Less is more when it comes to a tiny home's weight, but when it comes to floorspace, more is more appealing. To balance these concerns, Vancouver's Mint Tiny Homes used a metal frame instead of the more typical wood for its most recent build. With its spacious and light-filled interior, plus a high-end finish, this one ticks all the right boxes.
The unnamed tiny house sits on a triple-axel 28 ft (8.5 m) trailer, but two overhanging loft sleeping areas increase its total length to 32 ft (9.7 m). The exterior is clad in stained Canadian cedar and topped by a sloping metal roof.
The interior comprises a generous floorspace of 326 sq ft (30 sq m) – that's roomier than the longer-than-average Curved 260 Micro Home and even beats the appropriately-named Container Tiny House. And Mint Tiny Homes made the most of this with a simple layout that looks very light and open, even taking into account that furniture is yet to be installed.
The front door leads into the kitchen, which includes a stainless steel fridge/freezer, sink, storage and counter space, and a propane oven. Further into the home lies the main living area and a bathroom with traditional flush toilet (linked to a blackwater tank that can be emptied at an RV site), plus a sink and shower. The primary sleeping loft is reached via a staircase with integrated storage, while the secondary storage/sleeping loft is accessed by ladder.
The finish looks excellent throughout and wood used includes painted white tongue and groove siding, stained loft beams, and hardwood flooring.
The owners drove to Vancouver from USA's Mississippi area to pick up the tiny home and tow it back again – a journey of around 2,600 miles (4,184 km) each way. They also plan to move between RV parks in it, so they opted for a steel frame.
Though by no means unheard of, a steel frame is a lot less common than a wood-framed tiny house. The main benefit is weight reduction (about 30 percent of the weight of the framing), however it can also improve the home's thermal performance when closed-cell foam insulation is used.
Mint Tiny Homes told us that a comparable wood frame tiny house of theirs would weigh in at around 15,000 (6,803 kg), but thanks to the metal framing, this one comes in at 13,000 lb (5,896 kg), which is quite substantial.
The firm offers a range of sustainable and off-grid options for its tiny homes, including wool insulation, composting toilet, and a rainwater catchment system, while solar power is usually installed on-site. The clients of this particular tiny home didn't require any of that, however, as they plan to simply plug into a hookup.
The final price of the tiny home including everything pictured came to CAD 77,000 (around US$59,400).
Source: Mint Tiny Homes
