicity of getting up the walls and perhaps it would be cheaper. i am just starting to look into this, so would be grateful for any comments. we own the land with a big orchard that is our business called Edible Landscaping.

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