The Roots of our Tiny Life

   

Who We Are: We are a family of five looking to move into a more sustainable and mobile lifestyle. We are seeking an intentional community or co-op to plant some roots. We are interested in alternate and clean energy production from freely available and renewable resources. We want to grow food and raise chickens and wake up to quiet forest sunrises. We are aiming to live in the Pacific Northwest. Hopefully we can live and work at or near a hot springs. The decision to try the tiny life was as easy one.  We are both adventurers with a touch of the gypsy soul. Living in the San Diego area has left us both with a desire to be surrounded by large trees and green meadows. The coastal desert has lost it’s charm for the moment, though we may miss the mild, sun filled winters soon enough.  We have some history and a few connections up in northern CA and Portland areas, and may move around a bit.  I want to work and set up a blacksmith shop for my hobby time. My Lovely wife enjoys yoga and all sorts of crafting and creating. Mostly, I think we both crave a deeper connection with wild places and the freedom to roam.

What you will find here: Have a look around our menu to see a visual record and commentary on on our tiny house build, as well as assorted posts about tiny house related ideas.  Noticing that a lot of folks don’t go into a lot of detail on the construction part, we decided to provide more depth. I cheerfully acknowledge that I am not an expert. If  you require expert advice or how-to’s this may not be the place for you. This is how WE did it, mistakes and all! Every step of the way has been a learning experience and I am figuring out quite a bit as I go. This makes for some back-tracking occasionally, but perfection and precision is a narrow target on the first try.  A good example would be my rafters…. I had 32 rafters cut and assembled before I realized the profile would be too wide with all the roofing and siding. Took me 7 straight hours of “cut and splice” to get them set the way I wanted.  If that is the worst blunder I make, I will count myself lucky.

 

Who is Actually Building this Tiny House: We are. I am going to say “we” a lot. Why? Because not only have my wife and eldest boy helped me at crucial times, but each of them is doing their part on other things, which frees me up to deal with the daily duty of actually cutting and joining lumber into a house-like structure. Special thanks to my most capable wife, who keeps me well fed with healthy food and keeps the boys off my neck while I am working with hammers and on ladders and cutting with various tremendously powerful Saws. I simply could not do it without her.  We have also had some help from friends, who will receive kudos in the appropriate posts to come. Mostly when I say “we” I mean my wife and I,

Other Stuff: I like a clean landing page so use the navigation menu at the top to find what you seek! Happy reading and remember: make your own mistakes and copy my methods at your own risk! This blog is not intended as a “how-to” Have a look around and feel free to ask questions!