There seems to be growing interest in the small home movement to use steel or concrete pipes as the shell of a tiny home.

There is an interesting discussion on the subject that’s just begun on the Tiny House Forum.

Alex on the Tiny House forum is exploring the idea of using a T shaped section of corrugated pipe as the shell for a living space. I think the idea has some interesting potential and would fit right in to the modern architecture aesthetic. (Can’t you just see lovely round windows or a funky curved doorway at the end of each section?)

There also seems to be a lot of interest around Scotty’s vertical design on the Tiny House Forum using a concrete pipe.

And as I’ve previously written about, sewer pipes are currently in use as hotel rooms at the Park Hotel in Ottensheim, Austria.

If you find the concept of using pipes in tiny home construction interesting, I encourage you to join the discussion over on the Tiny House Forum.

As you well know, there is currently a movement afoot to go smaller.  After decades of being told that everything must be bigger, from our houses to our cars, more and more people are beginning to move in the opposite direction and go smaller.  This change is happening with cars (thanks in part to the gas crisis) and it’s happening with homes as well.

There are more choices in small, eco-aware housing than ever before.  Take for example, the weeHouse.  The people at weeHouse have designed studio homes that measure only 14′ x 26′ and take up a rather wee 341 square feet.  They have a multitude of other configurations and sizes as well. Sizes range from 341 square feet all the way up to an impressive 2,150 square foot model.  Their smaller designs, in additional to their 341 square foot model are 672 sf and 812 sf.

The price for the studio at 341 sq ft is about $64,000 and the largest model costs about $255,000.  This is not a bad price at all considering that it is for a brand new 2,150 sf home.  Of course, this does not include the land, the cost of laying down the foundation or other additions.  However, for those interested in both small homes and modular homes, a weeHouse is a definite option.

The weeHouse concept is an interesting one. The weeHouse team has attempted to create a modular home that looks nothing like what most people expect.  The weeHouse team has created over a dozen size options and possibilities.  This is a home that will appeal to those who are looking not only for something different, but also something that is perhaps a little more on the smaller side of the housing spectrum.

Part of what makes the weeHome so attractive is that in this day of ever increasing home energy prices, the units have been designed to be very energy efficient.  The typical American home uses around 700kWh per month.  weeHouse has recently teamed with Fusion, an alternative energy provider.  The plan is to drastically reduce the amount of energy that a weeHouse can use.  Through Fusion’s add-on solar and wind energy kits, a typical weeHouse will use on 260kWh per month.  This is a striking difference when compared to the 700kWh per month number racked up by the average American house.

The weeHouse home designs look very modern, and have the additional benefit of being modular in design.  One has to appreciate the effort that weeHouse has put into finding a way to make their design even more eco-friendly through their partnership with Fusion.  The energy packages that weeHouse and Fusion have created for the weeHouses only makes the process easier for those looking for a eco-friendly small home.  If the weeHouse concept sounds like a good fit, check out their site at www.weehouse.com.  The site has all thirteen models options shown complete with floor plans.

m-ch is pretty tiny, as its compact dimensions come in at 2.6m cubed.  This house is designed for one or two people.  m-ch stands for “micro compact home,” and while it is indeed on the tiny side it is also one of the coolest, hippest homes you are likely to see.  In fact, m-ch looks like something out of a big budget Hollywood science-fiction film.  Its distinctive and striking modern design reverberates well beyond its size.

The m-ch is definitely eco-friendly. Obviously, very little material or energy is needed to construct the home.  Likewise, the unit appears to consume a fairly low amount of energy, especially in the summer.  m-ch is a good potential choice for those looking for a eco-friendly small home or retreat home.

The m-ch was designed to be temporary housing in Europe.  It was the brainchild of a team of researchers and designers in London and at the Technical University in Munich.  For their inspiration they looked to the living spaces of yachts and aircraft, which are forced to maximize every free inch of space.  The result was the bold concept that now is the m-ch.

This tiny home is literally delivered to you on a truck, or if need be by helicopter.  Yes, the m-ch is actually small enough and lightweight enough that it can actually be delivered by helicopter.

If you want an m-ch home, they are currently manufactured in Europe, so shipping could be potentially cost prohibitive (depending on your budget.)  The m-ch costs between $25,000 and $34,000 depending on the contract, and comes with a 5-year guarantee.

The fact that the m-ch can be transported via helicopter, really opens up some interesting possibilities for this tiny home.  This is part of brilliance of the concept, as the m-ch can allow prospective homeowners the ability to have a home in an area that simply might have been too impractical otherwise.

