Tag Archives: small home

More Media for Tiny

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It seems like everyone is interested in Tiny, and where she ended up and what it’s like to live small. Recently, Tiny has been featured in a CTV National News story, and a BuzzFeed Canada story!

The CTV story weaves together clips from two separate interviews conducted by CTV Atlantic about Tiny.

The BuzzFeed Canada article covers living in Tiny, with a particular focus on the doggie elevator for the lovely Corgie, Shanti.

Matt has been fielding phone calls and emails from all across the country about building and living in Tiny Homes, and it is so exciting to see such interest. The Tiny Home movement is here to stay!

Tiny in the Media!

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Well, it’s been two weeks since Nicky Duenkel and Judy Pratt moved into Tiny, and they are settling in splendidly. There continues to be much interest in Tiny, and yesterday and today, Tiny was featured on two television segments for CTV Atlantic and CBC TV. It’s exciting to see Tiny in action, and so well loved and used.

Tiny is every bit the dream home that Nicky and Judy imagined, and as is said in the CTV Atlantic interview, they are “living small and loving it!”

Click here for the CTV interview.

Click here for the CBC interview.

Moving Day: Tiny Home on the Highway!

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Well, we all know that all good things come to an end… but they also get hitched up to a tow truck and move down the highway to their new home! And that’s what happened with Tiny!

The official moving day went swimmingly. The winds were low, which is always a bonus when trying to move a home down the highway. Tiny was hitched up to a tow truck, hired for his experience in towing mobile homes.

The first challenge was getting Tiny out of the driveway, past some trees and under some power lines. But, it ended up clearing everything with no problem. Just a short drive up the road, and onto the highway, and Tiny was flying.

On the highway, we had to make a detour up and over a bridge, because the tow truck driver knew it was one of the lowest bridges in Nova Scotia, and it was likely Tiny would not have fit! Thank goodness for hiring a professional, or the results of that bridge meeting could have been disastrous!

Tiny did wonderfully on the highway. She rode smoothly, with little movement. She even got weighed along the journey. Matt was nervous about how everything would add up, given the trailer was only rated for 18,000 lbs — but, she came in at 14,300, which was a relief to all.

The last hurdle was getting Tiny up a fairly steep driveway and into her new home, but with some skilled manoeuvring, she made it and got settled right away. And as an added bonus, when we opened the doors, everything was still in tact and nothing had bounced around. Whew!

It was sad to have Tiny leave the driveway and the family, but so lovely to see her in her new home.

Getting Tiny ready to go on her maiden voyage
Here we go! Cleared the power lines and tree no problem.
On the road at last!
Looking good on the road
No issues with a professional towing company pulling Tiny
Looks really close but there was lots of room
On the scales. When we subtract the truck weight it came in at 14300 lbs.
Coming up the driveway
In place for the winter

Favourite Feature #5: The Doggie Elevator!

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This may be the only Tiny Home out there right now with a doggie elevator! That’s right — a doggie elevator!

This particular feature arose out of the need to transport the clients’ Corgie from the bottom floor to the top floor, because the stairs are too steep and too hard on his back. With need, comes innovation, and so Matt innovated the idea to have a doggie elevator that moves up and down via a winch system.

As with everything in Tiny, this was completely custom made. One of the main challenges was actually finding the space where this dog-evator could drop down in between the stairs, the cupboard, and counter — all the measurements had to be precise!

The end result is a one-of-a-kind Tiny Home feature, that has the Corgie and his owners happy at the outcome! And as you can see, it has the smallest Howling Dog Construction crew member excited to try it out!

 

Testing the winch for the elevator
All the pieces waiting to be put together.
The Elevator joints had to be strong so everything was Rabbited
All the pieces dry fit together to makes sure they all fit nicely.
Making good use of the elevator.
Getting the winch ready to mount
Elevator box hanging in place, it fits in the space perfectly.
The winch in place

Favourite Feature #4: Crafty Cupboards

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Cupboards are essential for any home; but in a Tiny Home, they are even more essential. Matt and the clients wanted to find ways to maximize every available space in the kitchen, creating a kitchen area that is not only spacious, but stores a surprising amount of items.

All the cupboards were handmade and custom built to space, out of plywood with a maple face, and finished with varathane to give a smooth, durable, and natural finish. Some of the interesting features of these cupboards are drawers at the bottom of each cupboard where the toe kick normally is, avoiding 4 inches of wasted space. The drawers feature full extension sliders, to easily access all parts of the storage space. The drawers were also specifically designed to accommodate all their kitchen appliances and pots and pans, ensuring that every item had its place.

The bank of drawers next to the desk function as office supply storage, with the top drawer containing an inner charging station to avoid unnecessary clutter from electronics.

