The Bolt Together House!

Have you ever thought of going without a car?

I have. Especially since I work out of my apartment.

But even if I didn’t… I remember I used to ride 5 miles to work on a bike on some days and it was great exercise.

Think about it. What if you didn’t have to pay for car insurance, monthly payments, oil changes, gasoline, and repair bills?

For most people, that’s a savings of more than $400 a month. That’s at least $4,800 every year.

That sounds like enough savings to be able to rent a car when you really need one.

On top of that, you’d have better health, stronger legs, a healthier heart, and a bigger smile.

All you have to do is prepare yourself. If the ride’s too long, think about electrically assisted power or using public transportation.

If it rains, get an awesome raincoat. If you need to bring stuff home, get a sweet basket and a kick ass waterproof backpack.

This little illustration says it all. Thank you to whoever created it because it’s inspiring me to put my car on eBay and finally just let it go.

If you’re thinking about living your life without a car, or if you just want to learn how you can use your bicycle way more, grab Tammy Strobel’s book on how to go Car-Less with a Bicycle.

The Fosters’ unique homestead in New York sets a good example for marriages as well as tiny houses. Sandra Foster, 42, shares a rundown 1970s trailer with her husband Todd on a 14-acre property in the Catskill Mountains but each spouse also has a private retreat customized to their personality.

They met over their mutual love of gardening and married in 2000. Todd has two big dogs while Sandra has two Maltese. Todd doesn’t mind mess and grime whereas Sandra likes things to be sparkly clean. This quirky couple doesn’t let their differences get in the way.

After an attempt at refurnishing a huge farm house left them both emotionally exhausted, they bought their current acreage. A rustic hunting cabin on the property caught Sandra’s eye and that was the beginning of the tiny and gorgeous Victorian themed studio that she finds sanctuary in today.

Sandra spent only $3,000 building and furnishing her stylish retreat. Much of the materials she found used in thrift stores, antique shops, salvage yards and on Craigslist. She was able to find classic wavy glass and support columns in vintage stores all over New York.

Though a fiscal administrator in her day to day life, Sandra renovated the cabin completely by herself.

She cut off the front-end of the cabin in order to extend the porch four feet. Tools, materials and furnishings all had to be carried over a rickety bridge spanning a rocky stream and then up a steep hill to reach the construction zone.

While Sandra is adding to her China collection in her prim studio, Todd finds a shed covered by a tarp meets his needs just fine. His retreat features a big screen television, cooking equipment and two heated cages for raising chickens and pheasants.

Sandra and Todd Foster have three tiny living spaces: one for her, one for him and one to share. Rather than fighting each others standards of cleanliness and organization, they’ve found a unique way to live passionate, creative lives side by side.

Written by Newt Stremple for Tiny House Talk

Be sure to visit the original article on this Victorian Tiny House Cottage over at the New York Times.

Photo Credit: Trevor Tondro for The New York Times

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One of our readers, Jean-René Rodrigue, wanted to share his homemade micro camper with you.

It’s a custom built teardrop trailer designed to be 8′ in length, 5′ in width, and 5′ in height on the interior.

Outside it’s length is actually 11′ 8″ and it’s overall height is 6′ 6″.

It weighs an estimated 750 lbs and has a 2,000 lbs axle on it for support.

The flooring was built using fir plywood. The walls are a composite material made out of epoxy-fiberglass and polystyrene foam.

When he added the roof Jean-René went with ultra high molecular weight polyethylene plastic. Interesting!

The trailer framing is all welded steel and as you’ll see, he painted it a really cool lime green color. It’s got a nice shine to it.

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I got an email this morning from one of our readers, Kevin, of CozyHomePlans.com.

Lots of folks think about using metal studs for the construction of tiny houses because of the weight advantages.

Although it’s becoming well-known that the screws can come loose when you tow your tiny house due to the vibration.

So there are some disadvantages to consider, as we’ve learned, and Kevin does a good job of summing it up for us.

Here it is for those of you who are interested in this issue.

Thanks Kevin! I’m passing it over to him:

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If you’re living in any sort of tiny house (whether that be an RV, boat, or shack) and you are having to refill your water supply an ultra low-flow shower head is a great investment.

Thanks to Evan and Gabby, we get to find out which one is the best.

It’s the one they chose for their tiny house on a trailer since their water heater only holds 7 gallons of water.

So it’s also a smart purchase to save on your water heating bill in addition to simply saving on the amount of water you use while taking a shower.

Are you looking for a low-flow faucet as well? For your kitchen/bath? Check these out.

If you want to order your own just visit Amazon.com using this link. You’ll also want to be sure to grab some TFE paste to seal right before installing. This will help prevent a pressured spill.

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I wanted to show you Big Al’s homemade camping trailer.

He has nicknamed it ALVAN the camper caravan.

It’s a pretty simple structure on a 8′ x 4′ trailer chasis that he ordered on eazytrailer.com.au.

Once he put that together he set up a foundation right on the trailer and began framing the walls.

Then he proceeded to add more of the camper’s features like:

• Lounge that folds to double bed
• A pop up roof
• Kitchenette area
• Windows
• Awning
• Aluminum cladding

Photo Credit AlvanH on YouTube

In total the Alvan is 10′ by 5.25′. It can be towed with pretty much any small vehicle since it weighs less than 1000 lbs.

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If you’re interested in living in the mountains, there is a lot of opportunity from Boulder to Granby to Winter Park and everywhere in between.

If, however, you want to scale down your square footage as well as your carbon footprint, a tiny house might be the right fit.

It’s all about planning, so break down the considerations into two categories: mountain living and tiny house living.

Mountain Life

Sewage and water are important considerations. Without a well, water can be tricky to access.

Consider a rain barrel system or, if available, hooking into another homeowner’s well.

Photo Credit iStockPhoto Stock #18455144

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Architect Karl Wanaselja and partner Cate Leger created a unique small house in Berkeley, California.

They call it the McGee House. It consists of 104 salvaged car roofs which cover the upper side walls of the home. The inspiration behind the upper siding came from fish scales.

The lower wall siding is made out of a waste product from the furniture industry in clad form called poplar bark.

The awnings are side windows from America’s best-selling minivan, the Dodge Caravan.

It’s a 2 bedroom home with two levels and a gorgeous upstairs balcony.

From the outside, at just 14′ wide, it appears smaller than it’s actual size.

Photo Courtesy of Nicolas Boullosa

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