Friday, November 13, 2009

Tiny House Updates

I have a heater.
I have blueprints (sort of).
I have lumber, insulation, roofing, T1-11, nails and more. Home Depot is now my favorite store.
I have a (beautiful) door and 6 windows. I need one more (egress window for my loft).
I have picked the color and theme. Barn red with a gambrel roof.
I have recruited my building crew.
I have a start date. November 21, 2009!

And some may laugh, call me crazy, obsessive, or say I have too much time on my hands, but I built a scaled model of my tiny house. Its got everything, including windows ('glass' with the grids-a must have) IKEA storage, ladder to loft, sofabed with storage, a toilet, shower, kitchen, and closet space. I could. not. wait. any. longer! And it helped me tremendously when I brought it places and explained what I was doing and what I needed! By the way, its built with the cardboard boxes from the children's new Leapsters. More pics to come!

My Dad is still my biggest fan, but I have another one too. He's helpful, excited, and a huge source of knowledge about tiny houses on a trailer, because he built one himself! My Uncle Norm has been a huge asset to this project of mine and I would not be this far along without his help! He has sat down with me to figure out my needs and resources for them, given me ample ideas on how to save and utilize every inch, and cut the rails off my trailer. He's solar power savvy and will be hooking my Harper Joy up in the spring (when I can afford it!) He gave me my first gifts for my house, a propane detector and a ceiling fan! Thanks Norm ~ you are greatly appreciated!
I would like to share some background information on my tiny house adventure. I didn't just decide one day to build a tiny house for the heck of it. You see, I have always loved small things. I like the tiny version of anything, babies being my favorite 'small' version of something. :) I have known for sometime now, 5 years anyway, that I wanted a small house. While I didn't know it would be this tiny, its been in the cards for a while. When I saw Elizabeth Turnbull's tiny home in June in a magazine, the wheels in my head started turning! My house will be 144 square feet, 216 if you count the loft.
In more recent years, I have come to appreciate going green. I think of the everyday ways I waste and consume more than I need, and quite frankly it stresses me out. My goal for 2009 was to purge and only spend money on travel and education. I did this, well I might add, and have become addicted to it! Ask my friend Joy, its like Christmas every time I go to her house! Save water, produce less trash, reduce, reuse, recycle, and less is more have all become thoughts as I brush my teeth, shop, and purge unneeded stuff. I'll be completely off grid with solar power, a composting toilet, and propane heat.
Next, I love barns. The old building (including the farmhouse) where people use to work and make a living, along with the quaint feel is exciting to me. Something about it feels like home. My tiny house will be barn red, with a gambrel roof and look like a tiny barn.
I have always loved and wanted a loft in my house someday. One problem I kept struggling with is "how can I justify the wasted space?" I'm talking about the ceiling area the loft creates opposite it where heat rises and is wasted. Well folks, I found my answer to that problem because if your loft is only 4 feet at its highest point, and your house is only 11 feet, there isn't much wasted space!
Solar power is another great way to be green, as I'll be getting my energy from the sun! Where my space and need for energy is small, the solar gear I need will only be a little bit expensive (compared to a normal $20,000 set up for a regular house). Its been a goal of mine since graduating college to own/build my own home, and this tiny version allows me to do just that with the solar power to boot!
So, there you have it, the road to where I am now was paved with loves and losses ~ literally and figuratively! Isn't it always the case with anything worth waiting for?!

1 comment:

Helena said...

Good for you, I will follow your work. I am also building myself a house on wheels but my start date is after the winter. What a asset to have some in the nearby that already have buildt one. Here in sweden I don´t know anyone that have done this. Like your model :D