Comments on: My tiny house project: tour the inside!

By: brad carlisle

brad carlisle — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:49:20 +0000

Great job , I think the future of housing is in these smaller more intimate spaces. Thanks for posting this

By: bottleman

bottleman — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:44:04 +0000

Thanks, njh. The particular vista you’re talking about we do have considerable influence over, since you’re looking across the yard of our own “big” (750 sf) house. That conifer is actually a subalpine fir planted in nearly pure gravel — chosen and planted that way to control growth. It only grows about an inch a year. You’re right, a real douglas fir would be a disaster (as they can grow 2-3 feet a year..)

By: njh

njh — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 07:48:59 +0000

Do you have any guarantee that your view will be maintained? I note a conifer (douglas fir?) in the yard which could easily remove that vista.

A beautiful house.

By: Angela Allen Parker

Angela Allen Parker — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:45:34 +0000

Love the dish drain/dish rack implementation! I’m planning something similar for my own sink in my own tiny living space.

Cool photos!

By: Kitchens

Kitchens — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:58:07 +0000

The inlays on the kitchen counter are very interesting

By: Lenard

Lenard — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 04:45:44 +0000

EXTREMELY inspiring! I love the way you have used natural lighting in the house to light the situation. Of course – alternative lighting is required at night, but most of the time, I’m sure you get to enjoy free, bright, full sun light. Your design is borderline genius. Keep up the good work!!

By: Lynette

Lynette — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:38:31 +0000

Hi,
Very nice.
I really like the antique key details in the counter top!
-L

By: Janet Bruland

Janet Bruland — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:09:29 +0000

Thanks so much for sharing. I’m inspired! I’m researching the possibilities of builing a tiny, unique home and I love your ideas. Thank You.

By: bottleman

bottleman — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:00:24 +0000

Hi Ken, thanks for the nice words. I have purposely not posted the plans for the alternating tread stairs because I believe them to be safe only in certain situations. I would never put them in a public space because there is a learning curve to using them… people can stumble as they get used to the new sensations of the different stair layout. However, with practice and a handrail, I’d say they are quite safe. So i’m thinking that anyone who wants to do this might have their intentions clarified by the work of figuring out the design themselves. There are various commercial, industrial, and domestic examples you can find on the internet if you look, with different modes of construction. You and a carpenter can figure it out! Or you can get a prefab set from Arke or Architectural Stairs. Send us pictures of your project if you have them!

By: Ken Greene

Ken Greene — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:57:28 +0000

So glad to see someone else building an efficient home! I am just getting to (super) insulating my 450 square foot palace. We seem to think alike! I am doing a similar dish rack system. i also want to do the alternating tread stairs. I found you as I am looking online for plans but can not find any. Do you have plans? Would be so helpful if you could provide them for me and anyone else looking to build space saving stairs!

Thanks- beautiful work.

By: Jen Lang

Jen Lang — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:49:23 +0000

I can see my husband and I retiring in something like this. So cute! Talk about simplifying.

By: coal_burner

coal_burner — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:55:15 +0000

A fan is required to move air down the duct. The most elegant solution would probably be to use a bathroom exhaust fan mounted high up in the wall to move air down between a couple of wall studs to a vent mounted near the floor.
I didn’t see ant mention of what kind of insulation system you are running in this house. If you are using foam board on the outside of the walls, this would be a simple solution. There would not be ant metal lining or ductwork required by code in the wall space because this would be considered “return air”.
If you really want to do an interesting experiment with kinetic art, you could hang a 2 ft wide piece of heavy cloth from an oscillating shaft on the ceiling, about six inches away from the wall. You can actually move a very large amount of air down the wall with this method, and if you use a silky material, it’s very soothing to watch. (kind of like watching a lava lamp)

By: bottleman

bottleman — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:49:04 +0000

thanks for the tip, coal burner. you’re right, the temp gradient isn’t that big an issue in the summer… we have all 3 skylights open constantly. it’s the wintertime. so i assume I would need some sort of fan in the 6″ duct? or is there some more elegant way to move the air?

By: coal_burner

coal_burner — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:04:15 +0000

The temperature gradient issue could be solved by having a 6″ dia duct pulling air from the peak, and blowing it down behind the stove in the winter time. In the summer time, the hot air from the peak could be exhausted straight outside.
This has been a standard HVAC arrangement for gyms and auditoriums for about a hundred years now.

A frind of mine has 16 ft cathedral ceilings and concrete floors in his house. In the summertime we have measured 105 degrees 1 ft from the ceiling and 65 degrees 1 foot from the floor.

By: bottleman

bottleman — Sat, 19 May 2007 20:23:14 +0000

Hi Nick, nice to hear from you again. Did you know that we did an entire post based on your urban/rural question? see http://bottleworld.net/?p=46 . As for the high ceiling and the heat, you are right, there is a definite vertical gradient in the heat during the winter and you have the gas stove on. It’s perhaps 4-5 degrees F warmer in the loft than below. This is related to the fact that the floor is concrete and uninsulated as well as the high ceiling. Some of this probably could be equalized with a ceiling fan, which wouldn’t use much energy, but would fill up a nice open space that makes the small house feel larger.

The gradient isn’t as bad in practice as it is in theory. Other than the floor, the place is very well insulated so temperatures don’t change rapidly enough to have that drafty, uncomfortable feel. In fact sleeping in that loft , with its warm, consistent heat, view of the stars and whiffs of fresh air from the slightly opened skylight, is a true pleasure.

Since the gas stove is made of cast iron, it’s throwing off radiant heat when it’s on, and the closer you are to it, the warmer you feel, regardless of the air temp. People downstairs are closer to it because they’re typically in the “living area” which is near the stove. We’ve provided supplemental heat in the bathroom with one of those hotel-style heat lamps, which comes in handy because the lamp produces heat instantly. And the concrete floor has a good benefit of making the place considerably cooler on warmer days.

If I had this to do all over again I don’t think I would change the loft arrangement or the idea of having a hearth that actually provides heat as well as a visual. Those were good decisions. But the concrete floor is more problematic. It’s very easy to clean (which is important in a small place, because the intensity of foot traffic is high) and it is palpably cool on hot days. But it’s a heat sink on cooler days, too, and you need to wear socks instead of bare feet. At some times of the year that heat sink effect must be making the heating arrangement less efficient. (Note- The same critique could be made of trendy radiant heat systems buried in concrete.) I guess I could just have rugs in the winter in the place but I hate rugs — they gather too much hair if you have pets. Now I’m theorizing about a removable cork floor that would only be applied in the winter. Alas, I’m out of money!

Cheers, bottleman