Tiny House Blogger Collaborative

Joe Coover has build his own tiny house using “SIPs”, structural insulated panels, Japanese shou sugi ban siding, decra tile metal roofing, and plans to finish the interior with a steampunk theme. Take advantage of his resources via his YouTube Channel and his build blog longstoryshorthouse.blogspot.com

I. You used SIPs. What were your top 3 reasons for doing so?

 I’ve talked to A LOT of tiny house people around the country and find that SIPs appeal to different people for different reasons. The one mental hurdle you have to jump before anybody makes this choice is to step back and think about how and why we build houses the way we do.  It’s hard for a tradesman or anybody who’s spent their whole life around 2x4 stick built houses to imagine how to build it any differently. Tradition is hard to break. 

SIPs are the new kid on the block in a way but they have been around for longer than you think. (In 1937 a small SIP house was constructed and garnered enough attention to bring in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to dedicate the house.) Once you get past the initial weirdness of it, I found SIPs to be a sophisticated modern choice that no other options could match.

Personally I was looking for: 

1. Strong. Depending on who you ask you’ll see SIPs rated at double or triple the strength of stick building. They really excel with side winds and earthquake type situations and a tiny house gets that and more rolling down the road! 

2. High R-value. Whether you plan on living in Alaska or Oklahoma (me) you’ll want as much R-value as you can get and you’ll want it to stick around for the life of the house and not settle like potato chips. Also with a stick built house all the studs take up room in the wall that could be insulated in a SIP. It adds up to 1/4th of your wall is studs…that’s a lot of wasted space. I didn’t want to end up with a wall that’s not as strong or well insulated. 

3. Easy to build. I built my house’s main structure in 2 days. With the help of a few (4-5) friends, a glue gun, and a cordless drill I had a house that would have taken at me a few months to build with sticks. It keeps your momentum rolling early on with a sense of accomplishment within a week.

Some other reasons SIPs may fit your build: 

You don’t really need to buy building plans. The SIPs company can do the engineering based off your simple drawings and after you have a house shaped box, it’s easy to put in walls and appliances, which the building plans don’t help as much on anyway.  

Pretty much NO WASTE. No board ends, messed up cuts, insulation left overs. They all add up but the only thing you have at the end of your SIPs build is a few tubes of empty glue and some tape rolls but that’s pretty good compared to what you see at most construction sites. (Now after the initial raising of the walls you’ll create the same waste as you would have otherwise) 

Easy to live in very quick if need be. I’ve been living in my house half built for about six months. I have an extension cord to run my fridge, hot plate, lights, etc. I have a camping sink and a composting toilet. We shower at the gym and it’s not that weird. It’s kinda like camping and we’re saving money on rent way quicker this way. You could build your house and glamp in it for awhile before you finish it, for approx 12,000 give or take. It also helps you feel out where you want things, we’ve adjusted our floorplan several times since we moved in. I can keep going but I’ll digress. I am a fan but I am not fanatic.

II. Are you persuaded to believe that  SIPs are the most efficient and or ecological building material choice for tiny house builders?

Before I was worked for a tiny house company I worked for Greenpeace so being good to the earth is important to me. SIPs use less wood and most of the wood it does use can come from smaller trees from tree farms instead of cutting down old growth forests. As for the foam, yes, it’s man made and won’t break down over time like other things but this is one of those times where that’s a plus. Over the life of the house (which you hope lasts long after you’re gone) a material that doesn’t need to be replaced will be greener. Also by using a less effective insulation you (and all the people who live in this house after you) will use more fuel to heat it and burn more coal to create the electricity to cool it. Even if you are the off grid type with solar panels, by reducing your need you can reduce the number of solar panels you need shipped from china.

III. Are there any precautions you would offer to aspiring tiny-housers that are ready jump on the SIP bandwagon? What about outgassing? 

A few things to know when talking to SIPs companies: 

Ask if the dimensional lumber is included. Some SIPs come with all the lumber on the edges of the panels installed and sometimes you add that after you get it. It’s cheaper to do it yourself but it’s WAY easier to just have it all done for you and you have “ready-to-erect” walls. I had them ready to go and that’s one reason I had it done in two days. 

Talk about electrical chases. They can cut holes in the foam for your wires to go and it’s not hard. They just need to know where you want them. I’d put a chase at the bottom for plugs and some up top for  lights and such. Remember to check that the 2x4 splines should have the holes drilled in them too. That’s easier to do before you put them up than after but can be done either way.

 Get lots of quotes. My quotes ranged from $3000 to $8000 and if you find a SIPs person who likes what you’re doing than that’s better! Shipping can be a large amount so try and pick it up yourself on your trailer or use uShip to lessen that cost. Sometimes it makes sense to use a SIPs manufacturer that’s further away if their quote more than covers the increase in shipping. 

As for Off-gassing, you can get different foams that have all kinds of qualities. Some of them have less or zero off-gassing and you can even get some that are soy based and I believe soon mushroom based so whatever floats your boat there. The main foam used is similar to coffee cups or ice-chests but the difference is that it’s not “disposable”. While the material does have gasses that are produced when it’s made there haven’t been any tests that detect any gasses once it’s left the factory. The only time that the gasses in the foam would be able to get out is if it burned down, in which case pure wood smoke is also toxic and will kill you just as fast. SIPs meet or exceed all fire ratings and some are even fire-proof.

Thanks Joe!

We welcome BA Norrgard, Andrew Odom & Macy Miller   

I am just starting to clear enough mental space and work week time post-construction to have time to devote to my community concept, so as I say so often about so many aspect of my life lately, “details are hazy.”  And I am probably wearing rose colored glasses as well.  : )

I think my initial thoughts are pretty common and are shared by many:

A common space for gathering.  Perhaps a screened in area and/or a fire pit.  Community gardens.  Foot paths, with cars on the perimeter only.  And a storm shelter(s).  Those seem like common and basic elements.  And then moving on…

My preference would be that the community I live in be fairly small, and I think that it may be beneficial to have different communities for different people e.g. families with children; artists; older adults… (I recognize there may be artists with families, and therefore they may have to choose what works best for them; not ideal.)

I would like to see a few extra houses in the community for short term rentals where people could “try on” living tiny before they overhaul their life.  Perhaps 3-6 month rentals with a deal with a warehouse for temporary storage of possessions.  I think a group build site would be great, (and for a while I thought combining a group build site with a community would be neat, but I’ve since changed my mind on that.)  I think it would be great to have houses on piers as well as space for houses on wheels, with space for visitors who are passing through.  I’d love to see a co-working space somewhere on the property, and I think bartering between residents for time & talents would naturally follow.  (I participate in a local co-working organization that has been so inspirational to me!)

Although I don’t have a clear vision yet of what this would involve, I would like to see reciprocity between communities.  Shared guidelines, and perhaps a reduced fee structure if you are member of one community and visit another… ?

The anticipated politics of how many cars you have, if you hang laundry to dry on your front porch, if you have loud parties – the thought of regulating all of that makes my toes curl.  But I suppose it has to be done in some fashion.  I loathe committee meetings and “corralling humanity.”  (But I have other strengths… lol)

I think there is a great opportunity for sponsorships/partnerships without things getting TOO commercial.  A local landscape place may want to donate shrubs and plantings in exchange for some diminutive signage and with the agreement that we’d purchase some amount of gardening items from them.  Same with solar, and a local paint company, etc.  I see partnerships with small, local businesses who would take pride in the community.

I have a local mayor who has actively sought me out and talked with me about a tiny house community in his city – it’s pretty exciting! He doesn’t know yet if he can convince city council to approve it, but it’s encouraging that the mayor is spearheading the idea!  I am planning an event where I open my house and we screen the movie TINY, with a panel discussion afterwards – similar to what Vina did.  I really think the time for tiny house communities is just around the corner!

B.A. Norrgard | banorrgard [ at ] gmail [dot] com

www.aBedOverMyHead.com

Dallas, Texas

  My heart is truly a benevolent one as well as a philosophical idealistic one. I long for a world that is not necessarily socialist but certainly inclusive and opportunity rich. I love that we live in a country where we can live in a huge house if we want. Mind you I am not talking about need here or talking about the real estate market or mortgages or anything of the sort. I am taking about opportunity. I also long for the day when that opportunity or pursuit therefore extends to tiny houses/small houses/sustainable structures, etc. What I do not long for though is the growing misunderstanding of opportunity. In no way do I see opportunity and entitlement or rather opportunity and enablement being synonymous. I know that my opinions on the subject of tiny house community is a bit different from perhaps the tiny house community in general.

I sometimes shudder when I hear of a new tiny house village springing up or plans for a community taking shape. I do so because I feel like perhaps tiny houses as a means to an end for those otherwise disenfranchised by society is becoming a cause célèbre in a number of ways. I don’t think tiny house communities can be an answer to anything in and of themselves. They can be a contributing factor but they are not solutions any more so than $100 laptops in third world countries are a solution to illiteracy. I suppose though there are others who think of the tiny house planned community as being more of a utopian environment where community works and plays together in a way where all resources are shared and the burden is lifted from just the shoulders of one and instead balanced by many.

