Category Archives: Construction Method

Fireplace Shelter

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Michael Janzen

This amazing tiny structure is located in Trondheim, Norway, and was designed as a place for kids in a school yard. The walls are made from recycled scrap wood from a nearby construction site that are arranged in 80 layered … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged Fireplace, kids, Norway, organic, recycled, scrap, shelter, Trondheim | Leave a comment

Zero Energy One – Earthbag Home

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Owen Geiger is well known for his work with earthbag homes. If you’re not yet familiar with his work, his websites are definitely worth spending some time visiting. The house pictured below is a design for a simple low cost … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged earthbag, earthbag plans, earthen, owen geiger | Leave a comment

Backyard Shipping Container Office

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Michael Janzen

One of my regular readers, Malcolm, spotted this little building on Oregon Live this morning and passed this onto me. It’s a little home office built from an 8′ by 20′ shipping container. Mike Corvi, a Southwest Portland resident and … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged cargo container, home office, oregon, portland, shipping container | 1 Comment

Homemade Tool for Pallet and Fence Picket Salvage

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Michael Janzen

One of my readers, Harry (aka Fatcat the Tinker), sent me this diagram of a simple handmade tool he created for salvaging old fence pickets. When he saw my adventures in tiny pallet house construction he decided to share this … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged Fatcat the Tinker, handmade tool, Harry, pallet house, pallet tool, pallets, salvage | 1 Comment

Green Hamlet – Ecovillage of Natural Homes

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Oliver Swann, the fellow behind NaturalHomes.org, sent me news today about progress at Green Hamlet, an ecovillage under construction in Pupki, Poland. They have planning permission to build four buildings but the best news is that tiny homes under 35 … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged cord wood, natural homes, NaturalHomes.org, oliver swann, Poland, Pupki, reciprocal roof, roundhouse, straw bale, strawbale, Tony Wrench, Video, workshop | 4 Comments

625 Square Foot Prefab

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Michael Janzen

On of my Tiny House Living readers, Thomas, passed this story onto me. It’s about a fellow named Aaron Jones who built a prefab kit home in Tucson, Arizona. The house was designed by architect Rocio Romero. The basic kit … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged Aaron Jones, Arizona, prefab, Rocio Romero, Tucson | 5 Comments

Small Earthbag Home For $1000

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I’m especially partial to low-cost housing solutions that push the envelope and demonstrate that a home doesn’t have to be expensive and extravagant to provide it’s owner security and happiness. Owen Geiger recently posted an article on the Earthbag Building … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged earthbag, Earthbag Building Blog, low-cost housing, owen geiger, reclaimed, recycled, sustainable architecture | 4 Comments

Thinking Outside the Rocks

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Michael Janzen

This tiny house of boulders and stones and located in the mountains of Fafe, Portugal and surrounded by wind turbines. While the photos look a little like imitations this is in fact a real home. This is an excellent example … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged cliff dwelling, masonry, portugal, rock, rocks, stone, stone house | 2 Comments

How To Build Rammed Earth Walls

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I was contacted recently by Michael Thompson a fellow I follow on Twitter, and a self-taught rammed earth expert. He and I share a passion for low-cost building techniques. He asked me to do him a favor and whip up … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged adobe, cob, dirt, earthen, form, michael thompson, norfolk, rammed earth, rammed earth former, uk | 6 Comments

Concrete Canvas Shelters – Just Add Water

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Julia was browsing tiny house videos on YouTube today and ran across this unusual shelter system. It’s been developed for military and disaster relief missions as a quickly deployed hardened shelter. The dome is made out of a concrete impregnated … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged concrete canvas, dome home, dome house, inflatable house, instant house, tiny dome, tiny house, uk | 15 Comments