Combatting humidity

 

In my experience, there are a couple of downsides of living tiny.

One is the constant back-of-your-mind worry about tiny houses not yet being a legal form of housing. All it will take is one community citizen (who doesn’t even have to be a neighbour) to complain and the municipal bylaw officers are mandated to give me an eviction notice. By getting involved with advocacy, I am doing as much as possible to make it so that tiny house owners won’t have that worry.

The second is humidity. A tiny house is a small and well-insulated space. It is also one where you are doing the same moisture-producing activities that you would in a larger home - cooking, showers, dishes, etc. In the summer, this isn’t an issue as you can just open the windows for air flow. In the winter, however - at least on Vancouver Island - opening the windows lets more moisture in than you are trying to let out.

To combat excess humidity, which can cause harmful mould if left unchecked, I run a dehumidifier regularly. I run the kitchen fan during and after cooking, doing dishes or having a shower. And I pull furniture a few inches away from the wall to allow for better circulation.

This year, I also found another way to combat humidity. I started using Norwex products to reduce the chemicals in my home. Most Norwex products are top-quality microfibre that need only water to clean. Another advantage to them is that they dry quickly. My floor, for example, that used to take about two hours to dry is now dry in 10 minutes. And my towels dry in a couple of hours instead of overnight. As a bonus, these products save me time. I did a comparison weekly clean between my old products and Norwex and went from 28 minutes down to 18. I’m a happy customer - it’s no wonder I decided to come a Norwex consultant. Please contact me or check out  my website - if you would like more information about these healthy-home products.

Rallying the troops!

Despite ongoing efforts and some support, there has not been significant progress in legalizing tiny houses in Canada. Locally, we have worked with planners and Councils in Victoria and Central Saanich. Tiny houses are included in Victoria’s strategic plan and Central Saanich’s official community plan. But there are still many steps to take to make them legal.

Patricia and I had a Zoom meeting with Squamish councillor John French and THAC président Pam Robertson. It felt very positive and I felt more optimistic than I have for a while. “Team Tiny BC” is ready to grow and pursue legalization at a provincial - as well as municipal - level.

Last night, I posted my advocacy story to THAVI’s Facebook page. Now is the time to ramp up our efforts and make our voices heard! Unfortunately, the file is too large to add to this post but can be seen on the FB page “Tiny House Advocates of Vancouver Island”.

2020 - what a year!

 It’s been a long time since my last post - over two years! I guess that means that tiny house life just settled into a regular routine. I’ve now lived in Happinest for over three years. I still love it and consider it the best financial decision I ever made! I was able to pay it off in two years - and now, for the first time in my life, I have disposable income.

During this COVID pandemic, that extra money has allowed me to offer financial assistance to friends and family, support organizations that supply food to low-income families and even to support our healthcare workers. My daughter and I acted as fairie chocolatiers and delivered 175 Emergency Chocolate bars to three local hospitals and over 100 Cozy Comfort meal kits to local organizations. It felt great to be able to make a small difference during such a challenging year!

Letter to support Central Saanich motion on tiny houses.

This is the letter that will be read (not by me) in support of the tiny house motion being presented by Councillor Holman on July 30, which would prioritize some important first steps towards making tiny houses legal in that municipality.

Dear Mayor and Council;

My name is Karen Kehler. I have asked someone to read this letter on my behalf for two reasons. The first is a massive fear of public speaking. The second is simply that I am not comfortable stating my address for the records. That is because I live in a tiny house and therefore, although I do live locally, I am not a legal resident of Central Saanich.

Thank you to Council and staff for clarification at the July 9^th Council meeting that tiny homes are still to be considered in the Infill and Densification Review process even though they had not been included in either the public survey or open houses that have happened thus far. We are grateful for that inclusion and the opportunity for our group – Tiny Houses Advocates of Vancouver Island – to be involved in that process.

Our group is in total support of Councillor Holman’s motion on tiny houses. We believe that this issue needs to be looked at now. As tiny homes could potentially be tested with temporary use permits or pilot project status, it would make sense to look at tiny homes now instead of waiting for another year to even start talking about them.

