Virginia is now for lovers of family too. Tiny temporary houses for the infirm made legal .

Accessory or secondary dwelling units are a way to increase the population density of suburban neighborhoods.  With an increase in density public transit is more likely to be successful and businesses within walking distance have more potential customers.   For these reasons and others advocates for sustainable development around the country are promoting government action to make small additional homes legal.

In Virginia a special type of secondary dwelling unit has been made legal.  HB 1307, "Zoning Provisions for Temporary Family Healthcare Structures," over rides local ordinances to allow a secondary dwelling unit to be temporarily placed on a property to provide a dwelling for an ill family member.

The dwellings require a doctor's authorization and are to be removed when the medical need has passed.


MedCottages (288 sq feet) are specifically designed for the infirm elderly.  With remote monitoring, an overhead rail to allow easier transfer from bed to bathroom, roll in showers and HVAC which will allow either positive pressure to keep pollutants from entering the home or negative pressure to keep infectious agents from leaving the dwelling.

The dwellings rent for upward of $2000 per month and are intended as an alternative to nursing home care.

The video below is a bit lengthy but explains some of the ideas behind the MedCottage law and the inspiring story of its passage.

Derek "Deek" Diedrickson now world famous among a small circle of NPR listeners for his tiny structures, also a book, website and three videos

NPR aired a story entitled "Do it yourself Downsizing" which featured Derek "Deek" Diedrickson on June 27, 2010.   Deek is a tiny structure builder, designer, enthusiast and promoter.  His creations feature lots of free cycled materials and clever designs.

His website is Relaxed Shacks aka relaxshax.wordpress.com.  He has an independently published book out entitled Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts (and whatever the heck else we could squeeze in here), which has the hand drawn look and feel of pre-desktop publishing hippie how to books of the 1970's.  The plastic binding is a nice period touch.

Thus far he's completed three episodes of his web series "Little Yellow House". Thanks to the miracle of embedding here are all three.

Episode One focuses on Deek's Hickshaw, a one person sleeper, green house or office that can be moved by one person or hauled in the bed of a truck.




Episode Two examines his Gypsy Junker made from material discarded at construction sites and other places.  It sleeps 3 but you have to really like each other.  He doesn't have the style of recycling style or interest in fine finish work of Dan Phillips but his enthusiasm is infectious.  I couldn't imagine building a Tumbleweed house myself but something like this is possible.




Episode Three is less about tiny houses and more about the music in the Gypsy Junker and Deek advocating the use of a drum as a multi-purpose piece of furniture.

Absolutely the best book concerning sustainable living I have ever read: Little House on a Small Planet

By Shay Salomon, with photos by Nigel Valdez, Little House on a Small Planet is by far the most inspiring and deeply useful books on sustainable living I have ever read.  I'm am so overwhelmed by the beauty of the photography and the author's insight that I'm not even going to try to explain my feelings about the book.  I just hope that as many people as possible will read it.

The San Antonio Public Library doesn't have a copy but it can be borrowed via the free Inter-library loan system.  Here's some information you'll need:  The Lyons Press (September 1, 2006) ISBN-10: 1592288685, ISBN-13: 978-1592288687.

A video tour of Jonathan Gungy's owner built Tumbleweed home

Here's a short video of an owner built Tumbleweeds home that is mostly complete. When a home is small you can afford higher quality components. This one is finished with wood throughout.

Tumbleweed Tiny House workshops in Austin, January 16 and 17, 2010

Jay Shafer is bring his Tumbleweed Tiny House Company workshops to Austin, January 16 and 17, 2010 at the Airport Hampton Inn, 7712 E. Riverside, Austin 78744.

Of the various tiny home builders, Jay's Tumbleweed Homes are among the most handsome.  The workshops are for serious inquirers.  Together they cost $475, but you can bring a friend for free if you purchase your tickets by 12/31/2009.

These are not hands on workshops.  Saturday's Tiny House Building Workshop will cover how to build a tiny house including special attention to how to deal with the condensation to which small spaces are prone.

Sunday, the Small Space Design Workshop will cover how to design a tiny home and include seven principles for good design. 

Tiny house by Superior Park Homes temporarily resides in San Antonio.

Richard Malin of Malin's Car Center at 1046 W Hildebrand didn't intend to have a tiny house come to stay in the small car lot behind his auto shop.  He meant it to be a Bed and Breakfast rental cabin on the Blanco or a small home for a relative.   But instead it sits and waits  for its next owner.

When he had it built he thought about how his property on the Blanco River had a tendency to flood so he paid the extra money to have Superior Park Model Homes put the one bedroom cabin on a trailer.  To its builder and current owner it is a "park model" home, a species of small mobile home that is small enough to fit in a RV resort space and meant to stay put.

