Pedalpalooza ADU & Tiny House Tour Recap

Yesterday was an epic day of small houses. Kimber and I coordinated the Pedalpalooza Accessory Dwelling and Tiny House Tours all in one day so that people who are interested in both tours could visit a variety of small spaces. It was great fun! (But you don't have to take my word for it. You can read Audrey's recap at Trying on Tiny or read more at Daedalus Project.)

We started out the ADU tour by exploring a basement apartment that was constructed by energy efficiency expert Derin Williams of Shelter Wise. As a special bonus we got to see Casa Pequena, the tiny house which was constructed in 2 days in April. Next up was a 320 square foot backyard cottage built by Walt Quade of Small Home Oregon, which serves as a sister-in-law suite. Walt also showed one of his tiny garden cottages and one of his teardrop trailers. Then we headed to Granny’s Garden Cottage, which was My Summer Garden Cottage last year. It was great to see my old digs again and to see how Bruce & Carolyn’s gorgeous garden is growing this year. We made a quick stop at Cully Grove to see the progress on this cohousing community for 16 families.

Then we were off to Kathleen’s where we got to see an owner-built ADU still under construction and learn how this basement apartment provides flexibility for her and her parents. I especially appreciated how they maximized usable space and daylight. Next we stopped at Sabin Green to see how Eli Spevak of Orange Splot created a community of four houses by renovating an existing house, converting its garage into an ADU, and building another house next door with an ADU behind it. We wrapped up the ADU Tour with a visit to Ruth’s Garden Cottages, another Orange Splot infill community, which utilizes detached bedrooms to provide simple and cozy housing for 3 couples.

We were lucky to have knowledgble tour leaders including: Martin and Shannon who are the new owners of Ruth’s Garden Cottages, Kol Peterson who teaches a class on building an ADU in Portland (stay tuned for the next one in October) and Jordan Palmeri who coordinates the Space-Efficient Housing Working Group that put on Build Small, Live Large last October.

Between rides Kimber and I biked back across NE Portland and ate a picnic lunch on the lawn at Rigler school. Our first stop for the Tiny House Tour was the home of Audrey & Thomas who blog at Trying on Tiny. Next we headed to Walt Quade’s place where his garden cottage was on display (but people also got to see the ADU and tear drop trailer, of course!) Then we were off to Ruth’s Garden Cottages to show how tiny houses can interact with their neighbors. We wrapped up the Tiny House Tour at Caravan – The Tiny House Hotel. There were only 4 stops on the Tiny House Tour this year, but riders got to see 7 mobile tiny houses as well as innovative ways to cluster tiny houses.

It was especially fun for me to see Caravan, not only because I’m stoked about the first tiny house hotel in the country, but because I helped with the construction of two of the houses there. My Summer Dream Job last year was doing interior and exterior finish work for a tiny house on wheels for Orange Splot. The tiny house was my practicum project for my Certificate in Sustainable Design and Building from Yestermorrow. But since I didn’t do the final touches it was fun to see how nicely they’d finished out the house with kitchen cabinets and the kitchen sink, a panel over the electrical box, a ladder up to the loft, and a gable end detail. Deb did a lovely job of appointing the tiny guest house with clever furniture so it can now serve four guests.

Last fall I also helped with framing, insulating, and sheathing for a Shelter Wise tiny house which uses the Miter Box plans (center in the photo to left). However, I hadn’t seen it completed and it is stunning! Between Andra’s design details and Derin’s meticulous craftsmanship this house blends sophistication with zen simplicity.

We had about 100 people join us for each of the two tours, traveling from as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia and Los Angeles, CA to be part of the rides. I enjoyed hearing people’s design ideas and their insights as they explored smart small spaces. I look forward to keeping in touch with many of the great folks I met yesterday and seeing them at upcoming workshops, potlucks, builds, and happy hours.

Pedalpalooza ADU & Tiny House Tours on Saturday, June 29th, 2013

Last year, in conjunction with Orange Splot, I coordinated the Pedalpalooza Accessory Dwelling Tour and Tiny House Tour, which each drew around 100 riders. This year I’m co-coordinating with Kimber, who has completed the Oregon Tradeswoman pre-apprenticeship program and now helps out with Portland Alternative Dwellings once in a while.

We decided to host both tours on the same day this year so that people who are curious about small spaces can see a wide variety of them in real life. The tours are guided by a fabulous bunch of small space builders, designers, owners, and inhabitants, so it will be a great chance to ask questions. We have a great line up again this year.

