Tiny Homes Bay Area

Your fast-track to a tiny home in San Jose

Archives for June 2021

Why choose a Tiny Home on Wheels over a typical ADU?

by 1 Comment

Permitting, Planning, Cost, and Quality. This is the FIRST THOW ADU approval in the City of San Jose.

“Last year, the city received more than 600 permits for accessory dwelling units, also called granny units, which allow property owners to build a detached, smaller home on their property,” according to San Jose Spotlight. “In just the first two months of 2021, the city received 179 applications, putting it on track to receive about 1,000 applications to build by the end of the year.”

In May 2020, the City of San Jose passed new zoning ordinances which made the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) easier for residents in an effort to address the need for more housing options.

In addition to more habitable space, residents also see an opportunity to bring in extra income by building ADUs to rent out with the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose starting at $2,400 per month. However, getting a traditional ADU can be cost prohibitive since the price of permitting, construction, and materials usually starts at $200,000+ to build a simple addition. Even if the cost of construction does not pose an issue, the logistics of planning, permitting, and constructing a fixed ADU can be like jumping through hoops. In the end, while the need and desire exist, cost and feasibility end up preventing housing solutions like ADUs from coming to fruition.

This is where Tiny Homes on Wheels (THOW) come in. THOWs are an affordable, sustainable, high-quality housing solution that are now legal housing options in the City of San Jose. While ADU construction companies offer models starting around $200,000, a comparable THOW ADU can be completed for significantly less than half of that amount without compromising in quality. This is because THOWs require less permitting than their foundation-based ADU counterparts, are faster and easier to construct, and can be built to code by a reputable tiny house builder to your specifications. Also, a THOW can be built off-site and simply transported to your property in one go, eliminating the need for large and noisy construction equipment for extended periods of time on your property.

Moreover, if you ever sell your property or want to use your THOW as a travel trailer, you can get it certified so that it can be towed by a pick-up and parked anywhere a mobile home is allowed; transport it on freeways, take it to Yosemite for the weekend, or move it onto land you buy at a later date for instant habitation. Compared to traditional ADUs, it’s exactly as easy as it sounds because once the THOW and its parking pad are prepared, there’s no need to worry about how you’ll run utilities to the unit since it can be built to accept standard flexible connections.

Imagine having a high quality, luxury studio apartment on wheels that you can use as an ADU on your property, as a home travel trailer you can take on trips, or send away with your kids as a starter home for them when they move out just to name a few uses! Get started today with the permitting and planning process for your own THOW ADU. We are the only ones around to place the first approved THOW ADU in San Jose, so you know you’re working with the right partner. Book a free consultation with us to get your questions answered and the permitting out of the way so we can start with the design and building phase of your own Tiny Home on Wheels!

Get free updates on articles like this one, additional resources, DIY tips, and more!

How does a Tiny Home on Wheels hook up to utilities?

by Leave a Comment

Once the immediate wonder of being inside of a tiny home on wheels (THOW) wears off, the first question visitors usually ask me is about how I’m connected to electricity, water, and sewage utilities to my accessory dwelling unit (ADU). To put it simply, I’m currently connected to city utilities but I’ve designed it so this can change depending on my location.

Tiny houses come in all shapes and sizes, but my choice to go with a THOW meant I had to carefully consider where my house was going to go after the build during the design phase because, after all, a house on wheels can be moved to an entirely different location! I had to consider questions like, will the house be on land that I own or on a lot I am renting? Will that lot have city utility connections nearby or will it need to be off-grid? Perhaps a combination of both? Where will the waste connections go? What am I even permitted to do? What if I want to move–how do I future-proof my house?

I knew that my THOW would first be going into the back of a corner lot in a San Jose neighborhood, so this meant I would be in close proximity to city utilities (more specifically, close to a single-family home that is connected to city utilities). But, I also knew that I wanted the flexibility to move my house across the country and live off the grid if I wanted to in the future. For this reason, I worked with a tiny house builder and designed my house to have flexible connections to power, water, and sewer utilities.

