joshua tree workshop 2018

Thursday, September 11, 2014

A tiny bunk house made from SCRAP and JUNK in the woods of Vermont…..


More photos soon, but this is a fun/goofy project we undertook at "Tiny House Summer Camp 2" under "Operation: Use It Up!" (in reference to my GIANT pile of random and salvaged materials). This is ONE of FOUR things we built over four days, and it will eventually have a front porch and mini deck, and two bunks within (for future workshop attendees to stay in).

Above: Not yet done, but we'll get there! The front "futon frame" window will also be covered in Tuftex. We'll add a recycled material deck out front, and a larger "porch style" overhang, potentially with a hanging chair beneath it. This little bunk house will also have its own fire pit for workshop attendees to use/enjoy. Oh yeah, THE ENTIRE inside will be WILD graffiti art!!! That front door is begging to be painted some funky color too.

We now have EIGHT cabins and tiny houses on the camp land, which is great, as next years attendees will get to see them, and potentially stay in them….. a tree house, a micro a-frame, a nantucket-style tiny house in the woods, a cabin on stilts, a tiny shelter on wheels, and more!

It was a ton of fun to work on, and down a trail in a neck of my property I've dubbed "Freeform Junction"- where we get to build without plans- its all off the top of our heads, and with the materials on hand- which makes for some GREAT problem solving, group dynamics, and a large dose of "making due with what we have"!

ABOVE: An A-frame cabin we worked on as well… with scavenged and left-over materials too (about 60%)
You learn more than you'd think from simple projects like this, which force you to not take materials and scraps at face value- which often leads to far more efficient and affordable tiny house builds down the road. Yes, this bunk house in the woods is hokey, but its supposed to be, and was a teaching aid that imparted quite a bit by way of approach, and salvage construction.

The roof, the only thing NOT salvaged, is Tuftex- a kind of VERY durable polycarbonate roofing. www.Ondura.com

Also, we'll have more on it soon, but we DO have another micro-workshop coming up…. we'll have the registration links up pretty soon, but if interested in getting a spot early (these ALWAYS sell out), email me at kidcedar@gmail.com-