Finishing touches

Our contractor, Jim (http://tinygreencabins.com)

Is moving his shop, so we have a break from the big stuff and time to think about the fun stuff. 

Our initial plan was to do built in dresser on the loft wall but to save on money we are thinking more of a portable dresser:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/261550046360?_mwBanner=1

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/261585095615?_mwBanner=1

Because we don't know how much space we will want these are a great option and we can always use them in second loft for toys. 

We were going to do pebbles as the backsplash but to keep things light and open looking we are leaning more toward something like this:

I was really excited about the cabinet knobs. Justin not so much. Hoping we can compromise on something like this:

Non toxic is important to us. I found these non toxic shower curtains:

Premium PEVA Shower Liner / Curtain: Odorless & Mildew Resistant (with Magnets & Suction Cups). Eco Friendly 70 x 71 inches long - White Color https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O0DFLPM/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_4WVcwbQPQX1EH

Hemp Shower Curtain - Natural, Antibacterial, Eco-friendly (Sand) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F8OMFU6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_AXVcwbBFED9GH

We are thinking something like this for exterior light

Temporary Tiny House

Just kidding! We just had a blast at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

Zoning- what a headache

Well as many tiny house enthusiast know zoning is a pain.

Here's a great link with ideas:
http://tinyhousebuild.com/understanding-zoning-and-tiny-houses/
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/blogs/tumbleweed/6123320-how-to-get-around-building-codes-and-zoning-for-tiny-house-living

It's depends on the county, so if you are like us and looking in a wide range of places it can be a hassle. 

Many tiny house owners either buy land, stay at an RV park or find someone who is willing to share their land.

In my opinion the "don't ask don't tell policy" would be great but it's hard to find people willing to share their land and to risk fees if discovered. 

Also, I would love to be a part of a change in zoning laws. We hope to offer ourselves as a baseline study so that counties can see the positive effects tiny house owners have on the community. For example, most tiny house owners are environmentally conscious. They are not going to pollute, harm the soil or ruin property in any way. If they're like us, counties will have consumers who prefer to buy local organic products, shop at farmers markets and cooperative grocery stores. I also noticed that many tiny house owners are educated and ready and willing to support the community through volunteering or working. Another great benefit to counties is the fact that tiny homes can go in otherwise useless land. Many use solar, composting toilets and rain water collection, so they can go in places with out wells or electricity. They don't require a lot of space so they can fit into the unused nooks and crannies of a city. 

Our land search:

Our first approach was to look on land for sale and rent sites. I literally googled land for sale and rent in Minnesota. I e-mailed every person, even if they wanted to sell (instead of rent) and told them we can lease instead until they find a buyer. We did find someone this way but it is on a busy road below a development so we have that on hold for now hoping to find something more rural.

I then e-mailed all the organic farmers in the area offering help. No news from that yet.

Next, i e-mailed anyone selling a home on acreage again asking to rent and we can move if it sells. No news from that either.

My next step is to e mail horse farm/ stables offering help and to rent space. 

Here's to hoping for a view like this:

Interior!

(Bottom to top: cork flooring, cabinet stain, countertop, and paint color for walls.)

So exciting! We made our final choices for flooring, countertops, paint and cabinet stain.

All items will be purchased from Natural Built Homes😍

http://www.naturalbuilthome.com

They are located at "4020 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis a few blocks from the 38th Street Light Rail Station."

Check them out for sure! 

Tiny House and Toddlers

I have been getting some great questions about our tiny house and toddlers. It is great when people ask what we are doing because it helps shape our design. So keep the questions coming!

With another Minnesota winter we thought about what do we do with a toddler in such a small space. Luckily I was prepared by running a daycare in my basement which we only used about 500 square feet.

What I found was as long as I kept rotating toys and we went outside everyday it was warm enough that the kids stayed busy. 

A great thing about Minnesota is all the great inside things to do.

We can go to the Minnesota or Como Zoo. We can go to the library or Mall of America. We can go to the local indoor park. We can walk around a mall. We can go visit a pet shop. We can go to the art museum, science museum, etc.

Here's a great link for more ideas.

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/familieschildren/tp/freekidsactivities.htm

For now we are planning to use the second loft as a play area. As our son grows into his own bed we will move a mattress and play area. As we think about two kids the play area will end up in the living room which is fine too. 

Noise! 

Our son likes it quiet! Our plan for now is to use a loud fan. If needed we will do a sound machine as well.

Lofts:

With noise in mind we are doing 3/4th walls on both lofts as well as gates to help with noise/ privacy. We were also thinking perhaps running a thin cable and a sheet across the whole loft to make it darker for sleep. We are used to dark sleeping areas.

The reality is that part of the reason we went tiny is to ensure we are spending a lot of time in nature. Luckily our toddler doesn't like inside so we will bundle up and get out and play!

Tiny House reactions

Being a stay at home mom for the past three months I tend to run into people at parks. The conversation comes up of if we live around here. Then I tell them we live with our parents while we build our tiny house.

In June people would ask what a tiny house on wheels is but now almost everyone tells me they saw it on tv.

It's nice the movement is gaining momentum. 

Hopefully it will create better zoning laws, not worse!

Tiny House...Tiny Budget

There is a lot of talk going around about cost of a tiny house....well the reality is that it costs more than the tv shows say it does. Especially if you can't build it yourself like us. 

