redneck-home-improvement

Michael Janzen, my friend and fellow tiny house blogger has been real busy lately and I wanted to update you on a couple of his projects.

First, Michael just put the finishing touches on the 8×20 solar house and uploaded the plans. Michael has posted the first version of the plans for the 8×20 online for your review. He would like your input on his plans so go here to check it out.

Second, Michael took the day off from work and took a half-day trip up the the farm the other day. He spent a few hours working on the Tiny Free House, shooting some photos and video. Michael hopes this is the beginning of a series of trips that will get him a lot closer to completing the Tiny Free House. Below is one of the videos and you can go here to see a few more of the videos he shot.

Third, Michael has designed a Murphy Bed to go inside of his 8×20 solar house. It’s a queen size bed mounted horizontally. This allows some space to walk around side of the bed past the main windows but more importantly allows the whole thing to fit under the ceiling. The bed is a bit higher than normal so that it clears the wheel well. See his Murphy bed post here.

Keep up the good work Michael, I personally enjoy seeing your designs and check your blog regularly to see what new idea you have come up with.

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• 5 Four-Letter Words You Should Be Using in Personal Finance This is a post from Jason over at Redeeming Riches. Jason is a financial planner by day and a personal finance blogger by night. Be sure to subscribe to his posts in a reader or by email. No, I’m not going to list some new vocabulary words for you to......
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• Budgeting For Home Improvement Projects Sometimes home improvement projects are very costly. However, it is always possible to cut costs on home improvement by following simple tips. Planning the budget of your home improvement project is a crucial thing that will allow you to save lots of money. You should never try to save on......
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13 months in a 21 square foot, Mule drawn Tiny Home

Bernie Harberts of River Earth recently bought a set of Sonoma Shanty plans and when we were communicating by email because he is wanting the shanty on wheels version, I discovered his website and learned about his interesting story.

Bernie recently downsized his wagon for a second journey across America, he went from 60 square feet down to 21 square feet in order to cut down weight and make his home more easily pulled by his trusty mule Polly.

Everything I ever built in my life has/had wheels under it: from the boat I sailed alone around the world to the boat I built and sailed from Canada to the Bahamas to the wagon I lived in while voyaging from Canada to Mexico.

Bernie’s old wagon was 2360 pounds, empty and he designed his new one to be only 800 pounds. Here is what Bernie has to say about his design.

This time I paid closer attention to what the original pioneers wagons measured. I took a tape measure to my mule skinner buddy Tash Hudson’s wagons. The beds on his traditional wagons measured 36″ to 48″ wide, fully 2 feet narrower than my original wagon. Another friend, Sue Maska, who spent 5 years traveling the country with her husband in their horse-drawn wagon, gave me tips on a practical interior layout. Their wagon was only 3 feet wide.

Then I fired up my welder and got to work. Using 1 1/2″ X 1/8″ angle iron, I welded up a steel frame that weighed 100 pounds.

To that, I attached lightweight walls fashioned from 3/4″ foam insulation sandwiched between two sheets of 1/8″ plywood.

The new wagon measures just over 2’ 6” wide by 8’ long. A 3’ covered area where I sit while driving, what I call the front porch, brings the overall length to 11’. Headroom inside, instead of 6’, was reduced to 4’ 10”.

Bernie is an author and sold books along the way to help pay for his trip. You can see two of his books pictured below. I want to encourage you to go explore his site and learn more of his story as I can’t do it justice in a short post. Visit his the General Store if you would enjoy getting one of his books and getting the full details of his travels.

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• Big Book of Home How To By Better Homes and Gardens When it comes to dealing with the authority on home improvement, you can’t much better than Better Homes and Gardens. For decades they have been helping and inspiring home owners throughout the world. Let’s see if their latest book is worth the money and if it can help you with......
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Tiny House Living is a weekly newsletter that covers the world of tiny houses and the people that choose to live this simpler life. Each entry is a short summary that links to the original article. Subscribe by Email to Tiny House Living and stay up-to-date on the news and events in our community.

In this issue: The Paper House; Small Living Journal – Why a Tiny Home?; Bush Babes; Ziggy’s Cob House; Jalopy Cabins; 8 x 20 Solar House; ReBurbia; and the Clear Village Contest. Click here to read Tiny House Living.

