In my travels filming tiny houses and cozy homes I often come across abandoned structures. There seems to be a particular abundance of them in the desert southwest where the weather conditions, and the heat seems to put once-hopeful dwellers and homesteaders to the test- often besting them.
Perhaps it was the case here.
In this clip, we show you a $6000 desert WRECK of a home. What are your feelings, would something like this be worth saving?
You've probably seen many of those ultra-affordable tiny tables that Ikea sells for around $8.00 or so, right? Maybe you've even seen them post-use kicking around on the side of the road come trash day. I sure know I have. Well, new or used, they're pretty bland as-is, and Ikea themselves even photographically recommends painting them to up their decor factor.
And that is exactly what I did with some leftover paint and a BIG chisel-tip sharpie marker.
You can see the whole project here in a fast forward time lapse...
Oh yeah, my BRAND NEW tiny house book "MICRO LIVING" is now out too! See below...
Here's one just for fun. And lets face it, there are thousands and thousands of worthless baseball cards out there right now. The market on those collapsed decades ago and they're barely worth the paper they were printed on, so why not have fun with them?
This reuse project might be a great, creative "time killer" for kids at home, as an activity for Cub Scout or Girl Scout meetings, or for elementary school art classes. I know that teachers and other instructors are always looking for cheap, entertaining ideas for kids, so here you go....
"Reusing/turning your worthless baseball cards into fun micro art"
I apologize for the shoddy camera quality, but it is what it is (and this was a spur of the moment shoot).... and its merely a simple talk about something I feel pretty strongly about- the whole of issue of whether or not one should convert a shed into a tiny house, or not?
Sure, you might INITIALLY save quite a bit of money and time, but are there repercussions?
Yes, there are, and there will be.
For instance, the fairly standard 2by3 construction of "box store sheds" (to save time, money, and transport weight) isn't something that will convey, nor structurally hold up, if you were to affix (or "plop") an assembly line cheapo shed onto a trailer for your "quick and easy tiny house on wheels".
Its not going to pan out well...... (more below)
And what about the structural deficiencies of a build with 24" on-center stud work, versus one with residentially-standard 16 on-center framing? There is a BIG different in strength and rigidity.
In this video, I explain quite a bit more. If you head over to the real/direct video, be sure to leave your opinions, good or bad- this way we can all peruse what has been left, text-wise, and benefit from it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7byZGA98qmc
Thanks in advance for checking it out, and I hope it helps some of you out!
So I just stayed in this lil' place, located in Thorndike, Maine, and it was just awesome- so much character. And that's JUST the tiny house (which is far nicer on the inside that you'd expect)- never mind the gorgeous farm landscape.
If you're into Organic gardening, "WWOOF"ing, or just want to try out a tiny house for a night or two, I highly recommend this place. Its very reasonable too!
Hey, don't forget too, TINY HOUSE SUMMER CAMP SIX is coming up- Hands-On Tiny House Building with TEN instructors, camping, live demos, bon fire talks, and more! In Orleans, VT!
Flyer below- sign up banner is at the top of this page/blog.
So I really haven't talked about this so much lately, as, well, I've been beyond busy, but I've decided to sell my plot of land near Deming NM -which I've owned for almost 20 years. The plot also has this unique little camp shelter parked on it now....which is included with the land.
Above: The top of the front window/glass array flips open for ventilation.
Its no mega-ranch in acreage, at a half acre, but there are NO neighbors within sight so you might as well call it 1000 acres. It also has road access and you can drive right up to the plot (even without 4WD), and the views are pretty stunning- especially the stars at night. And if you're into mountain biking, there is endless land and dirt roads galore for you to explore.
The cabin looks directly at the "Florida Mountains" range- which has a prominence of almost 4000 feet. Downtown is also only about 25 minutes away (hotels, Walmart, tons of restaurants, a lumber yard, and more). Las Cruces and Silver City- two NM tourist destinations are EXACTLY one hour away. There are also plenty of very cool state parks nearby too (Rock Hound State Park being RIGHT in Deming, for one), and the "City of Rocks" state park (see the photo below of me bouldering there).
Photo: (during construction)- showing the front-window's direct view of the mountains- uninterrupted.