I would like to address this motion primarily based on housing affordability. I chose to have a tiny home built because it was the only way that I could see to be able to stay in Victoria after I retire. It took me 30 years to get back to Vancouver Island and I don’t want to leave again!

I have to tell you that I love my tiny house! I love the comfort and efficiency of it. I love that I designed it to meet all my needs and wants with sufficient room for the things that are important to me. I love that I am living with a small environmental footprint. I love that my utilities cost less than $50/month. I love that it takes a leisurely 25 minutes for my weekly housework. I love that my Golden Retriever can still get to a full run down the length of the house in pursuit of her tennis ball. I love that living tiny will allow me to spend more time and money on the things I love. Most of all, I love that I will be able to live in my own home and age in place  with no need for subsidized housing. My housing costs – pad rental and utilities – will be under $550 a month. Now that is truly affordable housing!

In spite of all that, there are some negative things about living in a tiny home. Those negatives are caused from tiny homes not yet being recognized as an acceptable form of housing. In addition to have to live “illegally”, this also means that I could not get traditional financing, that I cannot get insurance for my home and that my nearest road access is not technically an address. This means that my house and my life are at risk if I need to call 911 and cannot be quickly located.

The biggest negative of living tiny is that I have no security. I have to hide my home as all it will take is one phone call from an anti-tiny-home Central Saanich resident (who does not even need to be a neighbour!) to cause the municipality to serve me with an eviction notice. I have lived in this community for nearly a year. I love it here and hope to be able to stay. I do not believe that I have any negative impact on the land, my neighbourhood or the community. And I fully believe that it is wrong for tiny house living to be wrong! In spite of my introverted and law-abiding nature, this is what has led me to become a tiny house advocate or, as a friend likes to call me, an “unlikely rebel”.

My father, a reknowned artist who taught ceramics workshops around the world, had a favourite saying that he used with his students and with his own work – Try It And See.

I think this motto is something that could be applied to tiny homes as well. Moveable tiny homes can be part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis that we are in now. I would love to see Central Saanich take this approach to become community leaders by incorporating tiny houses into the community as part of the affordable housing solution. Many Canadian communities are dealing with this issue and seem to be looking to see what actions are working in other municipalities before making big changes themselves. This is a chance for Central Saanich Council to demonstrate your strength, commitment, vision and leadership.

Thanks for listening! I would ask you each of you to support this motion as it is an important first step to allowing tiny houses to offer part of the solution to our local housing crisis. Please … let’s just TRY IT AND SEE!

Advocacy Update

A very positive week for our advocacy group ...

On Monday, Central Saanich Councillor Alicia Holman introduced a motion for staff to start working on research and a report regarding the possibility of introducing tiny homes to the community. The motion will be discussed at the July 30 meeting and if it passes, is an important first step for that municipality. We have also been invited to work with staff on the Infill and Densification Review for Central Saanich.

On Wednesday, we met with Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps and the Director of Sustainable Planning and Community Development. It was an awesome meeting and they were both very much in favour of finding ways to make tiny homes an option in Victoria. We will be giving a talk at September's Lunchtime Lecture Series on "Cities in the 21st Century". I, of course, will not be speaking but getting the presentation together will be a group project. And we were very excited to find out that - if any of the dates we want are available - we can use Centennial Square for our Tiny House Showcase (tiny houses and booths outside and workshops in City Hall).

What I would change if I could redesign

My builder is about to embark on his second tiny house build. Having lived in my house for eight months now, I decided to send him some feedback on what I love and what I'd change if I could go back and redesign my home.

I love the fact that the loft has a landing instead of just a single level. This makes cleaning, making the bed and getting dressed much easier. And I love the overall layout and feeling of the house - other than the bathroom, it doesn't feel tiny at all. I like the fact that there is still room for Nova to get to a full run to chase her ball. And although I only use it when I have company, I like that the bench over the wheelwell offers seating as well as storage. And I like that the kitchen sink cover hides my dirty dishes.

