In the spring of 2014, I decided I wanted to build a tiny house on wheels.
I was between apartments, schlepping and storing all this stuff, when I realized that I didn’t want or need most of this stuff. While bouncing between apartments, I also realized I wanted a more secure housing situation. These two realizations combined with my pursuit of a zero waste lifestyle, led me down the path of tiny house living.
I spent the next year and a half planning my tiny house dreams. In July 2015, my Tumbleweed Tiny House trailer arrived and we started building. I had the help of my friend Seth Lang of G.W. Lang & Sons and my amazing friends and family. I’m constantly in a state of awe and gratitude for all the love and support I was shown through this process. In about 6 months – simultaneously the shortest and longest 6 months of my life – Little Lou Tiny House was built!
Little Lou Tiny House 
Hi Chrissy- I really want to build a tiny house, but am deterred by the legal hurdles of parking it. Do you have advice on how to approach zoning boards, what to say, etc. ? I was even turned down by a local rv campground as a potential park site:( If you have any thoughts or insights you’d be willing to share please contact me. I think this is a great movement and I would like to find a way to it happen.
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Hey Elisabeth- it’s hard to say what’s the best way to approach the zoning board. I think it would be easier if you’re building a tiny house on a foundation rather than on wheels. The closest I’ve gotten to making progress was by working directly with the mayor of a city who I had a professional relationship with unrelated to tiny houses. Unfortunately, I really didn’t want to live in that city so I didn’t pursue the option. Most tiny housers just fly under the radar in rural areas to bypass the issues.
Best of luck!
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Hello from a tiny house dweller in Essex! We did have to fight to get our tiny house approved as an accessory dwelling but we were successful. One piece of information that was useful for me is that the state of Vermont prohibits discriminating against homes on wheels. Mine is skirted like a mobile home, except with wooden skirting. I look forward to following your blog!
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Hello! Awesome to hear from you! What do you do about water (black and gray)? If I was going to be in a spot permanently I would go through the process of making the accommodations to qualify as an accessory dwelling. I do plan to move so I can’t make major changes to the primary dwelling in my current spot.
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Where did you get the stairway idea and how much space does it take and how high is ut? Thanks
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Hi there,
How are you dealing with greywater? I’m building a tiny house on wheels and it will have a compost toilet and be parked on some family land, next to a regular house. I haven’t been able to figure out what to do with the shower and sink water. I’m worried about disposal and keeping it from freezing. Are you hooked up to septic at your friends house? Or do you dump your water at an RV site? Filter it and use it to water plants in the summer? I plan to keep the tiny house in one place for a year or 2. What have you been doing or what do you know others have had success with?
Also, regarding another poster’s question about zoning… I contacted the zoning admin at the town office where I plan to park my tiny house/RV. They said if I planned to live there longer than 6 months I would need to a permit ($500) otherwise, it’s legal to store an RV in a back yard. It just has to be stored a certain number of feet from the main road and property lines.
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Hey there!
I am letting my gray water drain onto the ground. Because I’m doing this, I am really mindful to keep my water consumption very minimal and to only use environmentally safe cleaning products and toiletries. Zoning laws vary from city to city and many cities do not permit full time living in an RV or dwellings that do not meet code (which many tiny houses don’t because of their size and gray water systems etc). Good luck with your build!
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Hello! It looks like you have what is traditionally an “under cabinet” range hood but it’s just mounted to the wall. I’d love to do that (for the look and space) but the specs on all of them seem to say because of weight they need to be mounted under a cabinet. Did you find a different one? Or a creative safe way to wall mount it?
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Hi!!!! I’m in the works of building my own tiny house roughly the same size as I’m trying to use as many recycled materials as possible. I do have some other questions for you. Any chance we could chit chat about it sometime?? My phone number is 315-286-9451, my name is Megan 🙂
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I love the fabric for your red and blue curtains. Can you tell me where you found it? Thanks!
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Hi there my wife and I were just up in the Burlington area this past weekend looking for a spot to park our future tiny home. Do you happen to know of resources available to help find a spot to park our tiny in Vermont?
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