Tiny Houses Part 2
Welcome back! In
part 2 we’re going to take a look around the tiny house, the features, and learn how it’s put
together. Here we go again with Brett and her two
partners.
ERIK: “I’m
Erik Brotman with Brett Marlo Design Build. So, this property here is a fairly
unusual lot for Tacoma because it’s a lot larger than most. The site that we’re
on right now used to basically be an old creek bed 60 to 70 years ago. It’s
been an infill, however, there’s still a high-water table. That’s what we were
dealing in the design.
We
wanted something that wasn’t going to have water problems in the foundation. The
existing house has a couple sump pumps to keep the water out. That was kind of
our early indication that we need to mitigate the water hazard.
We decided to go with ping pier foundation, which is basically square tube stanchions that are posted with four pins, one on each side, that go in at a certain angle. They range in length depending on the soil type, or whatever the engineer spec specifies for. [The pins] lock it into place, get driven in, posts get put in, beams get put on top of that, and then our floor joists get put on top of [the beams]. The rest of the structure gets built.”
DAVE:
“So, everything’s resting on these posts built above the ground.”
ERIK: “Yep, they’re all stainless steel sothey last forever.”
DAVE: “Thanks
for a nice easy crawlspace!”
Next
we’re going to take a quick look inside to see how they laid out this place,
how it is used, and accommodations throughout for a person in a wheelchair.
Accessing the kitchen and other rooms are thought about in the design process
too.
BRETT:
“You can turn everything off cause the components will go in here. So that’ll switch
off this whole section and save energy. All the lights are LED, pretty easy to
do these days- it’s kind of silly not to. They have beautiful warm colors. We strongly
believe in dimmers, because it saves electricity and it also creates mood. Lots
of lighting in the kitchen. We all get old, it’s hard to see, ha-ha.”
ERIK: “We
don’t give our clients the option of expecting materials that are unhealthy. So,
with this unit here we used all low to no VOC. Mostly no VOC finishes from the
cabinetry, to the wall
paint, tabletop, you name it.”
BRETT: “Part of keeping that good indoor air quality is that grate that you saw walking in. We bring so many pollutants in through our shoes that it’s really critical to keep that outside and keep that healthy air quality going. We also have an ERV which helps exchange the air and keep it super healthy, because the tire your envelope is, the less air exchanges you have. So, you’re going to want to put something in place that controls where that healthy air is coming from. Part of that small living for us is healthier products and quality products. A healthier lifestyle.”
BRETT: “[We went with] vinyl windows because of cost. uPVC is on the red list, it’s a no-no, so we try to stay away from specking vinyl as much as possible. Because from sourcing it, to everyone who works with it, to off gassing, to recycling units – all unhealthy material. These windows are a composite. They’re not as expensive as wood and fiberglass, so they keep costs down. However, they’re a healthier window and they’re energy efficient.”
DAVE: “Is
there a local supplier for something like this?”
BRETT:
“These are actually Andersen. They’re their 100 series so they’re good to go.
DAVE: “Anything
particular about this siding out here?”
BRETT:
“We did Hardy on the siding which is a product that lasts a really long time. It’s
really important for us to have low maintenance and to have the cost be
sustainable for [the useful life].”
DAVE:
“Is there a difference in how that’s squared, and these are long strips?”
BRETT:
“Oh you mean along the front door? Part of designing a backyard cottage is you
want some design consistency and continuity with the main house. They had that on
the main house, so we recreated some of the roof lines and the siding to not match
completely, but continuous.
ERIK: “This is juniper, which typically when you think juniper you don’t think you build anything out of juniper. They’re usually a short growing tree, almost looking like a shrub. However, Eastern Oregon has an abundant supply of juniper. It’s actually an invasive species there and there’s what they call the Eastern Oregon restoration project. They’re basically harvesting all the juniper out there, and what people are doing is they’re making planter boxes, using it for decking, using it for siding, a lot of different uses. It’s great material-super dense. It’s a lot denser than cedar, so it’s a lot more durable. [Juniper] is rot resistant and it smells great. You almost don’t to put a finish on it. It has a lot of the characteristics of the grain and the knots in it of cedar.”
DAVE: “And
so you don’t even need to really put a finish on it, or you won’t?”
ERIK: “You
don’t really have to put sealer on cedar or juniper. You can let it gray out
for color. It’ll preserve the life of it a little bit longer, putting a sealer on
it, but it’s more personal preference. We like to see it gray. We like to see
that natural gray look, and then put a seal on it. Some people like that brand-new
look, you know, but we’re going to wait and let this gray out a little bit.”
That’s
it for now! There’s more you could find out, but I think the best would be for
you to go to Brett Marlo Design. I put her information in the [YouTube video] description.
So, check that out. Got more questions? Want to learn more about this tiny
house or other small houses? The way of living it out? How to get one built? Because,
they can do all the aspects of it and get you in what you want. So, look up
Brett Marlo Design!
This is David
Cathers saying, thanks for being with us and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE. Click that little bell
in the description box and we’ll see you next week!
