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Daniel Ott is one of the first tiny home builders in Ontario, working to change the housing market by designing and building legal tiny homes (which is no small feat under the Ontario Building Code, one of the strictest codes in North America). Using his unique UpSizeDown Method, Daniel and his team at True North Tiny Homes not only design your tiny dream home, but they also help you get prepared to thrive in it. The post Innovative Designs for Cold Weather Tiny Living in Canada with Daniel Ott- #145 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Did you know that cob is one of the oldest building materials around? According to my guest, Dave Olsen, most cob houses are tiny houses because they take so long to build! Cob is a mixture of clay, sand, straw, and water that hardens into a thick, load-bearing, structure. Think curved, earthen walls and whimsical building shapes. Dave Olsen has been building with cob for over 20 years and has developed his own technique, called “Fast Cob”. Dave tells us about the benefits of Cob building, how to do fast cob, and more. The post Introduction to Cob: The Ancient, Natural, Tiny House Building Method with Dave Olsen – #144 appeared first on The Tiny House.

If you’ve been following the tiny house movement for any amount of time, there’s a good chance you’ve come across a story about someone getting ripped off by a tiny house builder. Heck, I’ve interviewed several people on this show whose builders have gone bankrupt or not delivered on what they promised. This week, I’m interviewing Frank Olito, the resident tiny house expert at Business Insider. Frank has also noticed this trend in the industry and has focused his reporting on it. In this episode, you'll learn about what happens when you work with a bad builder, what recourse you can take, and how to avoid bad builders in the first place. The post How to Avoid Getting Scammed by Your Tiny House Builder with Frank Olito – #143 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Meet Melissa and Jon Block, the sister-brother team behind San Diego’s first ever tiny house village called Tiny House Block. In this interview, Melissa and Jon will share the journey that they took to go from a couple of backyard tiny homes, to a dedicated piece of land with 25 tiny houses. Surprisingly, the majority of their homes are rented long-term, and they’ve had to figure out how to manage a community, including difficult tenants, disputes between neighbors, and more. I hope you stick around! The post The Ups and Downs of Managing a Tiny House Community with Jon and Melissa Block – #142 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Deek is Back! After kindly agreeing to be a guest on the second ever episode of the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast, Derek Deek Diedricksen is here to talk DIY Treehouse Building. We’re not talking about 50,000 tiny homes in the trees. No, we’re talking about DIY, backyard treehouse building anyone with some tools and some trees, and a dream. Deek has built many, many treehouses, and he’s got tips, tricks, and hacks to share to make the process quicker and cheaper. Deek always has a lot of projects ongoing, so he’ll fill us in on what’s happening in the world of Relax Shacks. The post DIY Treehouse Building with Derek ‘Deek’ Diedricksen – #141 appeared first on The Tiny House.

If you’ve been listening for a while, you know I love to feature new and innovative ways to build tiny homes. Well, today, I’m featuring something that could be considered a very “old” way- Timber Framing! Clara and Edwin Bobrycki not only designed and built their timber frame tiny house- but they also cut down all the trees and milled the lumber for the entire frame. It’s no easy task, but Edwin and Clara will break it down for us so we can learn what it takes to build a timber framed tiny home. The post How to Build a Timber Framed Tiny House with Edwin and Clara Bobrycki – #140 appeared first on The Tiny House.

When it comes to designing tiny homes, Vina Lustado is the real deal. Her iconic Sol Haus and Sol Pod homes are beautiful, light-filled examples of high tiny design, and Vina has lived tiny for many years and in several locations. As a California resident, Vina has seen the destructive and traumatic effects of wildfires and has answered the call in the best way she knows how: By designing a pre-fab tiny home that can be permitted as an ADU in California and has several fire-resistant design elements. The post Designing a Fire-Resistant Tiny Home ADU with Vina Lustado – #139 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Living off-grid is especially challenging when you're on a 50-ft sailboat in the middle of the ocean. My guest today is Rick Moore, whose sailboat, the Sophisticated Lady, is fully set up to live off-grid for months at a time, with solar and wind power, a water desalination unit, and even a garden on board. Rick walks us through his systems and helps figure out how we can apply them to tiny house living. Stick around! The post Living Off-Grid for Months at Sea: Hydroponics, Solar, Wind, and Gardening on a Sailboat with Rick Moore – #138 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Darin Dinsmore is the urban planner and landscape architect behind the amazing Tiny Camp Sedona, a small pod of tiny houses available for nightly rentals outside of Sedona, Arizona. Darren is just getting started applying his skills as a developer to tiny house communities. He’ll let us in on the projects he’s working on now, how he approaches developing tiny house communities, and what he’s excited about for the future of tiny homes. The post Pro Tips to Develop a Tiny House Community with Darin Dinsmore – #137 appeared first on The Tiny House.

