Tiny House Purchase: Houselot of Double-Glazed Window Glass

Score!

Side-view of windows in garage

A house lot of second hand double-glazed window panels for only $80!  This, like the trailer, was not budgeted at this stage but it was just too good a deal to pass-up.    The idea is to custom build the window frames utilising this glass. 




With this purchase we have been able to stick to our design goals:

• Keep it simple
• Keep costs down
• Recycle/reclaim materials where possible without compromising on safety/quality
• Be energy efficient
• Be self-sufficient

Me in the picture to add some perspective.  

Having the windows now will help us make more informed decisions on the design and materials we need to build the tiny house; especially since Vince is already making a 10:1 ratio model of what we want to build.  

Apparently, its important to get the design right:  window, beams, studs and whatnot ratios and placements help hold everything together structurally or something. . . . who knew?  We live and learn.  ;)

As Hannibal would say:  "I love it when a plan comes together!"

To serendipity,

M-

Carpe Diem! Seize the Day!

Hello Y'all, Happy New Years and all that Jazz. :)

We have done quite a  bit during this end of year break.  The weather this last month has been spectacular, warm and sunny most days.  Vincent has been finishing the trailer chassis which looks awesome and doing solar energy experiments in the backyard which look promising.  I, on the other hand, have been temporarily banned from doing any serious hard work so I did bits and pieces around the house as I could.  Mostly I spent time with the family which was great.

I'll catch up with you again in a few days.  I have lots to say about the trailer but at the moment I'm enjoying the moment; loving the sun, the sweet smell of freshly mowed grass, and the sound of my kids going about their day.

So carpe diem: today!
Tomorrow brings another day.

M-

Big Dream: Steampunk Adventure on Wheels

Firefly

Steampunk Image

What is steampunk?

Wikipedia says "Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United States—that incorporates elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology, or futuristic innovations as Victorians might have envisioned them, based on a Victorian perspective onfashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology includes such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the contemporary authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld and China Mieville."

Its gutsy and creative:  so many possibilities! What comes to mind  immediately is Wild, Wild West and Firefly. I am a HUGE fan of Firefly and Serenity so to have this theme for a Tiny House seriously appeals to the sci-fi geek romantic in me. Imagine my surprise when I found this Steampunk caravan surfing the net.  :) Click on the caption/link below the picture to find out more about this amazing engineering feat.

www.coolthings.com

I doubt I will be able to have a steampunk themed tiny house, at least not on our first attempt.... *Hint Hint Vincent* But Serenity would be an ideal name for the tiny house.  For those non-sci/fi people out there , SERENITY is the name of the spaceship in Firefly and the name of its DVD movie release.

Perhaps it is also what my husband and I are looking for: Serenity, the state of being calm - calmness - tranquility - peace - composure. I think every parent would like serenity behind the poise you need to keep for your family's sake.  

As Wash said to the end in the movie Serenity:  "I am the leaf on the wind, watch how I soar."

Only, I will have a better ending to my part in this story!

Cheers ears,

M-

MacGyver Be Proud: Water + Bottle = ?

C'mon, we all know who Macgyver is: eighties heartthrob who could get out of any sticky situation with a role of duct tape, trusty pocket knife, and a toothpick....okay, and maybe a bit of chewing gum.  And while we all giggle about him now, he did have something going on there during our 1980's consumerism boom:  you can make some rather incredible inventions out of ordinary objects if you can think outside the square and have a bit of know how.

Thinking about building a structure that is 'off the grid' really makes you start to assess what you have into what you need and what you want. And then ask your self: how am I going to have that while living off the grid so to speak?  Lets face it, even though the cost of living has risen significantly the last few years, we still have the blessing of clean drinkable water, plumbing, hot water, and electricity to run lights, radios (to keep in touch with what is going on in the world) , and lets face it a laptop and other amenities for the multimedia experience we all enjoy.

When you get down to the nitty gritty though, its potable and other sources of water for our daily ablutions/cleaning, heating for cooking and warmth, and light that is essential to our way of life.  Everything else, even the laptop *gulp*, is what we want in life, not a need when it comes to amenities.

While I have been recuperating from my angle-grinding adventure, I have had the opportunity to do some research on the internet on alternative sources of lighting, both passive (no mechanisms) and active (mechanisms and moving parts). My husband is experimenting with vertical wind turbines (active source of lighting) and he's like a pig in muck.  :)

I put on my MacGyver Thinking Box on to look at what you can do with bottles and water in particular.  Alternative sources of lighting was my initial search and then all sorts of things came out of the woodwork.  Its all actually pretty fascinating! Click on the captions beneath the images for some pretty amazing ideas and facts.