Finally, to allow two people to easily work together in the kitchen, a custom fold-up countertop was designed, maximizing the working and chopping space in the kitchen.

Kitchen cabinets
In production
Looking more like a kitchen
Fling cabinet and charging drawer
Kitchen is looking good with all the faces on
When more counter space is required this leaf just swings up and locked in place.
when more people space is needed in the kitchen the leaf drops down.
lots of storage, including in the toe kick.
Spice rack
Toe kick drawer, can be opened with your toes!
The Circuit panel hidden at the back of the pantry.
File drawer with hard wood rails to hold file folders.
This is the charging drawer. The end of the charge cords sit in the slots and the unsightly mess of wires hangs out of sight behind the drawer.
Working on installing the cupboard doors.
Faces drying in the sun

Favourite Feature #2: The Ladder

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Our next featured design from Tiny is the Ash ladder leading up to the second loft above the bathroom.

The final ladder design emerged after testing out several different prototypes. In the original plan, the ladder was incorporated into the shelving unit itself. But, as the building progressed, and different designs were tested, it was decided that this was too complicated, and the desire to have a simplified design led to the current version.

As you can see from the pictures, the ladder is designed to slide behind the shelving unit, in a space between the bathroom wall and the shelf. The ladder has wheels on the bottom that are only engaged when it is in the upright position to facilitate sliding back and forth. At the top is a simple hook and eye system, allowing the ladder to be slid out; when pulled into position, the hooks automatically engage, holding the ladder securely in place.

The ladder itself is made out of Ash, from Windhorse Farms‘ sustainable woodlot on the mainland of Nova Scotia. We love how it turned out!

Ladder to second loft, made of Ash
Ladder and bathroom door can be used independantly
Door and Ladder stowed away behind the shelves
Can still access the bathroom when ladder is out
Wheels are off the floor until the ladder upright and is ready to roll behind the shelf
Simple but Secure hook system.
Handle on the side allows it to be pulled out when stowed flush to shelf

Favourite Feature #1: Integrated Couch, Desk & Table

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As promised, here is the first installment of Matthew’s favourite features of Tiny. First up, the integrated couch, desk, and table set that was designed specifically for the needs of the owners and for the space.

This unit is a big part of the central house design, and is not only a main decorative feature, but is also a critical piece of the living space. This unit incorporates multiple storage spaces, a shelving unit, a permanent desk and foldaway table, and a comfy couch.

The whole design was a challenge, given the space requirements and the multiple uses and functions the unit had to perform. A lot of thought and prototypes went into this design, and we are so pleased with the results.

The shelf unit functions not only as a needed storage unit, but also as a way to hide the sliding ladder leading up to one of the lofts, and cover the sliding door to the bathroom.

It was important to maximize the storage capacity of the couch unit, by building in storage units under the sitting space. These units also add a great accent of colour and can also function as extra seats when guests are over.

One of the hardest parts was the design of the desk and table unit. The challenge: the desk needed to be a permanent fixture, but the table needed to be able to be stowed when not in use, freeing up the couch space. This design enables the table to be pulled out, while the desk is in use. Matt went through multiple designs and prototypes of the leaf system, finally settling on the one you see in the pictures, both for strength, durability, and ease of motion and use.

The custom-made upholstery adds the final finishing touch to this unit, and creates a very comfy couch and extra bed. It also adds a bright pop of colour to the unit, creating a warm and welcoming space. Overall, this has become one of the most eye-catching and innovative parts of Tiny!

Maple bracket to hold up fold away diner table
Mounting bracket to couch frame
Working on the table bracket
Couch base and attached shelf
Desk, couch, table, storage and shelf, all one integrated unit
With extra leaf unfolded there is room for four.
Clips on the underside hold the leaf in place when not in use
Plenty of storage under the couch, they also double as extra seats
A latch cover mounted in the floor provides a an anchor spot for the stand.
Pieces of wood on the underside help guide the stand into place
Door and Ladder stowed away behind the shelves
These boxes under the couch double as seats for when company comes over.

One Big “Tiny” Update!

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Well we are back with another Tiny House update, and we must apologize for the rather lengthy delay in getting more pictures up. Matt has been burning the midnight oil, so to speak, trying to get Tiny done and ready to head off to its new landing site in a few weeks’ time. It’s been a busy time here at Howling Dog Construction, but the effort is paying off, and the results are looking amazing.

This post will bring you up from our last update a few months ago, to what Tiny looks like now, today, on this fine Thanksgiving weekend.

Tiny Updates!

Since the last post, all the interior walls and ceilings have been completed with tongue-and-groove pine, and it’s beautiful. The ceilings have been left natural, but with a clear-coat for protection and to bring out their natural richness. The walls have been painted to add colour and vibrancy, and create an overall atmosphere of warmth and comfort.

