Jay Shafer, owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, has built a successful business providing people with tiny but exquisitely made houses. We caught up with Jay to find out if good things really do come in small packages.
Please tell us a bit about the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.
Fed up with paying for space I wasn't using, I built myself a very efficient, little house on wheels back in 1999. Others seemed to like the idea, and, before I knew it, I had a list of people asking me for plans for other tiny houses. So I eventually quit my day job, and Tumbleweed Tiny House Company was born.
Are the tiny homes built on wheels?
I build the smallest of my houses on wheels to get around minimum size standards. These little ones are too tiny to be considered legal houses. They are more than big enough to qualify as vehicles though.
Are the tiny homes green?
The average American house spews out more than 18 tons of greenhouse gasses each year and adds about 7 tons of construction waste to the local landfill from the get go. If you're building a new house, the greenest thing you can do is build it small. The days of calling every 4,000 square foot house for two "sustainable" are over.
Do people purchase the plans or the entire house if they choose a small house option?
We sell ready-made little houses to go, but most people just buy house plans and build the structures themselves. It seems that small house fans tend to be do-it-yourselfers. When folks do buy a house from us, we build-to-order, and have the house done in 8-12 weeks.
Is it easy to add green features to the small homes?
The houses are simple, vernacular forms to begin with, and it is particularly easy to add solar panels, solariums and even entire rooms. Mine is only 100 square foot and has a composting toilet and a gravity-fed grey water system.
How much do the small and tiny homes cost?
Our smallest houses (70 – 120 square feet) usually cost less than $20,000 to build yourself and $40,000 to buy ready-made. The largest (800 square feet) will cost you about $40,000 to build, and you will have to do-it yourself, because we only deliver the mobile ones.
Have you seen a shift towards smaller homes in the last few years?
I am happy to report that there seems to be growing interest in smaller houses. I think people are getting fed up with maintaining and paying for more than they need. I think people are also coming to realize how much damage oversized houses are doing to our environment too.
What are the 'green' benefits of building small?
Less space = less consumption of resources = less toxic emissions.
Do you live in a small home?
My house is just 8' x12' not including the front porch. It is a carpenter gothic style home with a great room, a bathroom, a kitchen and a sleeping loft.
Good things really do come in small packages.
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/
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