We build north woods tough!

I recently saw an ad for a tiny house that said they build tiny houses for temperatures from 47 degrees to 147 degrees and the picture showed a cabin in snow storm. Snow at 47 degrees? Maybe they meant -47?

Our cabins and tiny houses are built for many different climate for instance; the desert southwest to the frozen tundras. Each one has a different level that needs to be met for that climate. The multiple climate zones for building are;

Marine - A marine climate meets is defined as a region where all of the following occur:

a mean temperature of the coldest month between 27°F and 65°F;
a mean temperature of the warmest month below 72°F;
at least four months with mean temperatures over 50°F; and
a dry season in the summer, the month with the heaviest precipitation in the cold season has at least three times as much precipitation as the month with the least precipitation.

Mixed Dry – A warm-dry and mixed-dry climate is defined as a region that receives less than 20 inches of annual precipitation with approximately 4,500 cooling degree days (50°F basis) or greater and less than approximately 6,300 cooling degree days (50°F basis) and less than approximately 5,400 heating degree days (65°F basis) and where the average monthly outdoor temperature drops below 45°F during the winter months.

Hot Dry – A hot-dry climate is defined as region that receives less than 20 inches of annual precipitation with approximately 6,300 cooling degree days (50°F basis)or greater and where the monthly average outdoor temperature remains above 45°F throughout the year.

Hot Humid – A hot-humid climate is defined as a region that receives more than 20 inches of annual precipitation with approximately 6,300 cooling degree days (50°F basis) or greater and where the monthly average outdoor temperature remains above 45°F throughout the year. This definition characterizes a region that is similar to the ASHRAE definition of hot-humid climates where one or both of the following occur:

a 67°F r higher wet bulb temperature for 3,000 or more hours during the warmest six consecutive months of the year; or
a 73°F or higher wet bulb temperature for 1,500 or more hours during the warmest six consecutive months of the year.

Florida, Southern Texas, South Mississippi, South Alabama, South Georgia are some states that fit this zobne.

Mixed Humid – A mixed-humid and warm-humid climate is defined as a region that receives more than 20 inches of annual precipitation with approximately 4,500 cooling degree days (50°F basis) or greater and less than approximately 6,300 cooling degree days (50°F basis) and less than approximately 5,400 heating degree days (65°F basis) and where the average monthly outdoor temperature drops below 45°F during the winter months.
Tennessee and Kentucky region and neighbor states fit this zone.

Cold Climate Zone – A cold climate is defined as a region with approximately 5,400 heating degree days (65°F basis) or greater and less than approximately 9,000 heating degree days (65°F basis).

From the New England states through the Midwest through the Rockies are in this zone, including the southern half of Minnesota.

Very Cold – A very cold climate is defined as a region with approximately 9,000 heating degree days or greater (65°F basis) or greater and less than 12,600 heating degree days (65°F basis).

Northern Minnesota, northern North Dakota, and the southern half of Canada are in this zone.

Sub Arctic Zone – A subarctic and arctic climate is defined as a region with approximately 12,600 heating degree days (65°F basis) or greater.

Each of these different zones requires different criteria in building envelopes as well as higher R Value assemblies. Insulation plays a critical value in tiny homes. We have heard from some people that I am already reducing my carbon foot print or energy consumption substantially, it does not matter.

Does it? Fifty years ago, building a home with no insulation did not seem to matter, and yet 50 years later it really does. What will energy prices do in the future is anyone’s guess, and yet leading indicators would suggest using the technology now to create a personal environment and home that will meet your needs now and then. Housing is becoming high tech and why skimp on something that can enhance your living experience in the future.

Anyhow, how about some winter cabins eye candy. We build our tiny house for our very cold zone as well as everyone else’s climate zone.

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Cedar and Tiny Houses

Cedar-lined storage chests and closets have long been used for long-term storage of out-of-season clothing, in the belief that the cedar will deter moths from destroying the clothing. But does it really work?

The damage moths cause to natural fibers is caused not by the moth itself, but by the larvae that hatch out of the eggs the moth lays. Therefore preventing the damage can take two forms, preventing the moth from laying the eggs in the clothing, and killing the larvae as they emerge (or in the egg).

The heavy scent of the cedar is thought to mask the smell of wool, effectively hiding it from the moth seeking a home for her eggs. That is, it doesn’t repel moths so much as it camouflages the moth’s natural target. If the smell-disguise in fact does deter moths, then any masking smell would work as well, and people have packed old garments away with sprigs of lavender, tansy and rosemary tucked in them for literally centuries.

