This is a radio I interview I did in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in May 2012, when I was at the North House Folk School: https://www.cbc.ca/nxnw/featured-guests/2012/05/24/tiny-homes-with-llyod-khan/
It surprises some people at my slide show/book signings for Tiny Homes when I say that Tom’s cabin (pp. 92-93) is one of my favorite homes in the book. It’s a Tuff Shed that Tom bought for $4000 and fixed up to be his tiny home. On the exterior it looks like a storage shed, but inside it’s a cozy, well-thought out dwelling.
This morning I see on the Tiny House blog that Tuffshed is now fabricating little buildings intended as tiny homes:
“Most people are familiar with Tuff Shed’s storage sheds and garages, but now the 30-year-old company is designing and manufacturing structures that could be used as tiny homes.…The Premier PRO Weekender Ranch can be finished on the interior by the customer to create a more liveable space. This building includes a steel service door, two 3′x3′ windows, LP TechShield radiant barrier roof decking, 30-Year Owens Corning dimensional shingles, a front porch with overhang and can accommodate any of Tuff Shed’s standard options. The sizes range from 8′x14′ to 16′x24′ and the prices from $4,100 to $8,739.…”
Note: I’m just back from 10 days on the road, unscrambling notes and pics and will post some of it later this week.
“Brothers Adam and Aaron Leu stand on the porch of their “tiny house,” which has been bought by a Kentucky couple and will be transported there. The house, approximately 130 square feet, includes a kitchen, bathroom living room and loft. It took the brothers about 3 1/2 months to build.”
Mike Litchfield, author of Inlaws, Outlaws and Granny Flats: Your guide to turning one house into 2 homes (which I recommend in all my bookstore appearances), did an interview of me about owner-builders and tiny homes on KWMR, our local community radio station, and it was posted on CozyDigz, Mike’s online editorial column for Fine Homebuilding a few days ago: https://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/23718/tiny-homes-simple-shelters
Hi Lloyd!
I wanted to drop you an email about the dome I am just finishing construction of. I first became interested in the tiny home movement when I realised that by reducing the amount of space we sleep in, we could increase the space we live (in). By sleeping in a small pod, it would force you to spend more time outside, maybe utilizing outdoor bathrooms and kitchens.
My interest in domes was sparked by your own domebook, which was on the shelf of a farm I was staying at. I was in love with the aesthetic! Later that year I was lucky enough to stay in a stunning 30ft dome in Dunster, BC (If you are ever up that way it’s definitely worth a visit!) and fell deeply in love with the feeling of living in a circle! Since then I have been studying natural building at Aprovecho (https://www.aprovecho.net/). I constructed my 9ft Diameter ‘dome pod’ on their property to house long term work traders. Work took approximately 2-3 months.
Thanks to Bruce Weaver
Time remaining: 6d 15h (08 Jun, 2012, 19:12:43 BST)
Current bid: £1,665.00 (25 bids) Clutton, North Somerset, 10 miles south of Bristol, 10 miles south west of Bath.
“…Cummins turbo diesel 5800cc engine. One of the best commercial diesel engines ever built. I regularly get 25mpg out of it and it sits comfortably at 60mph on the motorway, I’ve actually taken it off the speedo on one occasion to 85mph just to test it!
•5 speed gearbox.
•Power steering is incredibly precise and light, its actually easier and much nicer to drive than my work Transit van! Good turning circle.
•24ft long.…”
•Reclaimed lumber interior
•No serious rust anywhere.
Sent us by Avenell Road
“…Portable house exterior measures 8.2 feet wide, 13.2 high and 16.2 feet long within the Department of Motor Vehicle Regulations. This dual-axle trailer is inspected and licensed in the state of New York as a utility trailer, with a weight of 7,000 pounds, although the unfinished weight is well under this amount. It went for it’s maiden voyage yesterday for a 30 mile trek at 50 MPH and everything went well as planned.
The siding is new half-inch beveled pine. Installed this week. The pine tongue and groove flooring was salvaged from a 19th century Baptist Church House in West Fulton, NY.…”
Off the Clock I ran — well, ambled over — the Dipsea Trail last week with my running buddies. I started real early. It was the first time in 20 years I’ve run the (7+) mile course without a certain amount of stress and a definite amount of pain. The upside, of course, is the beauty of the trail and the lore and romance of the race. We all had fine dinners at the Parkside in Stinson Beach (they have a knockout inky black porter on tap), gemütlicheit of all these healthy people.
I was forced to quit by knees that would no longer take the hard downhills (where I had to make up for being a slow uphill runner). Being forced into racing retirement has huge benefits. Running, if I do now, for the joy of it. Off the clock. No hurry, no need to train, hey, there’s a lot of other stuff to do!
Look Where You Want To Go This is what a pro mountain biker told me. Meaning when you’re say, going fast downhill in rough terrain, look at where you want your front tire to go, don’t look at the immediate foreground. Look ahead and your body will make the adjustments and get you there. Same principle in life. Focus on where you want to go and by golly, you’ll usually get there. Athletes know this.
Our Next TWO Books I’m starting on Water and Wheels: Tiny Homes On the Move as soon as I get back from this (my last) PR road trip. I’m going to start the book with mobile units by one guy — tent, dogsled, umiak, sailboat, birchbark canoes, road van — all created from scratch by Mark Hansen, a prolific and remarkable builder living on the shores of Lake Superior.
The second book, due to a flash yesterday, will maybe be on Small Homes, say under 1000 sq.ft. We’re starting to collect info, so if you know of unique home in this category, please leave a comment with yr. email address and we’ll be in touch. It’s either a book like this, or a second tiny homes book. Just have to see what shakes out.
My Last Tiny Homes Roadshow Trip I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Seattle, renting a car, hoping to both go to a somewhat remote hot springs and then to SunRay Kelley’s Sedro Woolley compound to photograph his latest works, if time, out to Anacortes, to check out aluminum fishing boats (in the 15′ range), then drive to Puyallup to do a slide show at the Mother Earth News Fair at 4 PM on Saturday June 2d, then Sunday to NYC for the annual Book Expo America and a slide show at the v. cool Spoonbill and Sugartown bookstore in Brooklyn, Wed. June 6 at 7 PM. I’m so excited to be going to NYC; it’s been a 40-year love affair. When the cab hits 2nd, 3rd avenues my pulse starts racing. Absolutely station central. I’ll be blogging up a storm from there.
“The Oakland Tiny House is a 120 square foot dwelling on a trailer chassis in Oakland CA. The house will feature a full kitchen, composting toilet, outdoor shower, sleeping loft custom built in furniture and a fireplace. The siding is reclaimed redwood fensing and flooring is maple re-purposed from an old roller skating rink in Petaluma. total construction costs so far: $5000. Currently under construction, but almost finished!”
https://shltr.net/tinyoakland