Power: Electricity & Propane

My THOW is equipped with standard plug that goes into a receptacle which draws power from the main house’s electrical panel. These receptacles can be 30A or 50A so you’ll have to calculate power loads to ensure there’s enough amperage to go around when you’re drawing power. This powers all the lighting and appliances in my tiny house. I’ve also planned it out so if I move off-grid or want a more sustainable source of electricity at any time, I can convert my power supply to solar panels mounted on my roof.

My tiny house is also equipped with an upgraded LPG (liquid propane gas) system so if I want to I can live off the grid and still have power for cooking and hot showers. LPG has been around for ages and is a safe and convenient option used by campers; it can also serve as a great backup for any situation where you don’t have access to electrical power like a power outage or a remote location. Most people who own a THOW meant to be on the move would likely opt for a more portable tank size, but since mine is an ADU I opted for a 30lb propane tank that should last me about 3 months between refills.

LPG hook-up and propane cylinder that usually stay connected. One 30lb cylinder will usually last me 3 months.

Water: Potable Water Hose w/ regulator, filters, and softener

The water utilities coming into my THOW is rigged through a simple outdoor hose bib with a pressure regulator on a potable water hose (for now). At the time of approval, the City of San Jose did not require anything more so I’m set, but after speaking with the plumbing inspector in charge of drafting the next iteration of THOW ADU regulations I’ve found out that other THOWs will likely require two additions that prevent water backflow–these are upgrades I will voluntarily include in the coming weeks.

I’ve attached a water filter to my potable water hose and I had another water filter installed under my kitchen sink. Soon I will be upgrading to a new copper hose bib and hooking up a water softener outside between the two filters to further treat my water. In the future, I can use this same connection to hook-up to a rainwater collection tank if I want to move off-grid.

Hose bib with pre-filter connecting to the THOW with a pressure regulator and through another in-unit water filter.

Waste: Secured sewer line routed to a cleanout

Finally, we arrive at the most complicated of connections–the waste outlet. What do you do with the greywater and blackwater waste generated in your tiny home? Well, the most secure option would be to hard pipe the unit’s sewer outlet to a clean out pipe which runs into the municipal sewer. This may mean that if you don’t have a cleanout already, you will have to dig a new trench and hard pipe a cleanout that flows to the city sewer which will go under the THOW as I did. But connecting to this cleanout using standard plumbing connections can be difficult because not all flexible attachments are not made in standard plumbing sizes. We can solve this by petitioning the city’s plumbing division to allow for a custom setup and its requisite attachments to route waste into the cleanout pipe, but you’ll have to demonstrate that the hose is protected, stowed away so it doesn’t get damaged by people or animals, and affixed at a 1/4″ decline so it performs well. I currently use a flexible drainage outlet secured to a wooden support which is mounted under my THOW and connected to the sewer cleanout using elbow attachments. Be warned, you’ll want to make sure this is a solid, secured, sealed connection that will last to avoid any messy leaks. If I decide to move off-grid in the future, I can use the same setup to dump into a septic tank or attach a blackwater tank under my chassis which I can empty periodically. Ideally, I would like to switch to a composting toilet and greywater tank.

(L) Bottom-up view of the THOW sewer outlet which points out, (M) example of one type of flexible connection, (R) Connection to a sewer cleanout (Not pictured) Sewer line supported under the THOW chassis

And there you have it! My tiny house is connected to city utilities through a 50A receptacle, potable water hose, and a secure sewer line setup that I had approved by the plumbing inspector. The important takeaway here is that I was able to use flexible connections for a THOW ADU setup that still allows for me to easily disconnect and move the unit in the future.

Connecting your THOW ADU to utilities will depend on the location you will place the unit and your future usage/moving plans. I can help you determine the best way to connect to utilities depending on your situation and get these plans approved by the city! Get started today by putting yourself on the list to schedule a free consultation with me to discuss your specific tiny house plans. It takes less than a minute and the sooner you get started, the faster you’ll get your THOW approved. Why wait?