A mid century modern TINY SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME

Not too shabby for something that was slapped together and outfitted in TWO DAYS! This was the (somewhat recent) finale competition on the program Design Star All Stars, and while I didn't see a single other episode of the show (I don't have cable tv), and hear that the overall track record of the show's winner was better, I still think, as far as this last contest went, contestant Hilari Younger got robbed. I dug this entry over the others by far- in its use of a VERY limited space (7' by 20' on the interior), and the bold use of color and accessories/furnishings it employed. Nothing I would personally choose to live in, style wise, but its just fun and ballsy at the same time.

 Here are FIVE books dealing with shipping container architecture and pre-fabricated and eco-housing....some deal with tiny, and/or small/modest sized houses too....just some books/links to peruse...

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A tiny, tiny bathroom, in a tiny bunk house in Maine

Earlier this summer, while in China Maine, I took a few new snapshots of this little bunkhouse (which appears in the photo gallery of my book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks"), and its newly installed, super tiny bathroom. The bathroom was a former closet, and is a mere 4' by 4' in its floor layout. The tiny sink was salvaged from another collapsing cabin in the woods and given a new life here. Dana Sennett, former mayor of the city of Waterville, ME is the proud builder/owner of this lil' cabin by the lake. This building was formerly a wood shed too, believe it or not.

Dana's 4' by 4' bathroom. All photos by Deek

 This is all part of a SLEW of new photos I've been taking for well over a year, that may possibly end up in another tiny housing design and concept book- I'm most likely also working on a coffee-table style book for another publisher on KID'S FORTS, treehouses, and more- and am currently looking for any submission photos and exceptional works- here's you're chance to have YOUR WORK showcased in a book! kidcedar at gmail dot com is my email if you're interested- the book will ALSO feature some hobby sheds, ultra-tiny houses, and seasonal cabins as well.

And yes, soon, I'll elaborate more on the NEW guest speakers that have been added to our "Tiny House Building Workshop" in Stoughton, MA (12 miles outside Boston), on Nov 2-4. Still some room left for sign-ups. kidcedar at gmail dot com if you're interested.

The Sennett Bunkhouse on China Lake

The bunk room itself- its about 8' deep and 12' long (the entire cabin)

Curtained storage above the bathroom- smart!

 ANOTHER GREAT EXAMPLE of a tiny bathroom for a tiny house, and one with a shower comes from the book "Little House On A Small Planet" from Shay Solomon- a great read. Its full of photos and vingetes from tiny house dwellers.   -Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

What a great idea for a tiny/small kids room! A funky loft bunk!

Assuming you have the ceiling height, here's a great little project for a kids room- and one that would free up a good deal of floor space for a desk, or seating. Obviously, the same, but in a larger format, concept could be applied to a set-up for adults.
    I'm slowly gathering a photo collection of "good space efficiency set-ups" for both kid and adult rooms, and I'll be posting those soon. In the meantime, here's a mere sample.

Basically, its a plywood box, with rounded access and window holes, wall-papered within, and set on painted 4" by 4" posts- which in turn support the ladder rungs- so simple, but it looks GREAT!

Feel free to share your ideas or photos too! It looks like I'm being signed on to create a kid's fort/playhouse book, complete with some full plans (and many guest designers) too- IF YOU'D LIKE YOUR FORTS, TREEHOUSES, OR TINY PLAYHOUSE CREATIONS (EVEN HOBBY SHEDS) TO BE PHOTOGRAPHICALLY FEATURED AS PART OF IT, SEND ME PHOTOS (very hi-res only), and you just may be in the book- credited, or course, and all. KIDCEDAR at GMAIL dot com.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

MORE GUESTS added to MA's "Tiny-House Building Workshop"

NEW "Tiny House Building Workshop Poster" WITH NEW ADDED GUEST SPEAKERS(!) from artist Derek Muscat- of THEOCYDESIGN.com- this guy is pretty amazing and has done alot of treehouse related art in the past too- DAMN WILD stuff, so be sure to check him out! More on our added guests soon too! Kidcedar at gmail dot com if you might be interested in attending, or click HERE.

With our ONE THOUSANDTH blog post on the horizon (between the old blog (still up) and the new), we also might be having a workshop update AND a giveaway over on Tinyhouseblog.com too.... keep checking here and over there.    -Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

 ALSO, A new book is in the works, ASIDE from a follow-up to "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks"- we'll be looking for some guest contributors and photographers down the road! If you haven't yet checked out my book, its pretty darn affordable- here's the link....

