Jay Shafers Video on the Politics of Small Homes

There is a lot of chatter on the small homes front today.  This interview with Jay Shafer, founder of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, and Guru of tiny homes in general, is definitely the lead story of the day.

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Categories: homes, Jay, of, on, Politics, Shafers, Small, The, video

Superb Sustainability Themed Video

Small Scale Homes is all about sustainability, and LOVES this video!

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Categories: Superb, sustainability, Themed, video

Clever 12 x 24 House Design Video

Michael Janzen from Tiny House Design ( tinyhousedesign.com ) of California came up with this clever and efficient design.  It's 576 sq. ft. with a full loft, or 432 sq. ft with a half loft.   It would be very inexpensive to build due to it's diminutive size, basic shape, and simple foundation.  I asked him yesterday if he'd finalized the design, but he said that unfortunately he's put this one on the back burner for awhile.  Perhaps posting it here today will help move it back to a front burner so he can finish it up and make those plans available.  Many people, myself included, find this to be a very appealing design.  



I also asked  Michael what the little door and space in the back were for, but I'm still waiting for a response on that.  I assume it's a mechanical area for a water heater and furnace of some sort, or possibly a place where solar equipment like batteries, inverters and such would be kept.


Regardless, it is pretty remarkable just how much comfort, convenience, and functionality he has crammed into this 12' x 24' footprint.  Nice job Michael.  Keep up the good work.


By the way, Michael has an excellent blog that you can connect to using the link above.  He has an endlessly creative mind when it comes to efficient use of space, and he is a master with Google's free SketchUp 3D design software (which he used to create the video above).  He has an outstanding series of videos on YouTube in which he provides detailed and practical instructions on using SketchUp to design tiny houses.  You can find them by searching YouTube for "How to draw a tiny house with Google SketchUp".  I think it's a four part series.  Look for the ones that say "by tinyhousedesign".

Categories: 12, 24, Clever, design, house, video, x

Container Video

Categories: Container, video

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Categories: Build, Container, homes, How, to, video

Walt Barretts Micro Home Video

Some of my readers may either know, or know of, Walt Barrett.  Walt is an enthusiastic member of the tiny and sustainable house movement, as well as sustainable living in general. As tiny homes go, they don't get much tinier than this.  This video shows that building a micro home is pretty simple and that it can be easily handled by two people in a pretty short time period.  All materials are easily obtained at any D.I.Y. home store.

It is my understanding that Walt has made considerable improvements to the design since this video was made, including an additional module containing a kitchen and bathroom.
Hey Walt, if you read this, can you tell us how we can learn more & give us a link to the latest video or other information?

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Categories: Barretts, Home, Micro, video, Walt

Drawing A Tiny Home With Google SketchUp A Complete Video Tutorial Series

Prolific tiny house designer, Michael Janzen, has made a seven part video tutorial series for YouTube that is all about how to use Google's free 3D drafting software, SketchUp, to draw tiny house plans.    He's actually using SketchUp Pro, but I didn't notice too much difference between that and the free software.

SketchUp drawing by Michael Janzen

He draws as though he was actually building the tiny house, making sure that it is properly framed, sheathed, sided, and so on.  The thickness of the various materials, air spaces, gaps, flooring, etc., are all drawn very precisely so that there won't be many surprises when the real building occurs.  

I did a post quite a while ago that featured Michael narrating a tour and describing his clever 12'x24' house plan in a YouTube video that you can see by Clicking here.  

At the bottom of the post, after all the videos, I've included a link to download Google SketchUp for free.  His seven part SketchUp video tutorial series begins immediately below.

Part 1

12 minutes

Discusses & demonstrates drawing lines & rectangles, use of push/pull tool, rotating objects, and compares the value of groups & components.  Frames floor platform and walls, adds floor sheathing.

Part 2

9 minutes

Adds cleats to trailer to secure framing, & adds wall sheathing.  Makes groups to copy & paste.  Colors materials, assigns materials to layers, shows push/pull hole cutting trick.

Part 3

10 minutes

Frames loft & adds tongue & groove loft floor.  Adds rafters & ridge beams, notches "bird's mouth" into rafters at top plate.  Frames gable ends, sheaths gables & roof.  Imparts building technique & wisdom throughout. 

Part 4

7 minutes

Makes door & windows, then adds them.  Adds trim to doors, windows, and corners.  Demonstrates & explains offset tool.

Part 5

6 minutes

Adds exterior siding & roofing.  Uses "paint bucket" tool to add textures.  Demonstrates & uses the circle tool.

Part 6
9 minutes

Works on the interior, framing partitions & taking advantage of the copy / paste abilities wherever possible.  Adds flooring and drywall.

Part 7
12 minutes 

More interior work.  Drawing  kitchen base & wall cabinets, a sink, faucet, knob, door knob, and a fold-down table.  Also draws appliances and a heater.  Demonstrate and uses the "follow me" tool.

Google SketchUp is an amazing and versatile drawing program that works on both Windows and Mac operating systems, and it's free.  They also offer what they call SketchUp Pro, which is even better and more versatile but it costs $495.  Still, that's a bargain compared to most professional drawing programs out there, and as of this date, they are offering an aditional $100 discount.  Click on the following link to get to a page where you can download Google SketchUp ( now called Trimble SketchUp ) onto your computer for free: 
     

http://sketchup.google.com/download/

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Categories: a, Complete, Drawing, Google, Home, Series, SketchUp, Tiny, tutorial, video, with

Retro Shipping Container Video

 Retro Shipping Container Video

http://youtu.be/wyqgXz_62Ng

Categories: Container, Retro, shipping, video