The things I would change are: adding a ceiling fan, making the bathroom slightly larger and kitchen cabinetry. And I would have the electrical panel and hot water heater put elsewhere - as they are hard to get to if needed and they also prevent me from getting cabinetry built in the future. There were a few nights that the fireplace did not keep the house sufficiently warm so I would probably also change that. I'll probably skirt the house in the fall so that might be enough to make it a bit warmer. If not, I will put in new heating of some kind. I also think that the Separett is probably a better choice for composting toilets - there are a couple of design flaws in the Nature's Head.

In spite of the things I would change, I really do love my little home and am grateful that I made the decision to go tiny!

Advocacy Update

Well, not much to report on from the Happinest front. I'll try to post some garden photos next post. My garden has very poor soil and is in shade about 95% of the day so it is not optimal growing conditions. In spite of that - and my lack of a green thumb - most of my plants are doing quite well - although they do not grow very quickly. The only one who is not happy is my heuchara - Mum is going to visit this weekend and give it a talking to :)

On the advocacy front, things continue to move slowly. However, we did have a meeting with MLA Selina Robinson (Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing) and MLA Adam Olsen and two experts on the provincial building code. I can't say it was overwhelmingly positive but it has at least begun an advocacy conversation at a provincial level.

And locally, we may be working with MLA Adam Olsen to start a small tiny house community on First Nations land. This would bypass all the municipal regulations and zoning changes that would be required. And we will be meeting with Victoria mayor Lisa Helps next month to talk about tiny homes as granny suites prior to a presentation to Victoria Council. And finally, we are in early stages of planning our second Tiny House Showcase, which will happen later this summer

Visitors

As my camera and computer don't seem to be speaking to each other at the moment, I don't have any pictures to share.

However, as a good friend was compelled to remind me that I haven't added to my blog lately, I will at least write about visitors to Happinest Hollow!

My daughter came for a surprise visit from Whitehorse. I was out running errands and she phoned to tell me she was standing in my kitchen waiting for me! A lovely surprise and my first house guest. She only slept there two nights as she had use of Mum's apartment for part of the visit. The house was still roomy enough for both of us.

In addition to the buck Zeus (and an occasional girlfriend or two), I have had a couple of raccoons, a calico cat (who wants to catch my birds) and some new varieties of birds. In addition to all the regulars, a pair of goldfinches, a rufous hummingbird, a mourning dove, a yellow-rumped warbler and one that I have yet to identify have been coming around. And the other day, I was out in the field with Nova when a bald eagle swooped down and just missed catching a rabbit that was sitting in the grass about 30 feet away from me. I'm glad the eagle missed!

I will add bird and garden photos when I can.

Spring!

Yay - spring seems to finally be here! I moved my fairy garden to make the ugly area above my greywater ditch more attractive - and because it wasn't in a great spot by the wishing well now that the house is there. Mum helped me redesign my garden area the other day so that it creates a nice view when I am curled up on the couch. It still needs more plants (to be added as money allows) but is off to a nice start for 2018. Who knew I would enjoy gardening?

A few degrees from cozy ...

We had a stretch of spring-like weather after a wet but mild January. A few days ago, the temperatures dropped back below zero (which is cold for these parts). My fireplace will heat the house to about 15 degrees - which is not freezing but is also not quite warm enough to be considered cozy. An extra layer of clothing and a pair of slippers make it quite acceptable but I think I will look for a more efficient heater before next winter begins.

I have a new squirrel visiting. He only has half a tale so has been named Stubbs! A varied thrush has been added to the list of birds coming to the property. I'm at 28-30 species now.

A few minutes of fame!

One of the things I never expected when I decided to go tiny was getting kicked way out of my comfort zone. However, in the interest of advocating to make tiny houses legal, that has been happening over the last few months. A newspaper interview and radio show interview last year ... and now part of a mini-documentary on Shaw TV. Quite a feat for an extreme introvert who is very camera shy! Although I don't like being on film anymore than in photos, here is the video for those who have been following my tiny house saga.