The Brand New VW Camper/Motorhome "DOUBLEBACK"

Wow! Talk about engineering! Check out this video- the VW camper of the future (although the price is very futuristic too! Yeowch! 55,000 Pounds). Thanks to Mike Napurano of our "Tiny Yellow House and Relaxshacks.com" Facebook discussion board for pointing this one out! Join our group here! Its not a fan page, but an actual interactive board/forum, where there's always some GREAT content. We have quite the cast of characters on board too!

Anyway, they've now taken the classic VW camper, and have given it a remote controlled, cantilevered, add-on- giving it almost DOUBLE the space. Its really the Transformer Toy of road campers/VW buses!

Could something like this be devised for a tiny house so as to circumvent square footage code?

PS- I've been REALLY ill lately, so sorry for any blog delays, and I will soon unveil a couple of new guest speakers that will be part of our three day "TINY HOUSE BUILDING WORKSHOP" in MA- Nov 2-4th! I can't wait! We still have a little room too, if interested. I'm still tweaking plans as to what we'll collectively build, in terms of the guest house- but its going to be fun- and perhaps a filmed feature for Make Magazine.
-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A PORCUPINE-shaped tiny house/cabin?

If you've read the short encounter chapter in my tiny-housing book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks", you know that Porcupines in Vermont have become my mortal enemies. I do find them very interesting, but man can they destroy the siding of a cabin VERY quickly...regardless, I really dig this little sculptural cabin....

This one is just wild- and was created by artists at the San Francisco "Recology" center- with the focus of several exhibit builds being "recycled materials"- fittingly. As many of you know, I'm a big fan of fun, and whimsical tiny dwellings- and this one certainly fits the bill! No interior photos were provided at www.recology.com, but its still fascinating enough, even if only given an outside vantage.

Above is another very cool offering from the same event....spherical structures are very hard to furnish, and are very space inefficient though....

From RECOLOGY:
Suzanne Husky: Sleeper Cell Raising
The wealth of materials available to Suzanne Husky during her residency at the dump enabled her to construct small habitable structures that had previously existed only in her drawings. The artist’s intention for these forms, which appear like tiny homes for characters in a folk tale, is that they be placed in a forest or garden, potentially to be slept in. While the shelters in nature-inspired shapes such as a porcupine convey a humorous charm, Husky’s description of them as “sleeper cells” alludes to more sober concerns—people living off the grid in anticipation of an environmental apocalypse, ecoterrorists mobilizing in forest hide-outs, and a metaphorical rising up of nature against encroaching industry and technology. Structures are furnished with the cast-offs of consumer culture and are even on wheels, allowing for the easy deployment of this woodland force. Husky received her MFA in 2000 from the Beaux-Arts School in Bordeaux, France. She has had residencies at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco and at Pollen Monflanquin near Bordeaux; her work will be included in Bay Area Now 6 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in 2011.

As for recycled materials and building on the East Coast front, boy oh boy do I have LOADS of stuff we can play with and incorporate into the building of a new tiny dwelling/guest house at our Relaxshacks.com "Tiny House-Building Workshop" Nov 2-4, in Stoughton, MA. Click HERE for DETAILS! Its filling fast!

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Micro-SHED-alicious- These seven little backyard cabins just may be inspiration for you own TINY HOUSE!

  Check out these seven backyard sheds and retreats! I feel each of them brings something very unique to the table in terms of the list of usuals: lines/style/roof-lines, overall placement/landscaping, decor, color choice, and its general pimposity! Ok, the last one is total and nonsensical bs...but regardless, check these out, and just on exteriors alone, if you don't find a single element of inspiration, you're not really looking hard enough- heck, it shouldn't be hard at all. Even if you find elements of "I'd NEVER do that with my own tiny house, now that I see it in a photo!"- well, mission accomplished as well.

Remember, you never have to love it, just consider it....

Also, in other Relaxshacks.com news, our upcoming hands-on "Tiny House-Building Workshop" just ADDED a couple of new guest speakers/demonstators! Wait til you see who's comin'! FUN! FUN! FUN! and damn educational too! Nov 2-4, three days, is when it all goes down, 10 miles outside Boston, MA..... Click Here for More Info. Kidcedar at gmail dot com if you have any questions.

A shed/kid's clubhouse made by Joel Henriques of the aptly titled blog www.MadeByJoel.com

David Edrington's Shed (with twin beds in the 2nd floor for guests)- Washington State.

 Meanwhile, I'm working on both a follow-up book to "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks", on tiny houses, backyard retreats, cabins, and more, AND a book on kid's forts- if you happen to have any unique, fun, wild, and hi-res, photos that you'd like to share, and perhaps contribute to the books, email me at kidcedar at gmail dot com.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A mini-cabin INSIDE an apartment in Amsterdam

 I've never been to Amsterdam, Netherlands, but if I ever go, here's one of the places I'd love to stay. In some other lifetime I'd also like to try something along these lines- the installation of a tiny space, or tiny house, within a large, industrial space, but shared with other, funky, homemade, earthy, fun, and unique dwelling pods. It would almost be an indoor community of tiny homes, or an interior micro-housing development- all out of sight, and potentially out of mind, for the many law-writing naysayers out there- if you wanted to go that route, naturally.

This particular one is an airbnb.com listing, one of many interesting ones out there.....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

But won't someone STEAL my tiny house on wheels?

THE THREE QUESTIONS I MOST OFTEN GET WHILE HOSTING TINY HOUSE-BUILDING WORKSHOPS....
-But where are tiny houses allowed?
-Where do you go to the bathroom? (toilet/facility set-ups)
-Won't someone steal your tiny house on wheels?

 The first two have been covered many times over on several blogs, ranging from tinyhouseblog.com to tinyhousetalk.com, tinyhousedesign.com and  thetinylife.com, but I rarely see any attention given to the theft question.
Below is part of a response comment I left on Kent Griswold's blog, with much other info I have now added....

A lot of people always bring up the "won't people steal it" question, but its not as likely to happen as people might think, in fact, I've personally not heard of a case yet.
Hopefully this will give some a bit of comfort...as we've talked a bit about it at each of the Tumbleweed Workshops I've hosted, and my own workshops....(again, there's one coming up Nov 2-4 in Boston, where we'll all build a tiny dwelling together). kidcedar at gmail dot com for info.

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES, and the "WHY NOT"....


-First, with a heavy duty chain you can simply lock it (your tiny house) down to a tree or two, making it very time consuming and difficult to steal. One could also self-boot it (perhaps even remove the tire(s) from one side (simple to do) so that it can't be easily transported). Most thieves want the quick steal, and not something that requires an hour or so of tree felling, and multiple people, to acquire.

-Secondly, a thief, unless he/she had ample time to hide something so enormous and strip it, would be driving around sticking out like a sore thumb with any form of tiny house- structures which are still very much so huge novelties in the general scheme of things to those not familiar with the scene. I know of many people who have never even heard of the concept, never mind seen a tiny house on wheels. Anyway, if you stole a tiny house, where are you going to hawk it without being noticed, and remembered, by every person you pass? It'd be like stealing a ferris wheel- the down-low factor is terrible, making it almost impossible to resell.

-Third Tactic....if you plan on leaving it permanently at a site (or for a prolonged period), and have the means, why not just shove a few large boulders in front of, or around it, with a bulldozer? Any tiny-house burglar would now have to have access and the foresight to bring a bulldozer to the scene of the crime, to remove those rocks so as to give the tiny house a free passageway. Thats A LOT of work, and noisy work, to steal ANYTHING. Yeah, a tiny house is very valuable, but this ain't "The Thomas Crown Affair".

-Number Four- When I was in my teens I toured with a pop-punk/rock band by the name of "Rail" from Rochester, NY (Ringing Ear Records). When staying at a motel, especially in a shady area, we'd back the loading doors of a van or U-haul against a wall. Why? The theory is, if they don't have enough room to swing open the doors to steal all the larger gear that can only be unloaded through those very doors, then the gear just can't be removed. Now apply that to a tiny house, but in a slightly different way: If you can't hitch up a tiny house, you can't tow if off the scene. To employ this method, you'd have to unhitch the tiny house, then winch it, tongue-first, into a tight spot (the trailer neck/hitch end). Now, ultimately, its going to take some hard "unwinching" work to get the house into a free and clear spot, where it could then be hitched up tp a vehicle and stolen. Most thieves just aren't going to bother.

