Greg Parham, Author at Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses

Colorado Cylinder Stoves

January 17, 2014 By Greg Parham 25 Comments

Today I’d like to share with you a component of my tiny house that brings me great pride and warmth: my woodstove. Heating a house in the rocky mountains, and any cold climate for that matter, is always an important thing to figure out. Tiny houses, by their nature, don’t require much energy to heat, especially the ones I build, but tiny home owners, by their nature, are always looking for ways to simplify, save money, and reduce their footprint. With the rising costs of fuel and/or electicity, woodstoves make a lot of sense. There’s also something nostalgic and enduring about them. If any of you have ever shopped around for a woodstove to put in a tiny house, you’re probably aware of how hard it is to actually find a model that is just the right size and doesn’t cost a fortune. Some of the more popular models I have come across cost at least $1000 if not more. This doesn’t even include the cost of stove pipe, wall thimbles, elbows, accessories, etc. This wasn’t an option for me, so I kept looking.

While on my big summer trip across the Rockies, I stopped in an outfitter outside of Whitefish, MT to buy some bear spray before heading into Glacier National Park. They sold a lot of cowboy tents and accessories, among them, small cylinder stoves that are designed to easily be packed on horses. I thought to myself, these are the perfect size! Plus, they were much more affordable, ranging from $200-$500. When I got back home, I did some more research and found Colorado Cylinder Stoves, a small company in Grand Junction, CO that manufactures these small stoves.

I called Wes, the owner, and we talked for a while about what I was looking for. He was quick to point out that the stock models they sell were not really designed for full time winter use, maybe one month out of the year. However, he got to thinking about it and said that he could just beef up the metal gauge and then it likely would be good for heavier use. We came up with a custom design, he made it, shipped it, and I installed it. I’m happy to say it is just what I was looking for! If you are considering a woodstove for your tiny house, I would give this one some serious consideration. Here are the details, and some pictures.

My custom model is based on the Mesa package. The dimensions are the same, it just uses thicker steel, so it won’t warp if it gets real hot, and it will hold up much longer. It is a little heavier, of course, which does factor into tiny house design, but the whole thing still weighs less than 50 lbs, even with the stove pipe and accessories. It’s small, after all. The package came with the stove, some threaded legs that can be cut to adjust the height, a coal grate, a stainless steel water heater that mounts on the side, a spark arrestor, the stove pipe, a flue, a stovetop extension, and a wall thimble, a part that safely allows the stove pipe to pass through the wall.

I started out by building a platform that I can store firewood under, but it also raises the stove off the floor enough so I don’t have to bend down to put wood in. I also have a couch kind of close to the stove, so this gives me a safer distance from the unit to my couch mattress. I put some slate tile down to protect the plywood from heat. I then chopped the legs so the stove sits 6″ above the slate. The stove pipe comes in 24″ lengths. I installed the flue per instructions and ran the first piece up, put an elbow on, then cut my hole in the wall for the thimble. I ran another 24″ piece horizontal thru the thimble, and then another elbow, and two more lengths straight up. I secured the stove pipe to the house using a piece of scrap steel and a chain I had laying around. This steadies the pipe during hard winds, and also keeps it from falling down. To finish things off, I placed some scrap corrugated metal in the corner to reflect the heat into the room and keep the tongue and groove pine wall from getting too hot.

I’ve been using the stove for over a month now and it works great! You can control the fire level by adjusting the flue and the air intake, which is a simple slider bar covering some holes in the door. It’s so simple, yet so effective. If the stove had a downside, it would be that you can’t fit huge logs in it. But then again, we’re talking about tiny houses here, so you don’t really need to. Even on subzero nights I’ve had to crack windows because this thing was already putting out so much heat. Unlike my propane heater, which just kind of heats the air and relies on convection, a woodstove also heats by radiation, which is more comfortable. It’s the same way the sun heats your body. The radiant heat actually heats the surface of the house, as well as any nearby objects. It’s a deep heat that will last into the night. At some point, the fire will die out and the heat will taper off, but for me this doesn’t seem to happen until about 6am the next morning, at which point, my propane heater will kick on using the lowest setting and keep things warm enough until I wake up and either leave the house or decide to get the fire going again.

So what about cost? Everything pictured above, including shipping to my door, cost less than $500. Still a chunk of change, but considering what you get, it’s a great deal. My firewood was free. There are tons of downed cottonwood trees on the property I live on, most of which have been seasoning for years. I just had to collect, cut, split and store, so perhaps there’s a bit of sweat equity involved, but I consider this a good workout, and instead of paying for a gym membership I’m providing myself with nice comfortable heat for the winter.

