Tiny SMART House Blog

Were To Park Your Tiny House

When choosing a place to park your tiny house, consider zoning laws and regulations in your area. Look for RV parks, tiny house communities, or private landowners who allow tiny homes. Make sure to have a legal agreement in place and ensure access to utilities such as water, electricity, and sewage. It’s also important to consider factors such as safety, security, and accessibility to amenities like grocery stores and public transportation.

Oregon Trail featured on YouTube Channel

Every now and then we’ll stumble across and article or video that a follower assembled and posted on our behalf. It’s quite flattering!

This week’s unexpected find comes from the Living Design For A Tiny House YouTube Channel. They featured our Oregon Trail Tiny SMART House.

We’ll keep this blog short today and let the video speak for itself.

 

Just B Tiny 2.0: Brenda’s story

Brenda, waving from the front of her home, Just B Tiny 2.0

How would you like to live in 204 square feet of space, in your own 8.5’X24’ tiny house?  Maybe in a tiny house community, where you are among 40 or so other tiny homes?  Where would you like this home to be?  Maybe walking distance to a beautiful beach on the Oregon Coast?  Meet Brenda Schwerin, who lives this lifestyle in her tiny home she calls “Just B Tiny 2.0”.

Brenda Just B Tiny NW Mountaineer
Just B Tiny 2.0

The reason she calls her tiny house 2.0 is because it is her second tiny home.  The first one, which was even tinier at 20’ long, was in an accident during its third trip.  It was made in Oregon, and then transported to Las Vegas, Nevada.  Brenda had lived in Northern California, in her past, in a 4,100-square foot house. She later had her house moved to Nevada where she stayed to help her aging mom.  She then moved her original tiny house to a Northern Californian RV park.  It was during that last leg from California (where she had been surrounded by fires!) to Oregon that her tiny house had a major accident on the highway!

Just B Tiny (first edition)

Brenda’s tip: “When you get insurance for your tiny home on wheels, make sure to inventory the value of the interior contents so you can replace everything!”

Brenda also recommends double checking (or have your lawyer read over) your policy to ensure that you are covered for 1. the dwelling 2. the trailer 3. the trip and 4. all your contents.

Tiny House, Giant Journey

 

Jenna – the YouTube creator and star of “Tiny House, Giant Journey” reached out to Brenda to coordinate interviewing her and creating a video tour of her home. Understandably, the interview was pushed off during the “stay home” orders related to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As the states slowly eased up restrictions, Jenna coordinated her trip.  Brenda, a favorite client, invited Tiny SMART House to come and be behind the scenes during the interview.

https://youtu.be/4_N3asjtb6I

Brenda has quite a dramatic story about how she came to live in her current home, which she calls “Just B Tiny 2.0”. You can learn more about Brenda’s story in Jenna’s video, which she titled “Her 1st Tiny House Crashed💥💔!! So She Made a Better One

Made for Comfort

 

Can you tell from the video how comfortable Brenda has made her space?  Brenda says the journey of downsizing is ongoing.  After all, she started with a lifetime of things from her 4,100-square foot house down to a 204-square feet home.  She made sure to have space to show her mementos from her life, room for her cat, lots of storage, an office and extra counter space for when she cooks – and she loves to cook! To aid her disabilities, she wanted a first-floor day bed, swing arm desktop, open cabinetry, easy climbing stairs and especially a soaking tub.  She got them all. Along with the design team at Tiny SMART House, they come up with the solution of using a horse trough for her to soak in!  Her tiny home truly has everything she needs.

Tiny Living Advocate

Brenda is happy living in her tiny home. At the RV park for tiny homes and vintage campers, (Tiny Tranquility) she meets interesting people, often profiling them in her lifestyle blog.  She is a tiny house advocate, involved as an active member in several tiny house associations, as well as giving advice to others going tiny.  If you’d like to learn more about Brenda, and the tiny house lifestyle (#justbtinylife) follow her on Instagram @justbtinyhouse or check out her blog https://justbtiny.com/justbjourney/

 

 

 

Guest blog and photos (except where noted by JUST B TINY) by Stacey Newman Weldon.  When she isn’t busy helping people create their own tiny custom homes, you can find her inspiring others to discovering their sense of fun at Adventure Wednesdays. Continue reading “Just B Tiny 2.0: Brenda’s story”

Tiny House Food Truck

When you’re washing dishes for hours on end, what would you dream of?  Do you dream of owning your own restaurant? Do you dream of being able to try new things or new places?  For Jacob Oliver, he dreamed of becoming his own boss and serving all kinds of different cuisines. His dream became the Kalamata Bistro tiny house food truck!

WHY A TINY HOUSE FOOD TRUCK?

Investing in a brick and mortar restaurant is a significant investment, and risk.  It can take up to $250,000 to launch a new restaurant.  If you don’t get everything right, such as location and food that appeals to the local market, you could end up spending so much more than expected, even if the doors close.  Oliver had worked at enough places to learn what could go wrong, as well as what could go right.  Although he loved most things about his pop-up kitchen that he had been running for eight years, setting up and tearing down every time was starting to wear on him.  To make his kitchen portable, he started investigating coffee carts.

Oliver says that food trucks and coffee carts are a great entry point for getting into the restaurant business.  The start-up investment is lower (between $60,000 – $100,000).  If a certain location doesn’t work out, it’s easy to move to a new corner to find your customers.  If the menu isn’t a hit, it’s easier to test out new items or genres.  With the growing popularity of food trucks, it’s not hard to sell your equipment if you want to get out completely.

