The Olson Tiny House

Internet and Update

2014-01-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

Wow! We just got internet after 2.5 years of having to drive somewhere to get it resulting in not-so-many posts!

Quick update:
Currently living are on 5 acres we were amazingly able to buy. We have the tiny house (10 x 22) on a concrete, stem wall-with-footings foundation. We are still hauling water every week or so and are planning on adding on to the house this year Lord willing! It is admittedly getting a bit cramped with my wife, daughter (Lashawna, 2) and myself living in it full time. I will try to get some pics up before too long!

Absurdity

2013-03-21T11:06:00.001-07:00

The absurdity of it all! living in dumpsters, or 10sq ft homes, or rolling boxes...well not living maybe more like part time dwelling. Really people we can't come up with a parameter of what makes a dwelling? No wonder we have codes stating the minimum size of habitations laws. I think we stray from reality and just try to come up with new things even if they are absurd.

Here is my definition of a house:
A dwelling in which an occupant could spend 100% of his/her time.
That means going to the bathroom, sleeping, staying out of the weather, eating, staying warm and washing.
You cannot spend 100% of your time in 10sq ft. that is called solitary confinement.

Just my random thoughts on tiny living. Let's strive for tiny living on a practical scale!

Micah

Recent Pictures of The Olson Tiny House

2013-03-18T09:30:00.002-07:00

Tiny House(s)

2013-03-17T19:15:00.002-07:00

I have been so busy lately! The house is paid off! We are living comfortably in our tiny house and are looking to move onto 5 acres we bought recently! Yay!!! I have been working on another tiny house to sell to hopefully move us onto that property. If the tiny house sells then we will have enough money to move on the property this summer! That would be TOTALLY awesome! Here are some pictures of the house I am working on!

P.S. I listed it on www.tinyhouselistings.com!

Update

2011-06-12T15:29:00.001-07:00

Well we are now living in our tiny house!

we have running water (which we haul in a 180 gallon tank on a trailer), we have electricity, and we have black water out and grey water out!!!
We are looking to get a water heater soon and are working on a shed to move all of our stuff out of paid storage. Saving all the little extras every month add up to a substantial bill in the end.

I am also working off the little bit of debt I incurred while building our house and work is doing well so it is going fairly fast. Income coupled with the upbringing of saving and responsible spending is playing a huge part right now.

God bless and well talk later!

Progress

2011-04-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

More pictures uploaded of the recent additions to our house!

View pictures here!

Been doing a lot of trim and I put the carpet in the loft!
Sink and counter top installed.

Working and SPENDING!!!

Location and situation

2011-04-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

So I have said a lot about how I am making this tiny house but as to where it is or what my situation is? Right now I have our tiny house on a friend's property in Harpster, Idaho. I am saving up for a piece of property and (for now) being rent-free is the key!

For sewer (black water) I'll be digging a hole and building an outhouse or other cover over it and for the greywater I'll just be collecting it for watering our (future) garden that will consist of several raised beds.
I may collect the rainwater soon if I can scrounge up some gutters. We are going to be developing a group of three springs on the property and installing a cistern system. from this cistern the water will gravity feed into the house. I am not planing on traveling with this house so no tank systems. (It is on skids, is 10' x 22' and I estimate the house weights around 10k lbs.)
I have the house completely wired for electricity and we just measured for the wire that will run from my friends' shop panel to my house. I would love to get some solar panels but they are kinda spendy.

I found out the seal on two of my windows is compromised and they fog up every once in a while when the temperature changes. (the sun comes out) I am going to try to find someone to fix that eventually but it as-is for now. And in the process of finishing the house I keep dinging up the paint job inside....meaning that we'll have to repaint. Aarg! Oh well, I only had one coat anyway!

Updated to-do list!

2011-04-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

An updated list of to-do items.

Hook up electricity (Procure 30' of 8-3 wire)
Steps up to front door (small porch
Loft flooring installed (80sq ft carpet, pad and tack strips-37ft)
Paint in kitchen touched up and second coat in bathroom
Blinds for windows (found and installed)
Find refrigerator
Finish plumbing

behind shower
find water heater and install
plumb in kitchen sink (in and out)
find and install bathroom sink
black water “hole” and plumbing
water in
grey water collection container

Kitchen counter and sink installed (obtain and install from Home Depot)
Bathroom door (made and installed) (Timothy has a door)
Bathroom vanity/shelf and trim (cedar or pine)
Shower ceiling finished (finished plywood) (proper shower head)
Trim in living area (cedar) (base, crown and windows)
Trim in closet (cedar)
Closet rod, shelf and curtain
Finish kitchen cabinets
Shelves on kitchen wall
Two hanging lights in kitchen (purchased and installed)
Caulk and paint (window trim and soffits)
Front porch
Kitchen island (plan and make)

Mind work

2011-04-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

I worked on trim today. Wow, is that ever a boatload of work for the mind! All the angles and I was working in the loft so space was lacking. I thought my back was hurting yesterday from lifting 6x6x12's and RR ties that weighed 140 lbs. to block the house up. Whew! at least I got the hardest part out of the way! (I think)

I am using cedar one-by rejects from the local cedar mill. Most the material is split and so I can only get about 1 1/8" x 3/4" out of each 16' piece. I am staining the trim with a "natural" finish just to bring out the existing grain and colors. Somewhat rustic (being cedar) but nice with the smooth side facing out. Plus it's free so who am I to complain!

I'll be getting some more pics up soon of the trim and stuff I've done this week.

If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them!

Progress

2011-04-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Okay some days are better than others. Yesterday was one of those days any day could beat so today was a pretty good day for progress. Toilet installed, flooring in the closet, vents for the roof, stuff prepped for the shower ceiling (to be installed tomorrow) and a few other miscellaneous things all combined to make: PROGRESS!

VENTS!

OH, yeah...this is me.

More pictures!!!

2011-04-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

To Finish the Tiny House

2011-04-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

This is a list I just came up with to see what all I have to do until my tiny house is DONE!
Some of this stuff is just notes for me but you will get the general idea.
So here it is:

Remove house from Matt's trailer and secure foundation
Vent roof (drill holes and install vents)
Hook up electricity (Procure 30' ? wire, finish drilling hole, wiring and plug)
Steps up to front door
Sitting area and closet flooring (pergo flooring and pad obtained and laid-70sq ft)
Loft flooring installed (80sq ft carpet, pad and tack strips-37ft)
Paint in kitchen touched up and second coat in bathroom
Blinds for windows (found and installed)
Find refrigerator
Install toilet (find wax seal)
Finish plumbing

behind shower
find water heater and install
plumb in kitchen sink (in and out)
find and install bathroom sink
black water “hole” and plumbing
water in
grey water collection container

Kitchen counter and sink installed (obtain and install from Home Depot)
Bathroom door (made and installed) (Timothy has a door)
Bathroom vanity/shelf and trim (cedar or pine)
Shower ceiling finished (finished plywood) (proper shower head)
Bathroom light (installed)
Loft trim installed (cedar)
Trim in living area (pine purchased, cut and installed) (base, crown and windows)
Trim in closet (cedar)
Closet rod, shelf and curtain
Finish kitchen cabinets
Shelves on kitchen wall
Two hanging lights in kitchen (purchased and installed)
Caulk and paint (window trim and soffits)
Front porch
Kitchen island (plan and make)

Recycle!

2011-04-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

As far as materials go I have probably used half salvaged materials for the construction of this house. The base framing for the most part is made of new materials but the roofing, siding, windows, flooring, plumbing (some of it :), toilet, kitchen sink, some of the trim, etc was all reused or salvaged material. I am pretty green as far as materials and renewable energy go.

The house is on skids and I have already moved it once on a trailer about 14 miles. I had some help from some friends moving it and everything went smoothly. Nothing moved or anything! Being 22' long I thought maybe something would move a bit but even the smallest joint in the sheet-rocked walls and ceiling stayed perfectly intact.

Unlike most tiny houses I sheet-rocked the walls and they are painted with Sherwin-Williams paint. Nice stuff! I got it from them for 50% off because my sister-in-law works there and they were having an employee appreciation day the day I went to get it. So we got an extra 10% off along with the regular employee discount of 40%!

I have had some friends help with things like hanging the sheet-rock and mudding it. I also had help from a friend with the initial framing. Sometimes your two hands just won't do and you need a third...or fourth.

All the plumbing is done inside the 2x4 walls (blown insulation) and floor joists. Not inside as in drilled through the studs and joists but inside as in inside the living space. So there is no way on earth the plumbing will freeze as long as the inlet pipe is insulated well enough up to the house.

The size of a house

2011-04-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

The tiny house is 10' wide and 22' long. At the highest points the roof is 11' 8" and there is a dormer over the loft area for extra headroom. This is very nice and adds greatly to the generally bland styling of a shed roof. The loft is the sleeping area (bedroom) and there is a bathroom, closet and sitting area below the loft. The rest of the tiny house (about 9'x10') is the kitchen with 8' of counter space, a refrigerator and shelves on the wall to the right of the sink. Total square footage of the home is about 300 Sq. Ft. including the loft.

Our tiny house beginnings

2011-04-15T12:32:00.001-07:00

My name is Micah Olson and I am 21 years old. I started making my tiny house in December of 2010. I got married in March of 2010 to the girl of my dreams and we have been living in an apartment in Kooskia, Idaho. The idea of being rent free and living in my own house without making an impact on the environment has been appealing to me for the last few years. I thought about making a small house or tiny house before I even knew they existed. I looked it up online and realized that this was a growing idea throughout the entire world, what with economic awareness increasing and the effects of our dwelling habits on the environment becoming an issue.

I have been working in the field of construction for about 6 or 7 years building and remodeling commercial and residential projects.

I actually picked up materials for our house and started construction on December 18, 2010.

Here are some pictures of the house construction up to this point. It has been an enjoyable experience (mostly) and I am working on the finish stuff now. More recent pictures are coming soon.

Picture Album of The Olson Tiny House