There are of course some more options for woodstoves in a tiny house, but for now I just wanted to focus on this one since I am personally using it and having fantastic results. If you wish to order one from Colorado Cylinder stoves, tell them you heard about them from me, and make sure to explain that you need the same design and package that I ordered. One last thing that I and I am sure they will point out, is that these stoves are not UL listed and they were never designed for this type of application. Well, my bike was never designed to be used as a snow plow, but I’ll be darned if it doesn’t move some snow around quite easily. Just use common sense, read and follow directions, don’t over-fire the thing, and you should be good to go. I’m not responsible if you burn your house down because of carelessness or improper installation. The same holds true for any woodstove though, so please know what the heck you are doing, and if you don’t, hire a professional.

The Art and Science of Fold Down Porches

October 30, 2013 By Greg Parham 5 Comments

Photo courtesy of the Durango Herald

Fold down porches for Tiny Houses are awesome. They allow you to have a larger porch without taking up any of your trailer floor space. When its time to pack up and move, they fold up into the house and won’t add any length or wind drag to the house while in transit. Those little 3×3 porches you see on a lot of Tiny Houses are cute, and they are somewhat functional, but with a full width porch that is 42-48″ deep, you will actually be able to place some chairs out there and enjoy a nice rainstorm. Plus, you get to reclaim that extra 9 square feet into your house.

I have been getting a lot of questions and seeing a lot of comments online about how I built the fold down porch on my Durango, so I wanted to share with you how I do it. Your Tiny House design will invariably differ, so don’t copy my details verbatim, but instead, try to understand the concepts and materials you will need to complete this project. I offer this article as advice, NOT engineering consulting.

The folding porch consists of four basic elements: 1. The porch 2. The porch hardware 3.The roof 4. The roof hardware. I’m going to break each component down so you can understand it better.

Porch I used 2×2 square steel tubing (anything from 11-16ga) to make the rectangular frame of my porch. I mitered the corners and a friend helped me weld it all together. There are three joists dividing up the span that the decking will attach to. This can be 2×2 as well, but something like 1 1/2″ angle iron or square tube will work as well since the span is only 36-48″ between the main frame. You could build your frame out of wood, but it will be heavier and I’d suggest you use metal connectors and bolts with locknuts. If you use steel, you will need to use self tapping screws to attach your deck boards to the frame, or drill pilot holes and find a screw that will have good grab. My porch uses a composite decking material that is super light and utilizes a concealed clip fastener system. This is nice if you don’t want to see any screws on your boards. You can use any decking material you want; it needs to be strong, light, weather resistant, and easy to install. I recommend 2x cedar, redwood, or cypress. If you have a planer, you can shave that 1 1/2″ down to 1 1/4″ to knock off a little weight. Newer composite systems are ok too in the 4/4 or 5/4 thickness.

Porch Size This is ultimately up to you, but here is how your house design will likely determine this for you. If you have a gabled house with the door at the rear of the trailer (like mine) then the width can be the width of your house (about 7′-6″). I recommend making your frame 3″ shorter than this so your deck boards overhang 1 1/2″ either side. The depth will be determined by vertical distance from your eave to the bottom of your door. When your porch folds up and your roof folds down, you don’t want them to overlap in the middle so they sit nice and flush against the wall. As a general rule, its nice to have the roof overhang the porch 6-12″. So, lets say you have 96″ from where your eave meets the wall and the bottom of your door. Half and half would be 48″/48″. I want my roof to over hang 12″, so I’m going to make the porch 42″ deep and the roof 54″ deep. Make sense? Another thing to take into account is your deck board width. You don’t want to have to rip a piece, so size your frame such that the first and last boards overhang the frame 1″ or so. If your board is 5 1/2″ wide and you leave a 1/4″ gap, that means the overall depth will be 40″, so your frame should be about 38″ wide.

Porch Hardware There are several ways to go about the hardware. At the very least, you need some heavy duty hinges to attach the porch to your house framing or trailer steel. It is critical that you place the hinges in such a way so that the porch doesn’t bind when your fold it up. The easiest way to do this is to have one leg bolt to the deck (and through the frame) of the porch and the other leg bolt to the trailer at a 90 degree angle. My design is a bit different and require lots of extra parts but I don’t have an exposed hinge on my deck.