On the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Tour, riders will see:

• A super energy-efficient basement apartment built by Shelter Wise
• A backyard cottage built as a sister-in-law house by Small Home Oregon
• An eco-friendly and accessible granny flat in an idyllic setting, which was My Summer Garden Cottage last year
• A basement mother-in-law which provides flexibility for an extended family
• A set of houses with ADUs that create a little community called Sabin Green
• A house with two detached accessory structures in a garden setting called Ruth’s Garden Cottages

On the Tiny House Tour we will showcase:

• A tiny house built for a couple and their cat
• A garden cottage by Small Home Oregon
• The world's first tiny house hotel called The Caravan, which features 3 tiny houses (one of which I built last summer as my Yestermorrow Practicum project!)

Those who choose to join us for both tours are in for an epic adventure!

I’m still in touch with many people I met during the tours last year, so I’m looking forward to meeting this year’s riders. We have received more than a dozen inquiries about the tour, many of them from folks who are coming from out-of-state for the tour. There are no RSVPs required, so come join us if you’re able!

• Pedalpalooza ADU Tour (9AM-1PM), staring point Shelter Wise’s ADU (2726 NE 66^th Ave, Portland, OR 97213)
• Pedalpalooza Tiny House Tour (2PM-5PM), starting point Rigler Elementary School (5401 NE Prescott Street, Portland, OR 97218)

Kol's Class: Building An Accessory Dwelling in Portland

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Kol Peterson’s 8-hour long Building an Accessory Dwelling in Portland class. Kol has a background in environmental design so the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) he built on his property in 2011 was the perfect way to apply all he had been researching and exploring. There was little information about ADUs available at the time Kol built his home, so he documented the process carefully and he now coaches others through the process. He provides lots of information about his ADU building process on his blog Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit in Portland. Kol's class is designed to help someone who is interested in becoming a micro developer by creating an ADU on his or her property.

All of my classmates own property in the Portland area and are considering creating an ADU by converting an existing garage, creating a basement apartment, or building a backyard cottage. Several of them have experience with design and construction and are eager to apply it to a space-efficient dwelling. Although the class is geared towards detached ADUs because there are additional requirements for detached units, Kol also covered the components necessary for attached units (like conversions of attics or basements).

Kol covered a variety of topics, including everything from financing and zoning to design tips for small spaces. He also shared resource lists and information about the permitting and construction processes. I especially appreciated that sustainable design principles were highlighted throughout the class. Kol addressed energy-efficiency, resource conservation, and air quality considerations during a crash course in building science and a slideshow of his own building process.

The class was hosted in Kol’s beautiful ADU, using the house itself as a model. (The photos included here are Kol's home, photos courtesy of Juliet Grable, via Kol's blog.) We also had the opportunity to tour two other ADUs here in Portland. Both of them were still under construction, so it was really neat to see the principals we discussed today in action. The first house is a charming backyard guest cottage in a great walkable location. I enjoyed talking with the architect Jack Barnes and the builder Stephen Smith of Design Build Portland. The other ADU was designed and built by Stephen Williams at Rainbow Valley Design and Construction. This 760 square foot laneway house is nearly complete and will be available for rent starting in June. (If you’re interested, contact Stephen Williams at 541.342.4871). It was nice to be able to visit and compare these three different houses with three different styles, sizes, and levels of finish.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to take Kol’s class today. I’d done a fair bit of research about ADUs on my own but I learned a ton yesterday. Kol is very knowledgeable and happy to share his lessons learned, so his class was engaging and informative. If you're interested in learning more about Accessory Dwellings, check out the Accessory Dwellings website, which Kol co-authors. (I've guest blogged, too, Showcasing Accessory Dwellings!) And if you’re considering building an ADU in Portland I’d highly recommend Kol’s Building an ADU in Portland class. He'll be offering the next one in the Fall of 2013.

Welcome, Shelter Wise!

The following is a message from Shelter Wise (formerly UrbaNest), one of the companies with which I've partnered for tiny house design, building, and consulting. We're excited about our first joint tiny house build weekend of the season, Casa Pequena on April 19-21 as part of La Casa Verde in McMinnville, OR. Please check out all the great stuff Shelter Wise is up to and tell them Lina sent ya!

 

Greetings,

Business is good and we have many of you to thank for that!  We have been doing a lot of reflecting and are excited to announce our new make over.We have developed our business name into something that we feel fits us like a glove and really embodies all that we do: Shelter Wise.Our website has been updated with expanded information, photos and a blog --so check it out!  We are still offering the same unique services for your dwelling needs and we have been eagerly awaiting this new name to join us.

We are also excited to announce the newest member of our team, Ben Brower, and look forward to introducing you to him. He has a background in Sustainable Building Advising and Project/Operational Management. He will be assisting us in providing all of your Energy Efficiency and Tiny Home needs!

We are also excited to have a new place to do our creative work and we are so lucky to be able to share it with Mr. Sun Solar in NE Portland.  We will be hosting upcoming workshops there and hopefully learning more about solar collaboration; make an appointment and stop by sometime!

