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My Top 7 Tiny House Books for 2013


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This year a lot has happened in the world of tiny houses including quite a bit of new books.

In this post I wanted to share some of my new favorites with you along with some of the classics.

Some of these books will inspire you with photos and others will be filled with valuable how to information.

You might still be gathering ideas for your future home or you might be eager to build up your construction skills.

Either way some of these books, if you don’t already own them, should help inspire you towards your dream tiny house.

1. Tiny House Magazine by Kent Griswold

tiny-house-magazine

How to get the latest issues of the Tiny House Magazine

I encourage you to enjoy the rest of the tiny house books list below:

2. Tiny House Construction Guide by Dan Louche

Tiny-House-Construction-Guide

Get the Construction Guide in Softcover or eBook format

3. Tiny Home Simple Shelter by Lloyd Kahn

tiny-homes-simple-shelter

Get your copy of Tiny Homes Simple Shelter by Lloyd Kahn

4. The Cob Builders Handbook by Becky Bee

The-Cob-Builders-Handbook

Get your own copy of The Cob Builders Handbook

5. Tiny House Floor Plans by Michael Janzen

tiny-house-floor-plans-front-cover

Get more than 200 tiny house floor plans and interior design ideas

6. Cracking the Code + Tiny House Building Cheat Sheet

cracking-the-code-for-tiny-houses tiny-house-building-cheat-sheet-book-small

Get your own copy of the Tiny House Building Cheat Sheet and/or the Guide to Building Codes & Zoning for Tiny Houses

7. Coming Home: Letters from a Tiny House by Hari Kaur Berzins

coming-home-letters-from-a-tiny-house-family

Read Hari and her family’s experience while living in a tiny house as a family in her book

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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!
{ 8 comments… add one }
  • LaMar
    August 18, 2013, 2:17 pm

    Good to see more people sharing their tiny house ideas!

    Lloyd Kahns books are what inspired me and I was very honored to have my cabin included in his latest book.

    My book is a few years old now “Ultimate Off grid guide” is about small off grid home and homestead living and is 355 ages full color.

    It has been very popular and over 25000 copies in peoples hands. Article reviews in 3 magazines and featured this fall in Backwoodsman.

    My new book “Ten Tiny Cabins for off grid living” will be out by first of year.

    Keep up the good work guys and lets help everyone to see the fun and simplicity of tiny living!

    LaMar

  • Joe3
    August 19, 2013, 2:22 am

    I purchased the softcover “Tiny House Construction Guide by Dan Louche “

    • libertymen
      August 19, 2013, 7:45 am

      So how was it?
      Detailed,good info?
      I bought the Lloyd Khan book,
      I would skip that one.
      Lots of pics of hippy houses,nothing for info.

      • Joe3
        August 19, 2013, 8:26 am

        Basic information, nothing I didn’t already know…I was seeking structural info r/t moving & wind loads associated with traveling or moving a small home to prevent it from racking or twisting.
        I don’t feel hurricane clips may be enough to stop movement.

        • June 24, 2014, 11:07 am

          clips/straps are insufficient…they are primarily engineered to address uplift. Bracing is what is needed to counter lateral forces. The trick, it seems to me, is to brace adequately without adding too much weight. Perhaps, some form of aluminum bracing/cross bracing is a possible solution.

        • Joe3
          June 24, 2014, 2:05 pm

          I remember renovating some homes built in the 1920s, at each corner there angular 1 x 4s cut into the top header and studs from the top corner and ending at the floor joist, maybe at a 45 degree angle. That would help racking, I wonder if that would be sufficient to counter the lateral loads?

        • June 24, 2014, 8:10 pm

          Joe:
          You’re Absolutely correct. Those little “x-bracing” members distribute the main loads from the trusses and allow the roof to act as a diaphragm….as opposed to forcing the sheathing/substrate to distribute the loads from truss to truss. The thing is to maybe think about using some lightweight aluminum bracing instead of wood. I mean, I don’t know…I’m just throwing it out there as food for thought…I’m sure a structural engineer would be able to arrive at a much more elegant solution…lol…what do I know….I’m just a dumb ol’ architect. 😉

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