One day, while on his way to check out a used coffee cart, Jacob passed Tiny SMART.  Thinking to himself: “Hey, that’s kind of cool.  I wonder if that would make an interesting rig?” he then pulled in.  Within a half hour, Nathan (the founder), had convinced him to build a unique tiny house food truck.  Oliver says he has the mindset to spend a little more upfront for quality and exactly what he wants instead of spending (probably) similar money fixing something that’s broken and trying to make it what he wants.

KALAMATA BISTRO TINY HOUSE FOOD TRUCK

After having been in the food industry at all levels and types of food service for 15 years, Oliver has seen what works, and what doesn’t work. Eight years ago he started creating his own products.  He first sold at farmer’s markets and then events and festivals.  This experience helped him hone what type of cuisine he wanted for his own place.  Oliver states: “I am intentional about how everything looks.  The food tastes good, but before people try it they have to see what it looks like.  Presentation is important.  I want my kitchen to be very clean. The outside has to be more than a rusty truck.”  Working with the Tiny SMART House team, Oliver customized an 8.6’X16’ California Cabin model into his restaurant on wheels.

One thing Oliver appreciates about having a tiny house instead of a truck is that he can fit all his cooking equipment and appliances and still have room to move around.  Most food trucks need a commissary (an approved commercial kitchen) to make their food, which they then store in the truck to sell.  The Kalamata Bistro is its own commissary.  Oliver does go above and beyond with the care of his business.  In fact, the local health inspectors consider him (and the tiny house on wheels) the “gold standard” when telling other food trucks what’s expected.

The Kalamata Bistro food truck customers have been very impressed.  Not only is having a tiny house as a food truck unique (there are not many of these in the USA, especially not serving Mediterranean meals), but the quality of the structure adds to the atmosphere.  By the time they see the menu, customers are already thinking “this is going to be good!”

The Future

The tiny house food truck has been a big hit.  Building upon his success, Oliver has just opened a tap room converted from an old gas station.  The Kalamata Bistro is the bar’s kitchen.  He has plans to invite other food trucks (with the goal they are also nice looking tiny houses) to become Corvallis’ first food pod.  Will he build more tiny house food trucks?  He’d love to, but first he wants to ensure the success of Common Fields.

Visit the Tiny House Food Truck Pod

If you’re in the Corvallis, Oregon area – stop by for some great cuisine and a local pour.  Common Fields is located at 545 Southwest 3rd Street (at SW Western Blvd).  Currently they are open Monday – Friday, 11-2 for lunch. Check their Facebook page for updates and hours https://www.facebook.com/commonfieldscorvallis/

 

 

 

 

Interior kitchen photos courtesy of Kalamata Bistro.  Guest blog, exterior shots and Jacob Oliver at his bar photo by Stacey Newman Weldon.  When she isn’t busy helping people create their own tiny custom homes, you can find her inspiring others to discovering their sense of fun at Guest blog and illustration by Stacey Newman Weldon.  When she isn’t busy helping people create their own tiny custom homes, you can find her inspiring others to discovering their sense of fun at Adventure Wednesdays.

Your Sustainable Tiny Home – Insulation

graphic chart comparing insulation

One of the best ways to make your tiny home sustainable, and comfortable to live in, is to insulate it properly.  For the houses we build, we include as part of our standard packages a combination of spray foam insulation and fiberglass insulation.  We also recommend adding a cost-efficient mini-split to heat/cool your home.  In most climates, this works well.

Planning on regular travel with your movable home? Nathan, Tiny SMART House, CEO and Founder, suggests upgrading to spray foam as it weighs much less than fiberglass.  An added benefit its rigidity to withstand the impact of travel.

The benefits of spray foam insulation abound:

  • It creates a vapor lock so that condensation is not an issue
  • Since it repels water, mold is not an issue
  • A wide range of air pollutants are sealed out
  • It reduces noise
  • Critters don’t like to make a home in spray foam
  • It improves R-value and reduces energy costs up to 30%

The Greenest Upgrade

Last winter, we toured the Havelock Wool factory in Reno, NV.  It was exciting to learn about their insulation as it is all-natural (no chance of getting itchy as you do if you’re not careful with fiberglass!). For tiny houses on wheels, it offers a lighter weight and compares well efficiency and cost-wise to other insulation.  We heard about a 44’ gooseneck being insulated before going to a customer in Alaska.

One benefit of sheep’s wool insulation is its breathability and moisture control properties. Sheep’s wool can absorb moisture in the air without compromising its insulation abilities. Natural keratin makes it naturally resistant to mold and mildew.  Wool will not support a flame below 1100F.  Havelock Wool conforms to Class A of the ASTM E84 test (the fire rating). Besides not having to worry about off-gassing, wool can even filter and improve your air quality.

The wool comes from sheep raised in the rain-fed, grass fields of New Zealand.  Farmers care for their flocks, and are known as the best when it comes to sheering and cleaning practices.  If you so choose, you could recycle or compost your wool insulation – a benefit none of the other types offer!

Want to learn more?  Check out What Is The Best Insulation To Use In A Tiny House? for a deeper look at insulation options.  Then contact us to discuss your insulation preferences for your Tiny SMART House build!

 

 

Guest blog and illustration by Stacey Newman Weldon.  When she isn’t busy helping people create their own tiny custom homes, you can find her inspiring others to discovering their sense of fun at Adventure Wednesdays