Now that the corn is harvested and the field has been mowed and plowed it’s ready for seeding or planting again. This year instead of a winter cover crop he’ll actually be planting vegetables… which should be interesting… he’s never done that here before.

We didn’t get any work done on the tiny house since it was just a fun family mid-week trip. The next time I go up to work I’ll put the roofing felt down to protect it from the rain. I’m also hoping to get some scrap sheet metal for the roof but we’ll see how that pans out… you never know what will turn up. I’ll keep you posted.

His most common method of moving stuff along is to give the stuff away to people who need it. For example he takes old computers and monitors, refurbishes them, and turns around and gives them to people that need them. He invited me down to his football sized warehouse for a tour, lunch, crazy talk, and as much free stuff as I can fit in my truck for the tiny free house.

It also seems James is just as crazy as I am, maybe even crazier. No no that’s a compliment. If we hit it off and pool some of our madness we might actually be able to do some really great things. I’m very hopeful to say the least.

For example, we were talking about cheap and free alternative energy generation ideas and I told him about a crazy solar powered kiln idea I had back when I was a starving artist. The idea was simple, put mirrors on solar trackers and aim them at a hard brick kiln that slowly turned. The brick would super heat and the turning would heat the walls evenly.

He trumped my idea by adding the use of several 5 foot fresnel lenses from old rear projection televisions. It seems that those old big screen TVs had giant fresnel lenses in them and when you hold them up to the sun they act like giant magnifying glasses. He said he can burn a hole in concrete with one. Yikes!

Anyway he had lots of other, less destructive but equally fun, ideas for generating electricity from discarded trash. Maybe the tiny free house will get that renewable energy system after all. I had decided early on to not add that to my list of requirements because photovoltaic systems are expensive. But James has now opened my eyes to an array of possibilities I had never considered.

In a disaster situation survival is the primary need, speed to build trumps all other requirements. These little houses are a wonderful example of how a little design and care can result in a very usable and aesthetic house while still being extremely quick to build with easily available materials. It’s much more than a box or shed. It’s a well thought out design and construction method. Kudos to the people behind this project!

I have considered building with unmodified pallets but a speedy build times are not a requirement for me. Quality of end result is far more important because I see tiny free homes like the one I’m building to be occupied permanently and not only used for disaster situations. I also want to show how a very livable home can be built with free materials. Breaking down pallets and rebuilding with the wood seems to be a valuable use of time since it should yield a stronger and longer lasting home.

What are your thoughts?

I just ran across this furniture by artist/designer Claire Danthois. It’s made from reclaimed wood. It seems like a great idea to keep in mind as I start to furnish the Tiny Free House. Photo credit Claire Danthois.