Showing posts with label TINY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TINY. Show all posts
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Tiny House Eye Candy
No story today. Just a few nice tiny house pictures for your viewing enjoyment.
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| Isn't this place the coolest? When you decrease size you can go hog-wild with detail and still save a bundle. |
Sometimes the mystery of not knowing what the inside looks like can be a source of creative inspiration. I like to look at the outside and imagine what the floor plan must be like.
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| Don't know much about this one. Sweet though. |
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| Tumbleweed Epu sans trailer. Idyllic setting, no? |
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| Definitely a Tumbleweed. They call it the "Z Glass House." Plans available at: tumbleweedhouses.com Click here to see another post that featured a nice selection of unique tiny house photos. |
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Sunday, November 27, 2016
Three Things Military Life Can Teach Us about Tiny Living
(Guest post by Tiffany Krezinski)
I know, I know – when someone says “tiny living,” the first thing that pops into mind probably isn’t the military. The military is big and wasteful in many ways; however, on an individual level, there are actually a few principles of military life that apply very well to living in a home of only a few hundred square feet.
When on deployment, most military personnel live in conditions where all they may have is a bunk and a footlocker – anything they can’t fit into that space either gets tossed or gets put in storage. As such, many people in the military develop certain mindsets compatible with principles behind tiny living. Here are a few of those mindsets.
1. Everything has a Place
It sounds so simple, but when you have a very limited space, carving out smaller spaces for the necessities (and a few wants) is absolutely essential. Alongside marching, marching, and more marching, basic training drills military personnel on the importance of defining spaces for personal belongings – toothbrush goes here, underwear goes there, that sort of thing. Part of the theory behind this sort of orderliness is that it cuts down on the number of decisions a person has to make, freeing their brains up for other tasks. (There’s a similar theory behind the wardrobes of CEOs, like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, who wear the same thing every day.)
Outside the military, we get to decide where to put our own stuff, but sometimes that’s hard to figure out. The good news is that you can budget space just like you can budget your money, and if you do it well, your home will look really nice when you’re done.
If you’re just getting into tiny living, plan out a space-budget in advance. If you’ve been doing it awhile and are constantly frustrated by clutter, it might take a little more effort, but it’s worthwhile. Make diagrams! Draw outlines on the walls, floor, or ceiling! Get creative and be as specific as possible – don’t just carve out space for a spice rack, list the spices you plan to have in it. Just make sure there’s a spot for everything you absolutely need.
If you’re just getting into tiny living, plan out a space-budget in advance. If you’ve been doing it awhile and are constantly frustrated by clutter, it might take a little more effort, but it’s worthwhile. Make diagrams! Draw outlines on the walls, floor, or ceiling! Get creative and be as specific as possible – don’t just carve out space for a spice rack, list the spices you plan to have in it. Just make sure there’s a spot for everything you absolutely need.
And if you find out that you don’t have enough room for something, maybe that’s a hint about how much you really need it…
2. Everything IN its Place
Anyone who had a parent, grandparent or other relative who was in the military knows how particular they can be about putting things “in the right place.” Even when everything has a place, sometimes we forget to put things away or simply allow clutter, dirty dishes or clothes, and other random piles of randomness to appear. Ignoring such things, however, will inevitably make a tiny home feel even tinier.
Since you’ve gone through the effort of making sure everything has a place, there’s no reason for anything to be out of place – except for when you’re using it, of course. The simple answer is, as soon as you’re done with it, put it away. If something needs washing, either wash it immediately (as with dishes) or as soon as practical (as with laundry) without letting it build up. Carving out a little time each day, say five to ten minutes, to just check around and make sure everything is where it belongs can help make your small space feel much bigger.
3. Consolidate and Share
3. Consolidate and Share
If you talk to anyone who’s lived on an aircraft carrier, you’ll learn quickly that there’s a thriving barter community, especially for entertainment. Since space is at a premium, things like books, movies, music, and other physical media get shared from person to person, frequently with in a pay-it-forward model. There are even donation-based programs such as Heinlein for Heroes, that send books to active military personnel expressly for that purpose.
