The Shelter Blog has been inactive since May, 2019. Too much to do! From this point on, Lloyd’s Blog will have the buildings, vehicles, and home-related posts such as what has previously appeared here. Go to lloydkahn.com.

Design (45)

Brad Kittel's Kickstarter Campaign

By Evan Kahn on September 1, 2015

Brad Kittel from the Tiny Homes book (pages 44-49 and on the cover) has started a Kickstarter campaign for a book of plans for 30 houses built of 95% salvaged materials free of plastic, vinyl, sheetrock, or latex paints. Check it out.

Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/318443601/tiny-texas-houses-building-plans

Nine years ago I began pioneering the 95% Pure Salvage Building techniques that have been perfected over the years in the form of Tiny Texas Houses. They are now built using “Space Magic,” a term I coined for making spaces seem much bigger than they are through illusions of a sort few others in the tiny house industry seem to understand. Read More …

Categories: Carpentry, Design  Tags: , ,
Post a comment

A Bedroom for a Hobbit

By Evan Kahn on August 13, 2015
image1

Hey Evan, I thought you and the rest of the Shelter team might get a bang out of a project I’m finishing up.

My inspiration for this tiny shelter was of course J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and his description of the shire the homeland of the Hobbit. I also drew from my fascination with small wooden sailboat cabins. Intended to go in my living room to act as a reading/napping nook next to a fireplace. I believe foolishness is a much neglected feature in modern design. The act of not taking yourself to seriously is an art and I intend on surrounding myself with it.

–Tohner Jackson
For more info and foolishness, check out:
www.instagram.com/onetreewoodwork

Thanks Tohner, looks great!

Read More …

Categories: Carpentry, Design  Tags: ,
Post a comment (1 comment)

French Carpenter Seeking Work in California/Oregon/Washington This Summer

By Evan Kahn on July 12, 2015

Yogan is an accomplished timber framer (and treehouse builder) from France. His work has appeared in our last two books. He will be traveling along the West Coast this summer and wants to hook up with builders, homeowners, homesteaders, and/or people of like interests. He’s open to any kind of arrangement, including working for room and/or board.

IMGP6230You can check out his work here: yogan.over-blog.com

From Yogan:

Hi, friend builders, carpenters, inventors…

I’m Yogan, a carpenter of Southwest France,

I’m coming in August, September and October to walk on the West Coast, from California to Seattle. My goal is to meet, visit, help, places and people where there are amazing shelters, cabins — in the woods, if possible.

If I could find a community of carpenters living in cabins in the forest, it would be perfect!

I’d also like to go to any carpenters’ or timber framers’ meetings.

I will be hitchhiking frequently with my backpack and accordion!

You can email me at: Yogan Carpenter <yogancarpenter@gmail.com>

Categories: Carpentry, Design  Tags: ,
Post a comment

New Video of Lloyd Kahn's Homestead by Kirsten Dirksen, Fair Companies

By Lloyd Kahn on May 19, 2015

Kirsten Dirksen
Photo by Nicolás Boullosa

Kirsten Dirksen is a filmmaker with Fair Companies, a bilingual media operation that she and her husband Nicolás Boullosa run out of Barcelona. Kirsten is a former TV producer for MTV and the Travel Channel who now focuses on “…community and access to tools on sustainable culture.” She has produced almost 600 videos, an amazing body of work when you consider that it’s the editing, not the shooting, that is so time-consuming. I don’t know how she does it.

We’ve had a bunch of people shoot film (OK, OK, video) around here and they generally take a long time to get set up, then follow a preconceived series of shots and questions.

Kirsten walked in the first time and within 5 minutes, was shooting. We were comfortable with her. She winged it, seeing what we were doing, following us around. On one of her visits, her two little long-haired girls explored the garden and chickens and Nicolás shot photos.

…[more on full post page]…

One thing I love about this video is that she recognized what Lesley is doing in her life and with her garden, her art, and her attitude towards a home. Often that gets missed in people coming here to see me.
Read More …

Categories: Carpentry, Design, Gardening, Homesteading  Tags: ,
Post a comment (6 comments)

Magical Hobbit-Like Eco Cave House

By Lew Lewandowski on April 22, 2015

Underhill is an incredible hobbit-home eco-cave house built into a hillside. The off-the-grid house is cleverly constructed to resemble a cave. With no electricity in the house, the stone, wood and rustic features truly make you feel like you’re stepping back in time.

For more information on this house, visit www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com.

