Posts by Evan Kahn (433)

Ness and Jess' Beautiful Home on Wheels



Ness and Jess are two incredible ladies. After moving to New Zealand, they decided to begin their new life in a strange country by building a Tiny House on wheels. With minimal building experience but lots of passion, this dynamic duo has designed and constructed a true tiny masterpiece.

There’s no doubt about it, this tiny house is packed full of great features and industrial design influence. Much of that character is testament to the couples resourcefulness, repurposing skill and eye for a good bargain.

Elements such as the exposed structural steel beams that have been interwoven with LED rope lights help the home to not only build a bold impression but also somehow warms the raw nature of the materials and makes the cold steel feel like a cosy character piece for the home…
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Super-Spacious Tiny Home on Wheels in New Zealand



When Antje wanted to build her own small dream house but was told that she must construct a home greater that 150 square meters, she started to look for alternatives. After spending some time researching her option on the internet, she decided that a Tiny House on wheels would be perfect for her needs…

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Flow's Zen Buggy

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Hey now. Lloyd and friends,

Here’s a bit more on my Zen Buggy:

zen-buggy-at-home-3barge-rafter-upDesigned and built in northern California, it started out as a cardboard model and then I went out a bought a 5×8-foot landscape trailer. We put down some sheet metal first so critters wont get in through the bottom, and then my builder buddy, Tim, then welded up the supports and brackets we thought we needed.

We just made it up as we went along, as neither one of us had ever made anything like this.

We then monkeyed around with some plywood and a pencil and some chalk and got half our basic shape jigsawed and sanded, then mirrored it. Then we glued three of these shapes together to make each rib which we then bolted to the frame.

All the plywood was certified sustainably harvested, and most of the wood was reclaimed from Bug at Heritage Salvage in Petaluma and Almquist Lumber in Humboldt County.

Floor was high school bleachers made from Doug fir; the door is 100% reclaimed redwood from an old barn, made by Imperial Door in Sebastopol; cedar from I don’t remember; and the interior benches were naturally felled old-growth redwood from the Humboldt forest, with birch ply for ceiling.

Lots and lots of planing, cutting, screwing, sanding, and staining with Penofin Verdé, she came together.

Insulated with eco-bat and interior end-walls were painted with Bio-Shield clay paint.

It is heated by an under-carpet, radiant floor-heating system called a “rug buddy,” and is perfect for such a small space.

The carving in the bed frame is called a ranma and was carved in 1910 in Japan, and my closet is a shamisen case also from Japan made in 1920.

The outer roof/shell is made of Galvalume, which I was told was the only Energy Star–rated metal roofing. It keeps the inside cool when it is hot out. Scott, the owner of Northern Pacific Sheet Metal, worked out the edging detail in his free time.

The feeling inside is very peaceful and my sleep and dreams have never been better.

I want to thank every one who helped make this dream a reality, and even Bloomfield Farms in Petaluma where we built her, and thank you for letting me share my Zen Buggy.

Peace from,
–Flow

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Small Homes Book Sneak Preview #24, Cave Home in New Zealand

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20161019-20161019-20161019_0416-lo-resLeaving his English home at the age of 16 to travel the world, Graham Hannah had his heart set on settling down in rural New Zealand…

His aim was to create a cave-type dwelling that was stable, dry, and free of moisture seepage through the clay walls-and to use all natural materials in the process.

Using huge beams of local New Zealand timbers, he framed a structure within the “cave” and filled the entire area with tons of compacted sand, covering both the vertical and horizontal beams. He then laid large river stones from the local mountain stream on top of the sand. To create the roof of the cave, he mixed reinforced concrete. Which was poured over the sand and river stones, with the concrete roof being embedded in the existing bank of solid clay walls.

Once the concrete set up, the sand was dug out, leaving the vertical and horizontal beams and the exposed river stones locked into the concrete roof structure…

–Jessie and Craig Moon

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