I recently discovered a Tiny House practically in my back yard. For those of you who have never heard of Asheville, NC, it is a small mountain city in western North Carolina. It is easily classified as a hippy town, a town of free spirits, also where I went to school. While I myself am not much of the hippy type, I enjoy the fact that the city is pretty progressive, eco-friendly and has a charm all its own. It is a great place to visit, so check it out.
Like I said, this Tiny House is being built in Asheville, inspired by Jay Shaffer’s designs. They did decide to go with a normal foundation of cement piers, which is the first I have seen. Here are some of their construction photos, you can read more about her process here
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Thanks so much for posting the photos of our house build. We are so excited with our progress – it has been a great experience.
Since we still live and work in Atlanta, we go up to Asheville on weekends to work on the house so it hasn’t been a fast process. We expect to have a finished house by late summer this year.
The house is the Tarleton from Jay Shafer’s collection. We were actually able to attend a workshop that Jay held in Asheville just before we started the project. We decided to do concrete piers because the house is built on a mountain and we don’t intend to take it anywhere.
Laura,
What I am curious about is how are you handling things being off the grid?
As far as the building, everything is done either with battery powered tools or with a generator.
We have a small solar array with an inverter that plugs into the house wiring (which is being done this weekend, actually). Heat is propane, when we actually need it. Water is from a spring but later we’ll do water catchment. And the toilet is composting – see The Humanure Handbook for more details on that!
Hm… Solar array huh? Interesting Location. Best of luck to you, looks great so far!
Hi Laura, it’s cool to have come across your project here. Was it a bit of a challenge to site your array? The site looks heavily wooded.
We live off-grid full time in Ireland with pv and a home-made wind turbine, generator as back-up is rarely used.
Our saw-dust toilet has caused a challenge occasionally for guests however everyone adjusts ok.
The cabin that we sleep in, 150sq ft, is very like your tiny house, built on various height piers and our living space is a mobile home.
We are building a new home, on stilts rather than piers and a little bigger that yours, about 1000sq foot.
Good luck with finishing your project
Thanks for asking. The solar array hasn’t been positoined yet, but the site gets really good sun in spite of the trees. We’ve been tracking it for the last year to see the best place to put the panels. It is an interesting site because it is a in a clearing about halfway up our mountain.
Oh, Laura! I am so thrilled to see construction of a tiny house in NC and Asheville, even! I moved here two years ago and am living in Wake Forest, yet not really sure this is where I want to plant roots. I was born in Statesville, NC, and was a camp counselor in Old Fort for several summers while in college (Camp Grier). I am now 59 and sooooooooooo want to live in a tiny home. You give me hope!!!! If possible, may I come to visit your home upon completion? Even if for only ten minutes if I am there in Asheville? I graduated from UNC-CH in 1973 and am now an oncology massage therapist. My web page is http://www.hope-touch.abmp.com should you want to check my story. Oh, Laura! I am so happy for you! Thanks for this story. All my best!
Absolutely! Keep track of our progress on http://www.120squarefeet.blogspot.com – the new blog I have set up to post exclusively about the tiny house. We expect to be done with it this summer.
We would *love* eventually to work with others in the area to build their tiny houses.
Hi Mary,
I read your comment in The Tiny Life designed by Jay Shafer. I’m living in a 350 sq. ft. home just north of Durham near Rougemont. Let me know if you would like a tour!
Mike M.
Mike,
Would you like to share some photos?
-Ryan
Awesome! Nice work, Cant wait to see it done.
One of my favorite designs and you guys are doing beautiful work. Can’t wait to see it completed!
Now, that’s what I’m talking about ~ one of the little houses on a permanent foundation! Looking forward to following your progress.
I’ll looking to set up out near Brevard, I was wondering where to find areas you can Build Off Grid?
good question Carolyn – i’m eyeing Brevard too (tho i love Asheville, i rent in canton currently) b/c home prices are just still so high in Asheville. would love to talk to you more online about this, if you’ve found answers. tx! ….Lin
ps and yes, if there are enough of us to have a ‘meet-up’ then let’s do it!! 8)
i recently sold my 400 sq ft home in sc and am not finding a lot of things in the Asheville area that are under 1K sq.ft :s
Some solar panels on that thing or maybe a small wind generator could run it easy.
Awesome.
Hi Laura,
I live in Asheville, NC too. I was wondering if you met any hurdles with city codes and such? To me it doesn’t even seem that the building is the hard part, that it’s getting around all the red tape.
Love your house, hope things go well for you!
I wonder who else is in Asheville that is like-minded. Perhaps it could warrant a meet up!
Hi Laura,
I was just curious to know how many acres your house is set on. I couldn’t find it mentioned anywhere.
Thanks!
Sarah
Sorry for the late response, but we have 15 acres. Thanks for asking!
Hi, Curious about the composting toilet. I checked into that topic with Haywood County and I was told they were not allowed. If the land was not suitable for septic they said the land was unusable for a residence. How did you get around that ordinance, or are things different in Buncombe County?
Thanks
This isn’t my house, but I will let you know, there isn’t a legal way to do it, just if you do you homework, you can do it safely, sustainably and it will be a benefit to the environment, not a detriment. They are very concerned with old style of outhouses that would leach into the water table.
Our house is neither in Haywood nor Buncombe counties. This has not been an issue for us.
I am taking a trip to TN and possibly NC in late November to scout out land. I wish I could visit in warmer temperatures but vacation is hard to come by in my line of work.
What are some areas in either state that are good for this type of construction as well as fairly inexpensive per acre? I’m hoping to find a single acre of rural land (or more if the cost is right).
Check out areas around Asheville, NC places like Hendersonville, Morgonton, Brevard, Linville, etc.
Hey there, can you guys please contact me on building info of your cool tiny house. I am about to purchase a few acres outside Murphy NC and have a few questions that I can’t find an answer to. Thank you, email southernsailor@gmail.com come or call me at 850-346-0605
Hey there, can you guys please contact me on building info of your cool tiny house. I am about to purchase a few acres outside Murphy NC and have a few questions that I can’t find an answer to. Thank you, email southernsailors@gmail.com come or call me at 850-346-0605