Five- Fake cameras- I talk about this in my tiny house design/concept book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks". Basically, hang a fake camera somewhat near the tiny house, high up on a pole or tree for instance, but somewhere in clear view. This sounds goofy, but beneath it, tack a small, official looking sign that simply reads "#5". In reality you only have one camera hung, and its a cheap fake one (they sell kits- see below), but by having it numbered "#5", any prospective "hooligan" is going to think twice before doing anything stupid or illegal near your site. He or she will be thinking, "If this is camera #5, then there must be at least four others, and how many of these have I been captured on already!?". Again, its simple and goofy, but its not going to hurt.
     A sign on the door of your cabin reading, "I hope you smiled for our seven cameras" might work too.

And there are a few sample ideas, and some reasoning as to why its just less likely that someone is going to steal your tiny house anyway.

Vandalism is a whole other beast, but any homeowner, or seasonable cabin dweller, has to face this same problem.

Any other suggestions, PLEASE post them in the comment section below, I'd love to hear them! Thanks!
-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Greg Crawford's Super-Cool Mud/Cob House In The Woods

Check out this new video from the "Peak Moment" series- its a little long, and I wish it focused more on the scenery/interiors, but its a worthwhile video, on a great little free-form, tiny cabin/house. Greg, who lives in this house half of each year (while traveling the other half), made this home from almost ALL recycled materials, and comes off as a well spoken guy- someone who'd be interesting to have a few beers with, while chatting about anything.

Recycled materials...YUP, we'll be teaching and showing you how to employ them into a tiny house build (one YOU will help create) at our next Tiny House-Building Workshop on Nov 2-4 just outside Boston, MA. We'll have many Guest Speakers, lots of building, campfire discussions at night, tiny house/project/shelter tours, AND we'll visit the very first built Tumbleweed Tiny House as well! CLICK HERE FOR INFO!

 Above- Gregory, in front of his earthen home/tiny dwelling in Washington state...

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

a TINY victorian outhouse, as a small garden shed/cabin retreat

Holy mother of awesome! Its a little fancy, high-end, and frilly for me, but this one's undeniably incredible if you're into the Victorian look- IN FACT, this garden retreat/tiny house (which would be GREAT as a small shed office or artists studio) was modeled after old plans for a Victorian OUTHOUSE, believe it or not!
     This lil' structure was actually built as a playhouse (for his daughter), and is owned by David Wilgus, a freelance illustrator from Davidson, North Carolina.
    Pretty darn awesome....and fittingly so, its the current cover piece/photo in the brand new issue of "Country Gardens" magazine, which you can find at Lowes, and many other stores. I picked up this issue JUST because of this photo.

-------------------------------
Want to build a tiny guest house? Well, we're doing just that, as a group, as part of the upcoming Relaxshacks.com Tiny House-Building Workshop outside Boston. MA- Nov. 2-4. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS and to sign up...

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Street Art: A micro treehouse model- made of Legos.....

A quick two-in-one-day post- something I tossed up on www.fortaday.com (and saw originally on www.gothamist.com )

 I've long wanted to do some anonymous (well, aside from declaring it on this blog right now) treehouse/tree fort "tagging", or midnight installations, in public places. This would be with micro treehouse models, not the real deal, full size ones- I mean, who has that kind of time or money? Anyway, after seeing a photo of one, passed on from a radio host friend (Jon Kalish), the bug nabbed me, and now I've been thinking of doing it on and off again for some time-but again, you never heard it from me, as well, techically, its illegal in most cases.
    Now, this tiny lego treehouse here....its not going to help me kick the desire! So cool!

  Derek "Deek" Diedricksen runs the blog Relaxshacks.com, alongside Fortaday.com, Hosts "Tiny Yellow House" TV on youtube, and is author of the tiny house, fort, cabin, treehouse, and cottage design book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks" which you can check out by clicking HERE.  

Make Magazine's Tiny House Camp AUDIO SLIDESHOW!

Many thanks to radio reporter extraordinaire Jon Kalish, for piecing together this very cool audio slideshow for Make Magazine! Some GREAT photos are within, and viewing them, I miss the Tiny House Summer Camp crew already- it was such a great time, so many good people, and we really lucked out with the weather! YES, we will have another tiny house building camp in Vermont next year, and I'm hoping we can get Bill Rockhill and son, of www.bearcreekcarpentry.com (in the Adirondacks), and many new guest speakers on board.

Sooner, we're having our Relaxshacks.com Tiny House Building Workshop #3 right in my backyard- about 10 miles outside of Boston, MA. This workshop will be limited to about 20 people, and spots are already filling up, so don't wait too long.