National Geographic: Bottle + Water + Sun = Potable Water

Water + Bottle + Bleach = 10000 Liters of Light

Make Your Own Sun Jars

Pretty Awesome Travel Gadget

 The MacGyver Award 

Of all the things that sites I explored, the ultimate MacGyver Award goes to Derek (DEEK) Diedrikson of the Youtube Tiny Yellow House series. The following link is for Tiny Homes as Punk Rock interview from Faircompanies.com.  His use of recycled bottles, windows, and everything really makes the subject of alternative dwellings funky and fun.  He appeals to the practical rebel in me.  Down to earth and fun; inspiring.  

M-

Big Dream: Victorian Tiny House

Tiny Cottage in the Catskills, New York

Well I'm flat on my back for a few days courtesy of my enthusiastic angle-grinding, so I'm going to take a moment to have another big dream. 

A work-mate of mine describes a tiny house on a trailer as living in a doll house.  That was just the cutest observation and if I had my way in a perfect world, it would be the girliest affair with lots of lace and chiffon; delicate china cabinets and tea cups.  A billowy bed with gauzy curtains and what not.  The kind of place my husband would be hesitant to walk into. A lot like the tiny Victorian cottage that  Sara Foster renovated from a shed in backwater New York. The setting, the house, and its decor is whimsical, reminiscent of more chivalrous times perhaps.  

Victorian Tiny Texan House

I would love to have a place like that, but lets face it:  if you are sharing a tiny house dream with your husband, do you really want all that white diaphanous material around when he could just waltz on in in muddy boots and grease stained hands because he was fixing something or other?  White floors when your youngest daughter's idea of a fun day out is playing in the bush looking for insects? *SIGH* So I guess not.

Our Tiny House on a Trailer will have to be a wee bit more rugged with a feminine touch, something more like the Victorian Tiny Texan House.  I could definitely add a dash of paint here and some curtains and knick knacks there to make a tiny house we can all enjoy.  Lets face it, who wants to go on a holiday constantly cleaning white floors and linen?  The eternal girl in me says" I would",  but the seasoned mom and realist who just wants a getaway shack says:  No way JOSE. 

My big dream includes minimum house duties, thank you.  :)  THAT is travelling in luxury and style!  Everything else is icing on the cake.

Peace,

M-

Nitty Gritty: The Trailer

I got home from work today and saw Vincent working away at the trailer with something called an angle-grinder. *boggle* There were SPARKS flying all over the place!  This  looked like fun so I decided to investigate and get in on the action.  :)  

To get some perspective I have taken some photos and there is a simple spur of the moment home video that I took of Vincent explaining what we were doing with the trailer.  

Trailer

Hub

Brake Coupling

Vincent thought it would be a hoot to take a picture of me using the angle-grinder ( which was as much fun as I thought it would be!!!) and so I have posted these here.  

Sparks Flying: Watch Your Back

I've got the grinding technique right. So if I can now remember not to use my back while working (Bad posture = very sore back the next day!) there will be no stopping me.


All in all a fun way to end the day. Feels like I have taken a giant step into a strange testosterone charged world.  

Cheers and beers everyone,

M-

Corner Stone: The Trailer

We have secured a 4.1m x 2.1m (13.4feet x 6.9feet)trailer at a steal.  We weren't expecting to make a purchase so soon, but a caravan trailer (which is lowered down, etc) this large with solid suspension (which Vince says is good. *LOL*) could not be passed up.

Vincent picked it up on Saturday and I got a real idea of just how BIG ( well, tiny really) its going to be.  I will post photos and a video with Vincent explaining it all as soon as I can.  :)

Apparently a major part of all this is going to be something called grinding, with some repairs, followed by painting. The wheels will be taken off and put on blocks because Vince has to get to the hubs (whatever those are) to check the bearings and all that. *SO BOGGLE*  Oh and check on the breaking mechanism which is apparently important .....  I'm so lucky he's clever.  :)

This is really great.  Vince and I are still in that everything is possible stage where we are looking at ideas without committing to much of anything so working on the trailer will start to ground us gradually I think; give us time to make decisions while doing some constructive work. 

I want to get in there with Vincent so watch this space.  For Vince this is Tim The Tool Time Taylor stuff for me its an adventure into a guys realm.  :)  

I'm so glad I'm not fussy about the condition of my nails because I doubt they will stay pretty for long once we start.

Keep the peace,

M-