Tiny Town Association

On of the most interesting ideas I have been following lately is the Tiny Town Association which is a Non-Profit founded by Ed Peterson. Ed’s idea is…

To build towns for THOWs (Tiny Houses On Wheels) within commuting distance of host cities. This Tiny Town model adds appeal to the host city by increasing the available, affordable housing options, without affecting the space occupied by traditional homes.

Ed has done a lot of leg work on the idea and has even built one of the models of tiny home that would be offered.

The Logan is a 32-foot tiny home designed on a single floor to accommodate seniors as well. The design is the result of many trials and boasts a one-piece acrylic walk-in shower with seat and a convenient second exterior door.

Ed has been able to secure some sponsors who have helped him build The Logan, including Timbercraft Tiny Homes who sponsored the set of plans for The Logan and Longevity Acrylics who sponsored the one-piece acrylic shower.

But not only has Ed come up with a model tiny home, he has also come up with a lot of statistics to go along with his vision.

To get an explanation of these stats and to read more about the Tiny Town Association and it’s new charity 24Pillars which is focusing on providing tiny homes to the homeless, check out these great resources:

Tiny Town Association website

Tiny Town Association Facebook page

24Pillars website

Send Me Your Tiny Love

I love seeing new ideas, hearing about your stories and seeing photos of your very own Tiny Homes. Send me your thoughts, ideas, stories, photos, etc and I will feature it right here on The Tiny Home Blog!

You can email me, message me on my Facebook page or even just comment below if you like.

Zyl Vados

I came across a Facebook post about Zyl Vados. For those who don’t know, as I didn’t before now, this post is about Tiny Homes that are beyond your traditional shed-roofed boxes (which I am not against for the record).

Abel Zyl is the Founder of Zyl Vados, a company based out of Olympia, Washington that creates “unforgettable tiny houses and art structures”. He has over twenty-five years experience in residential building and has also done AC electricity, theatrical lighting, mechanical drafting and marine construction (which shows in most of his tiny home designs). Abel is also a founding member of the American Tiny House Association and is the consulting board member for construction and design.

As mentioned on his website, he (and his work) have been featured on HGTV, National Geographic News, Forbes Magazine, OPB’s State of Wonder, ADR Germany TV, The San Francisco Globe, and in the book Tiny Homes on the Move, by Lloyd Khan.

Abel has been building Tiny Homes since 2007, long before the whole “Tiny Home Movement” picked up steam. His designs begin as pencil sketches, and then models and finally, beautiful handcrafted works of art.

There is no question, Zyl and his team, and Family, create some of the most eye-catching tiny homes ever seen! Visit the Facebook page and Instagram account to see way more awesome photos.

The “Gypsy Wagon”

When Steve contacted me and told me that we were going to be working on a Gypsy Wagon, I honestly didn’t know what to think. So naturally I googled it, and this is what came up…

Turns out, I wasn’t far off. To get the “Gypsy” look and feel, we needed to definitely have two things…a rounded roof, and bright colours! The wagon wheels would have been awesome, but unfortunately not realistic lol.

Steve and the crew did an amazing job of creating the “Gypsy Wagon”. Rounded roof, bright colours and the beautiful craftsmanship on the interior is beyond compare. There isn’t much to the interior of this one as it was intended to be mostly used for camping by the owner.

Savannah

There are those who love the tiny home idea and who have a tiny home built with all new materials…and then there is Savannah. Savannah is a huge fan of minimalism and living off the land and recycling old materials, which you will easily spot in her tiny home design.

I have helped Steve Zaleschuk with about 6 or 7 designs now, but this one is a bit different. Different because I have actually interacted with Savannah. Kind of got to know her, even if it’s just a little. I also love what her and Steve have done with the interior and the exterior. From using old doors and metal cladding to the upcycled handles on the cabinets and drawers. I also love the exposed copper piping in the bathroom. The second-hand claw-foot tub, the old vanity from her Dad’s childhood.

