Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Here are a few headlines and interesting tidbits to keep you occupied this weekend! Enjoy ~

Milky Way Galaxy May Contain 100-200 Billion Planets (Let that sink in for a moment…)

Google maps New Year’s resolutions around the world

Presenting the decline of the West in two easy infographics

California Now Officially Tolerates Some Homemade Food Businesses

My “House Boat” : The “Y-knot?”

Revamped ITS Tactical Medical Lineup and Tallboy ETA Trauma Kit Pouches Available Now!

VIDEO: Syrian Rebels Praise Bin Laden, Celebrate 9/11 Attacks (You mean the “rebels” we financed and armed? Oh yeah, they’re the same al-Qaeda members and rogue mercenaries we used in Libya! All-CIA-Duh!)

“Gravity Falls”: A New Disney TV Show Loaded With Illuminati Symbolism

 ...

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

One of my biggest passions is alternative architecture and radical self-reliance.  I try to showcase it regularly here on TruthisTreason.net, but it’s been awhile since I have posted a good collection of projects.  So, without further ado, here are a few abodes that have caught my eye recently!

Bootjack Cabin

The story of a young couple building a modern cabin off the grid in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

We are Caleb and Marci Larsen. We met in art school and got married in 2003. In the past eight years we’ve lived in Kalamazoo, MI, Portland, ME, Seattle, WA, Providence, RI, Tulum, Mexico, Hancock, MI, and now, Calumet, MI. This nomadic lifestyle has mostly been for fun, to experience different cities and parts of the world.

We’ve decided to build a cabin (‘camp’ in local parlance) and will be blogging about the experience. From our inspirations, plans, triumphs, to our failures, frustrations, and utter devastations – this is our return to Bootjack.

Read about their adventures here -> Bootjack Cabin

Orcas Island Cabin

Design by Vandervort Architects

Hayden’s Note: 

I couldn’t find much information regarding this particular cabin, other than basic dimensions and such from Vandervort Architects....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Vimeo

Andrew Morrison, of StrawBale.com, is interviewed on living small, the role of straw bale construction as a solution for housing, and his experience of living in a pop-up tent trailer in Baja for several months after selling more than half of his belongings.

Hayden’s Note:

While I looove alternative architecture and tiny homes, it is not for some “save the planet” motive.  My obsession with tiny homes is rooted in the evolving shift in perception and understanding that we need to get back to basics, natural settings, and efficiency, coupled with the ability to create Tiny Towns, build small communities, and become radically self-reliant; throwing off the shackles of not only an out of control government, but being truly self sufficient in as many areas as possible.

Living SMALL In A big World from Gabriella Morrison on Vimeo....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Tiny House Blog – One of my favorite websites! Be sure to bookmark them!

Portland, Maine architect Will Winkelman provided this restoration on a 1959 Chevrolet Viking short bus. His client was looking for something flexible and movable for both wilderness exploration as well as being functional and funky for a guest bedroom at home.

To make it funky, Winkleman infused an alternative life into the bus. With beads, dangles, and paisleys, they brought the 60′s lifestyle into the bus.

Read the full article and see more pictures at Remodelista and Tiny House Blog!

Photo Credits: Remodelista

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Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Tiny House Blog by Abel Zyl Zimmerman

Hayden’s Note:

Tiny House Blog is one of my favorite websites for alternative architecture, so please hit the link and show them some love!

I recently bought and dismantled a 14 ft. RV trailer for tiny house parts. I thought you avaricious do-it-yourselfers might find the story interesting.

It was a pretty moldy RV, with some appliances inside and an undamaged trailer frame. My goals were to get those two things out of it, and when all was done, I was about 80% successful in doing so.

Costs:

• Purchase price: $300
• Licensing: $23 (it had current tabs)
• Work gloves, dust masks: $10
• Sawzall demolition blade: $7
• Contractor trash bags (for loose debris and fiberglass): $12
• Diesel fuel for the project, towing it home and delivering recyclables: $55
• Local landfill fee (plywood, broken glass, fiberglass) $99

Working Interior

Labor:

• Towing home: 5 hours
• Teardown, recycling, cleanup: 13 hours
• Total costs/labor: $506 and 18 hours

Not bad.

