Business Ideas for Tiny Houses
Learn how tiny houses can make your business dreams come true!
Learn how tiny houses can make your business dreams come true!
Because one size does not fit all!
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Photos: Ram Trucks https://www.ramtrucks.com/ram-life/outdoors/tinyhouse.html
Ram Trucks has just released a commercial featuring how easily their trucks can hitch and tow tiny houses. In the commercial, a woman and her husband visit the B&B Micro Manufacturing factory where our craftspeople build a tiny house on wheels for them. Later, they pick up their tiny house with their Ram truck and tow it to a campground where they relax under the stars.
Filming the commercial on-location at our tiny house factory in Adams, Massachusetts took two days (plus more time filming in the other locations) with a crew of about 30 people. We are thrilled to have our factory, builders, and houses showcased by Ram.
To see more content from Ram Trucks on this commercial, visit https://www.ramtrucks.com/ram-life/outdoors/tinyhouse.html.
Watch the video here:
If you live in New Hampshire, please email the chair of the Tiny House Study Committee, State Rep Dave Testerman at dave@sanbornhall.net to express your support for the adoption of Appendix Q for tiny houses on foundations.
The public comment period for Connecticut residents is not open yet. When it opens up, this post will be updated with the contact info.
The following information on Appendix Q is adapted from our previous blog post, written when Massachusetts adopted the Tiny House Appendix.
Appendix Q: Tiny Houses provides building safety standards for houses on foundations that are 400 sq. ft. and under. The other building codes in existence for all other size dwellings still apply. Appendix Q is was created to define safety standards for smaller spaces that wouldn’t necessarily fit into a tiny house, such as a full-size staircase.
The Appendix pertains to the following aspects of designing a small or tiny house:
Read the entire text of Appendix Q: Tiny Houses here.
Not quite! Every zone of every municipality in the state still has its own zoning bylaws. Therefore, you’ll need to contact your municipality to see if they’ll allow your tiny-house-on-a-foundation project. Here’s how.
Here’s what the Tiny House Appendix does mean for residents of states that have adopted Appendix Q: wherever a house that’s 400 sq. ft. or under is allowed, there are now rules in place for how to build it safely and effectively. Before, small and tiny houses on foundations would have had to adhere to certain building codes that work well for large buildings but would have been impractical or impossible to follow in small spaces.
Building code provides a set of safety standards that new buildings must adhere to by law. These standards ensure the safety of the people using the building. There are separate building codes for residential buildings (like houses and apartment buildings) and all other buildings (like shops, factories, schools, and workplaces). The Tiny House Appendix is set to become part of the state building code in NH and CT, which is based on the International Residential Code (IRC). Most, but not all, states in the USA use the IRC as the basis for their state-wide building codes, and adapt each section as necessary.
Zoning code pertains to what types of buildings municipalities (cities and towns) allow, and where. Often a city or town has several different zones, and each zone has different rules. Zoning bylaws are decided by the zoning board of a city or town, and can be amended to better fit the needs of each city or town. Zoning boards generally have regular meetings that are open to the public, where the public can share their concerns, get clarification on what is allowed to be built, and request a change to the zoning bylaws to improve their municipality.
How can the Tiny House Appendix influence local zoning officials? Appendix Q as part of a state’s building code serves to legitimize tiny and small dwelling spaces in the eyes of local building inspectors and zoning boards. Municipalities that see there are ICC-approved codes to build tiny and small houses may be more inclined to adopt those types of homes into their zoning.
Left: Appendix Q applies to tiny houses on foundations that are 400 sq. ft. or under.
Right: Appendix Q does not apply to tiny houses on wheels.
Currently, the Tiny House Appendix, or Appendix Q, only regulates houses that are permanently-affixed. It does not relate to tiny houses on wheels. However, there is a movement to create a new version of Appendix Q for tiny houses on wheels as well. Martin Hammer, Andrew Morrison, and Gabriella Morrison were instrumental in introducing Appendix Q to the International Building Code and then again to individual states. See their website for more info on future plans for a tiny house on wheels appendix.
B&B Micro Manufacturing would like to give a shout-out to the Tiny Home Industry Association for its tireless research on tiny house laws across the nation and the American Tiny House Association for its influence on state policy!
Composting toilets are the best option for those wishing to live sustainability and off-grid. Composting toilets will cost more upfront and will require additional steps; however, they also save water, energy, and waste can be recycled as fertilizer.
Good quality composting toilets are relatively odorless. Most of the toilets will have a fan that works to suck out any odor that would emit from the toilet. The toilets usually work by separating liquid and solid waste. Solid waste will go into one chamber that will be mixed with peat moss in order to help break the waste down. If you are staying somewhere where composting is not allowed, you will bag the solid waste in a biodegradable plastic bag and throw it away–much like a baby’s diaper is thrown away. Otherwise, you will be able to use the solid waste as compost. The liquid waste will be stored in a tank that will need to be disposed when it’s full. You can dispose the liquid waste in toilets, RV dump stations, or the ground if you are in a remote place where that is allowed. You will have to dispose of waste every 3-7 days for liquid waste and every 2-4 weeks for solid waste.
We have previously written about other types of toilets in one of our previous blog posts. Three other types of toilets in tiny houses are traditional, macerating, incinerating and dry-flush toilets.
Traditional toilets that are used in houses can be used in tiny houses; however, traditional toilets can’t be used with tanks. This means that your tiny house must be permanently in-place and hooked up to septic or sewer system in order to use a traditional toilet.
Dry flush toilets are lined with foil which, when “flushed”, wraps around the waste in a sealed packet, similar to a diaper genie. The packaged waste can then be thrown out in any trash can just like diapers. The flushing mechanism is also powered by electricity. For more information on these and our other types of tiny house toilets, read our previous blog post.
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The team at B&B Micro Manufacturing, Inc. is pleased to have our Arcadia Tiny House featured in the Winter 2017/2018 The Land Report Magazine, along with an Editor’s Choice seal: “Serious Gear for Serious Work”.
Road Show
Feast your eyes on B&B’s Arcadia, a tiny home with sleek modern design and rustic details that are perfect for the outdoors adventurer. The 208-square-foot interior includes a loft and is kitted with premium fixtures and materials; tasteful accents include poured concrete countertops, a rain showerhead, a remote-controlled heating and cooling system, and a built-in Bluetooth audio system. The Arcadia is road-safe and can go off-the-grid or be hooked up to utilities. B&B specializes in small, livable, mobile spaces with a wide variety of options, including DIY Tiny House Shells that allow you to finish the home yourself.
Learn more about our process or fill out the form below and one of our tiny house experts will reach out to you.