Josh Wynne has built a small tiny house to accommodate his old aged father, Mike Wynne who has some health issues that limits his mobility. Incorporating many features, Mr. Josh has built this house stylish, functional and sustainable-small in size, less maintenance and cleaning and easier to get around. The house has been built on his rural property on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
“All favor a retiree on a fixed income who is inevitably going to have changing needs through the course of ownership,” Wynne says. He dubbed what he calls the “tiny-ish” house “Mike’s Hammock.” After Hurricane Irma came through recently and left the house unscathed, it confirmed to him that he’d built a structure that could withstand a big storm.
The house is 604 sq ft (56 sq met) in size having one bedroom, one bathroom while outdoor porches and mechanical/utility space adds 436 sq ft. Due to Sabal palms in surrounding, the house has been cantilevered above its foundation that look like floating in the trees. The house has been efficiently built with mostly local and recycled material. He says that only one dumpster of waste is enough this entire project of house built from recycled material. He says that “The Southern yellow pine for the framing material is lumber from the construction site of a nearby housing development and was treated with boric acid for termite control”.
Engineered wood has been used for roof framing requiring no crane to install. “It minimizes impacts by utilizing trees that are younger and using them more efficiently than solid-sawn lumber,” says Wynne. Wood paneling inside the home is the same Southern yellow pine as same used for framing. There is an energy-efficient central cooling and heating system in the home- custom-made and said the energy bill averages only $25 a month, even in summer. “We designed a smart, double-wall exposed metal duct to distribute the air efficiently while simultaneously adding to the interior decor.”
Kitchen layout has been designed keeping in mind to accommodate the possibility of mobility impairment. There are IKEA cabinet bases with only full-extension drawers for easy access.
