I
mentioned earlier that we are in the business of building tiny houses
on trailers so I want to give a little insight
to the process and the journey to where we are today. We have actually
just completed our fourth model,
The Sherwood, and it is
currently on sale! You can check out the full album of Sherwood photos
here! This
is the first year we've been able to build two in a season. Go us!
Actually,
it's more like 'Go AGP!' This is his brain child and born of his blood,
sweat, and raw determination. And barely out of college too. I work the
books, hold boards for the nailing, and play number one fan.
What exactly are tiny houses? For the uninitiated to this
rapidly growing trend in affordable housing, they are simply houses under 400 square feet. We take this notion to the
next level by shrinking them so they fit on a tow-behind
trailer, so what you get is a miniature sized house that you
can move anywhere. What separates this from an RV or mobile home is that it
is made from a traditional wooden stick frame and looks just
like a shrunken house or cabin that you can live inside of full time (or part-time, whatever floats your boat). It has a bathroom, kitchen, superb heating, and all the comforts of home in an
affordable, efficient, and stylish space. Except that unlike most
buildings of its size and permanence, it rarely needs building permits
since it is technically mobile, which makes it a perfect addition to
undeveloped or lightly developed land. Think: insta-home.
How did we get here? Though he majored in environmental studies and international affairs, AGP 's
heart was always first with carpentry and working with his hands. So,
with the approval of his in-through-the-out-door adviser, he
decided to produce an eco-friendly tiny house built on top of an old, used
lobster trailer for his thesis. Fast forward through the obvious
confusion about the major-to-thesis relationship and you will find AGP and I
posting up semi-permanent style in a warehouse just outside of
Worcester, Massachusetts in January of last year.
This was
a thrilling time for us. Fresh from our
humungous road trip cross country, I was ready to continue with my break from the
corporate grind and AGP was ready to build. Over the next four months, we slogged away in a chilly and bare-bones workshop environment that we
also (secretly) lived in, dividing our time - mostly - between weekdays
at the warehouse and weekends in Boston with friends.
Yes,
you read that right - AGP and I inhabited a warehouse for four brutally
cold months in 2013. It was an interesting change of pace from my
previous city-dwelling-cum-road-trip lifestyle, to say the least. We set
up a small "living room" and "kitchen" in the lofted space over the
bathroom and from there attempted to carve out a little normalcy in our
concrete cave surrounded by the sounds of miter saws and nail guns.
I
chipped in here and there with my brute strength,
blogging-steez,
painting skills, and research acumen. And with a little extra help from
his buddies, but mostly his own ingenuity and determination, the house
was completed at the end of April, his thesis paper was submitted, and
AGP graduated from college.
We were also the focus of a tiny house documentary called
"Living Small" by student filmmaker
Stephen Hewitt, which you can watch if you are interested in what us know-nothing idiots look like fumbling around with hammers and dreams. Although, I recommend sticking with it because it ends rather triumphantly, if I do say so myself.
From there we thought - why
the hell not?! - and proceeded to rent an enormous Ford F-350 diesel
dually and drag the house to
Oacoma, South Dakota (after which we fondly named the first model). This is when we learned not
to build a tiny house on a used trailer. While we were trying to make it
to the other side of Indiana, we lost
two wheels and ended up stranded
in a very anxious way while a blessedly local tractor trailer repair
shop tried to track down replacement wheel bearings for our ancient
wagon. Though we did eventually make it to South Dakota, even through a
snow storm, and back home with no further issues. And we were even plus
one feline companion.
Once the house was sold, building went on a summer hiatus until our long awaited move
to Vermont in the fall whereupon a
commissioned shell was completed before winter came. Cue
winter and some odd jobs in between until it is gloriously spring
and a chance to put these tiny house skills to use again.
This
summer has really been the heyday of tiny house buildings and as the
ever-present observer, I can vouch that the quality of the houses has
improved incredibly from his freshman build. Streamlined and ready
to customize, AGP's tiny homes include a full bathroom with a shower
and a super reliable hot water heater, a full kitchen with a stove and
refrigerator, and a sleeping loft connected by a staircase with hideaway
storage. And don't worry about those cold winters, because these units
have a propane heating system that will keep your small space toasty and
efficient.
But I'm not here to sell you these houses, I
just want to chronicle the adventure from warehouse dwellers to small
business owners. It has been an awesome journey that I am super
proud to be a part of. We really have our dreams and desires on the
line with these projects and we are constantly scheming on how we can
improve and expand our vision with a little bit of elbow grease and
determination. Right now building is headed into another wintery hiatus,
but we have major plans to hit the ground running again once the ground
thaws in spring. I will keep you in the loop as our business continues
to grow!
Easy links:
