Author Archives: Dan Louche

Dogs Need Tiny Houses Too!

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But I guess dogs have always had tiny houses. Anyways, for a change of pace I decided to build my dog a house with a modern flare.

I showed the finished pictures to someone I work with and his response was “why does it have those angles?”, so I guess it’s not for everyone :)

Check out more pictures and pick up the plans if your feeling handy over at http://tinyhomebuilders.com/Plans/ModernDog

Also, I’m planning a trip to Florida in mid February to finish up the house down there. A lot of people have asked me for pictures of the interior so rest assured they are on the way.

Tiny Living videos

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I finally got a chance to put together the videos from my trip to Florida. As usual they are out of focus, shaky, and filled with me repeating myself. But hopefully there is something in there that someone will find useful.

This first video I shot half way through the trip and I talk mainly about the interior siding and something I might consider doing differently concerning the electrical if I had planned to hook this house up to solar power.

And the last video I shot right before I left Florida.

TinyHouseDirectory.com

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Over the years that I have been involved in the tiny house movement I have collected many links to various tiny house resources. I felt that this list could be useful to others especially to someone just coming on to the scene and looking for some specific information (like a builder’s blog that is building a specific house or a specific set of plans). So I put together tinyhousedirectory.com. It’s still in its infancy as I have only added a subset of my bookmarks, so look for more data and features to come.

The Devil is in the Details – Deja vu

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When I drive down to Deland last Monday the first thing I did was make a list of all of the remaining items that needed to be completed to declare this house ‘done’. I then laid them out into a schedule since my plan was to have everything wrapped up for the open house that I was hosting on the following Saturday. All the items fit in nicely on my little piece of paper that turned out to be my fantasy work schedule. On the end of the first day I was already reworking my list and dropping things off. The interior work is just so slow because of the detail that goes into all of the various trim pieces.

I worked feverously up until the first person showed up on Saturday. I brought a change of clothes specifically for the open house so that I could look a little more professional but instead I looked like a homeless man who had just run 3 miles. Despite my dishevelment I really enjoyed the day as I got to talk to a few people about a topic I really enjoy.

I completed most of the interior except for sealing and staining the walls and installing the cabinets.

 

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I’ll post a video once I get it edited which has some interior shots.

Among the visitors on Saturday was Alex from tinyhousetalk.com. He brought his camera along so look for some cool video coming from him at his site.

Open House!

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I will be hosting an open house for my latest tiny house design ‘Tiny Living’ on Oct. 15th in Deland Fl.

My plan is to head down to my dad’s house on October 10th and try to wrap up the remaining work on the interior. I expect that will be enough time to do everything except maybe some of the cabinets (depending on my selection at Home Depot or if I decide to build something completely custom)  The open house will then be held on the following Saturday. Send me an email if you would like to come and hang out with me and my family and I will reply with the address. I want to do it this way so that I have an idea of how many people are going to show up. Who knows, maybe I will spring for some hot dogs or something :)

If you can’t make it I will be taking lots of photos and videos so keep your eye on the blog a few days afterwards.

P.S. I will be putting up some signs so that people don’t get stuck in the dirt ;)

Sarana Park

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Juko recently contacted me to share her progress on her tiny house build. Once it is complete she plans to move it to a 23 acre redwood forest. I don’t know about you but that sounds pretty awesome to me! I can only imagine waking up in that environment every day.

I’ve only just now started to read her blog but I am really enjoying it. I love what she has done with her house so far. In one of her posts she talks about her experience with various tiny house plans including mine. I absolutely love hearing about helping others and it is by far the primary reason I’m involved with tiny houses.

Check out her blog here: http://www.saranapark.com/

The Exterior is Complete…

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…except for installing a light fixture above the front door and painting the front door. Oh, and then there is that small matter of a front porch deck. But I’m still saying it’s done ;)

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My dad has been working on the house a few hours a day for a few days a week ever since I left. He figured there was no point in rushing it since he knew I would be gone for a couple of months. Speaking of which I should be announcing the dates soon for the open house. It will probably be October 15th but I’m not entirely certain. I’ll let you know soon.

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All of the interior wood is also installed except for the ceiling of the dormers.

Also, I was recently contacted by Denise, who purchased my plans and is using them as reference material while she and her husband build their own tiny house. Very exciting to see their progress. They started a blog at http://www.ourtinyweekender.blogspot.com/ so be sure to check that out.

Finally, on a side note, my wife recently delivered the latest tiny home builder into the world. Click here if you are into seeing other people’s kids :)

Plans for second house now available

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I finally put the finishing touches on my second plan package and it is now available for purchase.

Tiny Living

Tiny Living

The Tiny Living design consists of a large family room with vaulted ceilings and large dormers on either side of the room. The entryway in situated at the back of the trailer allowing for a spacious 7 foot sleeping loft at the front. Under the sleeping loft is the bathroom and the kitchen. The total length of the house is 20 feet making it large enough to live comfortably yet small enough to easily tow.

This package includes:

  • The Tiny House Construction Guide. This is a 64 page book consisting of over 107 color pictures and 23 chapters detailing all of the various stages of construction. This information is not specific to any particular set of plans and would be pertinent to anyone building a tiny house. This has been completely rewritten from the first version I released and includes a tremendous amount of useful information.
  • A 64 page printable set of plans organized in the order in which the work should be completed.
  • An electrical diagram showing the placement of all the switches and outlets.
  • A materials list detailing all of the items that would need to be purchased to build this tiny house. Having this information alone can save you well over the cost of the plans, which I explain how in the book. This list now includes the store description for most items to reduce ambiguity when you hand it over to place your order.
  • The SketchUp model that you can navigate in 3D to take any measurement and see how every board fits together. You can even import furniture into SketchUp to see what your house will look like once complete. Having the model also allows for you to make any modifications that you want and then recreate the plans.
  • Free updates

$249.00

Add to Cart

Tiny House Construction Guide

The Tiny House Construction Guide is also available separately for those who are not quite sure which plans best suit them but are interested in learning more about building a tiny home. (if at a later time you decide to purchase plans a majority of the cost of the book can be applied to the plans)

$34.99

Add to Cart

In the coming weeks I will be updating my original set of plans to include the latest edition of the Tiny House Construction Guide, an updated materials list (with store descriptions), and a couple very minor modifications to the plans themselves. The ‘Tiny Retirement’ plans have now been updated

For those of you who have already purchased the first set of plans, expect to get an email from me soon with a link to your free update. Links to the update have been sent

And finally, I have a new website that I will also be launching in the coming weeks so be on the lookout for that. It’s launched! Check it out at http://tinyhomebuilders.com/