If you are weary of a large house with high property taxes, big utility bills, tons of maintenance, and too much stuff, you’re definitely not alone! Millions of Americans are turning to smaller living spaces as a pathway to a happier, stress-reduced life. The Giant Book of Tiny Homes captures the essence of this downsizing trend by showcasing homes across a spectrum of styles and locations, each filled with stylish interiors, ingenious solutions for small-space living, and stories of contented homeowners. Plus, you’ll get great advice and insights from the growing number of talented builders and architects who have trained their skills on creating beautiful, imaginative smaller dwellings. Whether custom-designed for a traditional foundation, assembled on a moveable trailer, or flat-packed and flown in by helicopter, small houses are all about “less is more.” If you’re a small house aficionado or simply considering the possibilities, this book is your inspiration for living large in a small space!
“This thought provoking book is a great resource for anyone considering joining the tiny house movement. It’s all the information you need in one book! The author has done a phenomenal job blending real world experience, data and practical knowledge on all types of tiny homes.” -Corinne Watson, Principle and Co-Founder, Tiny Homes of Maine “Charlie Wing’s very readable Tiny House Handbook leads you through the processes of designing and building a tiny home, with careful attention to all the details, including legal issues, cost estimates, material utilization and foundation options. Charlie is a master at demystifying the seemingly complex process of homebuilding. This book will help you live both comfortably and lighter on the land.“ -John S. Crowley, CEO of FACET and Board member, Build It Green Plan, design, and build a tiny house from scratch The Tiny House Handbook is a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know to construct your very own tiny house. Produced in Charlie Wing’s signature “visual handbook” style and jam-packed with full-color illustrations and diagrams, this book includes step-by-step instructions for building a tiny house as well as information on cost estimating and design requirements. Based on 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) Appendix Q, this book includes sample construction drawings and floor plans for a variety of tiny home styles, including: · Mobile (8'6”-wide trailers and RVs) · Movable (12'-wide, routine transport permit) · Site-built (up to 20’ wide) Rather than being just another inspirational collection of tiny home photographs, The Tiny House Handbook constitutes a complete and fulsome reference for anyone seeking to build their own tiny home. From seasoned construction vets to total novices, this book will walk you through the process of designing and building a tiny house from start to finish.
Table of Contents Introduction Concept of Space Micro Houses and Micro Dwellings Reasons for Moving Into a Smaller Home Are You Ready for a Tiny Home? Building Your Own House Rules Rules Rules… Plus Points of Ancient House Designs The Traditional Houseboat Teepees and Wigwams Mud Huts and Hogans Log Cabins and Burdeis Longhouses and Yurts The House of the Bamboo! Igloos and Adobe huts Basic Items in Your Home Conclusion Plans House #1: 325 ft2 House #2: 160 ft2 House #3: 208 ft2 House #4: 240 ft2 House #5: 290 ft2 House #6: 325 ft2 House #7: 435 ft2 House #8: 435 ft2 House #9: 520 ft2 House #10: 621 ft2 Portable House #1 Portable House #2 Resource Guide Author Bio Publisher Introduction An American friend of mine was talking about the building cost of her house, which was just 2,600 ft.² According to her, this was the average space taken by an average American family in the building of their own houses from scratch. She said she had already spent USD 80,000 on the architectural design, and she had not even begun! When she saw my eyes widen at the costs, she said, “What, your houses in your country or anywhere else, are not so large? And the house building costs do not come in thousands and thousands of dollars?” Well, I could tell her that in our country and in other parts of the World, our built houses – especially colonial bungalows, ancestral homes/haciendas – and I have lived in them – were made on land just under 1 acre and even much more, so I was not anyone to talk about 2,600 ft.². Nevertheless, I began to think that a book was needed to tell people all about how for millenniums, people have been living in really tiny spaces, in tiny homes, and they have managed extremely well. So this book is going to tell you all about some traditional ways in which you can build a really nice tiny home. But here you are going to think of a state of mind and a possible situation, where we are in survivalist mode. This tiny home is a shelter, for the family to protect it from the weather, animal attacks, a place to live in, eat, and sleep, and I am going to go back to the history of these houses, down the centuries all over the World. This book is going to give you lots of information on how these houses were built and how can you build these houses yourself, especially when you need to know how to build a shelter for your family.
Discover why tiny houses are such a big deal Welcome to the tiny house movement! This guide is the ideal introduction for the true beginner. Learn the history of the modern tiny house movement, get a breakdown of tiny house styles, and meet the passionate tiny house community with profiles of pioneers and their tiny homes. The book also discusses the pros and cons of micro living—is a tiny house right for you, right now? Take the self-evaluation quiz in chapter two and find out. Then, dive into the range of tiny house options and must-knows before taking the plunge. Benefits of downsizing—Find out how tiny houses are better for the environment, cheaper to maintain, and even meet housing shortages. Find a match—Fall in love with a tiny house that fits your style—from simple, stationary A-frames to creative tiny houses on wheels (or THOWs), all less than 400 sq ft. More to explore—The comprehensive resource section will help you dig deeper into tiny house construction options, off-grid living, and the art of downsizing. Learn about living large in the tiny house of your dreams!
Join the tiny house trend! The tiny house movement is a big trend with a very small footprint. Extremely small house, with less than 1,000 square feet of space, are environmentally friendly, less expensive than typical homes, and often movable. Tiny Houses Built with Recycled Materials is full of ideas for using reclaimed materials and upcycled goods to construct a tiny house that is good for the earth and truly unique. Ryan Mitchell, author of The Tiny Life blog, shows you how to repurpose everyday items to create your new home, including shipping containers, salvaged barn wood, and reclaimed shingles. Featuring profiles on tiny house owners with photographs and floor plans of the homes, ideas on where to find materials, and what to look for and avoid when selecting reclaimed materials, Tiny Houses Built with Recycled Materials is a unique book perfect for your biggest DIY project yet!
This Old House meets Wayne’s World in this zany guide to designing and building tiny homes Derek "Deek" Diedricksen has been fascinated with compact living ever since his father gave him the book Tiny Tiny Houses by Lester Walker for his tenth birthday. Combining his artistic abilities, wild imagination, and passion for small houses, Deek self-published Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts, and Whatever the Heck Else we could Squeeze in Here in 2009. This new and expanded edition is a collection of Deek’s creative/imaginative sketches for building small houses, shacks, cottages, and forts. Deek's one-of-a-kind sketches are accompanied with hand-written commentary, both instructive and comical. His main purpose is to encourage people to get off the couch and start building. Believing that specific building plans squash creativity, he avoids too many detailed instructions, so that do-it-yourselfers can put their own creative spin on their very own small abodes (even if it is just in their imaginations).
A comprehensive guide to small-space secrets and real-life solutions for living in 1,200 square feet or less. The Little Book of Living Small shows readers how to make the most of limited square footage—with grace and style—and serves as the cheerleader readers need to help themselves feel satisfied and proud of their choice to live with less. In addition to exploring both the motivation behind choosing to live in a small space, as well as the practical, everyday advice for managing a tight footprint, The Little Book of Living Small also includes case studies: 12 style-savvy, small-space dwellers open their doors and share their design secrets. Author Laura Fenton covers a range of homes including studio apartments, one- and two-bedroom houses, a tiny house, a co-living space, and even whole houses. Stylistically these homes range from urban, rural, minimalist, and country, with the unifying thread that they are all real homes of less than 1,200 square feet that offer clever solutions that readers can use in their own homes. Laura Fenton is the lifestyle director at Parents magazine. With more than fifteen years of experience, her work has appeared in major publications including Better Homes & Gardens, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and on leading home websites including Remodelista.com, HGTV.com, ElleDecor.com, HouseBeautiful.com, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Through her writing she has explored the topic of living small for more than a decade. She lives small with her husband, a photographer, and their son in Jackson Heights, Queens, in New York.
Do you have what it takes to live tiny? Do you dream of simplifying your life, freeing up your financial resources, and ditching all of the clutter that's weighing you down? Learn the nuts and bolts of what it really takes to achieve this dream of designing, building, and living in a tiny house of 400 square feet or less! Tiny house professionals Gabriella and Andrew Morrison have been involved in the trade for over 20 years, helping others to construct their own tiny homes, and they have poured all of their expertise and firsthand experience into this guide. Tiny House Designing, Building, and Living is the one-stop manual into this innovative concept of minimalist living. Dozens of helpful images and a full-color insert displaying different types of tiny houses help you visualize your dream. • Advice on how to embrace the tiny house lifestyle! • How to design and build a house that's an ideal fit for your needs. • The nuances of foundation types, financing and insurance, and legal standards • Building techniques, must-have utilities, off-the-grid living, and home placement. • Inspiration for functional décor and storage. • Three tiny house floor plans, with detailed illustrations!
Combining the “why” with the “how to,” Building Your Tiny House Dream will show you each step to constructing your own custom camper! Part one provides detailed guidance on essential information, from the skills needed and planning to tools, safety, and helpful resources. Start building your tiny home in part two that’s carefully laid out in order from start to finish, from laying the foundation and framing to plumbing, adding personality, and towing so you can take your tiny home on wheels on the road! Also included is access to an online how-to video series of the author building the featured tiny home project from beginning to end.
