FAQ

Part of the appeal of the tiny movement is that you can take your home almost anywhere. The current challenge is that many municipalities, towns, cities, campgrounds, and trailer parks have not yet amended their zoning or bylaws to address Tiny Homes. We recommend that no matter where you want to place your Tiny Home you check your local authorities to ensure you are not in contradiction of any zoning or bylaws. Zoning can vary greatly from city to city, province to province, and state to state so it is impossible for us to provide additional information for your specific area.

Quite often, there are simply no standards in place regarding where you can or cannot park a tiny house and municipalities are now scrambling to review their current zoning laws to catch up to the Tiny Home movement.

We are now able to offer CSA Z-240 certification which certifies your Tiny Home as an RV. This can be beneficial when looking for a place to park your Tiny Home as it allows you to place it anywhere that RV's are permitted such as campgrounds, RV parks, and RV subdivisions.

WHY GO TINY?

There are many reasons to consider making the change to living Tiny.

• A THOW offers you the freedom that a traditional home can't simply by virtue of being mobile. If your life requires change relocating is as simple as hooking up a truck. No realtors, no commissions, no movers, no waiting for your home to sell or searching for the right home to purchase. 

• A Tiny Home can be a great path to owning your own home without having a life defined by the debt associated with a traditional home and mortgage.

• Low cost of living; Tiny Homes have tiny utility bills. It is not uncommon for Tiny Home owners to pay under $50 a month for water and electricity combined. The maintenance and upkeep on a Tiny Home is also less again just based on the smaller size.  

• If you've ever wanted a vacation house on a lake or in the mountains, a tiny house on an undeveloped piece of land is an inexpensive way to make that happen. No need to source out contractors or builders away from major centers, just a bit of site prep and your Tiny Home can be pulled into place and ready to go in just a few hours. 

• Simplify your life to maximize your lifestyle. Living a minimalist lifestyle allows you more personal time for doing the things you love and less time spent doing the things you have to do to maintain a large home and mortgage. 

HOW DO I WINTERIZE MY TINY HOME?

Very little actually, our homes are designed for 4 season use and are built to take on the harshest Canadian winters. That being said there are a few things you will need to do to avoid any winter related issues;

WATER - If your water connection is above ground it is crucial to use a heated hose or heat tape to protect your water supply. Heating the hose allows the lines to remain open and unfrozen by the outside temperatures. Without this you can endure frozen hose lines and pipes and lack of water to your Tiny Home.

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PROPANE - Propane tanks do not need to be heated but it is a good idea to insulate them when temperatures drop too low. Propane blankets can be purchased to deal with this or you can insulate propane tank enclosure. 

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SKIRTING - While not required skirting underneath the home will help prevent cold winds from getting underneath the home making the floor feel cooler.

WHY NOT AN JUST BUY AN RV?

RV's have a purpose much different than a Tiny Home. They are intended to be lightweight, extremely portable, and to be used for short periods of time. Most RVs are built to be as light as possible and the market demands that they are also affordable to a large portion of the population meaning quality is not the highest priority for manufacturers. They are also not designed to meet the demands of full-time living or year round living – they are often poorly insulated, thin walled, can be very difficult and expensive to heat and cool, and often have significant moisture and air quality issues in the colder months. The typical lifespan of an RV is only about 10-15 years and they retain very little value at the end of that lifespan. 

At Tree Hugger Tiny Homes our focus on aesthetics, quality, and functionality. We build custom homes on trailers or skids rather than a concrete foundation, not campers. Most Tiny House owners choose to live in a semi-permanent location, possibly moving their Tiny House a few times a year or less however Tiny Homes are completely towable and can be traveled in full time if they are designed with this function in mind.

WHAT ABOUT THE TOILET?

Our specification is a standard flush toilet but you will require the appropriate hook ups in order to use it. If you do not have a way to tie into a septic system or if you just want to eliminate the sewer tie in we can also provide composting toilets or incinerating toilets as an alternative.

HOW DO YOU HEAT/COOL A TINY HOUSE?

For heating we use a small direct vent propane heater. Due to the small size of our homes and the quality of the insulation they require very little effort to heat in even the coldest temperatures. We can also add small wood stoves in addition to the heater, however we do not recommend removing the propane heater completely if you have water to the home for obvious reasons.

Air conditioning is not standard but can be easily added if that is a feature that you require.

TOWING A TINY HOUSE?

Our homes are designed so that you will not require any special permits to move them. In order to be legal to tow without a permit, a tiny home can not exceed 13'6" in height and 8'6" in width. We can exceed these dimensions, but you will require permits for transportation.

There are other considerations you will need to make when preparing to tow your Tiny House. You should be sure that you have a truck with enough towing capacity and set-up to handle the weight you will be towing. Many Tiny Houses can weigh up to 15,000 lbs or more. The question is not, "Will I be able to tow my tiny house?" The question should be "Can I SAFELY tow it?" and more importantly "Can I safely bring the tiny house to a stop?" Most large block gas or diesel  engines (V8 or V10) can pull a Tiny House, but you also need to ensure that you have to capability to hook up trailer to the truck, that your truck has the proper transmission for towing, and that YOU have the skills required to tow it.

If you do not own or have access to a large enough truck or if you simply do not feel comfortable towing it yourself, we do offer delivery services, and can work with you to deliver to a location of your choosing anywhere in North America.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST FOR ONE OF YOUR TINY HOMES?

DO YOU OFFER FINANCING?