Of course, the best way to save space when living in a tiny area is to go digital for your entertainment needs – Netflix, Pandora, etc. However, many older books, albums, and even movies may not be available through online services, and sometimes it’s just nice to feel the weight of a physical book, LP, or other form of media in your hands.
Trading with friends is a great option, but there are other ways to share as well, such as with Little Free Libraries and similar projects.
Looking beyond merely entertainment, there’s a whole host of barter communities out there, which can fit in very well with the idea of tiny living. Check out groups like Our Goods, or look for local barter groups in your area. You can also look to celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, who wrote a book about sustainable living called The 11th Hour, or Brad Pitt, who worked with a sustainable architect named William McDonough, to design homes with a sustainable design based on McDonough’s designs, named Cradle to Cradle.
So there you have it. There might not be a ton of overlap between the military life and living in tiny homes, but there are definitely some principles that apply to both. I’d love to hear what other inspirations you can think of. Please share them in the comments.
This post was written by Tiffany Krezinski. She is a fellow blogger and also interested in tiny living and sustainability. Please visit and check out her blog; Peace, Love, & Travel with Cliff and Tiff, through the following link. Thanks Tiffany!
http://responsible-
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Monday, November 14, 2016
Houseboat on Dry Land as a Tiny Home
How's this for a weird sounding tiny house idea? Build a houseboat on pontoons, then park it on dry land and live in it. That's what someone in Connecticut did.
My former next door neighbor built this houseboat in the backyard of his business location. When he finished it he actually used it on the water for many years. Eventually, he had it moved back to where he built it, landscaped around it a bit, and moved in. I understand from communicating with him via email recently that he lives in it on a full-time basis for about half the year. That's because he's retired now and he spends the other half of the year in Florida. Someday I hope to get back to the area, catch him at home in the houseboat, and get some photos of the inside. I'd love to see how he laid-out the interior, wouldn't you?
My former next door neighbor built this houseboat in the backyard of his business location. When he finished it he actually used it on the water for many years. Eventually, he had it moved back to where he built it, landscaped around it a bit, and moved in. I understand from communicating with him via email recently that he lives in it on a full-time basis for about half the year. That's because he's retired now and he spends the other half of the year in Florida. Someday I hope to get back to the area, catch him at home in the houseboat, and get some photos of the inside. I'd love to see how he laid-out the interior, wouldn't you?
The crazy thing is, for all the talk you hear about how difficult it is to find a place to legally live in a tiny home, and with all the sneaking around and flying below the radar that tiny homeowners do, this place is out in the open on a busy street. Anyone driving by could spot it easily, and literally thousands of people drive by it every day. The icing on this particular cake is that it's not in a sleepy backwater, it's in an expensive Connecticut shoreline town where the current average listing price is $839,000. This is not a place where they ignore zoning laws.
Next time I talk with the owner I'll have to ask him how he did it.
Next time I talk with the owner I'll have to ask him how he did it.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016
SOLAR POWERED TINY HOME BY VODAPHONE
Vodaphone, a London-based telecommunications company devised a unique showcase for its technology, and called it "La Casa Movil." It's a modern tiny home on wheels with a clear wall of polycarbonite panels and an awning featuring three huge photovoltaic solar panels. Based on the photos they provided, I'd say that this clear wall provides a good deal of relief from the potential claustrophobic sense that a house of this size might otherwise have.
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| Exterior view. |
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| Kitchen detail (refrigerator concealed below counter). |
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| Kitchen |
A few additional features that set this tiny home apart are its three fixture bathroom (sink, shower, and toilet), and a winding staircase to the loft with sleeping for three. All this in a home within an 8'wide x 20'long x 12.5' high box. I guess that makes it 160 square feet, plus the loft.
The loft has two beds, a single and a double, plus three clothes closets with sliding doors and additional storage. Because the loft is not located in a gable roofed structure, it is quite roomy compared to many other tiny home designs. Since the loft is only above the kitchen/dining/bath area, it overlooks the living area.
