Architect-builder tells of life in a "tiny home"

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

By Melanie Stein

Jacskon Hole, Wyo--Home to massive wealth, Jackson Hole has more than it’s fair share of 6,000-plus-square-foot homes. On the other hand, the valley also is home to folks eking out a living in average sized homes – and a few tiny ones.

Jay Shafer, a designer who specializes in sustainable architecture and urban planning, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Teton County Library’s Ordway Auditorium about the positive environmental impacts of living in a “tiny home.”

Starting with the tiny home (100 square feet) he built for his normal-sized self in 1997, Shafer created a business, Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, building other tiny homes for people. The homes he designs range in size from 60 to 600 square feet.

“In the beginning, I just built one for myself because I was fed up with paying for more space than I really needed,” Shafer said over the phone. “I had an apartment where I had rooms that I was doing nothing with except for heating them and cleaning them.”
In addition to easing his financial burden, living in a tiny home also reduces the impact on the land and the environment. Although Shafer doesn’t use green building materials in his tiny homes, he argues that they are green anyway.

“Mostly they’re green because they’re smaller and produce far fewer greenhouse gases,” he said.
Shafer’s tiny homes are designed to be space-, light- and heat-efficient. Some of them are even portable.

“[I make] use of all the vertical space that I can for storage and for living,” he said, “like taking a corner that can’t be used as living space and turning it into floor-to-ceiling shelves, for example.”

One home described on the Tumbleweed Web site (www.tumbleweedhouses.com)  is called EPU. Packed into the 8-by-15-foot footprint are a vented sleeping loft for two, a retractable table and vanity, a double burner stove, stainless steel counter, refrigerator and sink, shower and toilet, tankless water heater and 200-plus cubic feet of storage space.

Shafer sells the plans for his tiny homes for nearly $1,000 and even provides estimates for what building materials and other construction costs might be. He estimates it would cost $14,000 to build an EPU yourself. Or he’ll build and customize a tiny home – prices range from $20,000 to $50,000; EPU comes in at about $39,997 – and will even deliver it for $4 per mile. Since he started the business, Shafer has sold about 60 sets of plans and 10 built homes.

Though Shafer does not know of any tiny homes in Jackson Hole, he has spoken here before and was excited to come back. “For one thing, it’s beautiful,” he said. “There seems to be a bit of a foothold for thinking outside the box,” which is what living in a tiny home requires, he said.

Courtesy Photo
An example of a tiny home, built by Jay Shafer.


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Architect-builder tells of life in a "tiny home" | Planet JH News Article: General Environment

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