This post is for you if you’re interested in how the construction of a tiny house on a trailer works.

It’s a time lapse video based on pictures taken during the building process of Joanna’s tiny house on wheels.

She used the Tumbleweed Tarleton Plans as a base and then made her own customizations to the design to better suit her needs.

According to the comments on her YouTube video, the cost to build it was approximately $23,000.

Joanna purchased a 7′ x 18′ trailer custom made for $2,500 at Fox Trailers in Idaho.

One thing that I also found while reading through the comments on her video is that she really appreciates her porch. Here, you can read the comment yourself below.

I encourage you to read the rest of this post, including her construction video & comments, below: [continue reading…]

You probably have never heard of the Mulfinger tiny house before. It’s one of Jay Shafer’s old Tumbleweed tiny house designs, but it’s no longer available. The design is simple and elegant, like all of Jay’s work.

You are greeted with a porch and everything is perfectly symmetrical. Since this home is not on a trailer, it’s wider and therefore much more spacious. Once you walk in the kitchenette is to your left and table to your right. The ceilings are vaulted so it feels light, bright, and open. The windows really help with this effect too.

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Mulfinger Tiny Cottage

Photos Courtesy of Mark Terrano

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I hope you’re looking for something unusual today because this tiny house isn’t normal. And with this unique shelter comes an interesting story. Loren Amelang purchased land in California in the 1970s. Later in his life, he decided to move into the property full time because he was tired of the corporate world.

The old cabin/barn on the land was in no condition to live in and safely hold any electronics or store food. In fact, it was originally a sheep barn from about 100 years ago. So he decided to build a small shack under the roof of this barn using both new and reclaimed plywood. Loren ended up with an 8′ by 12′ shed and this served as home for a few years. He built the whole thing himself and recalls, “It was wonderful. That was actually one of the happiest times of my life.”

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Tiny House Built Inside of a Barn!

Once you walk inside, it looks like a normal barn. Then there’s this tiny plywood structure and that’s the house. I encourage you to read the rest of the post and watch the video below: [continue reading…]

I’m glad this post caught your attention because I believe it’s really important in regards to tiny houses and the future.

Right now the United States requires homes in most areas to be 1,000 square feet or larger. We feel that this attempts to standardize bigger homes and that it forces Americans into more debt.

Larger homes lead to bigger loans, more furniture, higher taxes, and overall- more debt. I’m not saying that normal or “big” houses are bad, I’m just saying we shouldn’t be forced into them and we deserve better options.

It’s important for citizens to have access to affordable, manageable homes so that they can get ahead and flourish in our country.

In addition, with everything we have been learning about the environment, our economy, and advances in technology, now more than ever- we need a better perspective of what the “American Dream” really is.

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In an effort to bring this petition to the desk of the President for review, I’m asking for your help and support to gather 25,000 signatures by April 27, 2012 so that the White House will review and respond.

Below is a copy of what the Petition reads:

WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:
Require States to Reform Zoning Codes to Allow Tiny Home Structures under 1000 square feet
The 1000+ sq foot zoning requirements currently in place in most states, were initiated by lenders/municipalities, in an attempt to force Americans to build bigger homes, thus incurring larger debt (so lenders could make more$) and municipalities could charge higher taxes.This practice limits the ability of Americans to achieve the “American Dream” of home ownership in a structure size that suits their needs.There is a growing trend to build smaller homes but it is difficult because of these restrictions. Laws requiring homes to be1000+ sq feet are unconstitutional and should be abolished. States should be required to remove these laws so that more families can live within their financial means, in a structure that suits their needs, and supports their environmentally held beliefs.

Created: Mar 28, 2012
Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties, Environment, Housing

Sign the petition right now over at the White House / Obama Administration Website. Thank you so much for your support.

 

Sources

1. www.youtube.com/embed/omX_d7MfUdw?rel=0

 

After you “Like” below and use the buttons to spread the word, go sign the petition and talk about it in the comments below. Thank you!

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I just recently got to write a guest blog for Tumbleweed Tiny Houses on How to Simplify Your Wardrobe Right Now.

I take you through a simple four-step process that I’ve used to downsize my own wardrobe.

Plus I show you a little secret that you’re probably already doing every week to find your absolute favorite clothes easily and automatically.

If you see yourself in a tiny house in the future, your wardrobe’s gotta get simplified, so I thought you’d find this article helpful.

I’ll also be talking about simplifying your life (fast!) more in depth, for the first time, over at Tumbleweed’s Miami tiny house workshop that’s being led by Derek “DEEK” Diedricksen of RelaxShacks.com, author of “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks”.

You can read my guest blog post on Tumbleweed’s site so you can get your clothing situation under control.

This backyard tiny house in Austin, TX is available for you to rent.

It’s meant for vacation and is located in the heart of Austin, Texas.

The little cottage is located minutes away from cafes, bars, and food trailers.

You can even walk or use a bike to get to the convention center, a bike trail, and a lake.

Up to four people can sleep in it and it has a mini refrigerator, microwave, hot water kettle, coffee maker, and a toaster.

You can’t see it in the photos, but there’s a patio with lawn chairs you can relax in.

Downtown is a 10-15 minute walk where you can find restaurants, nightlife, cafes, shops, and food trailers.

Enjoy the photos below then visit the listing on Airbnb for this tiny house so you can see the rest of the pictures and learn about how to book a stay here if you wanted to.

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In my neighborhood, there are a few grandfathered-in tiny cottages that I’ve found.

Almost all of them are guest houses to a much larger home, on the same lot.

And usually, if you keep looking, you can find that they become available for rent once in a while.

A lot of times the only way to find these are to literally walk in front of them and see that there’s a for rent sign.

So we caught this one when it became available for rent but unfortunately, they didn’t allow us to have dogs so we couldn’t move in.

But at least I got to take some pictures of it with my wide angle lens and an iPhone. Hope you enjoy.

And yup – my photos of this tiny cottage were featured on Tiny House Swoon just the other day. Go check that out!

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And yup – my photos of this tiny cottage were featured on Tiny House Swoon just the other day.

 

If you enjoyed this post, “Like” it and share using the buttons below and talk about it in the comments. Thanks!

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A few days ago I received this email about the Itty Bitty House Company’s tiny house on a trailer post.

The insanely livable tiny house is almost $300/sq/ft.  In my region, that’s insanely expensive ;-).  My insurance company tags my stick-built ‘big’ house at $100/sqft replacement.

And for the most part, that statement is true, wouldn’t you think? But why? There has to be a reason for that, right? Big houses, when looked at from the perspective of cost per square feet, are cheaper. But what about maintenance costs?

It turns out that square footage is relatively cheap to make more of in a home. Especially with ‘big’ houses since materials like drywall and inexpensive flooring are used.

The real big costs are in windows, appliances, heat/cooling, plumbing, and electrical wiring if you don’t know how to do those last two yourself.

A perfect example of this is seen in Tumbleweed’s lineup of tiny houses. Their XS-House, at 65-square feet, would cost you $16,000 in materials to build it yourself. But If you purchased it ready made from Tumbleweed it would cost you $38,997 because you’re paying for someone else to do ALL of the labor.

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