From 2015, this was a great offer, but few thought their Tiny House Time would come.
It could be possible to get the parts, but with builders hard to find, how many will get to build the tiny Dream House from their minds?
One of the big challenges of creating house plans for people to build houses like those I have created is that the likelihood of finding windows the same size is slim. Therefore one of the great challenges is to teach them how to modify the plans to fit the windows, doors, and thus the parts and pieces they may find if they follow my 95% Pure Salvage building ethos. That is why it must have a book to go with it to show people what to do if they get a window that is smaller, larger, or want it in a different position for the layout they need inside. These modifications can be shown and are really easy, once you use the building techniques that I call modular for the simple reason that a unit can be modified, moved, and even eliminated without much effort.
A great example of a piece of antique stained glass to build a house around.
There are certain ways to build, using a bit more wood and screws in some places until you are sure that everything is where you want it in the framing stage. Many a time I have had to move a window after I walked through the framed house and thought about the sizing of the bath, the position of the windows in the breakfast nook, or where the bed might go. These are the things that I need to write the book for so as to make it possible for a novice to change the plans without having a professional involved. My entire goal is to make it possible to build these houses without an architect or engineer getting a few grand for helping as I do not believe it is needed for a tiny house, nor does the state of Texas. Here, you can design and build a house up to 1,000 square feet without a degree, license, or even using a licensed contractor, such as an electrician or plumber. That one factor alone can save you more than the cost of all of the new materials, including the insulation that you will need to build one of my houses.
Porch posts, on a porch roof that folds down for transport, as well as the upper roof. 23,000 lbs of salvaged lumber, doors, windows, exotic woods, and much more from the past that has been reformed into a house like no other. It can roll down the road to a new home again one day, but the place it is at now is likely the last spot it will rest.
I attempted to put out a set of plans before and had paid a young man who claimed to be an architect, degreed but not yet licensed, but it turned out he lied, did not have a degree, and after a year and a half, failed to do the job right in the end, or complete it for that matter. $20,000 for a set of incomplete plans and a lesson learned in life. We have not made a big issue of trying to sell what he did create, and this is a chance possibly for doing better the next time if we can get some crowdfunding that will allow me to bring in talent from around the world, thus also inspiring people with such talent in other countries to pursue this line of design in their careers.
Many of you have seen this picture before as it is one of my favorites known as the Cowboy Cabin. The plans were not that great, but we tried to also do them in 3-d. A big task and not really essential for most people.
The plans are intended to show you how to wire the electricity so that you can turn off the nonessential circuits at night if you do not want electromagnetic fields near your bed while you sleep. The chapters will tell of the issues with using salvage sinks, fixtures, windows, and doors so that you can watch for problems and make wise decisions about if you want to use this one or that rather than get deep into the design and find out what you planned to use will not work and then have to change a bunch of stuff after you have passed some key progress points that must be undone to correct it. While I can use the best of the 30 houses for their Space Magic effects and the advantages spelled out for each, some may want to modify and mix the elements of one house with another. This too should be easier with a book on the subject to show you the issues that might be involved.
I am not fond of computer-generated plans and hope to mix both hand-drawn and CAD for future offerings.
The book is also intended to show people how to go out and get the parts they need by salvaging from old houses, barns, and buildings. Some pointers will show them the easy ways that do not involve having to take down an entire house to get what you want, and not get thrown in jail for just taking stuff from houses you find on the side of the road. This means developing relationships sometimes with demolition guys, or salvagers who need help and will trade work for parts. From sinks, tubs, flooring, windows, and doors, this method allows someone with limited space and time to get salvage for their project, whether big or small.
Cowboy Cabin has two lofts any my first wall-mounted stairwell. I prefer the other designs that allow for one ladder and walking from one loft to the other. This is why it took so many houses to figure out what works best.
This week I set out to ask for help. I have not done this very many times in my life, but to fulfill the mission I must, and thus I have resorted to possibly getting crowdfunding. I will post the preview and look forward to your feedback, support, and you are sharing the effort with all of the friends and supporters of toxin-free living, healthy houses, big or tiny, and a goal to help make this planet a better place for the 7 generations that will follow us and have to clean up the mess we have made of it in the last 150 years of our modern society. This is my attempt to get the support to put out the building plans, and the books, and set up the foundations that we will need to build upon if we are to save our planet from human annihilation. It is not just about Tiny Texas Houses because I do not intend to build many more, perhaps a few dozen in my lifetime. I will instead be focusing on publishing what I know will help us make this transition to the Pure Salvage Living Renaissance we will need to preserve the resources, to live a simpler life where it is not what we have but what we give that makes the planet better.
Our world is in trouble because the leaders are greed motivated rather than people-oriented and wars will never make the world a better place, yet they seem to continue onward with them as if the masses were supporting them. The money is nearly gone, mostly spent on gaining control of resources to be exploited, not for making the planet safer, the species that share it more likely to survive, or to respect the 7 generations who will inherit the world when we are gone.
big brother ladder # 9, which may not be the one you like, so the book will have some of the plans for others and then you can mix and match. I have created at least a dozen styles to paths to the lofts.
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