Next, you will need some way of supporting the porch once it folds down. At first, I toyed with some adjustable legs that would use a threaded bolt to account for ground height differences, and I still think this would be a good way to do, I just ran out of time and had to figure something out in a pinch so I came up with the cable idea. I drilled two holes in my steel porch frame, attached two heavy duty threaded eyebolts, screwed in some heavy duty lag eye bolts into my corner studs at a height that would match the porch eye bolts when folded up, and ran some 3/16″ aircraft cable between the two.

tiny house folding porch turnbuckle

Lastly, you will something to secure the porch to the house while in transit. Having had two eye bolts already in place, I bought some large turnbuckles to connect the two. One end stays semi permanently attached to the house while the other end can hook on to the porch bolt and I can twist the buckle firmly to snug the porch up against the house.

Roof and Hardware I wanted a real slim floating kind of feel for my roof, so, I found some recycled
corrugated metal, cut pieces to length, and bolted them together with self tapping screws and some 1×1 angle I had laying around. One member at the beginning end, and another about`18″ from the other end.

The first member is hinged to the house with 3 or 4 hinges placed at stud locations (or into the top plate if you didn’t use balloon framing). The other member has some eyebolts attached to it that I run detachable struts back to the house to support the roof. Unlike the porch, the roof does not have enough weight to withstand wind uplift forces so you cannot use a cable to hold the roof. You have

to use a member that can also withstand some compression. I used some 1/2″ all thread rod, this way I can use turnbuckles with matching thread to connect, disconnect, and fine tune my height. There are two lag eyebolts that go into some wall framing next to my tiny gable window that the struts attach to the house with.

I hope you have find this guide helpful if you are considering adding a folding porch onto your tiny house. Once again, you are responsible for you own design and safety. If in doubt, consult a local professional.

Huge, Huge Thank You

October 11, 2013 By Greg Parham Leave a Comment

Thanks to a nice article in the Durango Herald featuring yours truly, as well as a TON of Tiny House love from Facebook and the blogosphere, Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses is poised for a really great start. I have many people I would like to thank personally. First off, my best friend Laura. She has been with me through thick and thin and provided unending inspiration and advice. Not only that, in the rare times I need a helping hand to raise a wall or put on some housewrap, she is happy to help. I would not be where I am today without her support. I’m not always the best person in the world at showing appreciation, but thank you, Laura.

Next, I want to personally thank Dale Rodebaugh (writer) and Steve Lewis (photographer) of the Durango Herald for getting Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses on the front page! Something this prominent doesn’t go unnoticed. Friends around town are jokingly calling me “Mr. Famous.” People from all over the country are checking out the website and spreading the word. I haven’t had anyone ready to buy a house yet, but I have had some calls and emails about doing some consulting, answering questions, using their products, and I’ve had quite a few people wanting to work for me. If I haven’t got back to you yet, I promise I will.

Next, a host of Tiny House bloggers. I think Tiny House Design was the first to share the story, followed by Tiny House Listings, and then Tiny House Living. Alex Pino of the Talk did a super sweet article and intro into what RMTH is all about. To all you guys, thank you thank you thank you!

Lastly, a huge thanks to the masses of Tiny House fanatics. If you shared my story or liked my page or checked out the website, thank YOU! Together, we are the foundation of this movement and will show the world that less is indeed more. It is an exciting time to be a part of Tiny Houses.

Now, a little news. Construction of the new Boulder model is coming along nicely. As of 10-11-13, it is framed and sheathed/decked. From here I can begin electrical and plumbing work until the windows arrive, at which point I can get it fully dried in and begin installing siding. The process is moving a little slower than expected, but not because of inefficiencies or mistakes, rather, I’ve just had some other obligations consuming my time. It is still moving along much quicker than the Durango model did! Better yet, I am on budget to offer this house for less than $25k

A lot of people have been interested in the construction of the fold down porch on the Durango. I have the article written, I just need to get some photos added and this will be live, probably on Monday, so keep an eye out for that.

It’s Friday. I’m out of here. Going to head up to some high country this weekend to take in some fall colors with a snow backdrop following the big snow storm we had yesterday. Everyone have a safe and fun weekend!

Greg

New Models On The Way!

September 12, 2013 By Greg Parham 4 Comments

I am excited to announce the development of 5 new Tiny House Models over the coming months. The first of which will be the Boulder. This Tiny House will be a study for a more modern, streamlined, lightweight structure that is super affordable yet chock full of good design. Drawings are being completed as we speak and construction will begin next week. This house will feature a single slope lean-to roof from front to back, rainscreen siding comprised of wood plank and galvanized metal, and a contemporary use of windows. I don’t have any images or drawings ready to show yet, but here are some Boulder houses that will serve as inspiration.

My great journey across the Rockies in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming has provided exceptional inspiration for the other four models. It is with great pride that I present to you the makings of Stanley, Whitefish, Bitterroot Valley, and Teton.

