Take Tiny to Town

Kind of joking here, but…

Maybe like “Bring a Kid to Work Day,” we could stage a concerted…

“Take Tiny to Town Day.”

Forget the clever/silly part of this event… there must be a concerted effort among our industry to positively alleviate concerns from state and local officials engaged in code compliance and enforcement.

The key would be undeniably illustrating:

1. that we are a bona fide industry
2. that we follow a uniform standard
3. that tinies meet or exceed building codes
4. that we use a standard inspection process
5. that tinies have a place in housing
6. that we are willing to work with BCDs

This campaign would require a concerted effort that brings forth talking points for Q&A, with all units being at similar levels of production (probably a dried in shell) including:

• Copy of uniform construction process
• Approved construction plan set
• Purpose-built tiny house trailer
• Welded D-rings for ground anchoring
• Stubbed drain lines and fittings
• Insulated floor (proof via inspection record)
• Framed and sheathed shell
• High wind hold downs, h-clips, straps, etc.
• Moisture resistive barrier
• Taped & sealed windows and doors
• Interior walls where illustrated on plans
• Integrated mechanical lines at rough-in
• Electrical lines at rough-in
• Plumbing lines at rough-in
• Sleeping loft at req. height per Appendix Q
• Compliant stair/ladder loft access
• Compliant secondary egress from loft
• DOT required reflectors and lighting
• Proof of inspection within standardized process
• Other key points of compliance

At this stage of construction, the home will look like a job site — familiar territory to building officials — which is a double-edged sword.

“If everything’s alright, we’re good to go; if there’s something wrong, then we’re ALL wrong.”

The key to our success is uniformity in a bringing forth an industrialized product — one built to industry standards meeting enforceable regulations — whether the unit be factory-built, constructed by a custom tiny home builder, or built/assembled by a tiny home owner/builder.

Yeah… Bring Tiny to Town Day is merely a tongue-in-cheek cliche’ and early morning musing. That said, the idea of being able to illustrate the formality of our industry, uniformity of approach, quality of our product, and capability to meet/exceed uniform prescriptive compliance standards is the challenge we must meet. While the world moves through epochs, eras, and ages, this is our time.

We have captured the world’s attention, and — while Tiny Houses as a trend have proven their worth as cute, crafty, and clever — there’s something bigger at play in the Tiny Home Movement. The potential to use Tiny Homes as a residence is opening the world’s eyes to the potential small and tiny homes bring to help solve myriad issues where the housing crisis is concerned.

A “portable dwelling unit” isn’t for everyone, but I believe a Movable Tiny House deserves a place for use as a permissible residence. It starts by legitimizing the product which unlocks its use as a legally permissible residence.

Only by standing together in a concerted effort — using a uniform approach — will we bring about the change we seek in using tiny houses as our homes throughout the US and around the world.

Do something positive for the movement today.