Have a look and let me know what you think…

Sheriff of Nottingham

So as some or most of you may or may not know, I work with Steve Zaleschuk from Finished Right Contracting designing & building Tiny Homes…well, I don’t build them…trust me you don’t want that. I help with design and he is the Master Builder so he builds them. One of our most recent creations is “The Nottingham” which is a 10-foot wide by 28-foot long beauty of a home which Steve delivered to Vancouver Island. I really liked what Steve did with the interior of this one, and I think you will too.

WeeCasa es su Casa

Ever wonder if Tiny Home living is for you? Well now you can test it out at WeeCasa Tiny House Resort in Lyons, Colorado. All the Tiny Homes are less than 250 square feet and range from your basic mini-cottage to a model with all the bells & whistles.

Kenyon Waugh is the Wee.E.O of the 23-home resort which rents out 22 of the homes in the picturesque town of Lyons, which is home to about 2,000 people. Rates vary between $149 and $185 per night depending upon the house, time of year, etc, with a 2-night minimum stay.

Website: http://weecasa.com/

House Information

Video from USA Today

 

The “Superhouse” Completed!

You may or may not recall my post about the “Superhouse” from back in March, but it was about half complete. Well now, it is completed, and has been delivered to site!

Here are some pics from the rest of the build by Finished Right Contracting, the finished product, and a video of the owners seeing it for the first time.

The best part of this may be the reaction from the owners…enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ffinishedrightcontracting%2Fvideos%2F1207333702709266%2F&show_text=1&width=560

Tiny Home Community Being Planned

One tiny village in Alberta may set a huge precedence for the Tiny Home Movement. Big Valley is village of about 350 people, roughly 220km Southeast of Edmonton (East of Red Deer). It’s in that tiny village, council decided to change their bylaws to allow 22 lots measuring 30 feet by 80 feet in one subdivision.

“Putting them all together in one subdivision will give unity to the area and a community-type feel.”   – Michelle White – Chief Administrative Officer

The only catch…the tiny homes will have to be on a permanent foundation, be connected to municipal water and sewer, and have hook-ups for gas and power. They had to actually look at regulations from the U.S. because they couldn’t find any in Canada. That needs to be rectified!

Council in Big Valley will now go through the processes of passing the new bylaw, engineering the land development and figuring out how much the tiny lots will cost.

You can read the full story HERE.

Home Show & Bylaw Progress

I was at the Edmonton Home & Garden Show on Saturday, helping out Steve Zaleschuk from Finished Right Contracting. He had a tiny house on display, only at the lock-up stage, so people could see how they were constructed. We had some mixed reaction from people. Some just peeked their heads in, commented that it wasn’t finished, and then went on their way. Others enjoyed the fact that they could see the craftsmanship that goes into constructing a home.

Steve doesn’t use any O.S.B. or any particle boards in anything. Exterior sheeting is done with plywood and the sub-floor is done with tongue & groove Fir. Wall framing is done on 16-inch centers and the sheeting is glued & screwed on every stud. Loft and roof framing is on 12-inch centers, so once sheeted they are solid.

Once the framing and sheeting is on, and the wiring is run, we do 3 – 3 1/2 inches of spray foam. This is a bit more expensive than batt insulation, but well worth it because it gives us an R-22 value, gives us some more rigidity, acts as a vapour barrier, and is fire resistant.

We also use tankless hot water on-demand units to heat the domestic water as well as the radiant in-floor heating. Just like the insulation, this is more costly from the on-set, but will save you a lot more money in the long run, and saves space.

These are just a few of the examples of the craftsmanship that goes into every tiny we build. Although the units are classed as RV here and as such, are not regulated by building codes, Steve meets or exceeds the building codes on every unit.

Now, some things I also learned about at the Home Show that I hadn’t known about yet are:

1. The town of Big Valley, Alberta has designated 22 lots to build a small Tiny Home Community.
2. Sturgeon County (just north of Edmonton) is re-writing their by-laws to accommodate and include Tiny Houses.