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• It's Not About the Money The following guest post is from Ben of Money Smart Life.  He graciously sent over this post when he learned of our family emergency in an effort to give me a breather.  Enjoy the post, and then head over to his site to sign up for more articles like this......
• linklings, international labor day edition I've been on the road for the past few days on family business, so my link roundup for the weekend will be briefer than usual.  It was interesting spending 5 hours solo driving with Little Buddy in the backseat, since we left Bubelah and Pumpkin at home.  Kids seem......
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• A Million Bucks By 30 | Book Review I just finished reading A Million Bucks By 30:How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (or After) Turning Thirty.  The author, Alan Corey, was kind enough to send me a review copy. I must say, it's one of the most......
• Winner of $100 Home Depot Gift Card Happy Father's Day Dads! Did you do any DIY projects today? Oh... right that's not why you're here today. You want to know who won the $100 Home Depot gift card. Let's throw all the names into the random list generator and see who gets drawn first... Congratulations Cheryl W!......

I really like the modern design of this office pod,  at a size of 2.1 meters square or about 6 feet 9 inches square by American measurements, you might at first think this is way to small for a tiny house.

Here is what I envision, four of these pods on a deck with a dogtrot covering between each pod. One pod is the kitchen, one the bath, one a bedroom, and one an office.

Total living space 196 square feet and if you need to add another room just add another pod. These office pods are designed in London in the UK and I haven’t found out yet if they can be shipped here or at what price. I hope to be getting some of that information soon.

Use your imagination and start thinking what you could do with something like this. At this size you could start out with one pod and than add on as you are able or could afford it. Pay as you go. You could even put them on a trailer and transport it to a different location if necessary. If you build your own, you could design it modern or rustic. Use modern materials or reclaimed or salvaged materials, your imagination is the limit. This is definitely a winning tiny house concept in my humble opinion.

To learn more about the office pod and the concept behind its design, visit the Office Pod website.

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• Pegasus Faucets Add Quality and Style To Your Fixtures Redecorating can be a satisfying venture, creating a decor that fits your personality and bringing individuality to your home. Shopping for decorating items can be a laborious process, though, especially without a clear idea of what kind of items are best. I've personally found that shopping for faucets and fixtures......
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• Aluminium Gutters: The Only Choice Discerning homeowners know that a fully functioning guttering system is one of the most important things they can do to protect their home and its foundations or cellar from damage by rainwater. Selecting from plastic gutters, aluminium gutters, copper gutters and cast iron gutters isn’t simple. To varying degrees, these......

When I first saw these huts on wheels, they looked a bit like an alien vehicle from Star Wars. The more I looked at them though, the more I fell in love with these sleek little houses.

Designed as a modern alternative to camping by Tom Kundig of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects in Seattle, the Rolling Huts are available for rent in the Methow Valley of Washington state. The huts are several steps above camping, while remaining low-tech and low-impact in their design.

The huts sit lightly on the site, a flood plain meadow in an alpine river valley. The owner purchased the site, formerly a RV campground, with the aim of allowing the landscape return to its natural state. The wheels lift the structures above the meadow, providing an unobstructed view into nature and the prospect of the surrounding mountains.

The huts are grouped as a herd: while each is sited towards a view of the mountains (and away from the other structures), their proximity unites them. They evoke Thoreau’s simple cabin in the woods; the structures take second place to nature.

Each hut comes equipped with a small refrigerator, microwave, fireplace and Wi-Fi. A sleeping platform is perfect for two, and the modular furniture in the living area can be reconfigured to sleep two more. Each hut has an adjacent portable toilet, and full bathrooms and showers are housed in the centrally located barn a short distance away. There is a water faucet outside of each hut and a picnic table in front of each hut that seats 12. You can stay in one of these huts for about $80-$100 a night.

By Christina Nellemann

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• Ashford University vs. Clayton State University Online Structure My cousin is attending Ashford University online, and I attend Clayton State University Online. The structures are completely different. Her classes are composed of quizzes taken from reading material and essays. She says they have no exams. My university’s structure runs something like this: Read Quizzes Homework and Essays Projects......
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• Top Ski Resorts in the US There really is no better rush than going skiing down a brand new mountain full of fresh powder. If you are a winter sporting enthusiast, then take to heart this compiled list worth of the most popular ski resorts in the United States. If you want to fulfill the craving......