Our Future Guesthouse/Studios – a new plan!

At the beginning of October I wrote about this plan to bring in a prefab unit for our future Guesthouse/Studios.

Out of the 18 prefab companies we researched, we found that Summerwood would be the best bargain and the best suited for us. A 520 square foot unit would wind up costing around $40,000 once we finish it out and put in a 3/4 bath (precut and including foundation and delivery).

Always looking to save, and with Dave Strong’s reclaimed lath cabinetry swirling around my brain bowl, I had an idea.

Let’s build it ourselves out of free wood pallets.

A quick googling shows that we aren’t the first to have this idea. Not being first has its advantages.
1. I feel less crazy.
2. We can learn from the experiences of others.

A fella named Michael Janzen has been blazing the trail. He has these blogs documenting his experiences and even offers free plans.
www.tinypallethouse.com
www.tinyfreehouse.com
tinyhouseblog.com

Not only will this cut the cost of our project in half, but we’ll be recycling material that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Joel Makower, a writer and consultant on issues of sustainable business, clean technology and green markets, writes:

American businesses send hundreds of millions of wooden pallets into landfills every year, spending a billion or so dollars in the process. About 40% of all hardwood harvested in the U.S. is for pallets, about two-thirds of which are used only once before being tossed out. A fourth of all wood in landfills is from used pallets. – www.worldchanging.com

Check out these fancy versions from I-Beam Design and Infiniski.

This seems like a win for both the wallet and the planet. I like!