January update

Life is good at the tiny house - muddy but good! January has been a very wet month and although the house itself is on slightly higher ground, the driveway and fields are extremely muddy. It does make it a bit hard to keep the house clean.

I tracked down at least part of my moisture issue. My hot water tank was leaking. Chances are it has been since day 1 but because it was under the kitchen counter, it was not an area that I ever noticed. Jamie has come and put in a new one now so that should help. The other day I opened a few windows to air out the place and after a couple of hours, my hygrometer showed that I had actually let in more humidity than I let out. I guess I won't bother doing that anymore until the weather improves a bit! I am using my fan more now and have bought a new dehumidifier (which I will move around to different corners) to keep the humidity under control.

Today, a film crew is coming to the house. They are coming primarily to interview Kenton (a tiny house building instructor) about an upcoming workshop and wanted it to be done in a tiny house. They will be asking Denise (a friend and member of our advocacy group) and I a few questions so I am, of course, a little nervous. Definitely out of my comfort zone!

Tiny House Christmas

My Christmas tree consisted of three sprigs of pine and some red and white berries in my mini flower holder. I got a couple of little glass doves for Christmas that are just the right size for decorating it. Small and simple ... but enough!

I didn't actually spend Christmas in Happinest. There was a forecast for snow on Christmas Eve so I decided to spend the night at Mum's as we were heading up to Jon's for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I didn't want to take a chance on getting snowed in to my little place and missing out on the Christmas festivities.

However, as I had the week between Christmas and New Year's off (except for a few hours at my accounting job), I have been spending a lot of time there. Lots of relaxation time - curled up on the couch with a book in the afternoons and up in the loft watching movies in the evening!

Most of the week was gray and rainy and the driveway and fields are getting very muddy. Yesterday, I finally caved and brought myself a pair of rubber boots.

When I went to move a couple of boxes by the couch, I discovered moisture back there and have since found bits of mould starting on windowsills. Next purchase - as soon as the store opens after New Years - is a dehumidifier. This is definitely a problem (which I have since learned is common in small, well-insulated spaces) that needs to be nipped in the bud!

The reason for advocacy

Today, I drove home from work. As I neared the driveway, I noticed a van in the driveway across the street. It was a municipality van and the driver seemed to be sitting there taking notes. I immediately thought that my little house had been discovered and that he was in the process of writing an eviction notice. I drove away so that he didn't see me enter the property. After talking to the landowner, it seems that the van was probably there on other business as it was also seen on a nearby road. This makes me hopeful that an eviction notice is not in the works but I will probably worry a little for the next couple of weeks.

Although it is not something that I dwell on, it is this constant awareness that an eviction could come any time that makes me want to put whatever time and effort is needed to make tiny houses legal. All I want to do is live in peace without bothering anyone - this should not be illegal!

Adjustments

This morning, I woke up early. After a shower, I made myself a hot chocolate and went back up to my loft - just sitting there propped up on lots of pillows. I watched it start to get light outside. It was a little too early for the birds yet but it just felt so nice and cozy up there. I really do love my little house!

I was a little surprised that - after all the waiting - the Hollow and the house didn't seem quite the idyllic haven I'd been looking forward to right away. Although I still enjoyed being there, I found it took a few weeks of settling in before I loved it. It felt a bit isolated at first and I actually missed the noises of living in a basement suite with people upstairs and the feeling of being safe and secure with no responsibilities. It didn't help that there was no internet, no TV and the hydro was kicking out at least once a day.

In the last few weeks, I've put up shelves, rearranged things and made it homier inside. The electrician has fixed the hydro - although I still may never be able to have the heat on while I am cooking as there just isn't enough power to run the convection oven and heater at the same time. And I don't know if I will ever be able to use my washer and dryer. I've made a TV area upstairs and have been renting DVD's to watch at night sometimes. I've moved my toilet farther into the corner so my bathroom seems a little bigger. And I have curtains on the french doors and front window which seem to help keep the heat in and make it feel cozier at night.

