Tiny Homes Along the Erie Canal?

I  jog and walk my dogs on a path that runs along the Erie Canal near my home.  One side has the canal, the other side has the houses to whom these out buildings belong.  These little buildings are not tiny homes currently, as far as I can tell, but they can serve as inspiration for your own tiny or small home aspirations.  

This one is actually a pool cabana, but I see a lot of small house potential in it.

Wood-Tex 768 Square Foot Prefab. Cabin

I found this modular cabin for sale by the roadside while on a recent drive near Seneca Lake in New York.   I snapped these photos with my phone's camera quickly because I was in a hurry to get to my destination .  This cabin's dimensions are 16' x 32', with a 16' x 16' loft.  The front also features a 16' x 4' covered porch.  It seemed pretty nice, both inside and out.  The company that makes it is called Wood-Tex.

Front of the "Gatlinburg Cabin."

Rochester Greenovation Tiny Home for the Homeless Project

I recently attended the first meeting in a ten part series that will ultimately result in a tiny house prototype for homeless people.  It was facilitated by Rochester Greenovation in Rochester, NY rochestergreen.org.  The idea is to build a tiny home from salvaged materials such as pallets and old windows.  The first meeting involved brainstorming with members of the group and sharing ideas about the design.  In ten weeks, we should have a prototype.  This installment of my blog is intended as a resource for group members, but it could be useful to any other individuals or groups contemplating similar projects with similar goals.    


I will try to update this post as I find additional helpful material.  I'll start with a video about pallet types and how to break them down. 

Nine people attended the meeting, including me.  I enjoyed meeting everyone, and I thought there was a good discussion.  Some of the talk caused me to think of some work by the tiny home designer, Michael Janzen. What follows is from his website http://www.ninetinyfeet.com

Homes Made From Shipping Containers

Many people are turning their attention toward shipping containers, cargo containers, or ISBUs (Inter-modal Steel Building Units) as they look for ways to create affordable housing.  Shipping container house plans or floor plans are readily available on the internet.  Standard shipping container sizes are roughly 8'-0" wide by either 20' or 40' long.  They come in standard height which provides about 7'-6" of interior height, or "high cube" containers which provide about 8'-6" of interior height.  As I see it, shipping containers have four primary virtues... 

A nice modern house, made from old shipping containers.

Tiny House Inspiration

A bit more tiny house inspiration / eye candy for you.  Four tiny homes (most people would call them tiny, but purists would just call them "small") with little in common beyond their diminutive size.

Small Japanese home.

The Little House of Pittsford, NY

I spotted this house on a recent drive.  I decided to try and get a closer look and luckily it turned-out to be a museum that's open to the public (only six hours per week, but I timed it right).  They call it "The Little House." 

View from the street.

Superb Sustainability Themed Video

Small Scale Homes is all about sustainability, and LOVES this video!

Wind Turbine Generator iPad Case by CafePress (Google Affiliate Ad)
Build Your Own Small Wind Power System By Shea, Kevin/ Howard, Brian Clark (Google Affiliate Ad)

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