Here’s what I ended up with:...

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Tiny House Blog and Tiny Tack House

I have been wanting to cover Malissa’s tiny house story for a while now and have had her on my list to contact. However, Apartment Therapy has invited Malissa to participate in their Small Cool Contest and I wanted to get the word out to you before it was to late to vote. I hope to still get Malissa to tell us her story, but in the mean time, here are a couple of her thoughts about the house: “It’s cozy and comfortable, a great space to do my creative art, while also serving as my perfect retreat.”

Photos Credits Christopher Tack/Apartment Therapy

Biggest Challenge: “One of the most challenging part of living in a small space with two people and two cats was finding your own place. My house is only 170 square feet, and in a space that small, it’s important that you feel you can go to your own place and do your own thing.”

Continue Reading » (More pictures!)...

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Tiny House Blog by Paul Mittig

I built my 10 x 20 house in 2005 for about $10,000 in materials, including all furnishings. It is built on six poles, set two feet into the ground, that support the floor and roof. There is no framing in the walls except at the door and the large window. The walls are rigid foam insulation, R21, covered with ½ inch sheetrock and all glued together. The ceiling has R38 fiberglass insulation, and the floor has R19 fiberglass insulation. I spend about $100 a year on propane for heating, cooking, and water heating.

The house is located in the hills of Northern California. I live in it full time. The house is set up for one person, but you could easily put a double bed by the door where the tall bookcase stands. If you did this, you might want to move the window.

I have a three-way RV under-counter refrigerator that I run on electricity. For hot water, I have a ‘heat before use’ RV water heater.  I turn it on for 15 – 20 minutes then off, and it generates enough hot water for a shower and runs on propane....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

This cozy, little 150 square foot home away from home is the perfect weekend cabin.  Built for a Finnish family that live nearby, it offers an escape from the norm.  With ample seating that converts to a large bed, you could sleep up to 4 people, if needed.  And while the ceilings are not that tall, it does offer quite a bit of storage in large, deep drawers, along with overhead shelves and lofted nooks.

The kitchen is truly the focal point in this design, with large windows that allow a cascade of sunshine to fill the little space.  With only the truly required necessities, such as a 2-burner gas stove, small sink, and pantry, this kitchen can provide ample space for food prep, work projects, or a spot for your laptop.

A small wood burning stove completes the basics and provides for a warm and intimate night.  Or simply use it to take the chill off after you return from outside.  As you’ll notice, there is no bathroom or shower inside.

(Outdoor showers can be a thing of luxury, as well....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Originally posted Jan. 15, 2010

As if pulled from a post-apocalyptic movie, this underground nuclear missile silo was once a cavernous, empty concrete relic from decades past.  But one man saw the potential in it, and decided to build the ultimate dream home for himself.

The decommissioned nuclear base offers up 20,000 square feet for furnishings, although Ed Peden and his family use only 1/3 of that space.  Mr. Peden was able to purchase the former military base for a paltry $48,000 – about $0.50 per square foot! – and commenced to remodeling the place.  Located just 25 miles outside of Topeka, Kansas, he and his wife Dianna were the first people to turn one of these Cold War doomsday bunkers into a livable home, and they now run a business helping others to do the same. It cost Uncle Sam $4 million to build this place; Ed paid 1/100th of that. But it did need a bit of work.

“The gunk I hauled out of here in wheelbarrows was incredible,” Ed tells us. “Hundreds of wheelbarrows of crap....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Originally posted 09.03.2011

Nick Rosen set off around the world in search of people living off-grid in order to document the lifestyle and try to get a better understanding of why people jump ship and embrace “less stuff,” more nature, and true freedom.

You’ll hear about Andrea Johnston who searched high and low for the perfect place. She mentions that she loves truck stops and I couldn’t agree more! Everything is 12 volt, offers hardware, tools, coffee, fuel and most even rent movies!

Or perhaps the former Vice President of Urban Outfitters…? She got out of the rat race in order to reconnect with her love and enjoy life.

Nick discovers off-grid residents of beaches, the mountains, even an off-grid millionaire who understands the fragility and intricacies of our modern “power grid.”

