Tiny House Blog

Dee Williams

Posted by Steve with Tumbleweed
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on Tuesday, 18 January 2011 in Build it yourself

For six years, Dee Williams has been living in her tiny Tumbleweed home and championed the cause for the Small House Movement.

"I sold my big house and got rid of most of my stuff, limiting myself to about 300 things -- that was everything from heels and a toothbrush, to a couple of dinner plates and a two-ton jack. I then bought a set of plans from Tumbleweed. Four months later I had my tiny dream house."

Dee focused on using recycled materials, and spent just $10,000 building her tiny home. Using her home to promote a shift in consciousness, Dee has been featured on the cover of YES! Magazine, online videos, and opens her home regularly for local house tours. Dee has also written her own eBook called Go House Go. This mini-booklet focuses on how to connect a tiny house to a trailer, and how to keep the walls and roof from twisting, leaning or buckling. Also included is information about moisture control and a common list of building materials.

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0 # D. Phillips 2011-01-19 03:18
How do you have your home insured? Your contents?
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0 # James blodget 2011-01-19 04:31
Just curious where tiny home owners usually park their tiny homes? Do they normally buy acreage or do they travel around because I can't see one of these on a lot in a subdivision.
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0 # Mike 2011-01-19 07:54
Same question here ... I would build one of these tomorrow if I knew where I'd put it, and how I would get water to it.
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0 # Sue Brittain 2011-01-19 15:21
I think that someone in suburbia would not grasp the concept of 'less is more'
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0 # Mitch 2011-01-19 16:19
I think part of the point to to get AWAY form those life-draining subdivisions. When you can park almost anywhere, I'd prefer a place with a view. For me, I'd like the middle of a nice little forest.
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0 # Kim Loop 2011-01-19 08:02
Go Dee and Jay! Dee, your experiential learning based booklet is a generous way to share your acquired wisdom. From another tiny house convert living in the Northwest.
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0 # Bob 2011-01-19 09:32
"a couple of dinner plates and a two-ton jack"??

Now that is... interesting. Sounds like my college dorm.
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0 # Daisy 2011-01-19 19:45
All the better to have a seemingly-larger plot of land for a garden, for raising small animals, etc. I have a friend who is getting one of these houses, and she's ecstatic about the possibilities.
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0 # kevinsmicrohomestead 2011-01-20 13:16
Dee has been an inspiring person to me for a long time and a friend of a friend (see not even 6 degrees of separation) I like her story and hopr to meet her some day. I designed a portable shower system based on her not having one in her house.

This is aimed at tiny housers, also for the plans that Jay offers as open floorplans. You can see it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC4nihIuKAM

I hope this solves a very expensive and complex part of the building process. combined with a saw dust toilet you have total hygene at a low cost and easy to buil option. ;)
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0 # jackie 2012-02-10 12:35
Showers are easy. There is a battery powered shower head that you just stick in a bucket of hot water! Add a metal wash tub & shower curtain. Shower anyplace, re-use the water on garden
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0 # Cheryl 2011-01-21 07:32
I figure electricity hook-up is the same as a big house but how do you hook up the water and sewer?

Just wondering how hard it is to get done.
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0 # Dustin 2011-02-20 11:36
One can either run power from the mains or from PV panels. I've found my wife and I can do fine with about a 150 watt setup and a couple batteries.

Most RVs have both a tank and pump as well as a direct water connection depending on circumstances.

Waste is more trouble. Either one hooks-up to a sewer (4" line at surface, flexible line from "RV" plumbing to 4" line), one has a waste tank that one dumps occasionally (same way), or one has some form of "composting" or incinerating toilet. It is with the composting toilet that one can open a whole bucket of possibilities.

Frankly, I'd love to be off-grid as much as possible and have been doing quite a bit of pondering in that direction....and could go on for hours... *grin*
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0 # Lance Cayko 2011-01-21 13:23
Dee you are one cool cat! Here's another tiny house currently under design @ http://www.blakestinyhouse.com/. You can even download the 3D models on the website and take your own design pass at Blake's Tiny House.

Cheers!
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0 # Rosa 2011-02-04 13:30
What an amazing way to live! I wonder, have there been any major drawbacks to living this way? And, as far as decorating goes, I wish we could see the inside!!
Thanks for sharing your tiny house...
Rosa
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0 # Ryan 2011-02-16 20:20
Although their house may be small they've got a stellar yard! Very cozy.

Do you know what caused Dee to make this shift?
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0 # Steven 2011-04-06 17:04
I recently made the shift to living in a 36' houseboat with my wife, my little dog and I. Having less things to clean and keep up with is certainly liberating.

I'm a huge advocate of tiny house living simply because the alternative isn't sustainable for the masses, and probably for the individual.
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0 # Chris 2011-04-07 05:54
I have a small home on wheels that I just renovated but I can find a place to put it yet and I dont own land. I put some ads online asking if someone has a yardspace or carport they would like to rent. No luck yet. I am a very clean professional with no pets. I guess I have to keep searching. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
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0 # Mary 2011-09-15 03:07
We have some land in the mountains and I want a tiny home for it so badly. I have a not so tiny husband though (6' 4"). We're keeping out eyes open for a model tiny home to visit to see if there is any way ... I'd love to learn more about tiny homes for tall people.
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0 # Tim West 2011-09-29 09:16
You might want to consider a home built on skids rather than on a trailer. They can be 12 ft wide by as long as 42 feet. I have found some built by this company www.Qbiusa.com that look good. They are wood construction with log cabin exteriors. They have a 12 by 42 completely built out for 35 grand, including heating units, toilets, etc for $35K. The basic skeleton unit is $13K. Tiny homes has bigger units on skids also.
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0 # Mary 2011-09-30 11:16
Thanks for the info. Tumbleweed is coming to Atlanta and we're going to try to check it out in real life. Eliminating the lofts to get the higher ceiling height may work out for him.

I appreciate your help and I'll jot the web site you gave me to consider.
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0 # Charles 2011-09-29 04:34
Nice but show me the pics! Why not some pics of what these look like inside with real people and furniture in them? Why no links to the ebook or the video mentioned? This lady TRYING to showcase her home but nothing here but a postcard exterior shot. I am getting a bit uncomfortable with all the promos, web sites etc yet no pics. Proof is in the pudding and I am seeing a studied absence of any pics as being a potential red flag!
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0 # Carisa 2011-10-06 08:46
Here you go: http://thistinyhouse.com/2009/inspiring-woman-dee-williams/

More details :)
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0 # Sid 2011-11-20 04:43
Listen to Dee Williams being interviewed by environmental radio show Earth Beat. There are also some nice pictures of the tiny house! http://www.rnw.nl/english/radioshow/home
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