Not having the internet drove me a little bit crazy at first but now I actually think it might be a good thing. I am reading more than I have in years and am starting to think about making some cards and making a photo book about Happinest. Between going to the library or a coffee shop for internet on days off and getting to work a half hour early on workdays to get some online time, I seem to be just fine.

Interior photos

Sorry for the delay! Here are photos of Happinest now that I am all moved in. I will post some exterior ones of the house in place at a later date (as they are on my computer). It has been over six weeks since the house moved to "Happinest Hollow" and I have been living there for the last two weeks. So far, there have been no neighbour complaints that have led to an investigation. Hopefully that will continue indefinitely! My sister arranged for me to meet a Shaman when I was visiting - she had booked a "house blessing" as a housewarming present. How unique and thoughtful is that!

Moving In Day

Well, today I am moving into Happinest! It is the beginning of Thanksgiving weekend and I leave on vacation next week. I am hoping that if anyone reports me for living there, the bylaw officer will come next week when I'm away. So for that period of time, I am legitimately not living there.

Sarah has given me a unique and inspired housewarming gift - a shaman! I will take pictures of my house with me when I go to Ontario and will go to meet her. She will bless my house (and hopefully protect it from further negativity) and give me any instructions for what I need to do when I get home. It should be an interesting experience!

Nesting

I spent lots of time over the weekend puttering and organizing everything. My aunt came and hung up my artwork which made it feel like home! There are a few little jobs that need doing but it looks really nice. Everyone who has visited so far is amazed by how spacious it is inside. I haven't decided what to do with the storage areas under the kitchen counter and stairs but will live with it before making any decisions. If I decide I don't need any cabinetry, I have more money for a deck and stairs. I love my little house - it was a long and sometimes painful wait - but it was worth it! I can't wait to be able to actually live in it.

The Move

Friday, September 15:

9 a.m. - the tow truck is confirmed and the move is a go.
11 a.m. - email from Jamie to say that the truck driver called and has broken down. At this point in the whole process, this is unbelievable on one hand and yet, on the other, not even surprising!
1 p.m. - tow truck company confirms that the truck will not be fixed in time to get the house.
2 p.m. - I manage to find a tow company in Nanaimo that can do the delivery today and try to reach Jamie to confirm.
4 p.m. - I hear back from Jamie but he consults with tow company and they decide it is too late in the day to do the deliver. However, the company does work weekends so tow is rescheduled for the next morning.

Saturday, September 16:

Jamie emailed at 8:20 - the house is on its way! I wait - mostly patiently - for the ETA of 11:00 - 12:00. Around 11:30, the landlord's brother comes down and says that the house has come but came to the front entrance instead of the back. This means it now has to be backed down the street and around a 90-degree corner. It took 20-30 minutes to get the house from the front of the property to the back. A few branches were a concern but fortunately, the landlord's brother had a chainsaw and ladder and was able to cut them down. The backing in was a slow process as there was not much room to negotiate. However, the driver did an excellent job and got the house right where I wanted it.
We were short one board to level it out so Jamie will come back down to do that and to make the corners more stable. However, a slight slant is no big deal for now. The family helped me move all my stuff into Happinest and then I headed back to the apartment for a final clean. I had done almost everything already so it only took about an hour to clean the bathroom, vacuum and wash the floor. 
By that time, I was totally exhausted - but very happy! Unpacking and organizing will wait for another day.

Final inspection

Well it's not all good news but overall was a good day!

I now officially own my tiny house - payment made and key received. And it will most likely be arriving on Friday afternoon :)  

The not-so-good part is that some things that I thought were included in my house build were apparently not. The biggest of these missing items is kitchen cabinets.  I'd also expected living room shelves, a little closet under the stairs, and railings in the bedroom and boot closets. None of this will prevent me from moving but will mean I can't fully unpack and settle in. 

So now to find a carpenter with spare time (not easy) to put in some cabinets and do a few finishing jobs to make Happinest a finished home. I can't wait to get settled in - it has been a stressful journey. The house will still only be stored at the Hollow but I will be spending as many daytime hours there as a I possibly can!