No doubt the m-ch is a great design, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City must have agreed.  In October of 2008, the m-ch was part of the “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling” exhibit.  Tiny home fans must check out this diminutive work of art.  Their website is www.microcompacthome.com.  Be on the lookout for the great photo of the m-ch being carried about via helicopter.

Starting this week you will begin to see posts on Coming Unmoored from more than just me.

Lynn is a fellow Portland-area writer and editor who has previously written on subjects pertinent to green and sustainable living.  She has also taught children and teenagers creative writing, acting, and screenplay development.  I have recruited Lynn to help me keep on top of news on the small home movement.

While Coming Unmoored started as a personal journal of my own journey to downsize, I really enjoy covering subjects of interest to the broader small home movement. While there are already several really good bloggers out there covering tiny homes and sustainable living, my current goal is to provide enough new and interesting content on a weekly basis to be included in their ranks.

Between trying to finish the interior of my own tiny home, trying to help banks in my day job, and other writing projects, I could really use some help on the blog.  I also really enjoy the idea of having another voice and perspective on the blog.  (Speaking of which, if anyone else would be interested in submitting content, just shoot me an email.  Guest posts are always welcome.)

Please join me in welcoming Lynn.  I’m really excited to share her writing with you in the upcoming weeks!

Amanda over at Constructing a Simpler Life is one of my favorite writers on the small home movement.  She is currently working on her masters in photojournalism and she was able to talk her thesis advisors into allowing her to focus on people in the small home community.

One of the things I love about Amanda’s interviews is her ability to capture people’s personalities on film, which is something I think a lot of the news stories lack. (The photo in this entry is one of hers.)

A lot of journalists seem so focused on the structures that they miss the personalities behind them.

Amanda also has a talent for getting people to really open up during her interviews.  For example, here’s a quote from Jay Shafer:  “I feel like confessing that I threw a Styrofoam cup away once.”

I strongly encourage you to go check out her interview on Jay along with many others.  (Make sure you also read her post on painstakingly rescuing a mouse she first caught in a glue trap.  That was when I knew without a doubt that she was a kindred spirit.)

Photo by Amanda Abel

The latest issue of The Economist includes a story on the small home movement and includes an interview with Brad Kittel of  Tiny  Texas Houses.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The Small House Movement has been around for years, encouraging people to think about how much house they really need. But lately it has attracted more attention. “It seems like a perfect convergence of a bad housing market meeting a bad economy and more awareness about global warming,” claims Jay Shafer, an enthusiastic advocate.

This convergence appears to be having an impact on housing sizes. Per the Census Bureau, the median size of homes in the fourth quarter of 2008 dropped to 2,114 square feet.  This is down more than 100 square feet from the beginning of year.

Admittedly, we’ve still got a way to go, but it’s a start.

You can read a full copy of the story  here.

IKEA has made a thriving business of offering inexpensive home furnishings for compact spaces.  They are also masters at display.

Most IKEA stores include one or more “tiny home” displays.  For those of you who aren’t close to an IKEA store, Ryan from The Tiny House Forum, has graciously posted to YouTube tours from the new store in Charlotte, NC.

Hopefully they will provide you with some inspiration!

270 Square Feet:

375 Square Feet:

590 Square Feet:

I recently received an email from a young couple who intend to build their own Tumbleweed-style tiny home. They’re just beginning to collect materials for their project and wondered if anyone in the Small House Movement had an easy-to-print list of the tools and materials they would need to complete their project.

I know that all of the Tumbleweed plans come with fairly detailed tools and materials lists, but I am not aware of anywhere currently on the internet where there exists a list for the die-hard, do-it-yourself, tiny house builders. So below is my attempt at compiling such a list.

I have assembled the list below from my notes from Jay Shafer’s workshop as well as my reading of multiple blogs out there written by people working on similar projects.

(For the readers of my blog, please feel free to make suggestions of items I have missed and I will try to maintain an updated copy of the list as an aid to aspiring tiny housers.)

Here you go, guys…

Tools and Materials for Building Your Own Tiny House on Wheels

Starting Items:

• A design/blueprint for your house

• A place to work (backyard, warehouse, large garage, ground floor unit at a storage center, etc.)

