Rocket Mass Heaters are a very popular DIY in the cob, natural building, and permaculture world, but is only starting to get traction in the tiny house movement. Today, Chris McClellan AKA Uncle Mud is here to explain how Rocket Mass Heaters Work, how to build one of your own, and most importantly, his design for a tiny rocket heater, called the Cottage Rocket.

Full Show Notes and Images: https://www.thetinyhouse.net/uncle-mud

In This Episode

• "The first non-suicidal woodstove" is safer and more efficient
• Tips for those who want to DIY their own rocket mass heater
• Don't skimp on these materials, especially in a tiny house
• How the EPA tests woodstoves explains why rocket heaters aren't quite legal
• Enough heat for 8 hours without being overheated: the Cottage Rocket does it
• Makeup air and minimizing the chance of smoke in your house
• Saving money, using scraps, and lowering the environmental footprint
• Where to find cheaper materials to insulate your tiny house

Sponsor:

Take 20% off Tiny House Decisions using the coupon code tiny

Tiny House Decisions is the guide that I wish I had when I was building my tiny house. And it comes in three different packages to help you on your unique tiny house journey. If you're struggling to figure out the systems for your tiny house, how you're going to heat it, how you're going to plumb it, what you're going to build it out, then tiny house decisions will take you through the process systematically and help you come up with a design that works for you. Right now I'm offering 20% off any package of Tiny House Decisions for podcast listeners. Head over to https://www.thetinyhouse.net/thd and use the coupon code tiny at checkout!

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

Rocket Mass Heaters are a very popular DIY in the cob, natural building, and permaculture world, but is only starting to get traction in the tiny house movement. Today, Chris McClellan AKA Uncle Mud is here to explain how Rocket Mass Heaters Work, how...

Daniel Ott is one of the first tiny home builders in Ontario, working to change the housing market by designing and building legal tiny homes (which is no small feat under the Ontario Building Code, one of the strictest codes in North America). Using his unique UpSizeDown Method, Daniel and his team at True North Tiny Homes not only design your tiny dream home, but they also help you get prepared to thrive in it.

The post Innovative Designs for Cold Weather Tiny Living in Canada with Daniel Ott- #145 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

Did you know that cob is one of the oldest building materials around? According to my guest, Dave Olsen, most cob houses are tiny houses because they take so long to build! Cob is a mixture of clay, sand, straw, and water that hardens into a thick, load-bearing, structure. Think curved, earthen walls and whimsical building shapes. Dave Olsen has been building with cob for over 20 years and has developed his own technique, called “Fast Cob”. Dave tells us about the benefits of Cob building, how to do fast cob, and more.

The post Introduction to Cob: The Ancient, Natural, Tiny House Building Method with Dave Olsen – #144 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

If you’ve been following the tiny house movement for any amount of time, there’s a good chance you’ve come across a story about someone getting ripped off by a tiny house builder. Heck, I’ve interviewed several people on this show whose builders have gone bankrupt or not delivered on what they promised. This week, I’m interviewing Frank Olito, the resident tiny house expert at Business Insider. Frank has also noticed this trend in the industry and has focused his reporting on it. In this episode, you'll learn about what happens when you work with a bad builder, what recourse you can take, and how to avoid bad builders in the first place.

The post How to Avoid Getting Scammed by Your Tiny House Builder with Frank Olito – #143 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

Meet Melissa and Jon Block, the sister-brother team behind San Diego’s first ever tiny house village called Tiny House Block. In this interview, Melissa and Jon will share the journey that they took to go from a couple of backyard tiny homes, to a dedicated piece of land with 25 tiny houses. Surprisingly, the majority of their homes are rented long-term, and they’ve had to figure out how to manage a community, including difficult tenants, disputes between neighbors, and more. I hope you stick around!

The post The Ups and Downs of Managing a Tiny House Community with Jon and Melissa Block – #142 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

Deek is Back! After kindly agreeing to be a guest on the second ever episode of the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast, Derek Deek Diedricksen is here to talk DIY Treehouse Building. We’re not talking about 50,000 tiny homes in the trees. No, we’re talking about DIY, backyard treehouse building anyone with some tools and some trees, and a dream. Deek has built many, many treehouses, and he’s got tips, tricks, and hacks to share to make the process quicker and cheaper. Deek always has a lot of projects ongoing, so he’ll fill us in on what’s happening in the world of Relax Shacks. 

The post DIY Treehouse Building with Derek ‘Deek’ Diedricksen – #141 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

If you’ve been listening for a while, you know I love to feature new and innovative ways to build tiny homes. Well, today, I’m featuring something that could be considered a very “old” way- Timber Framing! Clara and Edwin Bobrycki not only designed and built their timber frame tiny house- but they also cut down all the trees and milled the lumber for the entire frame. It’s no easy task, but Edwin and Clara will break it down for us so we can learn what it takes to build a timber framed tiny home.

The post How to Build a Timber Framed Tiny House with Edwin and Clara Bobrycki – #140 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

When it comes to designing tiny homes, Vina Lustado is the real deal. Her iconic Sol Haus and Sol Pod homes are beautiful, light-filled examples of high tiny design, and Vina has lived tiny for many years and in several locations. As a California resident, Vina has seen the destructive and traumatic effects of wildfires and has answered the call in the best way she knows how: By designing a pre-fab tiny home that can be permitted as an ADU in California and has several fire-resistant design elements.

The post Designing a Fire-Resistant Tiny Home ADU with Vina Lustado – #139 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

Living off-grid is especially challenging when you're on a 50-ft sailboat in the middle of the ocean. My guest today is Rick Moore, whose sailboat, the Sophisticated Lady, is fully set up to live off-grid for months at a time, with solar and wind power, a water desalination unit, and even a garden on board. Rick walks us through his systems and helps figure out how we can apply them to tiny house living. Stick around!

The post Living Off-Grid for Months at Sea: Hydroponics, Solar, Wind, and Gardening on a Sailboat with Rick Moore – #138 appeared first on The Tiny House.

Send us a text

Support the show

Listen. Subscribe. Rate. Review.

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• More...

Follow Ethan.

• Mastodon
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Facebook

Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!