The living area has an extraordinarily high ceiling, creating a more spacious feeling. This layout also creates a second means of egress from the loft bedroom, something many tiny homes lack. In the event of a fire, not only could you escape down the stairs, but you could also jump down into the living area. As a last resort, you could kick-out the polycarbonate panel and escape directly to the outside. A major drawback to many tiny homes I've looked at is the lack of proper egress from the sleeping loft. Whether intentional or not, this design seems to have solved that common problem.
One concern this design might raise is the possibility for overheating because the clear wall and solar panels are on the same side, which of course would need to be the sunny side. Perhaps this could be mitigated by having the solar panels and clear wall on opposite sides, or by having the clear panels only extend down to say, chair rail height, instead of all the way to the floor. Incorporating operable blinds into the clear wall might also be a possibility.
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| Folding dining table/desk. Kitchen, stairs, and bathroom door in background. |
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| Bathroom showing shower and sink. Toilet (not shown) is on far right. |
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| View from kitchen toward living area. |
The loft has two beds, a single and a double, plus three clothes closets with sliding doors and additional storage. Because the loft is not located in a gable roofed structure, it is quite roomy compared to many other tiny home designs. Since the loft is only above the kitchen/dining/bath area, it overlooks the living area.
The living area has an extraordinarily high ceiling, creating a more spacious feeling. This layout also creates a second means of egress from the loft bedroom, something many tiny homes lack. In the event of a fire, not only could you escape down the stairs, but you could also jump down into the living area. As a last resort, you could kick-out the polycarbonate panel and escape directly to the outside. A major drawback to many tiny homes I've looked at is the lack of proper egress from the sleeping loft. Whether intentional or not, this design seems to have solved that common problem.
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| View from living area toward kitchen. |
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| Loft sleeping area. |
One concern this design might raise is the possibility for overheating because the clear wall and solar panels are on the same side, which of course would need to be the sunny side. Perhaps this could be mitigated by having the solar panels and clear wall on opposite sides, or by having the clear panels only extend down to say, chair rail height, instead of all the way to the floor. Incorporating operable blinds into the clear wall might also be a possibility.
Take a detailed virtual tour of this home by watching this neat video of the Vodaphone tiny home below. It is cool and it has pretty cool music too. Enjoy!
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Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Rochester Greenovation Tiny Home for the Homeless Project
I recently attended the first meeting in a ten part series that will ultimately result in a tiny house prototype for homeless people. It was facilitated by Rochester Greenovation in Rochester, NY rochestergreen.org. The idea is to build a tiny home from salvaged materials such as pallets and old windows. The first meeting involved brainstorming with members of the group and sharing ideas about the design. In ten weeks, we should have a prototype. This installment of my blog is intended as a resource for group members, but it could be useful to any other individuals or groups contemplating similar projects with similar goals.
I will try to update this post as I find additional helpful material. I'll start with a video about pallet types and how to break them down.
Nine people attended the meeting, including me. I enjoyed meeting everyone, and I thought there was a good discussion. Some of the talk caused me to think of some work by the tiny home designer, Michael Janzen. What follows is from his website http://www.ninetinyfeet.com
Here is a silent & brief video he made of one of the tiniest houses imaginable. A true microhouse. It's kind of a pretty outhouse with a front porch and a sleeping loft. That probably sounds gross, but it's not. The cylinder you'll see inside represents a five gallon bucket for a sawdust composting toilet. His two other designs below also have the sawdust composting toilet, plus sleeping space, tiny kitchen, storage, rainwater catchment, greywater treatment, personal garden, and shower.
tiny-bicycle-houses
More ideas...
Results of the charrette that took place during our second meeting:
As a member of the group, I do have some concerns and reservations about this notion of building an 8'x10' moveable shelter for a homeless person. I think that there are some important and very real problems that need to be solved. They are as follows...