For full info on guest speakers, our building project, the schedule, what we're covering, and more....CLICK HERE.....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Kids Forts as Models For Tiny Houses??? A look-out tower modern home?

 From time to time here on relaxshacks.com I like to post photos of rather unique and interesting kids forts, playhouses, treehouses, and clubhouses. The reason I do this is because I feel there is always something to be architecturally learned from the simplest, or most elaborate, of child "dwellings"- ideas, decor approaches, use of space, and interesting contours, that can all be possibly placed and utilized in the world of "real" tiny house design. Designers of such structures are allowed, it seems, to take more chances on these type builds, mainly because of the lack of risk, and the lower overall cost of such a project- you're not going to experiment with one million dollars of a clients money to build something like the fort shown above, right? Whatever the case, I just love the fact that the two fields COULD and CAN very much overlap- if you choose.

Above, yet another kid clubhouse that might make for a nice tiny house if enlarged. The pole-construction nature of it would also lend well to uneven plots of land, marshy areas, or those prone to flooding.

 Sometimes the purists complain, or inwardly whine "Deek, this isn't true to the game! You're off target and need to ONLY report on Tumbleweeds, Vardos, and Micro-Cottages! I'm taking my views elsewhere!"

To those, I urge you to go instead to www.youaretakingyourselfwaytooseriously.com, or www.gimmeafugginbreak.com.

Anyway, I still stand by the ties, and really liked the look of this tower-like playhouse- a photo taken by Holly Gomez over at www.aplaceimagined.blogspot.com. Yes, its not practical, but I'm big fan of attempting to bring fun, lightheartedness, and hell, even child-like whimsy, into structures here and there. Why not making a dwelling fun to look at, as well as functional?

I'm also working on a list of GREAT books on this subject matter (posted soon), as there are many that are often overlooked. One, for starters, is this offering from David and Jeanie Stiles- two of the more talented names in the kids fort, and tiny structure, world. You can additionally check them out at www.stilesdesign.com. I'll have another book of theirs to giveaway soon as well! Stay tuned.....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Tiny House/Cabin In Vermont UPDATE "The Rockhill"

"With great (amounts of) cabins, comes great responsibility", as Spider-Man once said, well, something like that....
     I was back up at my camp in Vermont last weekend (the site of July's "Tiny House-Building Summer Camp") and worked on readying some of the structures we worked on, for the coming winter (just in case I can't make it back up there anytime soon). As I've mentioned, my 10 acres in Vermont has always been my experimenting grounds, and photo subject-matter for my "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks" book, but the upkeep on so many structures does get time consuming. Cleaning them, porcupine-proofing them, waterproofing their half-done status, and more- it all adds up! Yes, the porcupines are back at it- eating all of the plywood they can get their hands on (see the side story in my book).

TO SIGN UP FOR OUT UPCOMING (Nov 2-4 near Boston) WORKSHOP- CLICK HERE.....we'll all build a tiny guest house/art studio together- 8' by 12', with some added, unique features and techniques! 

Above: In the process of tar-papering "The Rockhill" Cabin (named in honor or Bill Rockhill and his son, who were very instrumental in its construction. Bill runs Bear Creek Carpentry in the Adirondacks, and does GREAT tiny house and log cabin work- check him out at www.bearcreekcarpentry.com 

Note the big ole boulder/glacial erratic next to the cabin.... "Kurt Rock", as I called it on the maps people received at the camp.

An added ATTEMPT to keep future snow drifts out. I do plan on making it up to VT one more time to work, before winter hits, but just in case I don't make it....

Yeah, again, TARPS are a builder's good friend- I talk about this all the time at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Workshops too....from digging holes (to throw displaced dirt on them), to rain protection, rain collection, shade from the sun, and more....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

The Hobbit Huts- on location filming cabins and cottages in Unity, ME

ALL photos shot by Deek on my Canon Powershot ELPH 300HS- which I LOVE!!- link is below. I've had a few friends buy it on my recommendation and they've been thrilled with it. The camera is TINY too, and affordable.

   
    Well, I've been on the road quite a bit the last several weeks, from DC (teaching
a Tumbleweed Tiny House Company Workshop), to Northern Vermont (another upcoming mini-filmed/episode on my youtube "relaxshacksDOTcom" channel), and even Unity, Maine, to visit Melissa and Rocy Pillsbury of Wooden-Wonders.com. While there I filmed an upcoming how-to episode for Make Magazine, using their cool little hobbit huts/shacks/cabins/holes as a backdrop- and had a blast (well, it was hot as all heck, but still fun).