Categories: Design, Natural Building, Tiny Homes  Tags: , , , ,
Post a comment

Yestermorrow School

By Lew Lewandowski on April 10, 2015
Yestermorrow Design/Build School

One of the most common questions we get asked is “How do I learn how to build a tiny home?” A very superior answer would be the Yestermorrow School in Waitsfield, Vermont offering over 100 hands-on courses per year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft including a variety of courses concentrating in sustainable design and green building. Yestermorrow is one of the only design/build schools in the country, teaching both design and construction skills. Hands-on courses are taught by top architects, builders, and craftspeople from across the country.
Read More …

Categories: Architecture, Carpentry, Crafts, Design, Natural Building, Small Homes, Tiny Homes  Tags: , ,
Post a comment (1 comment)

Cob Home with a Reciprocal Roof

By Lew Lewandowski on February 10, 2015
gp-12

gp-10

Les Tit’B Libres is a group of young French artists living communally in handmade structures, such as this cob home with a reciprocal roof.

See more of their free lifestyle at titblibre.garagepunks.com.

To build a reciprocal roof, we first install a temporary central pillar on which the first chevron is placed. The height of this pillar depends on the roof pitch.The following rafters are then placed to support the one on the other. The last chevron place above the penultimate and below the first one. They are then attached to each other and the central pillar is removed. If only one of the rafters breaks, the whole structure collapses. Read More …

Categories: Architecture, Carpentry, Design, Small Homes  Tags: , , ,
Post a comment

SunRay Kelley's Newest Sauna Stove

By Lloyd Kahn on January 15, 2015
Sunray Kelley's Sauna

This is SunRay’s newest down-drafting sauna with a stove built from salvaged materials. The fire box is a 20″-diameter stainless steel piece from an industrial heating system. The heat riser is housed inside an old propane tank.

Flue gases spiral and rise until they hit the top of the tank and then are forced down between the heat riser and the tank until they are vented out the spiral chimney made of flexible stainless steel ducting.
Read More …

Categories: Carpentry, Design  Tags:
Post a comment

Calistoga, California Creekside Cabin

By Lew Lewandowski on December 28, 2014
Creekside cabin

A 1920s shingled creekside cabin redesigned by architect Amy A. Alper.

Description

“The architect designed a new double-height living room addition to wrap the original exterior. Weathered shingles and period windows remain — when open, kitchen and living room are connected. New materials contrast with the old; reclaimed beams mediate between them, and visually echo the surrounding woods. Window walls showcase views to the swirling waters below.” Read More …

Categories: Architecture, Design, Small Homes  Tags:
Post a comment (7 comments)

Straw Bale and Timber Frame Home

By Lew Lewandowski on December 12, 2014
04-strawtron

Hi Lloyd and Co.:

Saw your call for responses to the upcoming Small Homes book. Exciting! I think our straw bale & timber frame home fits squarely into that category. It’s actually around 440 sq. feet of interior heated space, but with the porch and balcony it’s a bit bigger.

15016408354_bd76ef81d5_c 08-strawtron 30-strawtron Read More …

Categories: Architecture, Carpentry, Design, Natural Building, Small Homes  Tags: , , , , ,
Post a comment (1 comment)

How to Build a Reciprocal Roof Frame

By Lew Lewandowski on November 2, 2014
reciprocal frame roof

In Tiny Homes, we did two pages (pp. 110-111) on Ziggy Liloia’s cob cottage. In this excerpt from his website, TheYearOfMud.com, he explains how he built his reciprocal framed roof.

ziggy-gobcobatron-01A reciprocal roof is a beautiful and simple self-supporting structure that can be composed of as few as three rafters, and up to any imaginable quantity (within reason, of course). Reciprocal roofs require no center support, they are quick to construct, and they can be built using round poles or dimensional lumber (perhaps with some creative notching). They are extremely strong, perfect for round buildings, and very appropriate for living roofs, as well. The reciprocal roof design was developed by Graham Brown in 1987. Read More …

Categories: Carpentry, Design, Natural Building, Tiny Homes  Tags: , , ,
Post a comment (1 comment)

Uncle Mud's Rocket Stoves

By Lew Lewandowski on August 14, 2014

Hey Folks,

rocket stove bench

We have been working on some fun Rocket Heater projects. You might have seen the 8″ with a big cob bench that heats our 1600 sq. ft. uninsulated barn apartment even though our renter managed to blow the cleanout caps and crack the barrel seal by trying to start it with gasoline — I think it would have killed him if it had been a regular woodstove. I had been told that an autoclaved concrete core would disintegrate but its holding up pretty well in year two. Read More …

Categories: Design, Natural Building  Tags: ,
Post a comment (1 comment)
Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!