The Builder
The creator of this Tiny House, Chris Heininge, comes from a family of gifted craftsmen, artists, and designers. His father and mother (recently passed) along with their 3 sons have built over 100 homes in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. Chris’ mother Elizabeth Heininge designed nearly all of these homes, and also helped with the Tiny House designs.
At 17 years old, Chris was led to pursue an additional line of work, becoming a Christian missionary and spending the next 20 years in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, and India. While in Japan, Chris was able to build one house and remodel others. The Japanese are masters at the art of living “Tiny” and they do it in such a beautiful and simplistic way, clearly a great influence in the design of Chris’s Tiny House.
When Chris and his family returned to Aurora, Oregon in 1995, he became a General Contractor and built and remodeled many homes with his parents and brothers. With the encouragement of his childhood friend, Maurice, he was able to build his first Tiny House on river frontage in 1999, and the 2nd one in 2006 (these homes are not moveable).
Why “Tiny Houses”?
In recent years, many people are moving away from the idea of big “McMansions” and discovering the joys of living “tiny”. A tiny house not only costs less to build, but is also far cheaper to heat, cool, and maintain, so you save money while reducing your environmental impact. A tiny house can also serve as a guest house, or provide additional rental income. Unlike trailers and RVs, which are designed for mobility and short-term living, a tiny house is designed to create a truly livable space with as small a footprint as possible. For more information, visit Accessory Dwellings.org or watch this short video:
Specifications
Price:
- Luxury Tiny House: $95,000 (Note: transport and shipping is at the buyer’s expense)
- Hobbit House: $45,000 (Note: transport and shipping is at the buyer’s expense)
Dimensions:
- Luxury Tiny House is just under 10 X 20 feet and 12 feet high.
- Hobbit House: 8′ x 16′. 9 feet high.
Exterior walls: 2″x4″ Framed Select Doug Fir with 3/4″ AC Exterior Plywood.
Exterior roof material: Curved roof made of TPO membrane. There are no cut-through vents or pipe vents in the roof panels.
Insulation: R-MAX Foam batts in walls, floor, and ceiling. R-values are: roof -17.5, floor -10, walls – 7.5
Exterior Finish: Eastern White Cedar shingles, cedar trims.
Floor material: 2″ x 6″ aluminum tubing for perimeter frame and most floor joists. Sub-floor: 1/2″ ACX plywood with finishing material TBD; carpet in loft.
Dual Heating: Two 1500 W under-cabinet “Toe Kick” blow heaters.
Water Heater:
- Luxury Tiny House: Hidden under the stairs, with outdoor access is a 40 gallon GE water heater sufficient for supplying the American Standard® whirlpool (jacuzzi) tub, which is a standard full-sized tub at 60″ by 32″.
- Hobbit House: 20 gallon water heater, sufficient for supplying the 2′ x 4′ shower.
Interior Finish: Walls and ceilings a combination of CVG (Clear Vertical Grain)
Fir and CVG laminated sheet goods.
Cabinets & doors: All custom-made from top-quality plywood and hardware, and a few sliding doors made of bronze-tinted plexiglass.