We recently built a prototype glamping cabin that is parked/stored on the land too (see the slew of photos) and that is yours as well should you pick up this lot. Its simple, but funky/fun and well built and has a drop-down bed within (bunks could be added easily instead).
In fact, there are two BRAND NEW sleeping bags already hung inside awaiting the next owner.
Actual panoramic photo of the cabin in its desert-prairie setting
The materials in the cabin were many thousands alone, never mind the labor, so all things said, for a little getaway plot (we've camped there- its pretty awesome/peaceful) its reasonable and ready to go.
Above: The original concept sketch. Designed by Deek Diedricksen, drawn by David Stiles.
The cabin is on skids/runners too, so moving it could be an option should you want to change its orientation, or move it somewhere else completely. It would be easy to open up the back wall (via a doorway) to add on another room or legitimate bathroom to this camp. As of now we just used a composting camp toilet we'd bring with us.
Me, climbing at the "City Of Rocks" state park- (about 45 minutes away)
I designed this cabin, and it was built by none other than Sam and Lynsi Underwood of "The Small Dwelling Company" from Texas. DO CHECK THEM OUT- They're awesome! Here's the link: http://www.smalldwelling.com
Their work is great, and we've showcased them on my youtube channel in the past (see below).
At night- the moon in the background...
INTERESTED?
If you might be interested, and have any questions- newenglandrockpress@gmail.com or PM me through my "Derek Diedricksen" facebook account. Just give me a little time to get back to you.
Taxes are VERY reasonable/almost nothing ($16 a year)- and they are all paid and current.
Buyer is in charge of the closing costs/document prep fees (I'm not even sure what they are for NM, but they're a couple hundred at most, from what I've read).
Title/plot is owned full and clear....
Here's the video of a past build from "THE SMALL DWELLING COMPANY" too...
Check this one out. I'm HALF-jesting about the whole thing, as at least this houseboat had a shower, but the question remains, COULD YOU MAKE DO WITH THIS? (and check out the info on "Tiny House Summer Camp 6" below too!)
By the way, this houseboat we rented (we'll have the full tiny house tour soon) was AMAZING, and we'd rent it again in a heartbeat! ZERO doubt. It was right on Lake Union in Seattle, situated among other houseboats as well (another one that will be featured in my upcoming book "Micro Living").
So you might recognize this tiny house on wheels from a video years back on my channel (and a video that went fairly viral-ish (around 800,000 views). Its one that was owned by Doug Immel, and its now for sale in the Rhode Island area. As to what amenities are in this particular small home on wheels, check out this video for more details.
When you think of how much labor and materials go into a tiny house build, and that this one is based on a tried and true model/design from The Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, the asking price of $27k really isn't so bad- heck, the trailer its on alone is $5k or more....
So, while many have asked, we rarely do anything merch-related.....well, until I was recently approached by filmmaker Alex Eaves ("REUSE: Because You Can't Recycle The Planet" and "Box Truck Film") to team up with his reuse clothing company to do a custom, short-run, tiny house shirt.
So get 'em while you can!
The proceeds of this will help keep our channel up and running (we spend ALOT(!) of time, money, and travel to film episodes and clips for all to watch) as youtube and facebook have changed their platform in a way that hurts content providers- severely.
Instead of just "asking for money", I felt it would be cooler to make sure anyone that helps gets something in return- these shirts.
Not only that, but for the next 30 orders, anyone who grabs one will ALSO get a grab-bag style art piece of mine included in their order as a "thank you".
So you tiny house addicts, check it out! Here's the link to purchase.... (Alex's "Stay Vocal" line is one based on reused and re-printed clothing (all well laundered- don't worry). You can check out his mission statement on his site. http://shop.stayvocal.com/t061-p569.html
And be sure to click on this site's workshop banner, as we HAVE announced our hands-on "Tiny House Summer Camp 6"- happening again (with camping sites included) in Vermont, on my 10 are off-grid spread.
You've seen plenty of fold-down decks in the tiny house world, but have you seen one that operates (lowers and lifts) by means of an electric hoist?
The idea is pretty simple really, and works rather well as you'll see in this video clip we took at the Tiny House NC Street Festival that Andrew Odom put together.
The design comes from Chris Strathy, who runs the company "The Capable Carpenter". Be sure to check him out!
