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Tiny houses are popping up everywhere from the Northeast all the way across the country on the West Coast.  Whether you’re a DIY’er looking for your next project or wanting to downsize your current housing situation, a tiny home could be for you! Builders like Jay Shafer, Peter King and Derek Diedricksen are helping people design and build their very own tiny homes with weekend workshops, free house plans and more.

Tiny Yellow House

“I’m just a freelance, insane guy working out of his backyard building stuff for people when the need arises,” says Derek Diedricksen, 33, a tiny house enthusiast who lives outside of Boston.

In his web video series, Diedricksen documents the construction of his tiny homes in which he uses building materials for much of his construction.  One shack called the Gypsy Junker is just 7 feet by 4 feet and can sleep three people.

Learn more about Derek and Tiny Yellow House at his blog relaxshax.wordpress.com.

Vermont Tiny Houses

Peter King another builder in the tiny house movement lives in a geodesic dome in Vermont with several tiny houses on his property.

“I just like the sense of economy,” King explains. “The sense of: you can’t put a lot of stuff in there, so you have to be careful of what’s important. And another beauty of the tiny house is that you can put them almost anywhere. They are moveable at this scale. You can easily put them up on rollers and pull them around.”

King runs weekend workshops in which participants turn a pile of lumber on the ground into a tiny house.  Four students pay for the experience, and a fifth person pays for the wood and has a new house at the end of the weekend.  A 10×10 foot structure, constructed in a weekend, cost a total of only $6,000 or $7,000.

To sign up for one of King’s weekend workshops visit, vermonttinyhouses.com.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Jay Shafer started Tumbleweed Tiny House Company in 1997 in Sebastopol, California.  “My decision to inhabit just 89 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. My houses have met all of my domestic needs without demanding much in return,” says Jay.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company offers workshops all over North America in places like Austin, Texas, Toronto, Canada, Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Oregon.  You can buy a homes ready made or purchase a kit to build it yourself.

Before you get started make sure you have a well organized and thought out plan including location and tools.  And remember when choosing an adhesive for such a small space, one that’s low VOC and water-based, such as EcoGlue, will ensure your tiny house air quality is good.

You can listen to NPR’s story, Do-It-Yourself Downsize: How To Build A Tiny House here.