Cottage Court Proposal
Ron Czecholinski from DIY Home Building is in the process of putting together a tiny house community, and is currently doing his due diligence in choosing a piece of land. The property he’s seriously looking at is six undeveloped lots in Asheville, North Carolina that have the potential for 6 to 10 small houses. Below is the location in a Google Map with a very rough outline of the property. The plat map below will give you a better idea of the property Ron is considering.
View Cottage Court Proposal in a larger map
Local zoning will allow one main house with a studio apartment (attached or in auxiliary building) on each lot. The homes would follow standards for North Carolina Healthy Built certification which include energy efficiency, non-toxic materials, and resource conservation. The houses will likely range in size between 300 and 700 square feet. The expected total cost of construction will be about $200 per square foot which will make the total estimated cost between $60,000 and $140,000 per house (or around $200,000 per lot).
At this phase Ron is looking for people that might be interested in joining him on this adventure. He invisions the community leveraging a light version of co-housing, a model for intentional neighbors. He would also like to setup a Sociocracy to help facilitate community decision making. While he has an interest as a founder and developer, anyone getting involved at the beginning will have an opportunity to help shape the initial community structure and house design.
Ron has been an owner-builder and professional contractor for over thirty years. Learn more about Ron Czecholinski on his website. If this sounds like a project you’d like to participate in contact Ron directly.
Below are some photos of Ron’s more recent renovation project.
Living like it’s 2050 – Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute
The folks at fair companies have been making a lot of great videos that focus on sustainability and simple living. This video was filmed in North Carolina at the Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute, which is dedicated to exploring ways modern humans can learn to coexist with our natural habitat. In other words, find a way to live sustainably while taking into account the potential impacts of climate change and rising energy costs.
On this 350-acre farm is a small village with three canvas Yomes that encircle a shared outdoor kitchen. They are also building a small cob house which you’ll see in the video below.
Visit their website to learn more about Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute. You might also enjoy reading this interview with Tim Toben, one of the founders as well as the Transition Town Movement.
Photo credit to the folks at fair companies.
How to build a Tumbleweed Tiny House
Jay Shafer and the team at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company have just put the finishing touches on a great video that shows the construction of a Tumbleweed Fencl. I especially liked seeing details like how they connect the house to the trailer and all the details about the interior paneling and exterior siding installation.
Now here’s the video showing the building of the Fencl. Learn more about buying a set of Tumbleweed Fencl Plans.
It’s also worth mentioning that Jay will be teaching his building & design workshops in seven different cities in 2010.
- Austin, TX – January 16-17, 2010 (just missed it)
- Durham, NC – March 20-21, 2010
- Boston, MA – May 22-23, 2010
- Toronto, Canada – July 17-18, 2010
- Portland, OR – August 7-8, 2010
- Boulder, CO – September 18-19, 2010
- Sebastopol, CA – November 6-7, 2010
You might also be interested to know that many of his plans have been reduced a little in price. Be sure to take a fresh look at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website.
Tumbleweed Mulfinger at Potluck Community Farm
Last Friday I posted news of a tiny house bike trailer built by a fellow named Michael Moore on Tiny House Living. I was then contacted by another Michael Moore, (also no relation to the movie producer), who lives at Potluck Community Farm which is a community of 13 families in Rougemont, North Carolina. Michael lives in a slightly modified Tumbleweed Mulfinger designed by Jay Shafer.
You will not find this design on the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website because Michael asked Jay to modify the original 10′ by 16′ layout to 12′ by 20′. Michael also had to make a few more minor changes to satisfy local building codes. Here’s what Michael says about his home and Potluck Community Farm: Continue Reading »
