Floor Plan
Below is an idea for how this quickly built tiny house could house two people in an emergency situation. I’m assuming that there would be no water, electricity, and sewer available so these would need to be provided by jugs of water, batteries, generator, solar panels, camping toilet (or sawdust toilet), and 5 gallon buckets (for grey water). More elaborate living accomodations could be created in time and power and plumbing could be added if needed.
The last thing I’d do before moving in is paint the exterior and interior. On the inside use brighter colors to make the space feel bigger. It would also allow you to make the best use of all available light.
Done!
Hi,
Have you considered a composting toilet? It can be as simple as a bucket, as toilet seat, and some sawdust.
Here is an enter book about it, free on the internet http://weblife.org/humanure/index.html
Keith.
Thanks Keith… actually… Kent from http://tinyhouseblog.com was just telling me about this kind simple composting toilet and how well they are reported to work. Might be the perfect solution in a situation requiring a quick emergency housing solution. Thanks for the link!
Here is another suggestion, on modest off-grid living:
http://www.small-cabin.com/
- small cabin in the woods.
I love your pallet house idea I’d LOVE to have one built.
Can you tell me the finished hight,width and weight?
It is approximately 7.5-feet wide, 13.5-feet long, and 9.5-feet tall. Building with pallets makes a very heavy structure compared to a traditionally framed house. I’d guess the enclosed house would weight between 3000 and 4000 pounds.
How could one go about water and electricity in building a free house? My family is discussing building, but with two kids, we need some kind of water/electric going through our house and a way to do it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Many tiny houses on trailers are built similarly to RVs with utility grid hookups for water, power, water tanks (potable, grey/black). So that’s one way to go, but requires a grid connection.
If you are willing to forgo high power use appliances (microwave, dryer, 110VAC fridge, etc) you might be best off setting up a PV (photovoltaic system). Watch out for scams online that show you how to build your own solar panels, but look for low cost panels. I saw some on craigslist in my area the other day in fact that were priced fairly. If you’re in a fixed location a small wind generator might also work.
Off-grid water can be done with rain water collection off the roof, but for a family of 4 the roof would have to be pretty big unless you’re talking just for emergency use. Having some kind of water storage would be essential though.
Another resource for cheap off-grid living is Simple Solar Homesteading which is run by a guy named Lamar. He’s got lots of good ideas for cheap power/water solutions. http://www.simplesolarhomesteading.com/
Good luck! Let me know if you build… I’d love to post the story on my big blog… http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/
Try a glass slider as a doorway – rather than the two adjacent windows.
The bed also fits along the shorter wall.
With less kitchen counter space, the bathroom and sink could fit along the remaining shorter wall.
Then add another glass slider to the back of the building.