The next step was to complete the plumbing, running all the pipes and waterlines along the inside to protect from freezing. Because of the small size of Tiny, there were a few challenges when trying to keep everything compact and minimize the exposed plumbing throughout the home. For example, the main water supply and filter has been contained within the bathroom vanity to keep it hidden. In order to get water to the shower and on to the kitchen, Matt needed to run pipes along the interior walls. To keep them hidden, he designed the couch and baseboards to cover them up. The result? No pipes are visible throughout Tiny!

Once the plumbing was done, it was time to move to flooring. One of the first things the owners purchased for Tiny was Ash hardwood flooring from a local company that was shutting down. Honduras pine was used for the loft flooring, which looks amazing from both above and below, which was important, because it is exposed on both sides, and is the kitchen ceiling. The Honduras pine was finished with a natural oil for protection, and it has become one of the favourite features of Tiny.

Once the flooring was complete, it was time to move to the interior features, such as the stairs and custom couch. Although the stairs were pre-designed when conceptualizing Tiny, each stair was custom-designed for the space to maximize space and storage capacity. The bottom three steps are removable, so that there’s room to get the fridge and other appliances into the kitchen. They are also storage containers themselves, with opening stair treads. The couch area is actually an integrated unit, containing the couch, a folding table and desk, storage units, and a shelf. It was custom built in the garage, and then installed in Tiny.

The kitchen cabinet boxes and drawers were an exciting feature to add into Tiny, as it really gave a sense of the kitchen, and defined the area. These were all custom-built to take advantage of every bit of usable space and to ensure that all of the clients’ kitchen implements would fit.

Once the cabinet bases were complete, it was time to install and finish the solid maple countertop. This is a gorgeous feature of Tiny, and was finished with BioShield Oil, which gives it a beautiful golden glow and a silky smooth feel. Everyone loves the countertop!

And then it was time for hook-ups, including propane for the appliances and heating and electrical. It was exciting to get Tiny all wired up and ready to go, and we are really happy with how the lighting levels have turned out. Kudos to Flux Electrical from Middle River here in Cape Breton for making this happen, and all the hard work it took to wire up Tiny — no easy feat!

Finally, Matt has been working hard on all the finishings, including storage shelves and racks in the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom, ensuring maximum storage space, even when living small. These are looking great, and it’s amazing how much storage can be designed into a tiny space.

Tiny Open House

On October 17th, 2015, we are having an Open House and Goodbye Tiny gathering at our house. Matt is busy doing finishing off the house, with this week bringing the cabinet faces installed and the completion of the much-anticipated doggie elevator!

Leading up to that exciting day, we will be releasing a new post a day, highlighting some of Matt’s favourite custom-made and custom-designed features in Tiny. Each day will bring a new insight into how to design “Tiny”, so keep checking back!

Starting on the Tongue and Groove pine.
Burning the midnight oil
Making progress
Soon to be kitchen
Soon to be Bedroom
Main for incoming water
Running water lines inside to protect from freezing
Kitchen cabinets
In production
This bathroom vanity used to be a bedroom dresser
Looking more like a kitchen
Beautiful Solid maple counter top
Fold up section to add more counter space if needed or fold down to get more room for people in the kitchen
We Have lights!
Lots of light to work with
Bedroom with storage shelves and lights finished
The hole in the floor is where the doggie elevator will go!

Tiny Home Featured on CTV Live at Five

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We are always happy when others are interested in learning about the process behind building — and choosing to live in — a tiny home. Today, we were happy to share with Ryan MacDonald from CTV’s Live at Five.

Ryan came to film on location, and featured Matt as the contractor, and Nicky Duenkel and Judy Pratt, the Tiny Home owners. This segment was broadcast throughout Nova Scotia, PEI, and New Brunswick to over 220,000 viewers.

It was great fun working with Ryan and sharing the story of Tiny with the Live at Five audience.

To view the clip, click here.

Here are some pictures of the filming.

CTV is on location.
Starting the tour with Nicky Duenkel, Tiny Home owner.
Interviewing Judy Pratt, Tiny Home owner.
Getting ready for some ‘aerial’ shots from the loft.
Checking sound & settings.
Getting mic’d up.
Matt talking Tiny House design & construction.
Thumbs up for Tiny!
Filming the final segment.

Tiny is Featured on CBC

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We just found out yesterday that Tiny has been featured on CBC News online, complete with an audio-visual essay containing a clip from the CBC Radio Mainstreet Cape Breton Interview and pictures of the progress, as well as a write-up. There’s also a link to the radio interview where Matt provides an update.

Great to see the interest that Tiny is generating, and to see so many people interested in reducing their ecological footprint and living more simply and gently on this planet.

To check out the article, click here.