Here is what we have been discussing about costs

• There are upfront costs more so than a house but no mortgage
• We could buy a small junky house on our budget in a junky neighborhood or we can spend the money now and have a brand new custom home that fits are needs for the long haul.
• We could build it ourselves and save a ton but this would mean we wouldn't be living it for another 10 years (we have zero building experience)
• Being environmentally friendly costs a lot up front but no monthly costs that would come with a home
• We will need to rent or buy land but still cheaper than a mortgage 
• With less cleaning and maintenance I have time to be more thoughtful and efficient with food purchases. 
• When you need to update a 2,000 square foot home you are looking at a huge cost. For example our home would have benefited from new carpet and a new upstairs bathroom. The roof needed to be done and we needed a new septic. Together those would have costed more than our tiny house! You can remodel a tiny house quickly and cheaply.
• We wanted our budget to be 60,000 but of course once adding solar (5,000) the trailer (8,000) and paying our amazing contractor we will be well over this price, but again you have to think long term. Yes it costs a lot now, but not paying a mortgage, water, utilities and home insurance we will be in a great place financially within a year. (Still looking into insurance for tiny house)

Local Wood from Wisconsin

We are so excited we got to go on an adventure to Maina Hardwood in Hayward, Wisconsin. Such a cool family and beautiful supply of wood.

Here's what we picked our for our cabinets, railing and shelves. We are using birch for shelves with rough edge exposed, twigs for stair railing and basswood elm for cabinets.

Bathroom Design

Here's my attempt at visualizing the bathroom:

Bathroom Design

Tiny House Plans

These are tentative plans.

Keep in mind we purchased Andrew Morrison's plans for the hOme, to have rights to his design. We have adjusted several areas to make it work for our family of three (someday 4 ;o) and 4 cats and 1 dog.

We added a window above the stove in the kitchen. We also added a small window next to the door. We added a table that folds down in the kitchen instead of cabinet space to allow for more room while cooking and a nice place for breakfast. We also decided do a larger storage closet to fit water softener and water heater and the electric box.  For the bathroom we decided on just a shower instead of tub because we want to do open shelves with the top part being long enough to hang shirts. Our amazing contractor decided to do a mirror/window in the bathroom.
 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/design/departments/great-ideas/surprise-window-in-small-bath.aspx?nterms=62892

Our lofts will be 3/4th wall with enough room to get mattress through. We will also have both with a built in gate for our toddler. 

We are adding a railing to the stairs for safety as well. 

We are doing rough edge shelves throughout

Construction Started

Here's our amazing contractor Jim Wilkins! Like him on Facebook at: 

Jim is finishing up on a Tiny House for another family and let us look around and bonus he helps with babies. Wyatt was an instant fan!

He started on our trailer. We are so pumped. Jim had the great idea of making "smuggler storage". He added 84 extra cubic feet. 

Appliances Purchased

Ok! Back from a mini vacation in Wisconsin. We got most of our appliances and I would like to share what we went with. Keep in mind that we have not used them yet. I will write another report once we start using everything. We decided to go with stainless steel because of our toddler and pets. We are hoping they will last longer and clean easily.

Stove-

Summit TNM11027BFRWY

Brand: Summit

We found good reviews on this model. We decided to go with gas because we wanted to spread the resources. We want to be sure we have multiple options for heat and we don't want to put to much strain on the solar power. 

Furnace-

The Hobbit SE stove (DEFRA Approved)

This furnace was reasonably priced. See more details here.  

http://salamanderstoves.com/product/the-hobbit-se/

We are excited about the wood burning stove vs propane because, as stated above, we want to balance our resources as much as possible so we don't depend on one resource more than others.  It is back ordered till October so if you think you may be interested it is best to purchase this first. 

Refrigerator-

Danby Energy Star 9.2 Cu. Ft. Bottom Mount Refrigerator- Spotless Steel

We liked this fridge because it is relatively large and I do lots of cooking of fresh veggies and meat and I prepare meals on Sunday for the whole week. We also liked the freezer on the bottom which makes a big difference as far as efficiency. Not sure how it will do solar wise but hoping it is manageable.

Air Conditioner/Heater

KLIMAIRE KSIN009-H115 9000 BTU 15 SEER DUCTLESS MINI SPLIT DC INVERTER AIR CONDITIONER AND HEAT PUMP WITH LCD REMOTE CONTROL, 3 FAN SPEEDS, AUTO RESTART AND ANTI COLD DRAFT IN WHITE

Our contractor recommended this one and we are excited to test it out. We are hoping with all the extra windows we won't need to use it much because it will take a lot of solar to run. 

Dishwasher- 

DWP61ESEdgeStar 6 Place Setting Countertop Dishwasher

We found good review on this. We are hoping to save water by using it. We are hoping to get it in the cabinet vs on the counter. 

Shower-

http://www.menards.com/main/bath/bathtubs-showers/tub-showers/sterling-ensemble-36-curve-alcove-shower/p-2708304-c-5884.htm?freeFormRowId=

We haven't purchased this yet but we are probably going to get it. We of course would rather have a nicer shower but after looking critically at tiny house budget this is a great place to cut costs. 

Sink-

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/sinks/bathroom-sinks/magick-woods-16-1-2-frosted-glass-vessel-sink/p-1844071-c-5966.htm?tid=2418350152407125645

Possibly faucet-
https://www.menards.com/main/bath/bathroom-faucets/bathroom-sink-faucets/vigo-olus-brushed-nickel-finish-single-lever-wall-mount-faucet/p-2443278-c-5909.htm?tid=5960004125293814955

Washer/Dryer Combo-
http://www.edgestar.com/EdgeStar-2-Cu-Ft-Ventless-Washer-Dryer-Combo-White/CWD1510W,default,pd.html

We went with white here because it will be in the bathroom. This got good reviews. We are thinking we may line dry in the warmer months and use it as a washer only. If it does well with solar then we will use it more.