joshua tree workshop 2018

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Deek's $6.00 DIY Mid-Century Modern IKEA/Tuftex-hacked lamp....

Almost-Free Decor For Your Budget-Minded Home....


Here's a lil' something I came up with on the side at my Relaxshacks.com Tiny House Building Workshop the other weekend- it VERY SIMPLE to make, utilizes recycled material, and can be made for only $6.00 or so. It'll eventually make for a funky decorative addition to one of the tiny cabins we built as a group- which you'll see more on soon!

Also, if you missed the video on the RECYCLED-WOODEN SPOOL ADIRONDACK CHAIR, its below as well....



MY BOOK..... DIY concepts on Shelter, Cabins, and more (many built with free materials!)

Friday, November 29, 2013

Ontario's "Getting There Green" Duo, interview/film our Tiny House Workshop in MA

Among a few unannounced guests and speakers at our 5th Relaxshacks.com Tiny House/Cabin Design and Build Workshop in MA, our attendees had the pleasure of meeting Randy and Amanda from the blog "Getting There Green". These guys were a fun, friendly, addition to the workshop, it was great to get a chance to talk to them, and they shot this little interview with me, which later also shows some of the things going on at the workshop.

For more on them- www.GettingThereGreen.com   They also have almost 300 videos on their youtube channel.




-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Thursday, November 28, 2013

FREE METAL POOL LINERS as TINY HOUSE/CABIN ROOFING?


This is pretty darn clever, and credit must be given where its due. My neighbor, Paul LaCivita, had been saving his above-ground, metal pool sides for years now, and kept saying, you should use this stuff for flooring or roofing. Well, we finally put it to use, and while its look as flooring might not appeal to all (note: in the photo its not cut to fit or held down with trim yet), it would make for a very decent roofing material for a shed, cabin, tiny house, or wood bin. Better yet, people toss out above ground pools ALL THE TIME, or give them away on craigslist, so its not like its a bank breaker!

It IS made to be durable and waterproof.

Why Not?

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

MY BOOK....

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Tiny, Tiny, Tiny, Tiny Cabin Eye Candy- a 48 square foot backyard office....


'Another cabin we tackled at my Tiny House/Cabin Building Workshop.... "The Bread Box"- a simple to build, tiny, backwoods retreat for weekending, hunting, backyard office use, or who knows what.

This is another tiny cabin that I'll eventually have a plan set for- AND INTERIOR PHOTOS OF- once I'm done working on it. There's still much to do on this one, so you'll see plenty more later.
Its one that'll also be for sale soon too- with a charity tie-in, as its not on my property, and will eventually need to be moved. Kidcedar at gmail.com if interested.

Its 8' by 6' at its base, 8' tall, its entire door-wall is built-in shelving, and the cabin is dwarfed a little by its full size 36" wide door- but it was one I couldn't resist using as I loved the look of it, AND found it FREE on the side of the road.


Most of its rounded roof, by the way, is a material called "TUFTEX"- a polycarbonate roofing product that I use all the time. This stuff is durable, easy to install, and rugged.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

MY BOOK....

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Lovin' The Light- A Tiny Cabin/Backyard Office In The Sun.....


Here's a shot of the front wall of a cabin we built at my last workshop.... one named...."The Relax Shack" (as I figured it was about time I gave one that moniker!). Its tiny, standing at under 8' by 8', easy to build, affordable, and I will eventually have a pdf plan set for it. Its intent is for either a backyard retreat, a small office space, reading room, kid's play space, yoga studio, and/or a greenhouse.

Once finished, it will be photographed for inclusion in my in-the-works book through a new publisher, I'll shoot a video tour of it, and then ultimately, It'll probably be for sale, with the proceeds tying into a charity I've yet to pick- or charities. A portion of the proceeds will also go towards the funding of a few more tiny house tours and diy projects that I want to film to share with you all (for my youtube show). Lastly, $6.00 of it, I'll be honest, will go towards beer.

