“If we’re bringing this idea to life, let’s reside in a single and check it out for ourselves”
“The dents, the imperfections, they inform a narrative.” (Pictures by Sarah Burtscher)
In early 2021, Lee and Rebecca Loewen had been anticipating their first baby. They rented a 550-square-foot condominium above a retailer in downtown Toronto that Lee, an industrial designer, had normal right into a loft. It was an improve from their earlier 320-square-foot shoebox within the metropolis, however the couple hoped to construct a spot they may personal. “It was the pandemic, and we had time to be inventive,” says Rebecca, who works for a not-for-profit. “We needed to throw ourselves right into a undertaking.”
Round that point, Lee’s pal Payam Shalchian approached him with a enterprise concept: they may assemble compact, picket, leisure cottages and promote them as non permanent different dwelling areas. Given Canada’s exorbitant housing costs and the growing reputation of sustainable dwelling, the pair figured that an inexpensive house with a small footprint might be a well-liked product. They based the corporate As an alternative Tiny Properties, and Lee agreed to spearhead the prototype improvement on one situation: that he might transfer into it with Rebecca and their child when it was completed. “We thought: ‘If we’re bringing this idea to life, let’s reside in a single and check it out for ourselves.’”
Shopping for land and constructing in Toronto was too costly, so the Loewens left their rental and moved 200 kilometres east to Prince Edward County, the place they stayed in a short-term rental. “It felt unusual to have a lot change taking place directly,” says Rebecca. “Any time I developed a way of routine, I used to be thrown a curveball, however I attempted to embrace the journey of all of it.”
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As soon as within the nation, Lee started working with Shalchian to execute their imaginative and prescient. Over 9 months, they assembled sheets of regionally sourced plywood right into a sturdy 32-by-8.5-foot rectangular cabin, constructed with wheels on a trailer chassis. It was painted black with 13-foot ceilings and expansive home windows, and it has a heat-recovery ventilator to make sure good air change. “The thought was to make it an RV and spend the cash we’d have shelled out on a mortgage to journey the nation,” says Rebecca.
The couple hooked up their new abode to a tow truck and lugged it 30 kilometres to their pals’ quarter-acre lakeside lot in Prince Edward County. After Rebecca gave start to their son, Max, 5 weeks early, the younger household moved into their new place, which nonetheless wanted some ending touches. “For the primary two weeks, we had been primarily glamping and feeding Max at midnight by lantern, cooking over a hearth pit and borrowing showers at pals’ properties,” says Lee. To squeeze into their 260-square-foot house, they needed to half methods with objects they not miss, like additional cupboards from IKEA, baggage of clothes and miscellaneous muddle.
In the meantime, the development crew constructed a small out of doors utility shed to retailer photo voltaic batteries and a 2,000-gallon water tank, tacked 12 photo voltaic panels onto the shed’s roof and put in a propane furnace. They furnished the household room, turned the first bed room right into a loft and wrapped up work on the main-floor rest room and kitchen, which they outfitted with a stainless-steel countertop and granite sink.
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Complete constructing prices ran to $145,000. The Loewens pay barely $3,000 per yr in utilities, and their house wants minimal gentle and warmth. The encompassing home windows hold the inside shiny from dawn to sunset, and it stays toasty on the coldest days with hermetic rockwool insulation, ZIP System R-sheathing, a furnace and the occasional energy generator increase. “We’ve now spent two winters within the place, and it’s heat even on -27 diploma days,” says Lee.
Shifting off grid, nevertheless, has its challenges: most weekdays, they must drive 25 minutes to a work-share area to entry a robust Wi-Fi sign. Additionally they have but to take their rolling house on the street—in the intervening time, it stays on their pal’s property. “We realized it was constructed extra like a high-performance home than an RV, so it’s heavy to pull alongside,” says Lee. “Unhooking it from our photo voltaic and water traces can get sophisticated.”
Elevating a child in an enclosed area additionally assessments the couple’s endurance. “Max often likes to select up heavy objects and slam them in opposition to the partitions,” says Lee. His playtime has affected As an alternative Tiny Properties’s design selections. “We had been a bit extra centered on aesthetics than sturdiness,” Lee explains. “Now I wouldn’t suggest the plywood flooring to a consumer as a result of they dent simply.”
For now, the Loewens are going to remain in Prince Edward County. Not solely is it the very best transfer for enterprise—they’re a brief drive away from the corporate’s warehouse—however transferring again to Toronto would require them to personal the land on which they park, which Lee says will be expensive. Within the meantime, As an alternative Tiny Properties plans to increase its line of other, energy-efficient properties, and Lee is working with Shalchian to create their first two-bedroom, 520-square-foot house, which they are going to place on a everlasting basis by November.
“The dents, the imperfections, they inform a narrative,” says Rebecca. “I really feel a way of delight concerning the area we’re in—it seems like house.”
