The trailer is the foundation of a Tiny House, so it\'s important to get the design right! In this video, we talk to our custom trailer manufacturer Ian, from Munford Industries about building a Tiny House trailer in New Zealand. \n\nIf you\'re starting your own Tiny House build in New Zealand,...
Shaye and Tom\'s Tiny House is nothing short of spectacular. Nestled amongst the bush in West Auckland, New Zealand it fits perfectly into it\'s landscape, and feels light, spacious and warm. It\'s obviously a house that has been built with love. \n\nThere are not too many Tiny House\'s in New Zealand, and this was...
At 15 Square meters and completely off-grid, Brett Sutherland has constructed a true, tiny house treasure. Packed with unique, space saving design elements, Brett has created a fantastic space to both live and work. \n\nPerhaps best of all, this was all achieved on a budget of NZ$21,000. The Tiny House was constructed...
EarthSong Eco-Neighbourhood has long been at the cutting edge of sustainable design and urban permaculture. It's for that very reason that it should be no surprise to discover that EarthSong is also now home to one of New Zealand's first Tiny Houses. At just over 11 square meters, Connie Kristensen has built...
A lot of people ask us about where to park a tiny house. In this video we tour the amazing property where Brett has placed his off-the-grid Tiny House and find out how he came to park it here. \n\nSee the full video tour of Brett\'s Tiny House here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VckbqU4kK2I\n\nLast week Brett...
Let\'s take a tour of Cedric, the Tiny House! Cedric is a charming Tiny House who in a previous life was actually a house truck. The space has been wonderfully converted into a very functional living area with kitchen, bathroom and a lovely lounge. \n\nImpressively, Cedric boasts two sleeping lofts, meaning that the...
This week we tour an amazing DIY tree house! Hidden in a wonderful old Kauri Forest, this Tree House is an absolute delight. The whole house is made from three small rooms that are each individually suspended in the trees. \n\nAlthough these are still under construction, the care and attention that is going into this...
This week we take a tour of the tiny earth houses of Solscape. These beautiful natural buildings are each less than 10 square meters, and sit overlooking the ocean, amongst the beautiful hills of Raglan, New Zealand.\n\nThe Earth Domes were built using a technique called earth-bag construction, where sturdy sacks are...
In this tiny house tour, we visit the mobile house truck of Wayne and Anita. This wonderful couple made the brave decision 6 months ago to downsize their lives and fulfil their dream of living a more simple life on the road. \n\nWe were lucky enough to tour their beautiful tiny house truck, and learn more about what...
After watching the film Garbage Warrior, kiwi couple Nathan Rushton and Jess Fitzgerald were so inspired by Earthship architecture that they actually travelled to New Mexico to study Earthship Biotecture with pioneering architect Michael Reynolds. \n\nAfter returning to New Zealand and finding an ideal location, the...
At 20 square meters (215 square feet) Student Tiny House builder Stefan Cook really has created a very big Tiny House. \n\nConstructed largely from salvaged materials from homes in Christchurch that were demolished after the earthquakes, Stefan Tiny House has a very clever open plan design that makes the entire house...
In this video we show you step-by-step how to install a tongue and groove floor directly onto a Tiny House trailer. We\'re incredibly lucky to have master builder Alan Drayton and his team from Bio Build Ltd (http://www.biobuild.co.nz) helping us on our build and giving us their expert advice. \n\nThe wood that has...
This off-the-grid shipping container house is one that you have to see to believe! Converted from a 20ft (6 meter) shipping container, this tiny house has everything that you need and is an exceptional example of functional, space-saving design.\n\nRead more about this house & others: http://goo.gl/EbOSM3\n\nFollow us...
We found that steel framing was most suitable for our Tiny House build. There are a lot of benefits to framing with steel, most important to the construction of a house on wheels of course is the fact it is very light weight. \n\nThe team at FRAMECAD have been brilliant and have helped us every step of the way with...
It\'s time for the steel frame of our Tiny House to be erected and attached to the trailer! In this video, the amazing team at FRAMECAD show us just how efficient steel framing can be, as we watch the whole house frame go up in a matter of hours.\n\nTo learn more about FRAMECAD, visit them here:...
Securing the Tiny House to the trailer is one of the most vital elements to get right. In this video we show how our tiny house is secured to the trailer and also take a look at the various screws and connections that FRAMECAD have used to make sure our Tiny House is ready for whatever the road and the elements will...
It\'s time to move the Tiny House! The team at FRAMECAD have done an incredible job with steel framing the Tiny House. We have got the tick of approval from the engineer and that means it\'s time to hit the road and move the house to the build site to begin roofing and cladding. \n\nOur builder, Alan from Bio Build,...
This is a house truck that you have to see to believe. Completely road legal, this off-the-grid house truck folds out and transforms into a fantasy castle. This is one Tiny House tour you don\'t want to miss!\n\nFor more information on this truck:...
Purlins are horizontal support members that sit on top of the rafters. The roofing material is then fixed onto the purlins. In this video, Alan from Bio Build Ltd shows us the process behind fastening the purlins to the steel rafters of our Tiny House.\n\nTo find out more about the purlins and the materials we use,...
In this episode, we take a look at how to install building wrap and cavity battens to the steel frame of our tiny house. \n\nThe building wrap we are using is Covertek 407 from Thermakraft (http://www.thermakraft.co.nz). \n\nThe screws used are 45mm, 10 gauge wingtek screws from Fortress Fasteners...
