Living Large in Small Spaces

This is an excerpt from my new book.

This is a six part post. Part 1 | Part 2 … more to come.

The Airstream

I have been living in houses of fewer than 100 square feet for nearly twelve years. The first of my little abodes was a fourteen-foot Airstream. I bought it in the summer of 1997 for three thousand dollars. It came as-is, with an aluminum shell as streamlined and polished as what lay inside was hideous. The 1964 orange shag, asbestos tiles, and green Formica would have to go. I began gutting, then meticulously refurbishing the interior in August, and by October, I was sleeping with an aluminum roof over my head. The place looked like a barrel on the inside, with pine tongue-and-groove running from front-to-back and floor-to-vaulted ceiling.

I settled in on a tree-lined ridge at the edge of a friend’s alfalfa field. It was a three-minute walk to Rapid Creek Road and a ten-minute drive from there to Iowa City. I carried water in from a well by the road and allowed it to drain from my sink and shower directly into the grass outside. I carried my sawdust toilet (i.e., bucket) out about once a month and took it to the sewage treatment facility in town. My electrical appliances consisted of a fan, six lights, a 9-inch TV/VCR and a small boom box. A single solar panel fed them all. It seemed that this simple existence would provide all I needed.

Then December came. I had reinforced most of the trailer’s insulation, but some areas remained thin. I spent over a half-hour each morning, from Christmas until Valentine’s Day, chipping ice and sponging up condensation from my walls, floors and desktop. This went on for a couple of winters before I began construction on the tiny house I have since come to call “Tumbleweed”.

The Small House Book
by Jay Shafer

Price: $36.95

Fencl Build for Coast to Coast Tour

This summer, beginning on May 25, 2009, Jay Shafer will drive a Fencl Tumbleweed Tiny House from San Francisco to New York. Along the way, Jay will stop in 14 different cities, making the house available for you to see. In addition, Jay will host Tiny House Building and Design Workshops in Boulder, Chicago, and New York along the way.

This is a photo journal of the construction of the first Fencl, which is being built on the property where Jay and Tumbleweed Tiny House Company reside.

The picture above is the construction site and shows a lot of the building supplies delivered and covered to protect from the rain.

Here you see the framing of the sub floor, foam insulation is installed next and then plywood completes the sub floor.

The plywood has been installed and the sub floor completed. The house is now ready to be framed for the walls and the roof.

The walls are up, and the sheathing is attached, the roof has been framed and the loft constructed. Tyvek is being installed and roofing is the next step.

The underside of the loft above the kitchen and bathroom.

Roofing almost completed.

The electrical wiring is in and basic plumbing in the bathroom has been installed. The roof has been insulated and the walls will be insulated next. The shower will be put into position and the framing of the bathroom wall will be completed. Plumbing for the bathroom and kitchen has yet to be completed.

Jay has the Thetsford Aqua Magic Style II toilet, shower, and Surburban RV 6 gallon hot water heater available to install, plus the Dickinson stove has arrived for the heating of the Fencl.

Awaiting sunny weather to complete the exterior.

Jay is looking for a buyer so, if you are interested, please contact him. Check back often for updates on the progress and completed pictures of the Fencl before the tour.

Steve N. builds tiny house

After attending the design workshop in Sebastopol, Steve N. built his own tiny house. The design was his own creation.
The Tiny House Blog has several pictures as well.

The Year in Review: 2008

2008 felt like a huge success to us Tumbleweeders; we survived. When I first joined Tumbleweed in 2007, I did so because I loved the idea. I knew others loved it, too. But could it really be a business? In it is preceeding 5 years, it never made a profit. How would it survive? How long could Jay continue to work without being paid? How long could I do that? [Read more]

House Material Costs

Estimated material costs for Tiny Houses

	XS-House	Epu	Weebee	Lusby Tarleton	Fencl
Trailer	2,000	3,200	3,200	3,800	3,800
General Materials	4,000	5,000	5,000	6,000	6,500
Insulation	350	450	450	550	550
Roofing	450	550	550	650	700
Exterior Siding	800	1000	1000	1200	1200
Interior Siding	600	800	800	900	1000
Flooring	400	500	500	600	700
Windows	2,000	2,400	3,300	2,700	3,300
Heater	1,000	1,000	1,000	1,000	1,000
Appliances	1,000	1,000	1,000	1,000	1,000
Shower	1,500	1,500	1,500	500	500
Counters	800	1,500	1,100	800	1,100
Sales Tax	1,200	1,450	1,550	1,550	1,650
Total	16,100	19,950	21,150	21,250	23,000

Please note that the prices are only estimates.
We’ve included sales tax since it is often overlooked, but is a large number.

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