 Anyway, the episode is in the works and won't be out for awhile, but in the meantime, here's a few photos I took while on the premises- photos that will most likely (some of them) end up in my next tiny housing/small dwelling/shacks book- a follow-up to "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks" (below)- which still keeps hitting #1 for Carpentry books on all of Amazon.com here and there- THANK YOU! 

I was hoping to possibly get a Hobbit Hut on site for the Relaxshacks.com Tiny House-Building Workshop
on Nov 2-4 in Stoughton/Boston MA, but no word yet. I'd LOVE to film a "Pimp My Hobbit Hut" episode or two and really, really deck one of these out properly. We'll keep you updated, and to those who want to sign up for, or need more info on our hands-on building workshop- CLICK HERE!

Again, recently added, day three of the workshop we will visit THE VERY FIRST BUILT TUMBLEWEED TINY HOUSE! We may have even more guest speakers to announce, so keep checking back! 

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A Tiny House Make-Over! Visit THE FIRST TUMBLEWEED TINY HOUSE at our Nov 2-4 Relaxshacks.com Workshop!

Just added! In addition to all the speakers, the collective building project, the camping, the tiny cabin touring, AND MORE- on Sunday, as the workshop's third day wraps up, we'll all head out to visit THE FIRST-BUILT TUMBLEWEED TINY HOUSE in Boston....which you'll love. This is the very first one that Jay Shafer built in Iowa, and lived in- what a great little place. A visit to this tiny house on wheels is sure to give you some great ideas in terms of tiny house design and spatial arrangement. And this is in addition to all the other tiny structures we'll be seeing, the many guest speakers, and so on.

To SIGN UP or FIND MORE INFO on this workshop happening November 2-4- CLICK HERE! 

We did an open house at this place months back, and I've filmed a tour video as well (below). Before the open house I was asked a ways back to give the place (which hadn't been lived in for a long time) a make-over. The total amount spent was $162.00, and the goal was to make it more fun, colorful n' funky! Below are some more photos of the very home you'll be seeing as part of our "Relaxshacks.com Tiny House-Building Workshop #3"- right outside Boston, MA.

Again, this workshop is being limited to 20 attendees, so as to keep it intimate and very hands-on, so don't wait! 

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Lost Love For The Bucket- the OTHER Tools for building your tiny house

Not the most sensational-sounding, or super-exciting blog post, eh? Hear me out though.....

While teaching tiny house-building workshops on my own (Nov 2-4 we have another one coming up near Boston), and for the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, in addition to Jay Shafer's list of the 14 tools needed to build his tiny houses, I also list several of the tools that I've personally found invaluable. This list ranges from archaic hand tools (for off-grid work), to a surform, coping saw, tarps (yes, they can be considered a tool), A nail gun and air tank (hugely time saving for larger jobs), and buckets....YES, BUCKETS.....

These little $5.00 jobbers (if you purchase them and can't find 'em free), have many uses, and have saved my butt many a time while in the midst of a building project for a video, a client, or myself. I always make sure I have many of them on hand, as you never know when they might make themselves useful.

TEN WAYS IN WHICH BUCKETS can be a HUGE HELP on the BUILDING SITE....

1. Storage- If you're caught in the middle of a downpour, buckets with lids make for a quick stash spot for your tools, nails, and materials.

2. Saw Horses- use two of them to bridge a piece of wood you're working on, and you'll save your knees from a little extra bending (if you were working on the ground).

3. Carrying Water- for mixing cement, putting out fires, rinsing/cleaning tools/materials.

4. Hauling Dry Goods- tools, nails, and whatever else- its especially helpful for large amounts of small tools.

5. Step Stool- a bucket will hold a heck of alot of weight when flipped upside-down, and get you 18" or so higher.

6. Collecting Water- while building off-grid and in need of water for mixing cement, a tarp rigged to collect rainwater can be channeled into a bucket for such needs.

7. MIX CEMENT IN THEM- a mixing vessel for small batches, and carrying vehicle, in one.

8. Trash Receptacle- pretty self explanatory, as a clean work site is a safe and efficient one.

9. A composting/sawdust toilet- if there are no facilities around the site you happen to be working on. 

....And I'm sure there are more uses! If you have any, please add them here....

And check out details for our Nov 2-4 Tiny House-Building Workshop right outside Boston, MA

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen