Day 3 of Tiny House Design-Build: Tiny Tours

Today’s guest post brought to you by Cheryl Gant, a student in this summer’s Tiny House Design-Build class at Yestermorrow. Thanks, Cheryl!

Today we went on a tour of tiny/small homes in nearby Montpelier, Plainfield & Cabot, Vermont.

The first home was 500 square feet and will be on the new show about tiny homes in late August. You can watch episodes of Tiny House Nation that have already aired on the FYI website. The owner got a loan for $50,000 and $40,000 worth of materials were donated through the show. This is a well-designed high-end home with high ceilings, beautiful kitchen with concrete counter-tops, recessed lights & expensive appliances. The wall between the master bedroom & the one for his 22 year old daughter moves against the back wall to completely open up the space. Beautiful tile shower and swanky concrete bathroom sink are among the many elements that make this a very nice tiny home. The couple building it have decided not to move into it because they have all their kids back at home. We asked how it was permitted but he wasn't sure but maybe as a ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit.)

On to the 2nd house which was up high with a view of the river. It had been designed by a Yestermorrow Semester Program. The angles were interesting and the mix of rusted steel exterior and other materials was interesting. The bottom part was a wood workshop (400 sq ft.) & upstairs was the living space (600 sq ft.). Again high ceilings made the space feel bigger. Not sure about the shower door entry on the hallway, but otherwise the kitchen, dining room, and den space were all very comfortable. The high R value of the sprayed in cellulose insulation made it very energy efficient.

Onward now to a tiny house on a trailer bed built by a Yestermorrow class 2 years ago. By built I mean started by a class then the owners have to do the rest of the work themselves and buy the materials. Two years later they were done and living in it and soon to join them will be their new baby. The space was very functional but their loft ladder took up a chunk of space and the temporary bed covered a lot of floor. The owners gave everyone lots of good information about simplifying the electrical system and hiring a professional mover to move your home to a new site.

The last two homes were on the same property and both were used as detached bedrooms while using the kitchen and bathroom in the main house. The first had a bath tub underneath the floor, very cool! Lots of windows and a curved roof, a drafting table and bookshelf.

The next house, well as we headed towards it we had a sudden down pour and we all were drenched by the time we got to it. We lingered for a while inside, admired the plexiglass sunroof that barely leaked and decided that since the rain showed no sign of slowing down we'd better leave so we hopped out and headed for our two cars. The van had most of the class and I was in our instructor Paul's car with Julie and Ashley Layne. Julie was craving ice cream so when we got back to Montpelier Paul dropped her and A.L. out and we drove around the block till they came out with their ice cream. Pretty good day at Yestermorrow!

Day 1: Tiny House Design-Build

Today's guest post brought to you by Katherine Arathoon, a student in this summer's Tiny House Design-Build class at Yestermorrow. Thanks, Katherine!

It's Day 1 of the Tiny House Design-Build, and we're off to a roaring start!

Lo, the blank slate of a custom-built trailer sat before us in the hangar today, pristine and glossy black. As a class we took a moment to sit with the trailer and think about what we hoped to achieve. Building a home for someone is such an exciting project; we had aspirations for how we wanted it to be crafted ("Well built," "Sturdy walls,"), and also what we wanted it to provide ("Laughter," "Peaceful retreat," "Good food, good cooking!")

We started by leveling the trailer. The back right jack had gotten damaged in transit, but after getting it back into place using a very sophisticated technique (Tomas hit it with a large piece of wood), we were able to level the trailer with a water level. A water level is a long tube filled with liquid that uses only gravity and water's innate predilection for seeking a level plane. As one of our instructors, Lizabeth, explained: "Water doesn't lie."

Then it was time to lay the foundation. We started by drilling pieces of wood into the inside front and rear of the trailer, on the same level as the cross ties. Drilling into metal is not easy, and one or two drill bits and screws were sacrificed along the way, but we got it done. Once that was accomplished we were able to place sheets of plywood across the length of the trailer on the crossbars. We squirted silicone caulk along the edges as an air seal, to stop water from being able to get up around the edges of the plywood. Then came two layers of rigid foam insulation, foamed into place to fill up any holes. We covered this insulation with heavy pieces of wood and clamped it down, to compact it snugly overnight. And then we were done for the day, and went off to eat a well-earned dinner.

Less Is More Presentations

On Sunday night Dave Cain and I kicked off Less is More at Yestermorrow with photographic introductions and a parti exercise. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we had field trips and design time. Dave and I also lead a series of mini-workshops covering everything from tiny home regulations and financing to structural considerations and humanure systems. By Thursday it was Less Time, More Drafting. And Friday we had our final presentations from twelve wonderful students. Check out the photos in Day 5: Less is More Presentations.

Fortunately, Paul Hanke (one of my co-instructors for the Tiny House Design-Build course - which has just a few more open spots for July!) and Kathy Meyer (who has taught small house design courses at Yestermorrow before) joined us as jurors to give feedback and suggestions. We got to see these amazing presentations:

• Elliot's tiny home on wheels with a triple-duty multipurpose table and a complex arched roof
• Reese's snowboarder's heaven on wheels, outfitted with everything needed for hitting the slopes (perhaps even including the slope of the roof?!)
• Eli's get-away with shaded verandas and big fans to beat the Georgian heat and room for dance parties to dance to the beat
• Addie's tiny home on wheels with a lofted sleeping nook accessible by a clever ladder with built-in storage
• Anna's cat-friendly cottage with a reading nook tucked over the stairs
• Geoff's timberframed cruc home featuring a sunken living room and just the basics to live happily (like a baby grand piano!)
• Jody's tiny home on wheels with a cozy window seat, a bay window, and a clever ladder
• Hannah's small home featuring a krunkle (or two) and an alleyway for access to the porch and art studio
• Caitlin's Oratory - a garden shed/beekeeping workshop/eventual sauna built from reclaimed materials and flooded with light from handmade stained-glass windows
• Annie's cabin which employs permaculture principles to heat water and use graywater from the tub for greenhouse plants
• Greg's gypsy wagon for farmers, which borrows inspiration from sheepherders wagons of old
• Jenna's desert oasis for family gatherings, including a soaking tub, a dining patio, clever sleeping nooks, and a simple humanure system

Less Time, More Drafting

Our week of Less is More at Yestermorrow has flown by! It seems like just yesterday we said Welcome to Less is More and now, all of the sudden, tomorrow is our presentation day. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we had small home tours in the morning, a design lesson in the afternoon, and evening discussion and slideshows. You can learn about our Sunday orientation and our Monday tours in Welcome to Less is More.

Check out the Day 2 Slideshow for photos from Tuesday when went on 3 small home tours. First we toured Suzanne's home, which is rumored to be an old sugar shack.  She added a mudroom, a sunroom, and a small office when she remodeled a few years ago. Her home features wide counter tops, a trap door to the basement, built-in storage in the sleeping loft, and stained glass separating the bedroom from the clawfoot tub. I think if I lived in this beautiful home I'd spend a good deal of time soaking up sunshine in the sunroom with its wonderful views.

Then we headed to Sallie's small home, which I adore since it's fun to see a place that was designed by a woman my size. Sallie doesn't have any upper cabinets in her kitchen so it's nice and bright with sliding glass doors on one side and windows on the other. I am particularly charmed by the ship's ladder to the guest room and her octagonally-shaped bedroom.

Afterwards we explored Todd and Molly's log cabin, which has two cozy lofts - one for sleeping and one for knitting, TV watching, and reading. They have clever ladders, beautiful woodworking, and a great mudroom, in addition to a very cool vintage fridge.

Yesterday we headed to my co-instructor Dave Cain's place which is not as small as most of the designs being created in this class, but still not so big. Check out the Day 3 Slideshow to see photos of Dave's place and our design work! Dave's house features 12 inch walls which create deep windowsills and a nice quiet inside. He and his partner Nancy have included lots of lovely touches that make their home cozy and unique. I'm especially fond of the lighting Dave made out of old electrical insulators!

A big snow storm came through, dumping several inches of snow. Before it really got going we did a little walk around of Elizabeth Turnbull's tiny house, which was one of my original inspirations to attend Yestermorrow and design and build myself a tiny house.

Today the snow storm has provided just the right conditions for hours and hours of design. It's fun to see so many different design processes at work. Check out the Day 4 Slideshow for pictures of Drafting Day! We have students sketching, drafting, and researching. There are people taping out kitchen layouts on the floor and delving into SketchUp modeling. I've enjoyed answering and asking questions as the designs evolve. I can't wait to see everyone's presentations tomorrow!

Welcome to Less Is More

Last night Dave Cain and I greeted our students for Yestermorrow Design-Build School’s Less is More class. We started out with a round of introductions in which everyone shared photos that inspire them. Then we moved on to a parti exercise borrowed from Paul Hanke, one of my co-instructors for the Tiny House Design-Build course. Each team of two students selected a found object which became the “big idea” for a shelter design. It was amazing to see what they dreamed up in 20 minutes! Check out our Welcome to Less is More Slideshow to see what they came up with! This morning we started out our first full day with field trips in the nearby area. You can see photos of our field trips and studio time in the Day 1 Slideshow.

Before heading out we made a list of things we wanted to observe while we were visiting small homes. Here are just a few of the things that made the list:

• material selections,
• feel of light,
• workspace,
• designated vs. multi-functional spaces,
• movement and flow.

Our first stop was Ben Cheney’s house, which was designed and built by the Yestermorrow Semester Program two years ago. This 680 square foot home features a woodshop on the ground floor, a kitchen with spaulted maple cabinets, a living room with a Vermont-made wood stove, a deck with river views, a cozy bedroom. The showstopper at this house is a dramatic cantilevered dining room nicknamed The Krunkle, which features magnificent views of the forest and river below.

Our second stop was Emily & Susan’s tiny house on a trailer. The shell of this home was built during Yestermorrow’s Tiny House Design-Build class three years ago. It’s not quite finished, but it was fun to see how much progress Susan and Emily have made since I first saw the house in October. I especially enjoyed getting to point to various features of the trailer as I shared information and tips for connecting a tiny house to a mobile foundation.

This afternoon was spent playing with big ideas. We discussed which activities we’d like to do in our small homes and which we’d like to have access to. Each student generated a set of lists: activities, wishlists, and site characteristics. Then we moved to drafting tables and broke out the markers so we could spend the rest of the afternoon playing with bubble diagrams and figure ground exploration.

This evening we discussed our observations from today’s field trips and explored the question “How BIG is small?” I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures: more field trips, a drafting lesson, and sharing pretty pictures to illustrate interior design tricks for small spaces. Follow along!

Home Again at Yestermorrow

Every time I return to the Yestermorrow campus, it feels like a homecoming. This is my seventh trip to Yestermorrow and the only time I’ve arrived here via Boston. (Special thanks to the dear folks in Boston – Jessica, Sage, Alison, and Maggie – who showed me a great tiny time there!)

The first four times I came to Yestermorrow I was a student, taking the three-week core curriculum Ecological Design in the Built Environment, then Less is More and Composting Toilets, then a splendid 2-week Natural Design-Build Intensive, and finally a set of 3 workshops: Sustainable Development, Green Remodeling, and Invisible Structures.

After completing my Yestermorrow coursework I headed off to Portland State University in 2011 to earn my Masters of Urban and Regional Planning and my Urban Design Certificate. In the summer of 2012, between my two years of graduate school, I also completed my Practicum Project for my Certificate of Sustainable Design & Building at Yestermorrow, when I finished out a tiny house on wheels. Tandem is currently located at Caravan – The Tiny House Hotel in Portland, OR where it’s available for nightly rental. Here’s a Teeny, Tiny Film about me and Tandem which fellow Whitman College alum Emily put together for my practicum presentation.

When I was a student at Yestermorrow, I had fantasies of someday coming back to teach at Yestermorrow when I had enough gray hairs to attest to my wisdom. So as you might imagine, I was pretty excited to return to Yestermorrow just a couple years later to speak at the first Tiny House Fair in June 2013 and then again in September-October 2013 as an instructor for the 2-week Tiny House Design-Build.

This time I was greeted with a big hug from Dave, who manages Yestermorrow’s facilities and plays a mean stand-up bass, a firm handshake from Eric who coordinates Yestermorrow's Semester Program, and another hearty hug from Heidi, maven of Yestermorrow’s incredible kitchen. I arrived just in time for lunch, so I had a chance to meet a couple of the interns and to visit with Jenna, one of our students who arrived early. After lunch Jenna and I went for a walk around the Yestermorrow campus. I haven’t been gone long, so I wasn’t able to identify any big changes since October, but it’s always fun to play I Spy and notice the subtle shifts. It was especially nice to walk down to the river and see how different it looks iced over.

Tonight we’ll kick off our 1-week Less is More class with a full studio of 12 students from as close as Montpelier and as far away as California. A couple students are also coming down from Ontario. I can’t wait to meet all of them and learn about their plans for small homes! Stay tuned this week for updates!

Happy Birthday to Niche Consulting LLC

A year ago today I started my own sustainable design consulting company, Niche Consulting LLC. So my baby company is one year old today! Happy Birthday, Niche!

For Niche, like for most start-up companies – and most human babies for that matter – the first year was full of experimentation and growth. Through Niche this year I taught workshops, met with clients for design and lifestyle consultations, sketched up tiny house designs, participated in conferences and working groups, and supported other sustainable development companies. I worked with dozens of great individuals and a handful of wonderful companies, including Intrinsic Ventures, Portland Alternative Dwellings, Caravan – The Tiny House Hotel, and Yestermorrow Design-Build School.

As I've embarked on Lina's Next Adventure, I've learned a great deal through trial-and-error as well as from the advice and support of friends, family, colleagues, and a few perfect strangers, too. Sometimes it’s felt like I could barely hold my head up and sometimes it’s felt like I was crawling, but now that I’ve got my feet underneath me, Niche and I are eager to toddle out and explore what this second year of life is all about. (Hopefully, it won’t be the terrible twos!)

Of course, I’ve also been overwhelmed by the support from my friends and family. Special thanks go to Sandy Hall, Amy Gammill, Rose Jones, Kathy MacMaster, and Pat Hovis for being my cheer squad! It’s also been great to be starting up my company while several friends and two of my sisters start companies of their own.

These friends and family members of mine also welcomed new businesses into the world this year:

• My sister Sarah created Farthest North Films so that she can pursue her love of documenting life in Alaska. (Her company is so new the website hasn't been built out yet - stay tuned!)
• My sister Katie created Bring Baby Fitness so she (and her infant son Caleb) can help other new parents take good care of themselves and their little ones. (Her company is so new the website hasn't been built out yet - stay tuned!)
• My friends Derin and Andra Williams have created Shelter Wise LLC to build tiny houses and do energy efficiency work.
• My friends Deb Delman and Kol Peterson created Caravan - The Tiny House Hotel.
• My friends Jeremy Beasley and Kelly Nardo are creating a film about tiny living called Small is Beautiful.
• My friend Karin Parramore co-founded Good Life Medicine Center (and its development overlapped with construction of her tiny house on wheels, Serenity! Two new babies for Karin this year! She deserves a medal – and a break!)
• My friend Lindsey Thompson started up Thompson Family Acupuncture Clinic and began blogging at Stick Out Your Tongue.
• My friend Lisa Curtis has developed Kuli Kuli Bars which you can now request that your local Whole Foods carry.

Meanwhile, I continue to be inspired by the friends who have blazed the entrepreneurial path before me and created sustainability-focused companies of their own:

• Brittany Yunker rents out her sweet Bayside Bungalow as a tiny vacation rental.
• Tammy Strobel teaches e-courses on simple living, writing, and photography (I've just registered for her latest one A Simple Year and I'm so excited to get started!)
• Dee Williams and Joan Grimm provide inspiration, education, and information for people creating tiny houses through Portland Alternative Dwellings
• Matt Eppelsheimer does web development through is company Rocket Lift Incorporated
• Corey McKrill builds websites through Jupiterwise Design
• Curt Bowen supports sustainable farming practices in Guatamala through Semilla Nueva
• Emily Dietsman and Andy Asmus grow amazing food, flowers, and community through Welcome Table Farm
• Apologies to anyone I left off the list! Remind me and I'll add you!

It’s been an honor to work alongside these impressive folks as we create companies that strive to do well by doing good. Here’s to supporting small businesses with big hearts this year!

Day 12: Tiny House Presentations

Yesterday we wrapped up Yestermorrow's 2013 Tiny House Design-Build with final presentations from 13 brilliant students. (See more photos in the Day 12 Slideshow.)

It's amazing to think that less than two weeks ago we were perfect strangers, introducing ourselves and our partis. There were many different reasons people shared for selecting Yestermorrow's Tiny House Design-Build course and today we were able to watch as 13 people shared how their thinking has changed as they've had the opportunity to learn about tiny house design considerations and build the shell of a tiny house on wheels.

Today we saw clever space-efficient design solutions presented through beautiful drawings and detailed models. We got to learn about:

• Cate's gypsy wagon with an arched roof, full extension drawers, leaded glass windows, and a multi-purpose mud room

  

• Julien's tiny home on wheels for a family of four, complete with a cow catcher, a movie screen, an electronic keyboard, and a set of brilliant cube turniture that serves as seats, storage, and a guest bed
• Amanda's backyard retreat, nestled into an edible landscape with a private outdoor seating area and sunset views
• Ben's cabin in the woods of the Olympic Peninsula with a great porch for sitting and a woodshop for projects that is as elegantly simple as the Stanley hand planer that inspired it
• Annika's little backpack-inspired house with a place for everything and so much more: a garage door opening to a courtyard, a greenhouse for food production and passive solar heat gain, a cozy loft, and easy access to fresh cookies when one walks in the front door
• Apayo's boat-shaped guest house in an incredible landscape, which serves as a canvas for her ocean-insipred art and a retreat for her visitors

  

• Oliver's multi-story house with a top-floor kitchen equipped with a dumbwaiter and windows that march up the corner of the house in step with the spiral staircase
• Laura's tiny house on wheels with a clerestory providing light for the loft and a multi-functional furniture to maximize the space
• Evan's little house on wheels with a clever central storage solution to ensure that everything has its place so that the house fits Evan juuust right
• Whitney's tiny house with a soaring garage door that enables the house to serve her differently for each of Vermont's 6 seasons (spring, summer, foliage season, stick season, winter, and mud season)
• Julie's Japanese-teahouse-inspired mobile home, complete with tatami mats, shoji screens, a table that serves as artwork, and a circular window

• 

  OJ's mobile design-build classroom that deploys like the tape measure that inspired it, opening to create more working space for projects while also serving as a crash pad for the instructor while traveling

• Jonathan's not-so-tiny but super cool home in the clearing with 27 instances of the magical Number 27 hidden amongst stained glass windows, a stone fireplace, a secret passageway, a breakfast nook, and several cozy sitting spots

Everyone should be immensely proud of the work they've produced. Their ideas, insight, and imagination have been thoroughly inspiring. I can't wait to see some of these little houses become a reality in the next couple years. Three cheers for Yestermorrow's 2013 Tiny House Design-Build course!

Day 11: Roof Sheathing & Drawing Sets

Day 11 of Yestermorrow's Tiny House Design-Build course was our last building day since presentations will take place all day today. So most of us worked in the Hanger this morning and a handful of us were back there this afternoon so that we could finish up as much of the roof sheathing as possible. Meanwhile, the studio was abuzz with model making and drawing as everyone refined their work for their final presentations. (See more photos in the Day 11 Slideshow.)

Down in the Hanger, Laura and Lizabeth worked out the sheathing for the gable ends and got them buttoned up. Whitney laid the floor of the storage loft. OJ, Laura, and Annika attached the hurricane ties which connect the rafters to the walls. Cate cut additional sheathing and did a happy dance when Patti complained she couldn't figure out which side was the factory edge. Whitney, Patti, and I clambered around on the scaffolding, attaching sheathing to the rafters and getting those last rake rafters for the dormers secured in place.

With two weeks of working together under our (tool) belts, it was awesome to see how productive we were all able to be! Hooray for teamwork! At the end of the work day we all gathered up for a group photo.

Back in the studio in the evening everyone hunkered down at their drawing tables to pull their work together. It's been incredible watching everyone's designs evolve and there are so many downright brilliant ideas I am completely inspired all over again! As people piled up their drawings in neat little stacks and switched off their desk lamps they found their way down to the bonfire where we munched on goldfish crackers and burned the scrap wood we'd produced over the past two weeks of building.

I can't wait to see the presentations today. The anticipation makes this feel like Christmas morning!

Day 10: A Sprig for the Last Rafter

Most of Day 10 of Yestermorrow's Tiny House Design-Build course was dedicated to building so that we could get the rest of the roof rafters up. However, there were also a group of students who hunkered down in the studio to get farther along on their models and drawing sets. I enjoyed spending time in both places as the work progresses. (See more photos in the Day 10 Slideshow.)

Because the house has dormers in the center there are two different pitches. So we created rafters with two different slopes. Both sets of rafters meet at the ridge beam and rest on the walls (at two different heights) with bird's mouth cuts. The rake rafters for the dormers will need to wait until we've sheathed the roof sections on either side, but the house is definitely taking shape.

We managed to get the last of the common rafters up before supper and we had a little "topping out" celebration as we attached a sprig to it. Lizabeth explained that in the Druidic tradition a sprig was attached to the last rafter as a thank you to the trees for contributing to the house. This tradition has continued among timberframers here in America and it continues now on Day's little house. Hooray!