If the scent-deterrent works (and there’s only anecdotal evidence that it does), then it only works on the egg-laying moth. Packing away garments already hosting moth-eggs will yield a cupboard full of rotting wool. Since the larvae are repelled by strong light, shaking and hanging clothing in the sun for a few hours before folding for storage should ensure that what you are storing is larvae-free.

Mothballs have been used to destroy the emerging larvae, but this has fallen into disrepute. The smell that mothballs leaves on clothing is reason enough to avoid their use; further deterrent should be toxins they contain. These chemicals slowly vaporize, creating a toxic vapor that kills moth larvae, but which is also dangerous to people and pets.

A report from the University of California at Davis suggests that one type of cedar, Eastern Red Cedar (which is actually a juniper), does kill moth larvae over a period of time. The wood contains an aromatic oil that in sufficient concentration, as in an airtight cabinet, will kill small moth larvae. If there is too much air circulation, as in a closet, concentration of the vapors will remain insufficient to kill larvae, although the scent might deter adult moths.

My concern is that when building a tiny house with techniques used today to get the highest efficiency for minimizing heat loss and being air tight; have we not in all practicality built a cedar chest for men and women which some could say is very similar in building a cedar chest when cedar is used as paneling and interior mill-work. While a sauna is meant for use once in a while, living in a tiny house year around, and sleeping there could be putting oneself in an unhealthy environment, much like a moth larva in a cedar chest.

What do you think?

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A Tricked Out Tiny House

We are anxious to start a new not so small tiny house that will be loaded with features. Some may refer to this tiny house as a high tech, “tricked out” tiny house.

We are starting a not so tiny, tiny house for a couple that is downsizing to the retirement dreams. This tiny house will have many features;

Welded Steel Frame
Solar Power
Onan Diesel 6000 Watt Generator
Jacuzzi Tub
Rain Water Collection System
Grey Water Tanks
Potable Water Tank
Steel Siding
AC Heat Pump
2 Fireplaces
Safe Room
Marvin Integrity Windows
Fold in Shutters to seal windows
and more

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A Tiny House Sweat Equity Myth

sweat equity

Definition; An increase in the value of property due to the rehabilitation and renovation efforts of the owner, usually acting as his or her own general contractor, subcontractor, and laborer.

One of the myths of sweat equity is that I can do it cheaper with my own labor. I am going to use Tumbleweeds numbers as they have them readily available on their website for buy it complete or do it yourself. In tiny house building, for instance on the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website, they quote a Fencl; buy it at $56,297.00 or build it yourself for $23,000.00. Therefore one could assume the labor is $33,297.00. They often talk about that it requires 800+ man hours to build the Fencl. That would be approximately $40 per hour for a labor rate. This is the wage you would pay yourself IF the material part remained constant and the labor hours were spot on.

From our experience, the hours are close, and since we are professional carpenters and tradesman s at Tiny Green Cabins, the total hours would be consistent for our trained craftsmen. However, for someone on a learning curve those hours could be considerably more, and maybe 200+ hours or more. Therefore, that labor rate drops for a DIY type person to $33 and could drop even further.

Now, let us factor into this concept, I can do it for a lot less when I shop for recycled or salvaged materials. IF you do not count your time and enjoy touring salvage yards and reclaimed lumber centers, then it is possible to find some good deals. And in lumber terms, lumber material such as this is often considered “black gold” as the amount of effort to make that reclaimed material useable can require considerable effort. And yes, there are deals in this area….and that affects the material price only for this discussion. Since we are only discussing labor, we will move on.

So, onto labor, am I really saving money by doing it myself? Yes, if one does not consider their time as worth anything, and building your tiny house is a passion/recreational part of your life. But, for sake of this article, we are saying everyone’s time is valuable and worth a wage.

We will also factor in that a person will hold down their regular job and spend their “free” time(evenings and weekends for over a year) building their tiny house. We will also factor that a web designer – he charges $80 an hour for his work – decides to take on building his own tiny house rather than have it built for him. He saves himself $33,000! Or does he?

This notion is where a misconception of sweat equity resides. The web designer could on the other hand; contract for the total costs of $56,290.00 knowing that since he charges $80 an hour, he could earn an extra $64,000 during the same time while his tiny house is being built factoring in that his “free” time is now being used to produce extra income. This is simple math of 800 hours times 80 per hour equals $64,000.