Whether your goal is more freedom, organic and sustainable farming, alternative architecture or merely finding your escape route from the daily grind, off-grid living is quickly becoming the best new thing among a wide variety of people across the globe!

The video is a bit “environmentalist-leaning” but being off the grid doesn’t mean you have to be some hippie woodsman....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Brand new video uploaded!

This one is geared for the Preppers, DIY’ers, Shipping Container and Tiny Home Enthusiasts, or the Off-Grid’er.  Starring yours truly.  Be sure and check out my new Truth is Treason.TV website – it’s a media and video version of the original blog.  I’ll be covering many of the same topics as I do here, but in video format!  Also, if you’re interested in shipping container construction, tips, or just want to follow my sometimes crazy mishaps while I build a small container cabin, check out my other blog – www.ElysianFieldsProject.com (also mirrored at www.ShippingContainerHomestead.com)!

...

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Tiny House Blog (one of my favorites!)

There is a new company in Texas building tiny houses called, Texas Cozy Cabins. I have not had any success getting in contact via email, but decided to go ahead and share their work.

Here is what the company says about themselves:

Texas Cozy Cabins is a Texas manufacturer that specializes in small cabins for your larger than life living. We offer the highest quality construction on finished and unfinshed cabin homes in the Central Texas region.

Our designs deliver the highest quality in design aesthetics, solid architectural detail and premium craftsmanship. Texas Cozy Cabins offers many designs and styles, however you also have the ability to design your own cabin to meet your specific needs. We pride ourselves in being available to our clients and working closely with you to provide the highest quality product. All of our structures are built with quality materials and hand-crafted with care and a sense of pride that can only be found in Texas.

I have attached a few pictures that show their work....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Tiny House Blog (one of my favorite websites!)

Andrea Lippke from the New York Times writes an article about a Seattle women named Michelle de la Vega who takes on the conversion of a 250 square foot garage into a tiny home after a divorce. To save money she takes on the job as the contractor and with lots of reclaimed materials converts this old garage into a beautiful home.

“At that time I was coming out of the ashes,” she said, “and knew I needed to come up with a good survival strategy for starting over as a single person.”

Read Converting a Seattle Garage Into a Tiny Home at the New York Times website.
Photos: Ira Lippke

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: Apartment Therapy - Originally posted August, 2010

Hayden’s Note:

As more and more people see the beauty and utility in downsizing, creating the proper storage areas while keeping them functional is important.  The picture below is a perfect example.  You don’t really need 40 different plates or cups.  How many do you truly use?  This elegant, simple shelving concept fits nicely in smaller kitchens and keeps things efficient.  Even if you have a large food inventory or pantry (I’m talking to you, preppers!), using jars or containers like those on the top shelf can be a great way to rotate foods while keeping bulk supplies and goods in the pantry or other cabinet, hidden from sight and keeping the kitchen clutter-free.

Lovely kitchen organization by Yiming Wang, which turns showing off the storage into something attractive (from The Big Book)

CAVEMAN CLUTTER

Clutter is a natural fact of life and the problem started with our Caveman ancestors. Way back in those Cave Days you needed to accumulate as much food and supplies as you could in order to ensure your survival....

Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net

Source: YouTube

Hayden’s Note:

See my shipping container cabin project over at www.ElysianFieldsProject.com or mirrored at www.ShippingContainerHomestead.com!  Working on some of my own videos as we speak…

Lulu is a single mom who had gone back to school and didn’t have the time nor interest in working full-time just to pay the rent.  So when she had to move out of her more conventional home, she decided to move herself and her daughter into a shipping container!

With little building experience, Lulu spent just one month cutting windows and a doorway into the container, along with installing foam board insulation and a basic kitchen (complete with propane-powered campstove and an on-demand water heater).

After she and her daughter moved into the cozy 8′ by 20′ foot home, she fitted it with a bed, couch, bookshelf, and even managed to get some kitchen cabinets into the 160 square foot box.

When Lulu decided they needed a bit more space, she went from shipping containers to trucking trailers and began to build their new bedroom addition on a used flatbed trailer....