More photos to come, as you really can't make much from this one funky photo.....

If possibly interested in this cabin (one I'm still putting a lot of work and materials into)- I'm at kidcedar at gmail.com
Its not on my property, so it has to be moved/sold sooner or later :(

Its back wall is pretty awesome- check this out.... and I just finished installing a new, rustic ceiling, which I'll post photos on soon....


-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

MY BOOK....

Monday, November 25, 2013

Adirondack Chairs from Free WOODEN SPOOLS??? Cheap, Homemade, Furniture


Check out this new mini-video (BELOW).... where we show a few of the recycled-material projects we tackled (aside from the design and building of TWO little cabins) at my most recent Tiny House/Cabin Building Workshop.

Beyond a few "normal" pallet wood adirondack-style chairs that were built, Drew Fairaizl, one of our co-carpenters/instructors, whipped this bad-boy together.

Its not exactly something you can fold up and toss in the back of your Smart Car (Read: its friggin' heavy!), but I LOVE the idea....

Again, details soon, on this site, but we'll have another workshop, most likely in April, in North Carolina- our second workshop down there! Can't wait! It'll be co-presented by Steven Harrell of www.tinyhouselistings.com, and on his off-grid piece of land. These sell out pretty fast, so keep checking back at www.relaxshacks.com!




-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Another look at Deek's Cabin On Wheels "The Cub"- MORE STORAGE ADDED.....

Above: The new addition of an Ikea mini dresser ($45), and a built-in day bed platform (with recycled Ikea roadside desk panels as lids to its hollow interior), give "The Cub" (a mere 40 square feet) a lot more storage.... I'll show you the little food prep area soon too.... which doubles as steps to the bunk. 
------------
FIVE TIPS for MAKING A MICRO SPACE FEEL LARGER.....

1. Make sure you're getting ample light, but while not sacrificing too much privacy. In this cabin we have a pair of openable windows, a fixed window, and the huge wall of light (covered in Tuftex polycarbonate roofing (the stuff bullet proof glass is made from!) that actually swings open to become a porch awning. This wall isn't transparent, but still lets in a huge amount of diffused light, making this space seem less claustrophobic than its 40 square feet. Yes, 40 square feet.

2. Keep the interior colors light. The flooring is a prime example. Not only does this light-colored flooring give the room an airy feel, but it plays into the natural light entering the room, reflecting it to a small degree, and doesn't create the heavier, gloomier, vibe that a darker floor would.

3. Look to "Double Duty" Items. The "Day Bed" platform, for example, is a platform to rest on, and watch tv from, perhaps (especially once cushions are later added), but it also is a shell harboring a very good deal of storage space. Out of sight, out of mind.

4. "Loft It"- often vertical space isn't used as it could be, so if you can, look to loft, or bunk, set ups to position a sleep or storage area up beyond one's normal line of sight. As a result, you still SEEM to have the same exact living space below, and your visual space isn't encroached upon, but you've now gained additional living space.

5. Hang a few small, attention grabbing, art pieces. People are a little less apt to walk into a tiny space and immediately exclaim "Dang, this is small!" if their gaze is drawn to a particularly colorful, or unusual, piece of art of other focal point. At this point, they've unconsciously become more accustomed to what would otherwise be considered a shockingly small space. Be careful not to hang pieces that are too large though, or the opposite effect comes into play.
-------------------
MORE BACKSTORY: Well, I haven't shot a video on this little cabin yet, as, well, it's not completely done. I'm getting there though.... while also finishing TWO other cabins that we collectively built at my Relaxshacks.com Tiny House/Cabin Design and Building Workshop last weekend. We ARE having another workshop, most likely in April- in North Carolina. This one will be off-grid, and loads of fun! Three days again- and HANDS-ON Building! 

This cabin, "The Cub", is something I'm going to finish for my in-the-works book, tentatively titled "Micro Structures" (The name of a book I started years back, but never finished). This one will showcase so many cool cabins, AND will have several full-out plan sets this time- and some from a few HUGE names in the field.....

Think: WILDLY Eclectic.


-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
MY BOOK....

Thursday, November 21, 2013

A porch wall made from recycled windows.... fun n' nearly free!


Here's a great find that was sent to me by Kari Cooper.... who also attended our Tiny House Building Workshop last week, AND brought her yurt out for display (we'll have a video on that soon).

If you ever want to build a wall of windows like this, here are a few simple tips:

1. Try to locate old discarded windows that still have their putty work intact. Loose mullions and putty can be a pain to fix, and some of the old crumbling putty might have asbestos in it. Better to leave it behind if it needs too much work and is becoming loose.

2. DO make sure you further support the windows with vertical structural members. These windows can only be stacked so high when unsupported- gravity will eventually win and crack them, or worse.

3. DO lay them out ahead of time to see how they might best fit together. This will avoid costly layout mistakes later on if you were to ad lib it, mess up, and have to start over.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A recycled material "WILD WALL" at the Relaxshacks.com Tiny House/Cabin Building Workshop


I have a slew of photos coming soon, as I'm ALMOST rested from this past week (almost....), but I was particularly happy with how the "Wild Wall" in one of the cabins came out. This wall was ENTIRELY made from free, found, and salvaged material. EVEN the cedar 2by4 studs on the back wall were rescued from a mill that was going to toss them. The idea with our "Operation: Use It Up!" side mission was to take everyday scraps and junk, and see what could be made with them= saw horses, pallet chairs, modern lighting, tables, and more- we tackled quite a bit! What a fun weekend!

With our "Wild Wall" (which could EASILY be insulated, and then clad with the scraps instead), the workshop attendees each had a chance to select and then add, if they wanted, their individual flair to each "tile". Some pieces were the remnants of festival signs I've used over the years, while others were scraps of molding, Make-Magazine-project leftovers, and roadside finds.

The wall was also framed 12" on-center, so as to make use of some of our shorter scraps, and to enable us to make the wall, well, "wilder"! If only I had a spray paint stencil of "Gene Wilder" to work in!

I have a few videos on the way, and again, MANY MORE photos! Thanks to all who took part- what a GREAT group of people we had! Almost 50 in all between attendees, speakers, and our guest carpenters/hosts.

We will have another workshop, a Relaxshacks.com hands-on one in North Carolina- Off Grid, with camping in April, and MIGHT, MIGHT, have a mini indoor workshop coming up as well- a shorter, one (long) day one.....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Repurposed suitcase FURNITURE for your budget/unique home??

Some wild ideas here, and I have an old family suitcase that I've been meaning to turn into a medicine cabinet or into wall storage for some time.... here's the photographic fire under my arse that I needed! A few furniture pieces and/or storage solutions for any home, whether you're headed for tiny, or just unusual.....

Get an old suitcase with a lock and key and you can then safely keep the booze away from the kids, or overindulging friends.....

                                          Above from: www.house-capades.blogspot.com


I see suitcases being thrown away ALL the time, so here's something rather fun and unique! 




If you're into the DIY recycled and repurposing aspect of things, my book is right up your alley.... especially by way of kids forts, tiny cabins, and even weird furniture pieces.....

Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

My visit to the Tumbleweed Linden in Sonoma CA (tiny house on wheels)

I WISH I had my brand new camera back then, but these photos still give you the general idea.......

        A ways back, well, quite a ways back now, I was sent out to San Francisco as a guest speaker for a really fun Tumbleweed Tiny House Company workshop, where I later had the chance to take a side trip to the Sonoma County Fair (Huge!) with a few of the TW Crew- Meg Stephens, Steve Weissman, Joe Coover, and Holly....

Anyway, I can honestly say that its just a beautiful tiny house, and the interior is so well laid out (Meg Stephens deserves the nod). I DO have a video that I'm going to work on wrapping up once my three-day hands-on tiny house building and design workshop is over (and YES, we will have a sixth, off-grid, camp-out, build-and-design-a-cabin workshop in NC in late April!), so keep checkin' back!

I've also been hard at work on my new book for a new publisher, and its going to be pretty dang awesome. I'm also still looking for a few funky, original, off-beat, tiny dwellings, or vacation cabins to feature too..... hint, hint.....

Anyway, here are a few quick photos, as we were losing light (sadly) from my quick visit.

The very spacious main loft- Queen sized bed....


Above, better views of the second storage loft over the entrance. Its bigger than it appears in these photos....

For FAR BETTER PHOTOS- and for shots of the exterior, there are many over at

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
My DIY and tiny house/cabin/shelter/fort concept book....

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A Vaulted Roof TINY CABIN in the Woods of Georgia....

SO COOL! Another reader inspired by my book and videos! LOVE THIS! (thank you!)


First off, we JUST had two slots open up on our Relaxshacks.com THREE DAY, Hands-On, Building Workshop this weekend- so if game, hit the banner link above asap. The weather is supposed to be great and we now have a Tumbleweed Fencl on wheels stopping by for the weekend, a Yurt being set up, we'll build and design two cabins, tour five others, AND visit Jay Shafer's old tiny house on wheels in Boston- the very first Tumbleweed. Can't wait!

Speaking of cool, I just got this email (below) from a reader....



Deek,
I'm writing from my office E-mail to tell you, you've inspired us to build a cool little cabin on our North Georgia property.  It's an off the grid deal for the weekends until we build the real house (Maybe). This place is off the grid, solar powered and has a woodstove I made from a repurposed ammo can.  If you're interested I can send you more pics and will soon have a Youtube flick.  We're building a few more mini cabins because you can't call it a compound with only one!
Wish I could attend one of your workshops, but I'm an IT contractor with zero vacation time and weekend work schedules.  We're in Crandall Ga, near the Tennessee line, so if you'd like to stop by and offer any recomendations or see what we've got, that would be cool.  We're on 25 acres, it would be a perfect place to do a North Georgia workshop, or if you just want somewhere to hang out in the woods when Vt gets too cold, I'd be honored. 

-Daniel Frew

(Deek: Hmmmmm.....a Georgia Workshop, we'll see....)

Oh yeah, as for THIS workshop, here's a little overview video...


-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
MY BOOK....


Saturday, November 9, 2013

Another recycled materials small cabin (one of two at our tiny house building workshop)....

So, NEXT WEEKEND (and I'm very excited!) we're holding our 5th Relaxshacks.com Tiny House/Cabin Building Workshop (hands-on!) in Canton, MA, and we're building TWO little cabins this time. THE WORKSHOP IS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT, and has been for awhile, so if you wanted in, in late April, we're most likely going to be hosting a North Carolina full-out building workshop again (our last one down there sold out too). This one will have much more of an off-grid feel and focus, and will stand as "Tiny House Summer Camp- Season 2". Season One was the summer of 2012 in Vermont. Below is a video from Make Magazine on that camp weekend....

As for this coming weekend, as a group, we're tackling TWO cabin designs....

-One will be a new design of mine called "The Relax Shack"- which I'll eventually have VERY affordable plan sets for, and the other....

-"The Bread Bin"- a half-rounded top cabin that resembles the bread bins of old....but with a very modern take/look to it. We'll have a plan set for that one down the road too, perhaps with some bad-arse artwork from Kevin Fitzpatrick of KLM Illustration as well.


Both of these cabins will incorporate an enormous amount of free and salvaged materials. In fact, this  pre-built base of one of them (which has removable planks for now, so as to be able to show students how it was framed) was built with free and salvaged wood- all of it, except for three pressure treated 2by4's- which I could have probably swapped out with freebie wood anyway.

SO, here's a look at the mere base, and in a week or so, I hope to be able to show you a MUCH DIFFERENT photo of this fun little backyard office/retreat/guest sleeper. Yes, the framing is unconventional, but it works- well, and we're still not fully done. Also, the second base will be built by the group.

Oh yeah, EVEN THE INCH-THICK PLANKS WERE FREE (I got SO many of them from a guy getting rid of them that I really need to stop by his place and give him a really good bottle of wine or something!).



Our workshops have been going so well that I've now added in a third host/presenter to help all our attendees along as well, and to make sure that everybody gets a very good deal of individual help and attention. Can't wait!

-DEREK "DEEK" DIEDRICKSEN

Friday, November 8, 2013

Deek's NEW Wildly-Colorful Boston Tree House/Cabin- AND TWO MORE!

"Like" us at www.facebook.com/tinyhousehub for more DIY, Tiny Houses, Cabins, and Shelters....


MORE COMING SOON- but here's a sneak peak on the tree house I just built for a client- we shot a full video on this as well- showing how I used a ton of recycled and free materials in the build....  This is another micro structure that will be featured in the wild array of tiny houses, cabins, tree houses, and forts in my new in-the-works book. LOTS of photos, and FULL PLAN SETS in this next one- from some great guest designers too! 

I'll have some exteriors, and more, soon....

I ALSO WILL HAVE FRAMING PLAN SET FOR THIS VERY SOON- if interested, email me at kidcedar at gmail dot com.

Here's ANOTHER TWO TREE HOUSES I built- FULL VIDEO TOURS.....



-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

MY BOOK- Tiny House, Cabin, Shelter, and Fort Concepts.....

Thursday, November 7, 2013

2013 TIny House Building Workshop Overview- "Ad in a Tiny Cabin"


Just for kicks.... We're pretty much packed/sold out, and there's MAYBE room for one more....but we shot this a ways back, and felt it "stupid" to not post it. The cabin I'm in is "The Rock Room"- a shed we refurbished into a 10' by 12' backyard hangout/studio for a pilot that Nat Geo had us shoot.....

We'll have a full tour on this place soon- once I replace the cracked skylight with some new Tuftex clear polycarbonate roofing I just picked up.

Speaking of which, at the workshop.....now added....

-Doug Immel will bring his new and tweaked Tumbleweed Fencl by....

-We'll have a YURT set-up on the premises!

-Roy St. Clair from Virginia is coming up to talk about some new roofing products and techniques on the market. The man is entertaining and joined us in NC for another workshop.

-And we're all building TWO cabins this time, not one! Which may later be featured in the follow-up book to "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks" (that book is linked below).....

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

A Backwoods Tiny Cabin- that ran into trouble.....

For more on tiny houses, cabins, and funky diy, "Like" our facebook page at www.facebook.com/tinyhousehub
Also, I think we have ONE slot left for our Hands-On Tiny House Workshop in Canton, MA- Nov 15-17th- where we'll now have a Tumbleweed Fencl on site, and a Yurt! Plus you'll see/tour SIX other cabins! 

 Jim Matus' Tiny Cabin In The Woods of MA
I'm collecting cabins, tree houses, tiny houses, and funky clubhouses to feature in my next book (one, originally "Micro Structures" that I began writing years back), and this will be one of the submissions, once I head out there to take a few more photos, and a VIDEO! 

Unfortunately, this cabin had to be removed from its original locale.....the story is down below....


Here's a shot of the former stream-side music studio/cabin site..... man, what a locale! Seeing as his cabin is on a mere six posts, or could be built without disturbing the soil at all (on skids or blocks), its a shame this cabin site was deemed a "problem".




Here's the email I received from Jim Matus (a VERY TALENTED musician- check out his work at www.jimmatus.com )

BUILDING WITH SCREWS Vs. NAILS- Here's one argument from the former....

Here are some photos of my cabin in Conway, which I built for about $1,500.
It's 10' X 12" including the porch, inside is 8" X 10".
I designed it myself and built it mostly myself with the help of a few friends and a carpenter who taught me some basics.

The interesting back story here is that I built it 30 feet away from a stream not knowing that the law was such that it must be 200' from a waterway.
I had an unsuccessful battle with the local Conservation Commission and was forced to move the cabin. This all happened after a random hiker in the woods stumbled upon my cabin and made a call to the town's building department. 
Luckily I had used screws to build it and was able to take it apart, board by board and move it up a hill to were I was able to get a permit for it.
Some of these are photos of the old location.
I can get the new location photos from the same angles and that might be a cool hook for your book.

-Jim Matus


NOTE: I'm working on getting some interior photos of this place soon from Jim, do be sure to check back! Thanks

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

CHECK OUT MY TIny House, Shelter, n' Cabin Concept Book Here....
THANKS! 


Monday, November 4, 2013

A Recycled Pallet Wood Bus Stop (and ONE HUGE DOGHOUSE!)


Mary Frances Carlton, one of our readers, sent us this one. She was also featured on the blog a ways back with her huge super funky/cool A-frame dog house.... AT: http://relaxshacks.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-giant-doghouse-as-tiny-house.html

Meanwhile, Ms. Carlton's been busy with another project, once she completed in a day. Here's what she had to say....

I'm a single mom with two young teen boys who wouldn't be caught dead carrying umbrellas. Our house is a good 250 yards from the road with tree cover that does not allow one to watch for the bus, and unless on a dead sprint, it wouldn't wait for you anyway! So wanting to use up more of my discarded junk and free pallets...and wanting an excuse to spend a day outside in the last of the beautiful weather, I decided to put together a free, functional bus stop. My kids also like to carry hot drinks and bowls of cereal with them in the morning and I was tired of mugs and bowls left in the mailbox.. now they have a dumping station AND a place to stay dry if it is pouring rain!  It is made up of four free pallets from a local hardware store, and an old peg board with a reinforced frame that came from my laundry room remodel, and happened to be the perfect size (which was on it's way to the burn pile anyway. The vinyl 70's bench was a freebie out of a local casket company that went out of business. It is tucked back off the driveway and is about 30 feet from the road where it is not an eyesore, blending with the landscape and easy to hear and watch for the school bus :)

Do, check out her funky dog house (more photos at the link above)!


Sunday, November 3, 2013

More photos of my $300 backwoods reading room / tiny cabin in VT....

For more tiny house n' cabin photos- "like" us over at www.facebook.com/tinyhousehub


      Here's a final update on photos I took (with my new Panasonic Lumix DMC G6- which I LOVE!) of my little cabin in Vermont- one that was framed as part of 2012's "Tiny House Summer Camp" up in the woods of the Northeast Kingdom. We will have another workshop like this, off grid, in the future. Anyway, the cabin was made with a large portion of recycled and free materials, and I was thereby able to build it for only $300 USD. Counting all the decor and such- a few items I made, some Ikea stuff, and free and/or yard sale items- the decor budget was under $100. Its a mere 8' by 8', covered in a combination of metal and Tuftex polycarbonate roofing (the clear stuff- the view and light is GREAT!), and built atop a base of local cedar from Goodridge Lumber- my favorite mill up there.


Also, sorry on the lack of blog posts, but I've been...
-In Memphis, shooting some really cool tiny house tour videos with Steven Harrell of www.tinyhouselistings.com and Joe Everson of www.tennesseetinyhomes.com 

-Working my new book to meet my publisher deadline (which has been kicking my butt a little)

-Finishing a tree house for a client just outside Boston- which you'll see soon! It came out awesome!

-Getting ready for our Nov. 15-17th Hands-On Tiny House Building Workshop in Canton, MA- one/two slots left- maybe....

-Finishing ANOTHER cabin to show off at that very workshop....








A video will eventually be shot that will explain how I obtained and found a lot of the materials and how this simple little cabin was built.

If you dig this kind of whimsical, backwoods, diy stuff- check out my tiny structure/cabin/house book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks"....


ALSO, if you missed our last weird-junk DIY video- here's it is- a REALLY SIMPLE curbside-found spool table project...