Propane heat. Fire is dangerous, especially in a confined space. Propane heaters require propane (expensive) and would need to be vented in such a small space because of condensation and carbon monoxide. Vented propane heaters such as the one in the video above are expensive, and not found in the waste stream.
Electric heat requires electricity. If we have a means of hooking our tiny house up to a reliable source of electricity then fine, but where will a homeless person find that legally? In my view, the idea that we can have a solar panel and battery to provide this electricity is unlikely. We will not find many solar panels in the waste stream, and batteries that are will most likely not work, which is why they are in the waste stream to begin with. Further, even if you did acquire a working battery, it would take a very long time to charge up with a good solar panel and optimal conditions. Then, since most electric space heaters use 800 to 1600 watts while running, they would drain the battery very quickly and there would be none to spare for lighting or any other electrical use.
I will try to update this post as I find additional helpful material. I'll start with a video about pallet types and how to break them down.
Nine people attended the meeting, including me. I enjoyed meeting everyone, and I thought there was a good discussion. Some of the talk caused me to think of some work by the tiny home designer, Michael Janzen. What follows is from his website http://www.ninetinyfeet.com
Here is a silent & brief video he made of one of the tiniest houses imaginable. A true microhouse. It's kind of a pretty outhouse with a front porch and a sleeping loft. That probably sounds gross, but it's not. The cylinder you'll see inside represents a five gallon bucket for a sawdust composting toilet. His two other designs below also have the sawdust composting toilet, plus sleeping space, tiny kitchen, storage, rainwater catchment, greywater treatment, personal garden, and shower.
I am posting a few more of Michael's concepts for quick viewing below, but I suggest you click on the link I provided above to see more and to read about the specifics of each design.
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| Metal roof catches rainwater and sends it to collection tank on trailer tongue. |
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| Same design as above showing south side w/ solar panels, grey-water treatment, and garden. |
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| This design might be light enough to tow w/ a bicycle. It also catches rainwater, treats grey-water and has a garden. |
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| Wondering where you'd sleep? Plywood shelves fold down at counter height creating a platform perfect for a mummy style sleeping bag. |
Group members and/or other readers who have comments, suggestions, or links you think are appropriate, can post them in the comments section below.
Other potentially useful links I found...
tiny-homes-a-solution-to-big-homeless/
cadillac-of-homeless-shelters
gallery-of-homeless-shacksOther potentially useful links I found...
tiny-homes-a-solution-to-big-homeless/
cadillac-of-homeless-shelters
tiny-bicycle-houses
More ideas...
Making a home on a trailer was discussed, and an 8'x10' foot print was more or less the consensus. For discussion and informational purposes I am including the floor plans and a video about a Tumbleweed Tiny House Company model called the XS (extra small) house. Its overall dimensions are 7'X11', pretty close to what we are talking about.
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| Tumbleweed XS House floor plans. |
CONCERNS:
As a member of the group, I do have some concerns and reservations about this notion of building an 8'x10' moveable shelter for a homeless person. I think that there are some important and very real problems that need to be solved. They are as follows...
Heating
Propane heat. Fire is dangerous, especially in a confined space. Propane heaters require propane (expensive) and would need to be vented in such a small space because of condensation and carbon monoxide. Vented propane heaters such as the one in the video above are expensive, and not found in the waste stream.
Electric heat requires electricity. If we have a means of hooking our tiny house up to a reliable source of electricity then fine, but where will a homeless person find that legally? In my view, the idea that we can have a solar panel and battery to provide this electricity is unlikely. We will not find many solar panels in the waste stream, and batteries that are will most likely not work, which is why they are in the waste stream to begin with. Further, even if you did acquire a working battery, it would take a very long time to charge up with a good solar panel and optimal conditions. Then, since most electric space heaters use 800 to 1600 watts while running, they would drain the battery very quickly and there would be none to spare for lighting or any other electrical use.