• A couple of good books on shedbuilding/basic carpentry

Tools:

• Tape measure

• Square

• Speed square (optional but nice to have)

• Manual (crosscut) saw

• Table saw (useful for ripping through boards)

• Miter saw (for cutting angles and saving you time on cutting board to appropriate length)

• Sawzall (for do-it-all cutting when you need to cut through metal and wood)

• Jig saw (optional)

• Jab saw (optional)

• Belt sander and  sand paper

• Two sawhorses (to be safe you need to cut at a comfortable height)

• Framing hammer

• Finish hammer

• Files/chisels (for finish work)

• Box cutter (for cutting felt paper)

• Hurricane clamps

• C-clamps (optional)

• Paintbrushes

• Caulk gun

• Cordless drill with the correct bits for the screws you’re using

• Even better–a pneumatic screw gun

• Finish nailer

• Level

• 8-foot ladder

• Safety goggles

• Dust mask

• Gloves

• Earplugs

• Extension cord(s)

Materials:

• Trailer (with sides removed)

• Lumber for the framing (preferably light in weight and with few knots in middle of boards) or appropriate sized SIP’s if you’re using those instead

• 3/8” CDX plywood for walls and subfloor

• ½” CDX plywood for roof

• Non-galvanized screws (preferable to nails as less likely to vibrate their way loose)

• Lag bolts with locking washers (to bolt house frame to trailer)

• Tie downs

• Tyvek vapor barrier (for outside of house under siding material)

• Foam board insulation (or whatever insulation material you prefer)

• Spray foam insulation (to seal around foam board insulation)

• 1×4 Fir tongue &  groove flooring (if desired) or other flooring material (tile, linoleum, etc.)

• Drywall and tape

• Drywall mud & a 6″ and a 9″ knife

• Drywall screws & drywall sanding paper

• Cover material over drywall (if any)

• Alternately, 1/4″ Pine tongue & groove for wall sheathing (instead of drywall)–this is reported to work better for mobile units

• Windows (or materials to build your own)

• Door(s) (or materials to build your own)

• Skylights (if any)

• Silicon caulk for flashing

• Kitchen counter material

• Ready-made cabinets (or materials to build your own)

• Ladder for sleeping loft (or materials to build)

• Redwood, cedar or treated wood for porch, facias, railings, balustrades

• Siding material (board and batten, vinyl, shake, etc.)

• Roof trusses or materials to build your own

• Metal roofing or shingles (depending on what you want to use)

• Whatever you intend to use as a ridge cap on the roof

• Felt (if necessary)

• Tar paper

• Flashing

• Mastic tape

• Turned beams for the porch (if any)

• Whatever you intend to use as your stain and sealant on the outside

• Ridge vent

• Gutters and down spouts

• Wood glue

Utilities/Appliances:

• Water heater (if any) on demand, RV, solar, etc.

• Water container for sink/shower if house is not plumbed

• Solar panels (if any) and inverter

• Washer/dryer (if any) (either AC or DC)

• Dishwasher (if any)

• Stove (electric, gas, propane)

• Microwave (if any)

• Fridge (either AC or DC)

• Kitchen sink

• Bathroom sink

• Toilet (compost or other)

• Macerator pump for toilet (if necessary)

• Sewer hose or portable sewage tank

• Shower stall

• Stove or other source for heat + necessary venting equipment

• Pex tubing and connections for water supply

• Tool to crimp Pex connections

• Heat tape

• Electrical wire

• Outlets

• Fuse box (or hire an electrician to wire your electricity)

Please note: I am by no means a safety expert when it comes to construction projects. Please adhere to all safety precautions your middle school wood shop instructor taught you.

I’ve mentioned this before, but there is a special place in my heart for tiny houses on wheels.  I recently stumbled across this vintage postcard of a portable beach cabin and couldn’t resist sharing.

Apparently these could be rented in the resort town of Ostende, Belgium. The large-spoke wheels allowed these little buildings to be pushed directly into the water and the the bathing beauties who were inside could come out and descend directly into the water via the step-ladder style steps, thus preserving some degree of their modesty.

As one of the modern-day women who, on occasion has had to do the “walk of shame” from beach towel to water after a winter of too much ice cream and too little gym time, I can definitely see the appeal of this little structures.

Besides, it’s just plain cute.

Since I had previously reported on a concrete pipe drain house design, I had wanted to share this unique design for a hotel room.

These rooms are available at the Park Hotel.  Each room is secured with a key code and features a double bed, light, power, sleeping bags, and blankets.  There is also a main complex which includes toilets and shower and a minibar.

Another innovative feature about the hotel is the rooms operate on a”pay as you wish” system.  Users leave what they can afford or wish to donate to the project.

Details of this story courtesy of an article on  ApartmentTherapy.