Casas Pequeñas

THE SMALL HOUSE BOOK
JAY SHAFER

THE SMALL HOUSE BOOK
JAY SHAFER

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First published in the United States in 2009 by Tumbleweed Tiny House Company Post Office Box 1907 Boyes Hot Springs, California 95416 www.tumbleweedhouses.com Copyright 2009-2010 Tumbleweed Tiny House Company ISBN 978-1-60743-564-8 Designed, photographed and written by Jay Shafer Additonal photography by... PovyKendal Atchison, pages 14, 16 & 17 Janine Björnson, page 120 Mike Johns, pages 76-82 Greg Johnson, cover, page 70 Jack Journey, pages 150-159, 163-167, 173-175 Michael McGettigan, page 61 Marty Shafer, page 5 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise.

Table ofContents
Introduction Confessions of a Claustrophile A Good Home Making Space Portfolio of Houses Houses-to-Go
Popomo XS-House Epu Weebee Walden Lusby Tarleton Fencl 4 7 25 71 134-214 134 136 142 150 160 162 168 172 182 184 186 190 192 194 196 198 200 202 204 206 208 210 212 214 219 220 221

Box Bungalows
Anderjack Beaven Gifford Zinn Stamper Weller

Cottages

Endnotes Biography EndorsementsBodega Loring New Vesica Harbinger Whidbey Sebastorosa Enesti B-53 Z-Glass House Vardo

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Introduction
I live in a house smaller than some people’s closets. My decision to inhabit just 90 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment and because I just do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. My house meets allof my domestic needs without demanding much in return. The simple, slower lifestyle it affords is a luxury for which I am continually grateful. If smaller, well-designed houses aren’t the wave of the future, they certainly are a significant ripple on that wave. On these pages, I explain why. I also share my personal experiences with living in diminutive homes, meeting codes, and designing smallspaces that work. This book is a revised edition of the one I published several years ago under the same title. To this edition, I’ve added a section on how to build your own tiny house and a portfolio of my own designs. I hope you enjoy it. Sincerely,

Jay Shafer

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Jay, at home. 5

“There is only one success—to be able to spend your own life in your own way.”

—Christopher Morley

6PART ONE: CONFESSIONS OF A CLAUSTROPHILE

Living Large in Small Spaces
The Airstream
I have been living in houses of fewer than 100 square feet for nearly twelve years. The first of my little abodes was a fourteen-foot Airstream. I bought it in the summer of 1997 for three thousand dollars. It came as-is, with an aluminum shell as streamlined and polished as what lay inside was hideous.The 1964 orange shag, asbestos tiles, and green Formica would have to go. I began gutting, then meticulously refurbishing the interior in August, and by October, I was sleeping with an aluminum roof over my head. The place looked like a barrel on the inside, with pine tongue-and-groove running from front-to-back and floor-to-vaulted ceiling. I settled in on a tree-lined ridge at the edge of afriend’s alfalfa field. It was a three-minute walk to Rapid Creek Road and a ten-minute drive from there to Iowa City. I carried water in from a well by the road and allowed it to drain from my sink and shower directly into the grass outside. I carried my sawdust toilet (i.e., bucket) out about once a month and took it to the sewage treatment facility in town. My electrical appliances consisted of afan, six lights, a 9-inch TV/VCR and a small boom box. A single solar panel fed them all. It seemed that this simple existence would provide all I needed. Then December came. I had reinforced most of the trailer’s insulation, but some areas remained thin. I spent over a half-hour each morning, from Christmas until Valentine’s Day, chipping ice and sponging up condensation from my walls, floors...