Sanitation
Incinerating toilets require vast amounts of electricity, and propane toilets have the same venting problems discussed above. Plus, both are prohibitively expensive and not found in the waste stream. While sawdust composting toilets makes sense due to their essentially free nature, keep in mind that they will be filled every week or two, and the contents will need to be dealt with somehow. In that short time frame little to no composting will have occurred so there will be a mixture of raw sewage and sawdust that can not be safely or responsibly disposed of in the bushes. If that were to occur, our project would gain negative publicity and run into even more resistance from the public at large in the future. The disposed of contents of a sawdust toilet need to continue composting for a year or more in a properly tended compost setup.
Food and Cooking
Again, the same problems as above regarding fuel, electricity, venting, fire, and safety.
Location and Transportation
The shelter we build will ultimately need to be located somewhere. I suspect Rochester has rules about living for extended periods of time in camping trailers, and where such trailers can be located legally. Since a homeless person is unlikely to have a vehicle capable of towing their tiny home, chances are it will be staying put somewhere, but where? There is little point in having it be moveable if there is no means to move it. On the other hand having it be immovable is also pointless without a legal place to live in it.
Possible Solutions
1. Rochester makes land available for tiny homes for the homeless.
2. An indoor location such as a large garage, warehouse, vacant factory, or empty store where tiny homes can be left, electricity is available, and cooking and sanitation services can be provided for all occupants, thus eliminating the need to solve the cooking and sanitation problems on an individual unit basis.
3. Scaling back the goals of the tiny home in terms of it's size and amenities.
Hypothetical
If an indoor space were to become available, then shipping containers converted to tiny dwellings could be viable. They are generally 8'x20' or 8'x40'. the 8x20s could be partitioned in two, creating two 8x10 units. 8x40s could be partitioned into four 8x10 units each. They are stackable, so various configurations could be made to accommodate singles, couples, and families. Just a thought. What do you think? Comment below.
Notes about the October 20th Saturday meeting:
This post is getting a bit long. To see the updated post, including pictures of the actual tiny home for the homeless we are building, click here.
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Notes about the October 20th Saturday meeting:
- Smaller showing today but considerable progress made. Discussion has now turned to panelization so that tiny home can be easily assembled, disassembled and moved.
- We are now thinking of making a floor system out of four 4'-0" x 4'-2" pallets resulting in something close to an 8'x8' square.
- The pallets would be attached with full dimension 2x8s for sturdiness and rigidity, and the walking surface might be plywood attached to the pallets.
- We are thinking of having a small toilet enclosure, a place for a mattress, a kitchen counter, and a clothes hanging rod.
- Walls would probably be fabricated from pallets too.
- The tiny house would have a shed roof for simplicity.
- We discussed the need for a window that could act as a second means of egress, and possible ways to protect the window from undesired ingress with some sort of metal grid that could be easily opened from the inside only.
- Heating is a big issue in Rochester. A radiant floor system involving a heat exchanger, garden hose, and thermosiphon were also mentioned. The video posted below shows how a simple thermosiphon works...
Circulating hot water with no pump:
This post is getting a bit long. To see the updated post, including pictures of the actual tiny home for the homeless we are building, click here.
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
A Gas Heater to Consider for Your Tiny Home
Well, it's beginning to get into the heating season again, so let's do a quick comparison of the popular Dickinson boat heaters with another small gas heater you may not be familiar with. Dickinson Boat heaters became more or less the gas "fireplace" de rigor in tiny homes pretty much ever since people saw Jay Shafer using them in his Tumbleweed Tiny Homes many years ago. He never seemed to have any complaints, but then again, he lives in California, not the frigid north. I don't know what the temperature was where Jay lives when I originally wrote this on the last day of winter, 2013, but where I was in upstate New York it was 19 degrees (F), snowing, and breezy to boot.
Lately I've seen reports from a few folks who are underwhelmed by the heating power of Dickinson's small stainless steel heaters. I thought I'd call your attention to an attractive alternative made by Woodstock Soapstone Company of West Lebanon, New Hampshire. I should say at the outset though that it ain't cheap, and while it is small, I'm sure that the Dickinson boat heaters are lighter. I'm not endorsing any of these heaters, but for me the model pictured directly below is more up my aesthetic sensibility alley than the Dickinson models.
