Fencl Coast to Coast Tour
May 29, 2009 · Print This Article
Jay left Tuesday on his Coast to Coast tour and is taking the newly built Fencl to show tiny house enthusiasts across the country. This is the first completed Fencl built from Jay’s plans and if you would like to see pictures of the Fencl build you can visit the Tiny House Journal.
Jay is having over 14 open houses and and several workshops along the way. Here is the Open House schedule and you can view the workshop schedule here.
Tue May 26 - Reno, NV 6:00 pm
Wed May 27 - Salt Lake, UT 6:00 pm
Thu May 28 - Cheyenne, WY 6:00 pm
Sat May 30 - Boulder, CO 5:30 pm
Tue June 2 - Omaha, NE 6:00 pm
Wed June 3 - Des Moines, IA 12:00 noon
Wed June 3 - Iowa City, IA 6:00 pm
Sat June 6 - Chicago, IL 5:30 pm
Mon June 8 - Indianapolis, IN 6:00 pm
Tue June 9 - Cinncinati, OH 12:00 noon
Tue June 9 - Columbus, OH 6:00 pm
Wed June 10 - Pittsburgh, PA 6:00 pm
Thu June 11 - Philadelphia, PA 6:00 pm
Sat June 13 - New York, NY 5:30 pm
Get the locations here.
If Jay is stopping in your home town or is close enough to drive to, be sure and go visit him and see this beautiful home.
Kent Griswold publisher of the Tiny House Blog has his readers taking pictures and giving descriptions of the open houses between San Francisco and New York. You can follow the links below to get the full story. Below is a sampling of the pictures from a few of the stops so far.
Jay at Reno Open House
Jay and visitor at Reno Open House view from loft
Part of the Salt Lake City Group out to see the Fencl
Reporter in Cheyenne, WY with others visiting the Open House
Visitors at Boulder Open House
Visitors at the Omaha Open House
Kevin and Jay in Iowa City
Grant in Chicago
Actually seeing photos of people in and around these homes has been helpful in seeing that while these homes are still very tiny, they are not so, to the extreme where from the front door you take one step and your in the bath. Scale can sometimes be difficult to distinguish in photos, even if measurements are provided. Which is why it is obviously better to see one of these homes in person, to be able to walk through and look around it. This site is rather expansive, and many comments to wade through, so I apologize if this has been asked already, but have you ever thought of filming your workshop, or putting the program on DVD, offering them for sale via your website so that those of us that are nowhere near a location to attend one of the workshops can still be able to learn how to build their own home?
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Jay Shafer reply on June 7th, 2009 5:47 am:
I am actually working on that now.
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Hi Jay,
We are still so excited after seeing the Fencl in Cincinnati today!
We bought the book and would highly recommend it.
Really enjoyed meeting you. Thanks for coming to our town.
A tiny house is now in our future.
Gary and Judy Long (aka, The Stalker)
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Jay Shafer reply on June 9th, 2009 6:46 pm:
Great meeting you two, too.
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Hi Jay,
Thank you SO much for making this tour with the Fencl. I came up from Frankfort, Kentucky to see you in Cincinnati today and was extremely impressed with the house, very well done ! Your many years of living in tiny houses are apparent in the layout, design, and super efficient use of space. After seeing a Tumbleweed house first hand and being able to go inside, I have no doubts that I could live very comfortably in one. I’ll be on the lookout for a suitable trailer in the near future will be getting in touch to discuss some plans as well.
It was truly an honor to meet you today Jay. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve been an inspiration to me over the last couple of years to live a greener, more sustainable lifestyle all the way around. Thanks for everything and stay safe in your travels.
Stu Harrod
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Jay Shafer reply on June 14th, 2009 4:35 am:
I am so pleased to have met you, Stuart. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Hi Jay. Thank you again for coming to Cincinnati. I am really excited I finally seen one of you homes first hand. I really look forward to owning one of your tiny homes within the near future.
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Greets… hi Jay — planning to come to the Philadelphia open house…
will you be there any earlier than 6pm?