I caution against these as well because so long as two humans dwell on this Earth human nature will have one trying to take advantage of the other in some way. Living in community is tough. I know. I live in community now with family members. Raising collective flocks of chickens sounds awesome. But when one family favors humane killing and one family favors no-kill birds while yet another family doesn’t care if you eat your pets, tension will arise. That tension then has a way of manifesting itself in other areas of the community. These communities are not so much about anti-establishment or living debt-free but rather living in a way that is representative of shared work with no real leader and an assumed work ethic. Yes, the thought is great in so much as it favors children growing up together and having playmates everywhere. It favors valuable adult interaction. It favors “tribe” and collective processes. But it also favors a number of other topics that range from laziness to thievery, from appearances to noise pollution. At the risk of sounding completely negative I just ask that more thought go into these planned communities than just the sun-kissed photography of 70s era hippies living peacefully and picking collards fresh from the garden. One illustration keeps coming to my mind. In a community, who pays for Internet access? The community of course. And then that ‘net access is broadcast via a WiFi network. But how does the last guy on the block feel when his connection has been severely limited and even throttled so that his neighbor can watch streaming reruns of ‘The Office’ each night? Who feels like a round of Kumbaya then?

Andrew M. Odom

@andrewodom

              My interest in tiny house communities is only based on helping and allowing people to chose the life they want to live.  Tiny is not for everyone but it should not be banned for those whom it does ‘fit’ in my opinion.  It makes a lot of sense for tiny houses to come in communities.

  I am very hopeful of all the attention tiny houses have been getting, things are changing in cities for the better.  I am worried however that tiny houses will become the target of some social trap rather than truly accessible if they are not guarded and guided appropriately.  It seems that the first path tiny houses are finding is to be an option to cure homelessness and ‘clean up’ cities.  This worries me for a few reasons.

  1) they are being sold as ‘affordable housing’.  They are relatively affordable when compared to their larger counterparts but per square foot they are actually very expensive.  A better solution for ‘affordable housing’ is already available with shared walls in apartment complexes among other options, they are much more feasible.  Tiny houses are better suited to middle class citizens who want to customize their own space

  2) finding their way in via this path limits them by stigmatizing them.  Fact is that tiny houses are a GREAT option for a lot of people but if they get a rap as ‘homeless shelters’ just the stigma of society thinking that will drive away interested parties who don’t want to chose to live with that stigma.

  3) I am worried that ‘selling’ tiny house communities as any one thing will limit possibilities for others similar to section 9 housing, 55+ housing etc.  Those various categories have guidelines that limit the audience who can take advantage of the benefits.  IF anything I would like to see tiny house communities take refuge from codes under the 55+ housing development but that is just personal opinion, hopefully they will become an option for anyone who chooses to pursue them.

  Tiny houses lend themselves to tiny house communities, it just makes sense on a lot of levels.  I am worried about how we will be able to incorporate them but I am hopeful that soon tiny houses and tiny communities will be available for all.

Macy Miller | www.MiniMotives.com

mizacy [ at ] gmail [dot] com

Boise, Idaho

               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We thank our three guests for their participation today. If something resonated with you in a positive way why not do the community a solid and reach out to let that person know. Pay forward some of the positive sauce, eh? (And, thanks to the loveliness that is Tumblr you can reblog all or part with your responses too).

Thank you on behalf of the Collab,

Gabriel Craft

GIF art by Phillipa Rice

Photo via Alek Lisefski of The Tiny Project

Text Compiled and edited by Andrew Odom

                      Tiny House Blogger Collab: Issue No. 1 

                      Taking The First Step To A Tiny House*

No matter how many times the question is answered via blog post, forum thread, Q&A, book entry, or magazine article, many in the tiny house community are used to being asked  

"What would the first steps be if I’m considering buying/building a small home for my future?"  It’s a fine question. There is no doubt to that. But the fact remains that tiny house building (as with many things) there is no right or wrong, black or white, left or right. For every tiny house there is a different thought, process, or methodology. So a few of us had an ongoing conversation in an attempt to combine our personal responses into something more broad and more representative of a greater juncture.   The conversation began innocently enough with Gabriel Craft of small & tiny home ideas asking, “What steps did you make toward building/buying your small home? Sounds simple enough, right? We found out it was not. Responses came in from around the globe with some folks simply answering, “Draw a sketch,” “…buy a Jay Shafer book,” and even “Find a good builder and buy something from them.” But the conversation got deeper and more people began sharing personal anecdotes and experiences that led to deeper answers and truths that have not yet been written about. For instance Ella Jenkins of Little Yellow Door admitted to backing herself in a bit of a corner.

"Once I had gotten so far as to know that I wanted a tiny house, (there was definitely research and videos and blogs) I just started telling everyone. Like, EVERYONE. The discouragement and doubt were surprising but encouraging to me, and then I’d told so many folks I couldn’t back out!"

