Micro shelters: 59 creative cabins, tiny houses, tree houses, and other small structures

257 Pages·2015·66.711 MB·English

by  Diedricksen, Derek

micro
shelters
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micro
shelters
59
creative
cabins,
tiny houses,
tree houses,

other
and
small
structures
derek “deek”
diedricksen
ß
Storey Publishing
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The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.
EDITED BY Deborah Balmuth and Hannah Fries INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS appear on
TECHNICAL EDITING BY Philip Schmidt page 256
ART DIRECTION AND BOOK DESIGN BY Carolyn Eckert
TEXT PRODUCTION BY Michaela Jebb ILLUSTRATIONS BY:
© Derek Diedricksen: “favorite features,” 14, 54,
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY: 102, 128, 148;
© Derek Diedricksen: spine (top); Lee Mothes: back cover (left), plan drawings
© Dustin Diedricksen: back; (throughout), 164–171, 181;
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(bottom right); 11, 12–13, 160–161, 179, 192, 200–201, 204, 212, 222,
© John Polak: front (left), inside front; 232, 240, 250
ModFruGal: spine (middle);
© Nathan Rist: spine (bottom); © 2015 BY DEREK DIEDRICKSEN
© Sean F. White: front (top right)
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The information in this book is true and complete Diedricksen, Derek.
to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations Microshelters : 59 creative cabins, tiny houses,
are made without guarantee on the part of the author tree houses, and other small structures /
or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher dis- Derek Diedricksen.
claim any liability in connection with the use of this pages cm
information. ISBN 978-1-61212-353-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
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Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without all the
designers, builders, backyard tinkerers, and weekend
warriors (many who became my friends along the way) who
shared stories and photos of their microshelters. Please
be sure to see the resource list in the back of the book to find
their websites.
Thanks also goes out to my wife, Liz, for her undying
encouragement and tolerance in the face of our Backyard
Oompa Loompa Village of Weird Shacks, Forts, and Tiny
Houses (she’s a trooper! and absolutely amazing). An
additional Kong-sized nod is due to my brother, Dustin, who
has helped me so many times with builds and workshops
around the US; to the Bendix family for all of their sup-
port over the years; and to my parents, Glenn and Sigrid
Diedricksen, for such a fun and creativity-laden upbringing. 
I also can’t forget Steven Harrell, Kent Griswold, Michael
Janzen, Lloyd Kahn, Macy Miller, Andrew Odom, Joe Everson,
and Alex Pino — some very supportive friends in the industry.
And thanks to you for picking up this book.
You have exceptionally good taste — I don’t care what all
the others have said about you . . .
— Deek
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: WHAT’S WITH THE “TINY” OBSESSION? 8
PART 1: AMAZING MICROSHELTERS
Tiny Houses 14
16 Matt Wolpe’s Tiny House
18 Little Yellow
22 The 227
25 Mendy’s Shoe Box
28 The Tumbleweed Linden
31 The Rustic Modern
34 The Pico-Dwelling
37 Chris Haynes’s
Humble Home Backyard Cabins, Camps, and Hideaways 54
40 Hal’s Uber-Funky 56 The Owl House 79 The All Eights Microcabin
Micro Guesthouse
58 The Transforming 82 The Hinterland Studio
44 The Luna Bleu A-Frame 84 Tyler’s Marshside Shack
46 The Matchbox 61 Jim’s Streamside Retreat 86 The Horror Hut
48 The V House 63 The Rock Bottom 88 The Periscope
51 The Giant Journey Home 65 The Writer’s Haven 91 The Sunset House
67 Dianne and Bill’s Place 93 The Collapsible House
69 The Rock Shed 94 The Bread Box
71 The Vision Hut at Ancient 96 Sleepbox
Oaks
98 Neil and Kurt’s Teenage
73 The Relax Shack Log Cabin
77 The Miner’s Shelter 100 Austin Guest House
Tree Houses and Stilted Shelters 102
104 Schaumburg Tree House 118 The Lime Wedge
106 Swanky San Francisco 120 The ModFruGal Stilt
Tree House House
109 Fern Forest Tree House 122 The Wolfe’s Den
112 The RF 800 124 Nashville Modern Fort
114 The Steam Studio 126 Jonas’s Tree House
116 Tree House on a Farm
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CONTENTS
On Wheels 128
130 Shepherd’s Huts
133 The Cub
135 The Gnomadik PART 2:
138 The Mighty Micro House TOOLS AND MATERIALS
140 The Professor’s Pod
Gathering Your Tools 162
142 The Gypsy Junker
Budgeting & Salvaging 174
144 Henrietta
Decor on a Dime 190
146 Jean’s Gypsy Wagon
PART 3:
PLANS TO INSPIRE
Six from the Masters 202
204 The Sawtooth
212 The Micro Dogtrot Cabin
222 The Stilted Sleeper
232 The Permatent
240 The Carey Cabin
250 The Woodsy Waggon
Resources 256
Playhouses and Nooks 148
150 The Li’l Orange Playhouse
152 The Book Nook
154 The Nisker Nook
156 The Little Blue Bump
158 The Crate Escape

