For the past few years, and past few weeks especially, I’ve been obsessing over the Tumbleweed Tiny Homes. I’d been wavering between the Loring and the Whidbey; dreamed up a few modifications for both, in order to create two bedrooms; and almost convinced the husband that a stair ladder wouldn’t be so bad.
I finally sat down to do the not so fun research today. As it turns out, my dreams of living in a tiny home will require some modification, since the city bylaws require all new development to have a minimum square footage of 74 square meters – which is actually larger than the not-so-tiny house we’re living in now. As for the tiny homes built on flat-decks: it looks like we could get away with it, since the city just requires that the homes conform to C.S.A. Z.240MH series-M86, and as far as I could tell there aren’t minimum sizes noted in these guidelines. But we were only considering the trailer home as a temporary home while we find a place to settle.
My newest plan includes modifying the design – darn, now I need an engineer or an architect – and adding a “sun room” to make up the remaining square footage. More than half the house would be devoted to glass walls and growing plants. Perhaps I could create a removable wall to allow the space to breath better in summer? Add a cob oven and or rocket-stove? Maybe I should just pester city council until they change the laws. For now, I’ll work on a tiny home design with an oven that fits on a flat deck and includes a stair ladder. That and contemplate living in a trailer park.