This was a sentiment echoed by several others. Victoria Whitcher of Tiny Homestead Freedom added, “My husband and I started telling people too. All the negativity made us want to do it more.” And that is something that comes up regularly; negativity. Whether it be from friends or family or outside influences there seems to be no shortage of strange looks, comments like “it might be good for you but….”, and more! But the tone of the conversation changed rather quickly. We all know the negativity exists but few let it concern them. Most tiny housers ultimately look within to take that first step. Says Dan Louche of Tiny Home Builders, “Start simplifying today. It’s easy, It feels good, and many of the benefits associated with tiny houses can be achieved by simplifying.” Laura LaVoie of Life in 120 Square Feet quickly added (and even wrote a blog post in response), “Deliberate living is very much a lifestyle that requires active participation. I came to this conclusion after years of following the path of least resistance and wondering why cool things just never happened to me.” The idea of simplifying, searching within, and making deliberate choices in life became the theme it seems.   In her blog post “12 Monthly Resolutions to the Tiny House Lifestyle”

Macy Miller remarked, “I have heard from a few people recently that are wondering how they can get a little closer to the tiny house mentality/lifestyle.  It inspired me to put together a list of monthly resolutions let’s say.  These are things that I did, not necessarily over the course of a whole year but they were necessary in order to downsize and make the steps forward from my 2,500 sq. ft. lifestyle to my 196 sq. ft. house to see if it was going to work for me.” In the post she outlines steps such as making a list of priorities that are essential to your happiness in a house, asking friends for support, and reconfiguring and downsizing each room of your house.

Ryan Mitchell of The Tiny Life concurred with both an announcement and a thought. “The book I will have coming out in June has about 80 pages on how to start, finding your passions, setting goals, and making your way to tiny houses and tiny living.” Derek Diedricksen of Relaxshacks.com and Andrew Odom of Tiny r(E)volution chimed in with almost identical answers that were a bit less internal and a bit more nose-to-the-grindstone practical. Says Deek, “Start planning way ahead and read every blog, book, magazine, and view every potentially inspirational video you can get your little mitts on. Then start sketching ideas, and re-sketching ideas, asking questions of those who have already taken the path, all the while stockpiling whatever funky, free, found, and bargain materials you can get. Take the time to plan though- and contemplate all your options before you take action. If not pre-thought out, there’s nothing worse than a “coulda, woulda, shoulda” mentality after the fact.” Andrew added, “First step? RECONSIDER! Seriously. Reconsider. Have dialogue back-and-forth with yourself and whoever you will be living with asking “is it right for us? should we really?” This is not a light decision and should involve mental, emotional, and physical sureness as well as research and preparedness. Don’t get caught wishing you had put a window here or a drawer there!”

Kristie Wolfe of Tiny House On the Prairie spoke up saying “I do have construction know-how but I must say that I just dove in [to building a tiny house]. I had a general floor plan but it greatly changed with the materials I found on Craigslist or at auctions.” Even a general floor plan is enough to make you sure of your process. Sometimes the dreaming about a tiny house can become overly romanticized allowing you to lose sight of the actual processes and effort that will really be needed.   

Someone who is familiar with the dreaming as she herself is the subject of many tiny house dreams with her Sol Haus tiny house, Vina Lustado paraphrased quite nicely. “1. Research, research, research; 2. Buy a small house book; 3. Try out a tiny house for a weekend; 4. Assess financial feasibility and if need be, get rid of debt; 5. Make a decision if it’s right for you; 6. Jump in and buy the trailer (or a set of plans)!” What could be more spot on than that nugget of information? Nothing according to Stacey Whitcomb who did almost just that. When planning and building her Just A Smidgeon tiny house she, “[I] started asking for help. Tried to get a feeler for who in my social circle had “know how”. [I] drew up my own floor plan and knew what [I] wanted it to look like. [I] collected tiny housers on FB and watched every YouTube video available.” Not typically the verbose member of the group, the humble and sagacious Hari Berzins of Tiny House Family agreed with the idea of planning before building and then with great aplomb revealed that she and her husband Karl are going to be launching a much-requested eCourse in a few weeks that will touch on aligning your spending with your values and goals, land selection, downsizing, and even dealing with permits and inspectors!  

The conversation was an incredible one with so many tiny housers weighing in with their personal thoughts and responding with signs of support and agreement for each other. Of course the conversation would not be complete without the likes of Joe Everson of Tennessee Tiny Homes/Tiny Happy Homes just quipping with, “Have a company build it for you for what most people pay to do it themselves!” And perhaps that is the answer in retrospect. Dream it. Contract it out. Pay for it!