One would then think by doing the work himself, he lost the difference of $64,000 to $33,000, or $30,703.00.

Some say that this tiny house or the investment in this tiny house would be more like this; material plus the labor of doing it yourself plus the loss of earning that $64,000 while building it. In other words some say that this tiny house’s real investment is $23,000.00 + 33,297.00 + $64,000 or $120,297.00. This is an interesting perspective and has some merit.

Nevertheless, consider all sources when considering building or buying a tiny house, even a Tiny Green Cabins tiny house. It is wise to consider the value of your own time; would you rather be working on your tiny house project and missing some of the memories you could build otherwise is your call. We do not build the less expensive or most expensive tiny house, yet we believe we deliver a good value for the dollar.

Give us a call or better yet, email Jim@tinygreencabins.com and take a step towards some answers.

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Tiny house, steel or wood

The steel frame of a tiny house is 30% lighter than a comparable wood frame, yet steel has more strength than wood. Wood Tensile strength is rated at 40, while steel tensile strength is rated at 640 and higher, making steel 17x stronger than wood.

Steel homes are usually screwed and bolted together, while wood homes are nailed and stapled together. A screws advantage is it does not loosen over time, while a nail will. At Tiny Green Cabins, besides screwing our steel framed tiny houses together, we also weld the connections for added tensile strengths and resistance to loosening from road vibrations while in transit.

Virtually all of steel is from recycled materials and no trees are sawn down or harmed in making of the steel frame.

One of the questions often asked is; which is less expensive? On a tiny house, wood is less expensive with savings of approximately $200.00. For us at Tiny Green Cabins, we consider the bigger impact of liabilities and other potential issues. To us, in viewing the bigger picture, steel is a wiser choice.

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Tale of the Tape of why a tiny house costs more

Tale of the tape

While tiny houses appear to cost more, it is important to remember that the cheapest thing you can add to a tiny house or any house is square footage. At the core of most houses you will find an electrical system, plumbing, heating, appliances, and structural components that are similar in one way; they are expensive.

This core is housed in the relatively cheap volume that surrounds it. Because the price of extending core components outward to accommodate additional space isn’t that high, and open space itself is priced next to nothing, square footage is next to nothing, square footage is (at face value) cheap.

Tiny Houses and small houses are micromanaged with subtractive geometry by taking out space that is not needed to arrive at a tiny house design.
The tiny houses often become smart houses by what people add to them; systems that allow the owner freedom of travel and ability to live off the grid if they so desire. They give people an option to live and pursue their passions by living small and living large at the same time.

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Sales Event

Prairie Schooner Naked Tiny House

Order a Naked Prairie Schooner tiny house, receive a $1500 discount as part of our new model introductory model sale

Click here

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How to make a Round Top Window for a tiny house

A Tiny House Round Top Window

One of the features of tiny houses is special windows; Gothic, arched, triangular, or round tops. To purchase a round top window that fits the size and geometry of a tiny house is expensive at best. Manufacturers do not like making special order windows with round tops that are narrower than 30” and that size is does not work well in gables of tiny houses. The best way around this is to make your own Gothic, arched, or round top windows yourself. That is what we do at Tiny Green Cabins. We make the jambs and then order the glass from a local glass shop. But 1^st you need the form for making the jambs. We will be making a round top window that has 24” between the jambs.

Step 1

We used MDO board for the making the forms. We purchased the sheets in 3×4” x 2’ x 4’ sheets and made an arch, in our case we did a 12” radias. We marked the center of the sheet 12” in from the sides and 12” down from the top. Then we used the tape measure to scribe the arch and cut it out with a saber saw. The 1^st piece is the pattern and we cut 8 pieces for a 5-1/2” jamb or smaller. We then glued and screwed the 8 pieces together to create the final form.

A tiny house round top window form

The above picture shows the forms with holes drilled following the radius 3” in and 3” in depth. You will need also a dozen small clamps as well as some larger pipe clamps. The small blocks shown are rounded to fit the form and offer a more uniform clamping experience.

Now that we have the form built, it is time for the next step, but 1^st we need to pick up the bending plywood. We have found this works the best, and we want a specific type of bending plywood.

BENDABLE PLYWOOD Description: Plywood with a single face veneer and core plies with all grain running perpendicular to face to allow cross-grain bending. Uses: Used mostly as a substrate for building cabinets, etc., with rounded corners. Sheets with clear face veneers are suitable for furniture. Available Sizes: 1/8″ and 3/8″ are common, though thicker sheets are produced. Sold in 4×8′ sheets. Common Grades: Able to conform to tight radii without splitting or cracking with no need for kerf-bending or steaming. Pros: Flexibility allows radiuses corners, decorative shapes. Cons: Not designed for structural use, quality of face veneer varies greatly. Where to find it: Building-supply stores and hardwood retailers.

Check back for step 2 on building a tiny house round top window..

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Running with the Giants

The upside of downsizing

It was not that long ago, that “downsizing” carried with it somewhat negative connotations. From businesses that cut staff to become more competitive or do more with less to survive while an economy retracted; to people driving smaller cars or smart cars. Downsizing also suggested that you were either too old or too poor,(or both) to have a large home anymore and so you were forced, begrudgingly, into something smaller and inexpensive and that you were just going to have to “make do.”
These days, however, nothing could be further from the truth.

So, what do giants have to do with downsizing? Personally, I like giant stories, myths, and legends. There is always a little guy in the mix that figured out how to beat the giant, or at least have some of what he has or is able to do.

To me, the modern day giants are the wealthy that keep getting bigger and bigger. They build bigger extravagant castles, and spend a lot of their time trying to make money, so they can have more; another house, a cabin, trips, new automobiles all the while having less and less time to spend doing what they love doing. It becomes a spiral of sorts, as they build bigger to impress someone, they need to make more money by spending more time working. They have become the modern day giants!

When one downsizes, be it by choice or forced upon them, they have freed themselves from the “trappings” of modern society. Instead of spending $251,000 of interest on a $350,000 loan over 30 years, which is about $9,000 per year of income; they can now spend that $9,000 on a 10 day Regents Alaskan cruise and rail excursion to Denali, travel to Europe and ride the rails, or ride the Blue Train in Africa taking pictures all the while and living for a brief spell like a giant lives. Or take a series of small trips around the country, book an excursion in a hot air balloon, take a trip to see friends that have not been visited with, in years, or just play around in your backyard, take some classes, and create experiences that will live with you forever.

The comment by Henry David Thoreau, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it” has a lot of wisdom in it. IF you want to run and play like the giants does not mean you have to live like the giants in their stately mansions, castles, and big fancy houses/condos. We can make different choices by living smaller, so we can live large.

Some of the upsides to living small;

Ø Freedom to travel

Ø More vacations

Ø Weekends are yours to play

Ø Explore the outdoors

Ø Read frequently

Ø Go back to school, get a degree

Ø Explore museums

Ø Pursue a hobby

Ø Pursue a passion that makes you come alive

Ø Take part in sporting activities

Ø Be of service to the community

Tiny Green Cabins, Tumbleweed Homes, Tiny Home Builders and others can help you achieve living small while running with the giants.

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Bam! Tiny House Dreams Smashed!

Tiny house Smashed

This tiny house was on the road was involved in an accident between semi-trucks that resulted in major damage to the house and truck pulling it. This tiny house was known as the Wayzalot and over several years made many trips to RV shows, gatherings, and events. The driver suffered a broken ankle and the Wayzalot was towed, salvaged and dismantled.

The truck and tiny house had to be cut apart before they could be towed. The semis also sustained some damage in the accident.

One of the concerns of tiny houses is getting insurance, especially while being moved. Whenever we move a tiny house, we use a courier as they insured the tiny house for 100K. We have learned that by using a courier, it is a cost effective and wise choice.

We have heard a lot of comments about not being able to insure a tiny house, and it is strongly suggested that people talk to their insurance agents for the best options. This owner had insurance through Auto Owners and insured his as an additional vehicle with for material receipts and a little labor. The insurance company paid out the claim within 2 weeks and the owner then built the Wayzless…and that unit is also insured by the same provider.

Wayzless

We build tiny houses with a cold formed steel frame that is welded together for added strength and rigidity. Besides our tiny houses being resistant to molds, termites, vermin, fire; they are also 16X stronger than wood and are earthquake resistance.

Isn’t it about time YOU check out Tiny Green Cabins for added security in a tiny house.

Send Jim an email at jim@tinygreencabins.com for more information.

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