Last year, in a Podcast conversation with Andrew Odom of Tiny Revolution he asked me why we built our tiny house on a foundation rather than wheels. I chuckled because the answer was actually quite boring and practical. Our tiny house is on a mountain and there is a significant slope to the land. We built it on a post a pier foundation to avoid two things: the house rolling down the mountain and having to bring heavy equipment up the mountain to level a spot and pour a slab.
We chose this location because it is where we wanted our tiny house to be.
I won’t lie – the foundation was the single hardest thing we did during our tiny house build. It was a pain to figure out how to build it in three dimensions. Not only did we need it to be square and level but it also needed to be plumb. We agonized over this process and in the end we have a very well-built house that is pretty solid.
Photo by Laura M. LaVoie
The steps for building our foundation were:
- Map the footprint
- Figure out the slope (which goes in two directions)
- Use a two-man auger to dig the post holes
- Place Sonotubes and measure the height and level of each pier
- Mix and pour concrete
- Set anchor bolts
- Measure and cut 4x4s for the highest posts
- Assemble the structure and decking
Photo By Laura M. LaVoie
We had a friend help us with the auger because no matter how tough I pretend to be that huge machine was not something I could handle. Once the holes were dug, though, Matt and I were on our own.
Read more about our construction below.
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Andrew Odom of Tiny r(E)volution and the r(E)vo Convo podcast has released an exciting tiny house ecourse that I wanted you to know about.
It’s a basics course on tiny houses that covers downsizing as well as construction. It’s a 30 day course with a new lesson delivered to you everyday.
This means you can go at your own pace and you can save certain parts for later when you’re more interested in them or more useful to your situation.
I’ve had the pleasure of getting to hear Andrew speak and share his experiences in person while we were at the RelaxShacks.com Wilmington, NC workshop together.
So I can comfortably tell you how valuable I think you’ll find being able to learn from Andrew’s experience as he designed and built his family’s humble home.
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Wanted to share this legally permitted tiny house in Asheville with you today.
It’s a cabin that was built on a foundation with permits and it meets code.
I’ll show you the house below then you can listen to the interview with the owner/designer/builder below.
If you enjoyed this you’ll LOVE our Free Daily Tiny House Newsletter with even more!
Get the rest of the tour below:
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When we first decided we wanted to build our own house we were always interested in some type of alternative living situation. The reasons for this are varied and some are probably rather unexplainable. The best way to articulate it is that we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could live comfortably and inexpensively at the same time.
Before we decided on building an early Tumbleweed Tiny House model we considered some other alternative building solutions like a Cordwood Masonry structure or an Earthship. Our experiences with both of these types of building were based on off the grid systems.
By going off the grid we could reduce our dependency of resources and essentially eliminate our monthly utilities payments. There were some added benefits of being more environmentally conscious but to be perfectly honest these considerations were secondary. The first priority was to build our own home and be able to quit our conventional jobs and not have the expenses that traditional housing requires.
Photo by Laura M. LaVoie
We wanted to live off the grid to prove we could do it.
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I just had to show you this rustic tiny house on wheels because it’s so unique.
Well, it’s not really a house. It’s just a shed on wheels. But here’s a tiny house that has a rustic look to it.
Anyways, this shed has that vintage touch along with the reclaimed/rustic feel.
Built by Bob Bowling Rustics in Whidbey Island, Washington.
It was also featured in The Seattle Times back in 2012.
Please don’t miss other exciting tiny homes – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter!
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Last month Dan and I got to run the first official Tiny Home Builders tiny house workshop together.
And I had a great time getting to be a part of it. Especially interacting with all of the awesome participants we got to have.
We had such a good time, that some of them even shared their thoughts and experiences with us on video.
Besides getting hands on experience, lectures from Dan, and getting questions answered during the workshop we also got to watch some of Dan’s videos during breaks and lunch time.
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To me, it’s not common to get to see so many different styles of tiny houses in one place.
In this case, we’ve got a Spanish style home, a little cottage, an Asian-inspired tiny house and a really small Spanish style adobe cottage.
And they’re all tiny or at least “small” in my opinion. But enough talking, let me have you look for yourself below.
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Diverse Tiny House Community
Photo Credit Airbnb.com
More photos and information below:
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Wanted to show you this tiny treehouse cabin in Italy today.
It’s one of those Airbnb places that you can vacation in.
This particular one is a cabin on stilts surrounded by trees.
The micro home has a full bathroom, bedroom and porch.
All with panoramic views of the hills. They call it Aroma(n)tica.
Enjoy more photos including interior shots below:
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One of our readers (David I. from Vancouver) is sharing his tiny apartment with us today. He lives in a minimalist 452 square foot condo and has done most of the customization and design work himself. When he first moved in the place was completely empty which allowed him to start planning improvements for the space. Below is what it looks like today. Let me turn the story over to him below. 
I moved in with my clothes, kitchen stuff, and a cushion to sleep on. While it was empty I became aware of the space, its limitations, and I started building around it to make it better. [continue reading…]
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