DIY Tiny House Builder Looking for Space to Park & Dwell – Share Your Tiny Living Story Too!
Hi Alex and Tiny House Newsletter readers, I have been a fan of Tiny House Talk for almost a year now and I really appreciate you bringing the tiny house community together like you have.
I started building my tiny house in January and it will be livable by this December. My fiancee and I are Senior college students at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA and we will be getting married on January 2.
We would like to live in our tiny house for our last semester of college in the spring but are having trouble finding a place to put our tiny house to live in from January to May. After we graduate in May we can really go anywhere but would like to look in Maryland, particularly around the Baltimore/DC area because that is where our family is.
DIY Tiny House Builder Looking for Dwelling/Parking Space
Image © Austin Eschenwald
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Right now I’d like to take you on a virtual tour during my visit to an up and coming tiny house community in an Orlando, Florida RV Park (College Park Village) where Emily Lindahl, of Emily’s Tiny Adventure, is currently living simply in Elaine Walker’s tiny home.
I was glad to see so many people in Florida interested in the tiny house movement. There were over 300 people who came to the Florida Tiny House Enthusiasts Meet Up. Wow!
Orlando Florida Tiny House Community Meet Up
Image © Alex Pino
I encourage you to watch, enjoy and re-share my quick video recap of the event below:
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I had to share this story with you on a couple who has been living simply in a tiny house for the last six months and counting.
Christopher Derek and Betty Ybarra have been living in this micro cabin since December 2013. And it’s all of just 98 sq. ft.
The formerly homeless couple now have a solid roof over their heads. They park on the street and are required to move every two days to be compliant with city laws.
Formerly Homeless Couple Living Simply in Tiny House
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I’m so excited to feature this video tour of Brian Levy’s 210 sq. ft. one-level modern tiny house on wheels at Boneyard Studios thanks to Derek Diedricksen of RelaxShacks.com.
Brian designed his own tiny home because there was no set of plans out there that really met his needs.
So he ended up with a design that perfectly suits his needs. It has a big kitchen, downstairs bed, and all the amenities of home. And he built it using SIPs (Structurally Insulated Panels).
Deek Takes you to Brian’s 210 Sq. Ft. Modern Tiny House
Enjoy the full video tour below:
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Since 1997, Jay Shafer has been wowing the world with his incredible tiny house designs. In 2002 he co-founded the Small House Society with Gregory Johnson.
Last year he split with his original company, Tumbleweed, and founded Four Lights Tiny House Company. “I’m always fidgeting with how to make spaces more efficient,” says Jay. Today he’s working on constantly improving ways to make his tiny houses as flexible as possible so you can adjust the homes to your needs as easily as possible.
Don’t miss other incredible tiny houses like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!
Jay shares his latest tiny house design ideas with you
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I thought I’d share this tiny house community that’s been around for more than 100 years in Toronto with you.
It started many years ago when for less than 100 dollars you could buy a lot and you were sold the lumber to build your own home.
It is located in Craven Road in Toronto and the houses are all under 500 square feet.
Tiny house community in Toronto that’s more than 100 years old
Photo Credit: Rick Madonik/Toronto Star
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In the tiny house community we are often talking about the various building codes around the country, and the world, and how they affect tiny spaces. Tiny house bloggers often get asked the question “do you know the building codes in [my city]?”
Building codes are so location specific that they can vary greatly mile by mile. The only way to know for sure about the building codes in your area is to talk to the local government. Unfortunately, you can’t be surprised when they tell you that you can’t live in a tiny house where you want.
Fixing Tiny House Codes and Zoning
Tiny house builders do many things to get around this issue. Some will pick a location because of the friendly nature of the building codes. Some will build on wheels so the house can be moved if it ever becomes a problem. Some will build on unincorporated country land that isn’t likely to strictly enforce codes.
There is one more option that I’m not sure any of us have really considered.
Running for local government.
Click below to read more about my crazy ideas for extreme tiny house code reform.
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With the surge in interest in tiny houses, and the growth of a “tiny house community” online, there has been increased interest in the development of real-world tiny house communities.
Image credit: Four Lights Tiny House Company
Probably the most serious effort so far is the “Napoleon Complex” tiny house village being developed by Jay Shafer’s Four Lights Tiny House Company. It consists of 16-22 units per acre, with communal facilities including parking and a common house.
But people have many motivations for building tiny houses, and one model might not work for everyone. In this article, I talk about three general approaches to tiny house communities, and the pros and cons of each.
Rural life and tiny houses
For some tiny house builders, the countryside represents an escape from what they see as the overly restrictive requirements, and hectic atmosphere, of cities and towns.
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One of my favorite things about doing email is the interesting tiny house ideas that come in while reading and replying to messages. Today I received the following email from a reader:
Have you done anything with Habitat on Tiny Homes. I have worked with people at church that are trying to get back on there feet and are single. They would love to own a home but would have no need for a full house. A tiny home subdivision on a bus route seems to me a viable idea. Big cities needing low income workers that want the respectability of owning a home.
Let me know if you have any input on this idea.
This got me thinking. What about a tiny house subdivision somewhere that is within a bus route for single people? Maybe small patches of tiny home communities can spring up within current communities. In a separate area from the rest of the homes there.
Tiny House Community Solution: Subdivisions?
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