Nine Tiny Feet » 9 sq ft

Updated Design – Mini Cabin

Michael Janzen — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:53:19 +0000

I posted a new version of Nine Tiny Feet on Tiny House Design last night. I’ve been getting some great comments all day that make me think I should make this nine square foot house even more light-weight. Some people even suggested making it light enough to be towed by a bicycle.

I’m also rethinking the rain water collection and soil box due to the added weight these two systems could add. Although I don’t want to give up on the added self-sufficiency these features add. I’ll have to noodle over that and weight the pros and cons.

For all the details on this new variation take a look at the post on Tiny House Design. Below are some semi-transparent images you won’t find on the other blog.

Now go take a look at the detailed description of this design variation.

A Flying Wedge – Extreme 9 Square Foot House

Michael Janzen — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:05:28 +0000

As I imagined towing Nine Tiny Feet down the road it occurred to me that a triangle wedge would be much more aerodynamic. It also seemed like a three-walled house would use less lumber and would be a more efficient shape to provide sleeping space, after all our bodies aren’t square. I also wanted to be more true to the square footage requirement of nine square feet that I placed on myself in the beginning. I think this design is actually pretty successful in meeting those additional requirements, but I can already see room for improvement.

The floor itself is still nine square feet, except it’s now trapezoidal instead of rectangular. The main difference is the overall shape which looks much more like a a piece of pie than a house. Instead of a sleeping loft I’ve imagined two flip down plywood shelves that cover the kitchen counter and chair to form a flat surface long enough for a six foot person to sleep. The main room isn’t long enough to lay down so I’ve borrowed a little space in the form of a tiny cubby hole from the nose of the house for the occupant’s feet. Sleeping in this design would be like sleeping in a backpacker’s mummy bag.

Like in past designs the toilet is below the chair. Since this design is about exploring extremes I still imagine using a sawdust composting toilet. This bucket toilet would be well sealed from the main living area to avoid odor build-up inside the house. The space it occupies would also be vented to the exterior. You can learn more about sawdust toilets at Jenkins Publishing.

The roof would be metal with a down-spout at the low end to allow water to be funneled off for future use. A storage tank would need to be place in the sharp nose of the house. Due to the triangular shape of the roof a lip would need to be added along the two long sides to prevent the water from simply running off onto the ground. You can learn more about collecting rain water at The Good Human.

Below the window is a planter box designed to reclaim waste water from the shower drain in the main floor and sink. The planter box, or soil box, would have several layers of material and screens to facilitate filtering and processing of the water. You can learn more about grey water soil boxes at Grey Water Central.

There are a lot of good ideas in this design but I don’t think I’d ever build it this way. I really liked the traditional look of the original design. But I also like how this house is more aerodynamic, uses building materials more efficiently, includes more self-sufficient features, and crams most of the living space into the nine square foot floor plan.

So I’m going to let this cook in my brain a little more and see if I can come up with a hybrid that has more traditional aesthetics, a shed roof for easy rain water collection, and that’s still more aerodynamic than a brick. Stay tuned.

Another Way To Do 9 Square Feet

Michael Janzen — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:57:12 +0000

I stayed up late last night drawing this alternate design for Nine Tiny Feet. I posted the full description of this 9-square foot house plan on my primary tiny house design blog but here are more screen captures of the design. In terms of design this is a bit of a departure from previous designs but I think it has a few new features like the gray water planted soilbox and it’s more aerodynamic. You can click each image for a closer view.

Ah-HA! Don’t Frame It – Build Panels

Michael Janzen — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:38:45 +0000

Here’s a better idea… it came to me last night. Framing this tiny house like a normal house doesn’t work well because the corners and bay windows don’t use the wood efficiently and fill the wall cavities with 2x4s and not insulation.

But If I were to build panels and then screw them together, using the plywood as part of the structure, I think I could have a better insulated structure that would be just as strong. I think I have it all figured out in my head and will get those ideas into drawings today and tonight. Here’s an exploded view and the revised plan so you can see what I’m thinking.

Updated! Here is an updated drawing with more detail.