If you’re hoping to move around a lot, a moveable tiny home isn’t always the best option. While vans and school bus conversions take the spotlight, my guest Tom Roszko set his sights on a medium-duty ambulance. In this conversation, we’ll learn why used ambulances actually make a fantastic starting point for a conversion, how to find them, and other tips for a DIY, super mobile tiny home. Plus, Tom shares details about his solar, water, and off-grid living in his home. The post The Ultimate Go-Anywhere Tiny House Ambulance Conversion with Tom Roszko – #136 appeared first on The Tiny House.

There’s something enduring and timeless about the A-frame. It seems to fit into any landscape and instantly says “cozy”. Today, I’m interviewing Michael Romanowicz, founder of Den Outdoors, which designs beautiful, easy to build A-frames and sells plans. In this conversation, we’ll explore the popularity of A-frames, the advantages and disadvantages of the design, and learn about what’s in store at Den. The post Exploring the Timeless A-Frame Design with Den Outdoors Founder Michael Romanowicz – #135 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Moving a tiny house is no easy task. As the movement grows, so do the tiny homes, making each move more complicated. Today I’m speaking with Taylor Tefft, a professional tiny house mover. She’s here to discuss the ins and outs of moving a tiny home. We cover pricing, insurance, how long it takes, and even moving tiny homes that aren’t on wheels. The post How to Work with a Professional Tiny House Mover: Pricing, Timing, and Logistics with Taylor Tefft – #134 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Baylie Carlson made a splash in the tiny house movement with her tiny house home birth story. She has lived in both a moveable tiny house, a luxury skoolie, and has lots of insight to share when it comes to raising kids in small dwellings. Baylie is also involved in a really interesting YouTube competition called Outlast Homestead, where the winner gets the title to the land. The post From Moveable Tiny House to Luxury Skoolie: Tiny Lifestyle with Baylie Carlson – #133 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Permaculture is one of those words I hear batted around a lot in conjunction with the tiny house movement, but have never taken the time to learn what it is. Kenton Zerbin is the perfect guest to help explain it. In this conversation, we’ll learn that Permaculture isn’t some technique or life hack- Rather, it’s an entire way of thinking: A design philosophy that pairs beautifully with tiny homes. Kenton is a teacher by trade, and he’ll also share how he designed his tiny home to survive off-grid in cold, Canadian winters. The post Permaculture For Tiny Homes with Kenton Zerbin – #132 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Dan Fitzpatrick is the Director of Government Relations and president of the Tiny Home Industry Association and has made a name for himself as the go-to guy for tiny home legalization. This info-packed conversation does not disappoint! We talk about the importance of calling our homes “Moveable Tiny Homes” instead of “Tiny Homes on Wheels”, The current status of Appendix Q, and how to do tiny house advocacy the right way. The post How to Legalize Tiny Houses: Advocacy 101 with Dan Fitzpatrick – #131 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Lloyd Kahn’s first interview on the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast is the most downloaded episode to date, so I knew I had to have him back on to talk about his wonderful new book, The Half-Acre Homestead. We talk about the benefits and limitations of homesteading in the present and future. While Lloyd is a bit dubious about the viability of living in a tiny house long-term, I think that the lifestyle he showcases in The Half Acre Homestead is readily compatible with tiny house living. The post Lloyd Kahn’s Half-Acre Homestead: Building, Gardening and Getting Started – #130 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Dylan Magaster started his YouTube channel at the age of 21 with only $1,000 in the bank. He backpacked for 6 months, converted a van, and lived in it for close to 2 years. Then he decided to move to the Mediterranean and buy a sailboat with only 7 days of sailing experience with 2 strangers that he met through the internet. He has now sailed over 6,000 nautical miles and visited 27 countries. In this interview, we’ll talk about van life vs. boat life, and how to do it all on the cheap. The post From Van Life to Sailboat Living with Only $1000 – #129 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Figuring out the right insulation for your tiny house can be one of the most confusing things about designing and building your own home. And if you’re working with a professional builder, there’s no guarantee they know what they’re doing either. That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to Brad Cook. Brad is an energy efficiency professional who offers a wealth of knowledge about insulation and ventilation when it comes to tiny houses. In this conversation, we’ll nerd out about insulation and common myths about heating a tiny house. The post Build Your House Tight and Ventilate Right with Brad Cook – #128 appeared first on The Tiny House.

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about steel framing so I thought it would be timely to invite Jay Leopold on the show. Jay is the chief engineer and designer at ThinHaus, which exclusively builds steel framed tiny homes. In this conversation we’ll battle it out over Steel Framing vs. SIPs, talk about the building envelope requirements for a steel framed home, and take a deep dive on certifications. The post Steel Framed vs. SIPs: Tiny House Building Envelope Choices with Jay Leopold – #127 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Andrea Burns is here to tell us the story of her resilient and innovative tiny house, the Tomato Box. We discuss what it’s like building your tiny house while living there, how Andrea designed multiple systems for reheating and cooking, and her incredible recycled greywater system that allows her to reuse water over and over again. The post Designing a Self-Contained, Recycled Greywater System with Andrea Burns – #126 appeared first on The Tiny House.