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N
O
I
T Their small size also makes them
C easy on the neighbors.
U
D
Depending on where you live you can
O
also build many structures, including
R
many in this book, without a permit.
T
N Heck, if you do need a permit and later
I get busted for building without one
(not that I’m encouraging that . . .), how
hard is it to relocate a diminutive back-
WHAT’S WITH THE
yard hut or office? Toss that sucker on
“TINY” the back of a truck, or haul it off-site
with a flatbed, and you’re good to go.
OBSESSION? Building small requires relatively few
resources, and you’ll find many struc-
tures here that have been designed
around, and built with, free, salvaged,
I
’VE BEEN ASKED this question and recycled materials. By taking
many times, and there’s no this path you’re keeping materials
easy answer. I just dig tiny, cozy out of the waste stream and prevent-
structures. As to why, there are ing them from clogging up landfills.
numerous reasons, some you might You’re also saving yourself a good
not anticipate. deal of money while working unique
and character-rich design elements
Creating a microstructure involves into your home, office, or hideout.
creative thinking, outdoor activity, and Sure, permit-wise, recycled goods
problem-solving — things many peo- may not be allowed in the construc-
ple crave but often find absent from tion of full-out homes, but with tinier
their busy (and sometimes repetitious builds and backyard hideouts that
and regimented) modern lives. And don’t require town-hall paperwork,
not only is it a relatively affordable often there can be a lot more leeway.
pursuit, it also requires far less time In some more rural areas you could
and patience than building something even build a home out of recycled
of “ginormous” proportions. That’s the fast-food wrappers and bubble gum
beauty of very tiny projects: they’re and no one would give you any guff . . .
easy on both the wallet and the mind. well, except the ants, perhaps.
8

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If you’re leafing through this book
for ideas on building a full-time
home, keep in mind that modestly
sized dwellings are not only relatively
cheap and quick to construct, they’re
also easy and inexpensive to heat,
cool, maintain, furnish, and clean.
If you’re a beginner builder you’ll also
like to know that small projects are
more forgiving of mistakes . . . even
big ones. I mean, how bad can it really
get? If things were to go horribly and
irreparably wrong, which is not likely,
you could start over completely with
little financial pain. But overall, plan-
ning is key. Take your time.
Finally, in a lot of cases, small spaces
just work well, even if you’re only
looking to build a tiny backyard office
that saves you from that soul-taxing
commute to work or the overhead of a
rented office space. Small spaces are
private and intimate, and they give you
a feeling of control over your domain.
This is strengthened by the fact that
you, as the designer and/or builder,
have had to carefully consider the
smallest details of placement, stor-
age needs, and overall flow of space.
In my many travels for my work, I’ve
been lucky enough to stay in numer-
ous tiny houses, backyard cottages,
9
INTRODUCTION
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