We are also over the moon excited to be partnering with Dee Williams and Joan Grimm of Portland Alternative Dwellings and Lina Menard of Niche Consulting on all things Tiny Homes.  Stay tuned for more on that.

Please make note of our new contact information below and don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  And please pass this along to anyone else you think may be interested--we thank you in advance for spreading the word!If we currently have a contract with you we will follow up individually over the next week with an Amendment noting our name change.

Sincerely,

Derin, Andra & Ben

www.ShelterWiseLLC.com

derin@shelterwisellc.com 503.860.8100

andra@shelterwisellc.com 503.341.6518

ben@shelterwisellc.com 360.466.8651

Shelter Wise, LLC

PO Box 18179

Portland, OR 97218

A Year of Little Living

Somehow it's already been nearly a year since I moved into a 121 square foot tiny house on wheels and wrote my first blog post: The Tiny House Adventure Begins. And what a year it's been!

This afternoon I was a virtual guest speaker for the Tiny House Design-Build Class at Yestermorrow and this evening I had a great conversation with my friend Derin about building tiny houses. Both of these got me thinking about how many amazing tiny opportunities I've had over the past year.

Through my internship with Orange Splot I coordinated the Pedalpalooza Accessory Dwellings and Tiny House Bike Tours and wrote several guest posts for AccessoryDwellings.org. Eli also connected me with the Space Efficient Housing Working Group and we've helped to plan the upcoming Build Small, Live Large Summit. I'll be presenting a session about tiny houses with Dee Williams of PAD Tiny Houses and Derin Williams of UrbaNest Northwest.

Speaking of Dee Williams, she helped me connect with other tiny housers in the area and our contacts spiderwebbed out from there. In the process I have met lots of great folks who are building, designing, living in, or dreaming about tiny houses. We've now had several potlucks and created the Portland Tiny Houses Facebook group and the Tiny House Network Google group. I've profiled A Tiny House Truck, A Tiny Natural House, and Advanced Fort Construction. We've chatted about the joys and challenges of the Little Life and helped each other with designing, building, troubleshooting, tiny house moves, and sharing resources and infromation. Dee also invited Brittany Yunker and I to participate in the Portland Tumbleweed Tiny House Workshop in June. I am extremely grateful to both Brittany and Dee for helping me to make these connections with other amazing tiny housers.

Over spring break I had the chance to help a friend built the shell of her Tiny Barn and I apprenticed with Orange Splot for My Summer Dream Job: Tiny House Design Building. In July we got Brittany's Tiny House On the Road again and I lived in an ADU which I dubbed My Summer Garden Cottage. I spent my days Going Whole Hog on the Tiny House, working on Tiny House Insulation, Roofing, and Interior Walls. The tiny house was featured on the Build it Green (BIG) Tour in September. I was able to use these design-building experiences as my practicum project for my Certificate in Sustainable Design and Building at Yestermorrow Design Build School in Vermont.

I've been interviewed by journalism students for OR Magazine, by newspapers like the Portland Tribune, by a Canadian TV station, and by Vermont Public Radio. I'm also scheduled to do an interview with my friend John for  Portlandia's The Real Portland. Meanwhile, I've considered a plethora of tiny house issues such as Tiny Home Improvement, Shrinky-Dink Porches, Top 10 Reasons to Pick An Envi Heater, Creative Tiny House Storage Solutions, why Tiny Houses Turn Their Backs on the Street, and Tiny House Insurance (or lack thereof).

Now I'm Downsizing from a Tiny House to a Tinier House and, inspired by the 100 Thing Challenge, I'm currently Inventorying & Packing Up so that I can embark upon My Things Challenge. For the next school year I'll be living in a 113 square foot yurt in inner Portland, so the tiny adventures will continue. Thanks for following along everyone. Here's to another great year of the Little Life!

Moving into an ADU

Three friends helped me move my belongings from the tiny house to My Summer Garden Cottage this morning. Most of my things fit in my friend’s Toyota Carolla, but it was great to have a truck for my super heavy latex mattress and my two dressers.

I had to run off to my Real Estate Construction class this afternoon so I haven’t had a chance to unpack and settle in, but I did some impromptu entertaining this evening anyhow. Ian and James, who are building a tiny house, came up to Cully this evening to sneak a peek at Brittany’s Bayside Bungalow before it goes back to Olympia (where it will be available as a tiny house rental). Ian and James also got to see the tiny house I’ve been building for Orange Splot and we hung out in the garden cottage to discuss tiny house design considerations. These guys are starting at the very beginning by building their own trailer. Now that’s starting from scratch!

I’m sad to see the tiny house go, but I think I’ll really enjoy living in a garden cottage this summer while building tiny houses down the street. Life’s been busy with my move, but my overwhelming emotion these days is gratitude!