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When Matt and I decided we wanted to build a tiny house we weren’t familiar with many designers. In 2009 we bought original Jay Shafer plans for the Tarleton model. Originally designed to be built on a trailer, the Tarleton, like many of Jay’s other designs, featured a loft space for sleeping. Having never built anything before, besides a shower platform which is terminally unsquare, we wanted to follow the plans as closely as possible.

Photo by Laura M. LaVoie

Photo by Laura M. LaVoie

A loft never seemed like a bad idea for us.

Our loft, which is over the kitchen and the bathroom space, is a little bit bigger than the original design. This is because we built our home on a foundation which allowed it to be slightly larger than the footprint of a trailer.

Once the loft was complete we needed to make some choices for the design and functionality.

Our first choice was to add FLOR to the loft. FLOR are modular carpet tiles made of recycled fiber and rubber materials. We had always loved the product but because of the expense waited until we were decorating the tiny house to use it. That way we needed less. We chose a bright spring green to add a pop of color to our space and to match the stain we used on the counter tops. And we liked the idea of a soft surface on the loft floor.

Photo by Laura M. LaVoie

Photo by Laura M. LaVoie

As an added bonus, FLOR is durable and Piglet can use it as a de facto scratcher without harming it in any way. We decided to put it on the storage loft floor, the rungs of our ladder, and on her loft access platforms as well.

Read more after the cut.

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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

Photo by Laura M. LaVoie

The steps for building our foundation were:

  1. Map the footprint
  2. Figure out the slope (which goes in two directions)
  3. Use a two-man auger to dig the post holes
  4. Place Sonotubes and measure the height and level of each pier
  5. Mix and pour concrete
  6. Set anchor bolts
  7. Measure and cut 4x4s for the highest posts
  8. Assemble the structure and decking
Photo By Laura M. LaVoie

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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This past weekend, over at the Tiny House Talk Facebook page, Alex reposted my video tour of my tiny house with the question, “Could you cook in this kitchen?”

While there were plenty of positive responses, there were also some questions and concerns about our kitchen I wanted to address right here on Tiny House Talk.

Our Kitchen under construction by Laura M. LaVoie

Our Kitchen under construction by Laura M. LaVoie

Click below to read more about my tiny kitchen.

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