Five years ago I let an acquaintance in need place her tiny house on my property. She was was an interesting person. A classically trained cellist since age 6, teacher, professor, PhD behavioral researcher, artist, author and world traveler. Her name was Sara and here is one of her creations:
Sara was in her eighties with failing health. Financially strapped, she had been living with others to keep expenses down. Sara had a tiny house built for her and placed on another of her friends property. That didn't work out. The tiny house was only on the property a couple of hours before the neighbors complained. Seems there was a land covenant involved that prohibited such dwellings. Sara put out a plea for help to all she knew, seeking a place for her little home. That's how I came to have a tiny house land on my property.
Sara passed last year of heart failure. She died the way she wanted to, at home, in her own bed with care giving friend at her side. In the 3 years that she live on my land we became close friends. It was a rich encounter that I feel blessed to have enjoyed. She was a remarkable woman but her house was a poor example of a tiny house. It was poorly laid out with much wasted and awkward space. It was also poorly made, hot in the summer, cold and hard to hear in the winter.
When she died, Sara left her house to me. I had no use for it the way it was and I couldn't sell it in good conscious. So I decided to rebuild it. I love building things and have long been fascinated by small houses. They're usually very cleverly designed and well made. I took it on as a challenge to rebuild poor collection of lumber with no real or concrete use in mind. It's sort of a "field of dreams" project something that I'm delighted to indulge myself in. To that end I tore it down to the bare trailer.
It's sort of a "field of dreams" project because I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with it once completed. Before tearing it down, it served as a sanctuary for a friend who stayed their 9 months while he got back on his feet and was able to put his own house in order. It could be a rental or a guest house. I'm also hoping to put a solar system on it in order to experiment with wintertime solar gain in the Pacific Northwest. But for now it's a chance to tryout some building ideas that I've been thinking about such as, insulated corners & headers and single top plate/in-line framing, super insolation, fireproof siding and roof materials.
I also like that I'm beginning the project without a clear idea of what it will become in the end. Most buildings have a "life" outside of whatever the original builders had in mind. This project recognizes and celebrates that aspects of homes, their own self-determination.