It\'s time to start putting the roof on the Tiny House! In this video expert builder Alan Drayton from BioBuild Ltd shows us how to install a corrugate roof. The roofing material we are using is .55mm marine grade colour steel form Dimond Roofing.\n\nTo find out more about our roof, visit our website at...
It\'s been a year since we last caught up with Shaye and Tom in their tiny house and since that time a lot has changed! Their tiny abode has transformed into a wonderful home for their growing family, which now includes newborn daughter Hazel. \n\nIn this episode we tour their transformed home, and find out what it\'s...
Windows and doors make up a very important part in the design of any house. They also have a very large effect on the thermal performance of a home. In this video we talk to the team at Windowmakers Ltd about how aluminium joinery is made, and find out more about the options on the market. We also get to watch some of...
This week our house moves one step closer to being completely enclosed as our windows are installed! In this video, Alan from BioBuild Ltd shows us how to install the window flashings, sill support bar and the windows themselves.\n\nFor more info and to find our more about the materials used in this video, please...
Our solar system is being installed on the Tiny House! In this video, we meet the team from Solar Group (http://www.solargroup.co.nz) and watch the first part of our solar install. \n\nBecause the roof of our Tiny House is so small, we needed a custom solution so both the hot water tank and the solar panel could fit...
This little pop-top camper might not look like much from the outside, but for 22 year old Lily Kemp it\'s home. For her it means freedom and provides an escape from the rent trap. \n\nWith prices in Auckland City (New Zealand) going through the roof Lily spent just $1500 to buy and do up an old pop-top camper that she...
Natural builder Alan from BioBuild (http://www.biobuild.co.nz) talks us through the process of installing our weatherboards for the Tiny House. \n\nThe weatherboards that we are using are the Elements Vulcan + Cladding system from Abodo (http://abodo.co.nz/product/vulcan-plus-cladding/). These thermally modified pine...
In an ideal situation, you\'ll be able to find weatherboards that are able to span the length of your house which means you don\'t need to worry about joining them. In most cases though, that\'s not possible. Our weatherboards come in lengths of 4.5 meters, which means we will be needing joins in our longer sections....
Once all of your weatherboards have been installed, it\'s time to look finishing off the corners nicely. There are a number of ways of doing this, but in our case we are using corner boxes. Abodo (www.abodo.co.nz) do supply ready made corner boxes, but as we have 45° corners, we need to make those ourselves. To keep...
We\'re almost totally enclosed in our tiny house and will soon be moving onto the internal fit-out. We thought this was a great opportunity to show you around the house so far and what we have planned for the inside!\n\nFor more info please visit our website: http://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com\n\nPlease support us...
This week we visit Underhill, and incredible hobbit-home like, eco-cave house built into a hillside. The off-the-grid house is cleverly constructed to resemble a cave. With no electricity in the house, the stone, wood and rustic features truly make you feel like you’re stepping back in time. \n\nFor more...
Have you ever dreamed of living in a belle tent or a yurt but were a bit unsure of how to build a platform for it? In this video, we show you how it\'s done. \n\nAn amazing opportunity has come up for us to experiment with another form of downsized living - in this case, a lotus belle tent (http://www.lotusbelle.com)!...
With the platforms for both the Lotus Belle tent and the Bathroom Hut built, a rope bridge was the obvious choice for joining the two. Here\'s how we did it!\n\nFor more information on this house visit our website: http://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/lotus-belle-tent-or-yurt-platform/\n\nPlease support us on Patreon:...
This super simple, DIY kitchenette was actually converted from an old sideboard, making the build incredibly simple and very cost effective. \n\nIf you\'re looking to build a kitchenette for a small space such as a tiny house, a motorhome, caravan or sleep-out, then this is a fantastic option. \n\nIn our case, we are...
Earthships can be built to create fantastic survival shelters. This simple shelter is being constructed in Te Puke (New Zealand) as part of a training program aimed at teaching survivors of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu how to construct these robust buildings for their communities. \n\nMore info on this project here:...
If you\'ve ever dreamed of living in a luxury tent in the forest, then this may just be the set-up for you! Over the last couple of months we have been flat out finishing the project and getting everything ready for me to move in. The Lotus will be my home while I finish building the Tiny House. Watch the update on...
Peak Oil, economic collapse, global warming. There is little question that if humanity remains on the path we are on now, then there is little hope for a sustained existence on the planet. We need to change our thinking and adopt a more harmonious stance to our relationship with the biosphere. The principles of...
This student built her own Tiny House on wheels and now lives in her amazing home mortgage free! \n\nGabriella Grace was only 18 years old when she built her very own tiny house on wheels together with her father as part of a project for her final year of school. Now 20 years old, she has found an incredible spot for...
Constructed almost entirely from recycled materials, this spectacular Tiny House on wheels was constructed for only US$10,000 and is packed full on clever design ideas. Read More: http://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/tiny-home-built-recycled-materials/\n\nPlease support us on Patreon:...
Molly and Al lived an incredible life together on the road in their House Truck before finding their own idillic piece of land to set up a small homestead in the South Island of New Zealand. Their story shows an evolution from living in a house truck, to finding a more permanent solution for their retirement, that...