Tiny Houses

By Laura LaVoie Before building a tiny house, the most home improvement work I had ever done was painting. But that was the draw of doing something that I had never done before. There were two of us, which made the process easier, but that doesn’t stop most tiny house builders from moving forward. Our [...]

Kanga Room Systems creates modern prefab tiny houses that I think you might like. They are a housing company in Austin, Texas and their units can be used for working, living, or backyard studios. In addition, they build playhouses, add-on rooms, and cabins. Customers can assemble the parts themselves or they can pay extra for [...]

By Laura LaVoie Someone asked me the other day what the advantages were of small houses versus apartment living? Why, she asked, would someone prefer living in a small house rather than renting an apartment? Certainly one is not superior over the other. The simple answer comes down to preference, but here are some other [...]

This 8′ x 26′ tiny house on a trailer is being built by Bob Pritts of East Tennessee. It has a country cottage style to it and is being constructed on a 26′ trailer. At approximately 208 square feet it’s going to be his retirement home. With no mortgage or rent, it’s going to help [...]

Do you ever wonder how a tiny house is built strong enough to be towed without warping or incurring any type of damage due to strong winds? In our last webinar, we talked briefly about what’s known as Simpson Strong Ties. Also known as Seismic Strong Ties. They’re sometimes called Hurricane Ties too. You use [...]

By Laura LaVoie Building a tiny house started out as a very personal journey for me.  As time went on we were asked to help a small organization in South Africa build a shelter for kids. To be honest, volunteering with a non-profit organization had never been on my radar screen before but sometimes the [...]

This is Art’s SIP Tiny House on Wheels. SIP stands for Structurally Insulated Panels. They come pre-manufactured with insulation and everything. All you have to do is put the panels together. Don’t worry, at the bottom half of this article, you’ll see how it’s all done. The outside of Art’s house was covered with 100-year-old [...]

This tiny bunk house is essentially a stick built travel trailer. It’s 8′ by 6’4″ and was just built in 2012 using a heavy duty trailer frame. The bearings, rims, and tires were all replaced and 2×3 construction was used throughout. All joints and siding were glued and screwed and it has a brand new [...]

Today’s topic is on heating in a tiny house overnight.. Do you leave the heat on or turn it off while you sleep? Since I was born and raised in Florida, I’ve hardly ever had to use heat.. So I wanted to direct this issue to the community (you). The question came up thanks to [...]

As much as we try to plan our lives it’s true that there will always be curve balls. Events that put us in situations that we’ve never dreamed of. Sometimes these happenings can be great gifts and learning experiences, but they can also be big burdens. Yet those burdens are challenges we that we must [...]

By Laura LaVoie I just got back from Dragon*Con, the largest fan-run Scifi/Fantasy convention in the US, which is held in Atlanta every Labor Day Weekend. The convention is split between five hotels in downtown and there is always something interesting going on while you’re there. I’ve been attending for the last 6 years and [...]

I recently read Carrie’s post over at Clothesline Tiny Homes and they’ve found a new parking spot in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Back in March 2012, I introduced you to Carrie and Shane of Clothesline Tiny Houses. One of the most interesting parts about living in a tiny home on wheels is that you can move [...]

Emmanuelle sent me a message letting me know that she has a new tiny house for sale in NY. It’s a 120-square-foot space built on a 16′ flatbed utility trailer. The framing in the house is reinforced with hurricane straps so it’s built strong enough to be towed. It’s a tiny house shell ready to [...]

This is a tour of a Seattle Tiny Home on Wheels with Derek “DEEK” Diedricksen of Relaxshacks.com. You’ll even see Jay Shafer and Dee Williams appear sporadically in the video too since this tour was held at a Tumbleweed Tiny House Workshop. It’s a really unique design and the little home features a kitchen, bathroom, [...]

How would you feel about being locked up in a tiny house for 6 days? I love tiny homes, especially the one you’re about to see here, but I don’t like being locked up anywhere. But I think you’ll enjoy this little adventure in downtown Seattle. They had everyday people go on a key hunt [...]

By Aaron Non-combustible construction in relation to Tiny Houses In response to Kim’s tiny house fire, I decided to write the following article that it may save some grief to others by discussing an alternative to wood for construction methods of tiny houses. While this article primarily discusses steel framing compared to wood framing, framing [...]

Wanted to show you this $19,000 Tiny Cabin on a Trailer. Just 128-square-feet in size with RV-style faux wood interior. The kitchenette has a plugin two-burner stove, microwave, and small refrigerator. It’s located in Tennessee and does include the all-so-common upstairs sleeping loft to use as a bedroom. It’s difficult to tell what was used [...]