High School to Build Tiny House
February 28, 2010
Sue Danic spent summers in her gram’s pre-World War I cottage and ever since, she’s wanted a tiny house. She’s seen it all: straw-bale, cob, rammed earth, cabins, sheds, tree-houses. Or, at least, she’s bought the book, visited the website or attended the workshop. In 2009, Sue traveled to New York City to attend Jay Shafer’s tiny house building seminar. Eureka. She hit gold. Since, she couldn’t build on her gram’s land, a tiny house on wheels would solve her first problem. Problem Number two was building the thing. Sue has almost zero talent in building. Sure, she’s built a table and even a bench, but a project of this size was beyond her grasp.
Enter Bob St. Cyr who teaches construction and cabinet making at Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School (KCI). This was a project that Bob thought his construction and cabinet making classes could accomplish under his guidance. The plan is to build the entire structure in one semester. The students will not only build and finish the interior, but they will blog about their accomplishments while building the Fencl.
Inside the XS-House
February 25, 2010
In 2005, Jay lived in the XS-House, our smallest model on wheels. HGTV filmed him inside the house. Jay sold the house after living in it for just 1 year, and this video is the only peak inside. The XS-House has a kitchenette and bathroom.
Wee Shall Overcome
February 24, 2010
It has been nearly 14 years since I started, what I like to call, my aggressive pacifist’s campaign to make the built world a smaller place. To date, my approach has been to pretty much just live my life in a small footprint and hope that my example might inspire others to do the same.
On Wednesday, March 3 at roughly 7:00pm at the Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol, CA. I’ll be taking a somewhat more active approach. Ignite Sebastopol 3 is part of Global Ignite Week. Roughly a dozen speakers from the Bay Area will be given just twenty slides and five minutes each to present their subjects. I will be using my time to rip America’s system of imposed excess a new body part. My distain for the building codes that restrict how small a house can be is no secret. On March 3rd I’ll be making my position all the more clear. All presentations will be recorded and posted for international viewing.
We’re expecting a full house (~130 inside, and others watching the live feed to a screen in the outdoor Beer Garden), so get your tickets early. [Read more]
Proposal to amend
February 23, 2010
Proposal to amend IRC Code Restricting House Size:
Analysis:
Environmental Costs: The International Residential Code dictating how small our homes can be has helped make our houses the biggest in the world—four times the international average. At well over 2000 square feet, the average American house now emits more than 18 tons of greenhouse gasses every year, consumes a quarter acre of forest in its production and dumps seven tons of construction waste into our landfills.
Economic Costs: Excess and economy are mutually exclusive. We can have exorbitance, or we can have the serenity that a sensibly sized home affords, but we cannot have both. Like anything else that is not essential to our happiness, extra space just gets in the way. It requires maintenance and heating, and ultimately demands that we exchange a portion of life for the money needed to pay for these extras. Mortgage payments can appropriate thirty to forty percent of a household’s income not counting taxes, insurance, or maintenance expenses. [Read more]
Open House Today
February 13, 2010
It’s the second Saturday of the month, and that means Jay is opening his house to the public. Come see Jay’s home in Graton, CA.
To sign up and get directions, click here
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