The Small House Book | 
| Author: Jay Shafer
Publisher: Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
Category: Book
Buy New: $34.95
as of 9/5/2010 15:52 CDT details
New (2) from $34.95
Seller: midwestwholesaler
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 23770
Format: Color
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Pages: 196
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 6.9 x 0.5
ISBN: 1607435640
EAN: 9781607435648
ASIN: B0026HUQYU
Publication Date: 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In 2008, a used house in the U.S. averaged $244,000. That is far more than the average American can afford. Jay Shafer shatters the myth that "affordable housing" needs to be cheap. In his book, Jay reveals the ugly truth about residential planning and the needless overbuilding that is, in part, to blame for today's mortgage crisis.
Did you know that you can't build a "house" as tiny as the one Jay lives in? That is, unless you know the loopholes! He's done the research, and shares it with you. You'll learn why it's necessary to build on wheels, and see the process of attaching a house to a trailer with step-by-step instructions and pictures.
Jay Shafer, the author, personally built a dozen tiny houses and lived in 3 different ones. He is recognized as a leader in the Small House Movement.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 A book whose time has come July 30, 2009
J. Hopkins
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
The Small House Book is not a plans book. It is an inspirational book. And it is a guide book to the exploration of micro housing. There are many possible ways to go and these are explored with in the books pages.
First is minimizing impact and maximizing affordability: this is in the sense that a house needs to be affordable and allow a lifestyle that does not kill you just trying to make the payments for the reward of conspicuous consumption. The houses are simple and efficient shelters that in their own right are works of art. In conjunction with this is the minimization of the use of utilities and unneeded environmental impact. Because of the scale of the houses solar and wind are much more effective for sourcing electrical and for passive solar. These facts apply to both the mobile and fixed structures.
Unique to the mobile houses is the addition of freedom. Many of us are being forced into job paths that result in a transient life style. This type of housing allows for the flexibility to move from place to place as required and still have a sense of a personal space. As Jack Sparrow said "She not just a ship love, she's freedom". Well the same truth lies here. Freedom to move, freedom from debt, freedom to live.
The book is very colorful and well illustrated. It can be used as a guide book to get you thinking and as inspiration to do it.
Excellent Book January 19, 2010
Sarahtea (Dallas, TX USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Excellent Book, excellent introduction to the Tiny House Movement. If you are interested, but don't know yet if you want to buy the book, check out the website first to get a feel for the author's style. The author's website is at [...]. I have read extensively online at various websites, and prefer Jay Shafer's tiny house designs over all of the other ones I have found. I enjoyed reading this book cover to cover. I also use this book as a quick way to show my friends that these "tiny mobile homes" are far more carefully designed than the average RV (even though they are about the same size). I definitely recommend this book for: 1) people who like the look of the homes and would enjoy having a coffee table book about them, and also for 2) people who are interested in moving into a tiny house one day, and want direction in what to think about as they make that transition. My husband and I want to live in a smaller-than-average home (less than 400 square feet for the two of us), and have benefited from this book in our planning process as well.
Great ideas and easy to read! December 1, 2009
Jennifer M. Goff
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is fantastic! It has great ideas for building small spaces that are comfortable and fit your needs, and the pictures are beautiful. I especially love the author's thoughts on the benefits of simplicity in our lives. Though there are many pictures and tips on building one of these tiny mobile homes, this is not a step-by-step construction guide (the author sells them on his website for $900). I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in smaller (economical) buildings.
Downsizing is the Future December 11, 2009
K. A. Handyside (Detroit, MI)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
And Jay Shafer's "Tiny House Book" is just the thing to start people thinking about downsizing. Unlike other tiny house books that speak of tiny houses as simply a temporary space in which to get away from it all, Jay's tiny houses are real houses intended for full-time residence. He explains the philosophy behind downsizing, what makes a house truly a home, explains construction, and discusses the discriminatory practices of the housing industry against small houses, and how the current housing codes lock us into buying larger houses than we can afford.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the growing small house movement. Great photos, great discussions, and great house plans. It's well-written and a good read, too! Join the movement!
Perfect! October 9, 2009
TattooedPirate (Oakland, CA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the sweetest book ever, I only wish to someday own one of these cute homes. Seller is stellar!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
|
|
|