They call this model the Mini Franklin gas stove. This diminutive heater looks great in my opinion. It weighs-in at 65 pounds and it can be configured to burn propane or natural gas.
If you look at the photo of it above without any context, it looks like it could be four feet tall. The photo below provides the context to appreciate just how tiny this fireplace really is.
Some of this little gas heater's specifications appear in the chart below.
It is difficult to do a fair comparison between Woodstock's Mini Franklin gas stove and Dickinson's propane boat heaters, but never-the-less I will attempt to do so. Just for reference, below is a photo of a typical Dickinson propane boat heater.
Let's start by comparing size and space heating ability. Dickinson has two models that are popular with the tiny house crowd, the Newport P-9000 and the Newport P-12000. They both look similar and have a clean, modern, utilitarian appearance. If small size is your main concern then Dickinson is the way to go. The P-9000's dimensions are 8.5"w x 14"h x 5.5"d. Its BTU output is from 5,500 to 7,500 per hour, which they claim is adequate for about 100 sq. ft. The P-12000's dimensions are slightly larger at 10"w x 16"h x 7.25"d, and it has a BTU output 7,000 to 9,200 per hour, which they say will heat 144 square feet. Both models are equipped with a blower to help spread the heat around, and both are direct vent models that bring in outside air through a double walled exhaust vent for combustion. Neither adversely affects indoor air quality.
The Mini Franklin has a more traditional appearance. It's pretty small at 14.5"w x 17"h x 14.5"d, but that's still significantly larger than either Dickinson model, especially depth-wise. Its stated BTU output range is from 5,740 to 8,200 per hour. Woodstock claims it will heat spaces up to as much as 450 sq. ft. It doesn't have a blower, but like the Dickinson models it too is direct venting and therefore it won't adversely affect indoor air quality or create drafts by pulling replacement air in from around the edges of doors and windows. I don't know how to reconcile Woodstock's claim of heating a larger area with fewer BTUs than that of the Dickinson P-12000, especially given that the Woodstock model doesn't have a blower, but maybe one of my astute readers can answer that question in the comments below.
One other thing about the Mini Franklin, it's available in 5 colors: black, blue, grey, brown, and charcoal.
Not sure how many square feet your tiny dream home has? It's an easy calculation if your floor plan is rectangular. Multiply the outside length of the building by its outside width. For example if your tiny home is 8'-0" x 20'-0" then you have a 160 sq. ft. home (lofts and porches don't count because porches aren't conditioned spaces and lofts in tiny homes are often tough to sit up in, let alone stand up in). I know that I count the walls, which aren't useable space, but that's how I do it. If you want to be stickler about it then measure the overall inside length and width and multiply them instead.
The most recent prices I found for the three propane heaters are...
P-9000 $699.00
P-12000 $789.00
Mini Franklin $1,149.00
Check these links for current prices:
http://www.woodstove.com/mini-franklin
http://www.boatownersworld.com/dickinsonmarine/propane_fireplaces.htm
Lately I've seen reports from a few folks who are underwhelmed by the heating power of Dickinson's small stainless steel heaters. I thought I'd call your attention to an attractive alternative made by Woodstock Soapstone Company of West Lebanon, New Hampshire. I should say at the outset though that it ain't cheap, and while it is small, I'm sure that the Dickinson boat heaters are lighter. I'm not endorsing any of these heaters, but for me the model pictured directly below is more up my aesthetic sensibility alley than the Dickinson models.
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| Photo credit: Woodstock Soapstone Company |
If you look at the photo of it above without any context, it looks like it could be four feet tall. The photo below provides the context to appreciate just how tiny this fireplace really is.