Only ’cause I’m biking up and might be early..
–mike mcgettigan
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Jay Shafer reply on June 14th, 2009 4:38 am:
Good to finally meet you, Michael.
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Please come to California!
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Jay Shafer reply on June 14th, 2009 4:56 am:
I will be returning home tomorrow and staying home for a while. Come to my open house on the first Saturday of every month in Graton between 2 and 4.
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Hi to all NYC workshop participants. I’ve created a group for us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=98272717020. It was great to meet you and learn from you!
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Jay Shafer reply on June 23rd, 2009 12:25 pm:
Thanks, Valerie. It is good to know you.
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Hi, I have a Lusby for sale in New Hampshire. Please see my web site:
http://elainelwalker.com/tinyhouse-forsale/index.html
Thanks! Elaine
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Hey, for anyone interested in seeing a tiny Tumbleweed inspired house, my Little House will be open to visitors on Sunday June 28 in Portland OR, from 10 to noon. Come by 2916 N. Willamette. Hope to see you there. Dee
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Jay Shafer reply on June 25th, 2009 3:03 pm:
Don’t miss it. Dee’s house is nearly as beautiful as she is.
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Hi Jay. I’ve got 3 very important questions:
1- Do you need a license to properly construct your house
2- Could the customer choose a different outer siding
3- Could the customer opt to have no cabinets on main floor to make it look larger and just have the bathroom with a wall making the kitchenette part of the living room.
P.S. please make 2 minute vids of all the houses with the camera moving (not stationary to get a sense of the space) .Thanks.
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Jay Shafer reply on July 4th, 2009 6:04 pm:
1) No, not the tiny ones on wheels.
2) Yup. Anything goes, so long as you don’t use brick, plaster,etc. on the portable ones.
3) Totally.
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I’m right on the verge of buying plans for the fencl. Just need to ask some questions about utilities and materials. I live in Olympia Wa and have met with Dee. Any chance I could talk to her again when she gets back from the tour?
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Jay Shafer reply on July 5th, 2009 11:55 am:
You’d have to ask her. Her business is Boxcar Woodcraft. I bet she can be reached there.
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R.J. Burt reply on July 5th, 2009 2:53 pm:
Thanks Jay. Wasn’t sure how to get ahold of her. In the meantime, I’ve been convinced by friends that I need to purchase a ready made Fencl. We just don’t have the skills to build one. QUestion, have any of your clients been able to get bank financing for a Tumbleweed home? I’m thinking a house on wheels would need a RV loan, but don’t know about loaning on something that isn’t built yet. Any thoughts?
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Kerr reply on July 5th, 2009 4:56 pm:
If you haven’t seen it already, read Jeff and Arlene’s blog here: http://mobilecottage.blogspot.com/ to get an idea of what it’s like to build a Fencl without previous build experience. It’s a bit different for them I think because they only had a few months to complete the project, which has to be done in August.
Not of course that you shouldn’t get one already built, if you have the money or can get financing. But I haven’t heard of anyone finding that all-important financing yet… I’m holding my breath waiting, myself.
Jay Shafer reply on July 12th, 2009 1:32 pm:
I wish I had a definitive answer for you. Long story short, I think a personal loan or R.V. loan is what you should be shooting for.
Is it possible to build a home like this that’s completely off the grid? Like can you have a solar power system, water collection/purification for potable water, incinerator toilet etc? basically a home that requires no hook ups to function (but has the option to hookup if needed/desired)? And what kind of added cost would such a setup add?
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Jay Shafer reply on July 5th, 2009 12:01 pm:
Yes. It would be about $4000 extra, depending on the variables.
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I’d like to know about off the grid houses, too. Also, how do the houses do in cold climates if they are off the grid?
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Is there a gallery, or Flickr pool, for Tumbleweed home owners to show off their homes? I’d love to see more . . .
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Jay Shafer reply on July 12th, 2009 2:05 pm:
Great idea. I think a Kent Griswald at TinyHouseBlog has a similar site full of our houses.
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