Stanley- This model will draw from the small structure heritage surrounding the wonderful town of Stanley, ID in the foothills of the spectacular Sawtooth Mountains. I really like the feel of Stanley, both from a natural and human built sense. It is a small, authentic, rugged little mountain town, yet a great place to get away from it all, and a great home base for mountain adventure.

Whitefish– Whitefish, Montana serves as the primary gateway to Glacier National Park. There is no shortage of mountain fun in this town including biking, hiking, skiing, camping, and of course, exploring the Crown of the Coninent. The town itself has a little bit of a resort feel to it, but the vibe is nice, even for blue collar folk like me. The architecture here, although varied in materials and size, has a consistent language that I think will translate very nicely to a Tiny House

The Bitterroot Valley is a scenic stretch of land extending from Missoula, MT south all the way down Sula near the Idaho border. The valley is flanked by the Bitterroot Mountains to the west and the Sapphire mountains to the east. I was originally going to name this model the Hay Loft. It is a tribute to the many spectacular old barn structures still in existence that dot all of the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Of all these valleys that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, none had more structures still surviving and with such great mountain feels as the Bitteroot Valley.

Teton- Before I even left for my trip, I wanted to develop a Tiny House design inspired by the Tetons of western Wyoming. After seeing seeing and exploring Grand Teton National Park, there was no doubt in my mind that it would happen. I’m not quite sure yet how this almighty mountain range and landscape will translate into a house design, but somehow it will.

With all this said, I’ve got my work cut out for me! Stay tuned for updates.

PS The NEW website is almost fully armed and operational! I hope you like it!

The Open Road

August 9, 2013 By Greg Parham 2 Comments

Some of you knew already, some did not, but I have been on the road since July 31 exploring the the rest of the US Rockies from the Southeast corner of Utah, all the way up through Idaho to Canada, over to Glacier National Park in Montana, and from there, making my way back to Colorado through Wyoming. While I have explored the Rockies extensively in Colorado, and have a fair amount of knowledge about this magnificent range outside of Colorado, truth be told I have never been to the Rockies outside of the centennial state.

The purpose of my trip is multifold. First and foremost, I wish to see and experience whole new places I’ve never been to before. A large part of this is play, vacation, and fun, but another large reason for taking the trip is to get a better feel for the Rockies as a whole and to also pick up some design inspiration for new house models in the near future. My visit to the Sawtooth Mountains has already inspired one such model, I just need the time to develop it. I’m thinking places such as Missoula and Jackson Hole will also inspire great new ideas.

So, if you have tried getting in touch with me as of late, I apologize if I haven’t got back to you. I am traveling through some rather remote parts of the country and cell service/internet aren’t always readily available. I should be back in Durango at the end of the month and ready to start construction on the first house for sale. I’m super excited about this next project, and although I’m having a blast on the road, am eager to get back home and get the ball rolling. If you do need to get a hold of me, email is probably the best ( greg@rockymountaintinyhouses.com ) Thanks for checking in! Be prepared for some awesome Tiny House action! Now, I must go off and find the next mountain bike trail to ride and hot spring to soak in thereafter.

Investments-Tools

April 26, 2013 By Greg Parham Leave a Comment

Any new company requires a substantial investment from its founders, be it money, time, or other resources. For me, starting Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses has been no different, and I am just getting started! I’ve already had to buy a new 3/4 Ton work truck, replace a few handtools that were worn out or lost, and also purchase some nice new power tools that will reduce labor time and improve build quality.

Today, I wanted to share with you a new tool that I invested in that will ultimately contribute to a small detail in Tiny House construction, but a very important one: plumbing. The plumbing system for a Rocky Mountain Tiny House is something I’ve been researching vigorously the past few months. With so many options out there, how do you choose? I’ve plumbed with traditional copper with soldered joints, I’ve done PVC and CPVC, I’ve had to use old school galv pipe in some older houses, I’ve messed with QWEST pipe used in mobile homes, and more recently, I’ve used PEX (cross-linked polyethylene). Even within PEX though, there are several different connection systems. There are crimp fittings like those sold at Home Depot. There is the newer style Shark Bite fittings which are incredibly easy to work with (and what I what recommend for DIY Tiny Home Builders) but they are also incredibly expensive. There are several other systems like Wirsbo, Viega, Rehau, Nibco, and others.

After chatting at length with my wholesale plumbing supplier, I decided to go with the Uponor system and a Milwaukee M12 ProPEX expansion tool. I will write a whole other post on the benefits of Uponor fittings, but as for the fancy smancy tool I just bought, all you need to know is that it will save me a lot of time when it comes to installing a high quality leak-proof plumbing system in Tiny Houses to come. What this ultimately means is cost savings and peace of mind that I get to pass down to my clients.