But this little 11 foot by 20 cabin appears sturdily built and bears a mighty strong resemblance to the tiny houses built by Tumbleweed Homes and advocated by the popular website, Tiny House Living.  Tiny houses can be used as guest housing, for an office or as one's primary residence.  In many places you can park them in your back yard, though you'd have to check your local ordinances.  I think in San Antonio that living in an RV on a driveway is not allowed but if you were to park it in your back yard who would know?

This cabin has a small bedroom with closet, a shower and commode.  It has a small refrigerator, a sink and a cook stove.  I didn't get pictures of the kitchen area so I don't remember if it has an oven. 

Please excuse the mess inside.  The cleaning crew hasn't been around for a while and it is currently furnished with leftovers.  Mr. Malin says he's only had 5 inquiries about the house which is visible from the street.  If you are interested he is asking $18,500 which is quite a bit less than he paid for it.  To put that in perspective a Tumbleweed home of similar size will set you back $46,000.

If you are interested in tiny houses in addition to Tumbleweed homes check out these builders: Texas Tiny Houses in Luling which features salvaged building components from Discovery Architectural Antiques in Gonzales,  Little House on the Trailer,  Martin House Company LLC,  and Cabin Fever,

December 2010.
Lots of people are looking at this post this month.  I drive by Mr. Malin's shop all the time and this little fellow is still there.   I haven't been inside since I took the pictures.  I imagine it has been straightened up a bit since I first posted this.  I must admit it puzzles me why it hasn't sold yet.

October 2011
It still hasn't sold.

August 2013
It did eventually sell or at least it was moved off the lot.  After that Mr. Malin's shop itself was sold.  I think it sold some time in 2012. 

Nine Tiny Feet: a thought experiment in tiny house design

One night in 2008 Michael Janzen went to sleep with Jay Shafer's tiny houses on his mind. Since then he has been imagining a series of homes each with an area of 9 square feet and documenting his thought and google sketch-up experiment on the blog "Nine Tiny Feet".

The design has been altered many times since then. His last entry as of today was in May 2009 but in it he indicates that he is still contemplating the design. He has tried different shapes, has eliminated framing in favor of panels, has added and removed features. He is currently trying to figure out a way to make his design lighter.

No construction has taken place as far as I can tell but the design keeps evolving. It is a thought experiment that has fascinated many readers. It illustrates the well William G. Wilson's statement "before a man can build a house he must first imagine it."

What green does a $8300 tiny green built apartment in India have?

Tata, the Indian auto giant (and owner of Jaguar), got lots of notice in the USA for its plan to build the world's lowest priced car (which isn't safe or clean enough for the USA).

Like Ford Motor Company in 1919, Tata also builds housing, some of which are aimed at the low income people who would likely work for them in Mumbai. In Boisar, a bus ride from the end of a suburban train and Tata factories, they will build Shubh Griha a gated complex of tiny apartments with shops, a hospital, recreational facilities and public spaces.

The apartments will be built under "the guidance of the Indian Green Building Council". The Indians have licensed the LEED program from the US Green Building Council. But it isn't clear whether these apartments which sell for about $30 a square foot will be Indian Leed certified.

I couldn't find any reference to how the apartments are to be heated but the complex would get Indian LEED credit for having services and shopping included, for being close to public transportation and for having 70% of the development open space.

Tata touts such features within the 283 sq foot to 465 square foot apartments as concealed plumbing, solid core flush doors, oil based paint and flush commodes, none of which seems to be outstandingly green from a US perspective.

Within the development green features include rainwater harvesting and vermiculture. A "Medicinal plantation" whatever that turns out to mean may be another green feature. Of course the small sizes of the apartments may be the most outstanding green attribute.

There are no references to recycled materials, advanced wall systems, super insulation or energy efficiency which are the most prominent features of US green construction. So although most of the publicity for the Shubh Griha mention the Indian GBC's involvement there are very few specifics available as to what that means.

Small is Sustainable. The charming small homes of Tumbleweed

For the past 4 decades the average size of the American home has increased. In major home and builder magazines, "small" homes are often anything less than 2000 sq. feet.

But, Tumbleweed Tiny House Company of Sebastopol, California offers really small houses that are really big on style.

Some of the houses are built on trailers, such as the Weebee, but a number of the designs are meant for permanent foundations. A few are minimalist modern, such as the Z-Glass, but most have the charm of a early 20th century cottage. The Harbinger and Loring and the larger but less lyrically name, B-53, would all fit in any historic neighborhood.

Though the homes are stick framed and built with conventional material, their size alone makes them green and sustainable. Jay Shafer's designs often incorporate lofts, wet bathrooms and ceilings of less than 8 feet. The lower ceilings keep proportions of the house right and add to a more cozy feel.

The very tiny houses built on trailers can be purchased ready made. The other homes are available as plans, with consultations and attendance at building workshops included.

Below is a video introduction to Jay's own home an Epu which is built on a trailer.

UPDATE: On Feb 23, 2009 Amanda at "Constructing a Simpler Life" published an excellent piece with pictures based on an interview with Jay Shafer it is really interesting.