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| Photo Credit: Woodstock Soapstone Company |
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| Image credit: Woodstock Soapstone Company |
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| Photo credit: Dickinson Marine |
The Mini Franklin has a more traditional appearance. It's pretty small at 14.5"w x 17"h x 14.5"d, but that's still significantly larger than either Dickinson model, especially depth-wise. Its stated BTU output range is from 5,740 to 8,200 per hour. Woodstock claims it will heat spaces up to as much as 450 sq. ft. It doesn't have a blower, but like the Dickinson models it too is direct venting and therefore it won't adversely affect indoor air quality or create drafts by pulling replacement air in from around the edges of doors and windows. I don't know how to reconcile Woodstock's claim of heating a larger area with fewer BTUs than that of the Dickinson P-12000, especially given that the Woodstock model doesn't have a blower, but maybe one of my astute readers can answer that question in the comments below.
One other thing about the Mini Franklin, it's available in 5 colors: black, blue, grey, brown, and charcoal.
Not sure how many square feet your tiny dream home has? It's an easy calculation if your floor plan is rectangular. Multiply the outside length of the building by its outside width. For example if your tiny home is 8'-0" x 20'-0" then you have a 160 sq. ft. home (lofts and porches don't count because porches aren't conditioned spaces and lofts in tiny homes are often tough to sit up in, let alone stand up in). I know that I count the walls, which aren't useable space, but that's how I do it. If you want to be stickler about it then measure the overall inside length and width and multiply them instead.
The most recent prices I found for the three propane heaters are...
P-9000 $699.00
P-12000 $789.00
Mini Franklin $1,149.00
Check these links for current prices:
http://www.woodstove.com/mini-franklin
http://www.boatownersworld.com/dickinsonmarine/propane_fireplaces.htm
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Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Tiny Home In Stowe Vermont
I love Vermont and I visit whenever I can. It's a beautiful state. When I'm there, I frequently find myself in the town of Stowe. I spotted this tiny house pretty much right in the center of town.
I honestly know next to nothing about it, but I think that it's possible to more or less infer its floor plan based on external clues. I'd guess it's dimensions to be about 12' x 20'. That would make it about 240 square feet. It appears to be a free standing apartment associated with a much larger house, and it echoes its neighbor by sharing similar proportions and details. The roof looks like a 12 in 12 pitch (45 degree angle), common at this latitude due to heavy winter snow accumulations. The very simple, understated detailing is typical for a Vermont dwelling.
One interesting and unique feature it has is a second floor deck, visible when you view the building from behind. This is particularly striking given that the little house does not seem like it actually has much of a second floor. My guess is that if it does have one, then it would be tough for an adult to stand up fully anywhere other than directly under the peak.
The back features two small awning windows. I'll bet the one on the far left is in the bathroom, and the other one is probably over the kitchen sink. On the far right of the back you can see a metal structure sticking out of the wall. It's a gas vent, probably for a gas heater on the inside. In fact, if you look closely, you'll see a bit of copper pipe coming out of the ground and then bending to enter the house a few inches above the base of the wood siding. That's likely to be where propane is being piped-in for the heater. You can also see the balusters around the deck on the far left. I guess there is a flat-roofed portion of the house over the bathroom area.
All in all, it's a pretty cute tiny home in a prime location, easily seen from the main
road in downtown Stowe.
I honestly know next to nothing about it, but I think that it's possible to more or less infer its floor plan based on external clues. I'd guess it's dimensions to be about 12' x 20'. That would make it about 240 square feet. It appears to be a free standing apartment associated with a much larger house, and it echoes its neighbor by sharing similar proportions and details. The roof looks like a 12 in 12 pitch (45 degree angle), common at this latitude due to heavy winter snow accumulations. The very simple, understated detailing is typical for a Vermont dwelling.
One interesting and unique feature it has is a second floor deck, visible when you view the building from behind. This is particularly striking given that the little house does not seem like it actually has much of a second floor. My guess is that if it does have one, then it would be tough for an adult to stand up fully anywhere other than directly under the peak.
All in all, it's a pretty cute tiny home in a prime location, easily seen from the main
road in downtown Stowe.
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