1Feb 6, 2014
DC’s zoning has not been comprehensively updated since 1958. After 6 years of drafting and public input, the Office of Planning is about to finalize a new set of zoning regulations that could transform the city by allowing accessory dwelling units (ADU’s- carriage houses and microhomes behind an existing house, or basement apartments), as well […]
2Oct 11, 2012
Kudos to DC’s Urban Turf for continuing to cover the state of play with DC microhousing. From today’s article “Is DC Ready for 275-Square Foot Housing?“, it is clear that in some respects DC is far ahead of the country in terms of minimum size regulations. While other cities such as San Francisco contentiously debate […]
3Oct 1, 2012
*Updated Feb 2014* Currently the majority of tiny homes are built to accept pressurized water hookup from a hose. Simple, but also quite limiting if the house is ever moved for a few days (or longer) to somewhere where there is no pressurized water hookup- a music festival, or, say, a vacant alley lot. The […]
4Aug 18, 2012
Lots of exciting progress. The biggest news is that Jay’s tiny house is in full swing, with flooring and insulation in place. Check out the very cool time lapse video he’s making. Lee and Tony are working away on her house, extending the floor one foot in front and back. Brian’s trailer is still sitting idly […]
5Jul 31, 2012
Well progress this month was a bit slower than planned. On July 3 Brian and Tony discovered a DCRA stop work order had been placed on the lot. The bright orange document posted on the shipping container cited ‘commercial activity’ was not allowed in a R-3 (residential) zoned area. This was a surprise, since nothing […]
6Jul 6, 2012
Part of the mission of Boneyard Studios is to support changes to DC zoning and building codes to allow higher density, affordable housing in the District. Currently there are some excellent proposals on the table to allow for accessory dwelling units (typically carriage houses and basement apartments) in low-density parts of town. The accessory dwelling […]
7Jul 1, 2012
We wanted to give a quick shout out to all the excellent neighbors immediately adjacent to the tiny house lot (and Councilmember McDuffie’s house) that we’ve met as we’ve knocked on doors and have been working outside each day (names abbreviated for privacy): –S&T, who offered us power before our electricity was installed. (He also […]
8Jun 29, 2012
Some solid late June progress. After months of plotting, Pepco came out to hook up electricity, and suddenly power tools helped us complete the rest of the fence project in a few days- now just the 16 foot welded fence gate remains. A huge thanks to Tony for some really excellent fence work! With power […]
9Jun 15, 2012
Some pictures from the lot taken over the past couple weeks – Brian and Tony are almost done with the fencing, compost was delivered, garden beds are being built, and some of the fruit trees are planted already! Plus, Brian installed his birdfeeder and hammock hooks are going up soon. Lee returned from Brazil excited […]
10May 27, 2012
I left for Brazil just as everything started happening on the lot. I promised I wouldn’t disappear for a month but try and stay engaged in the project while here. Thus, I write this from a hammock in rural Northeast Brazil where we’re staying with an amazing community leader and learning about the Xukuru’s fight […]
11May 22, 2012
With the DCRA permit now in hand, today the good folks at KK Containers were able to bring us a 20’x8′ shipping container down from Baltimore, freshly painted and all tricked out with a new custom installed side door. This will serve as a combination garden shed and secure workshop/storage space as tiny house construction gets […]
12May 8, 2012
Without a registered address, it is not possible to do very much on an un-named alley lot (even if it has a lot/square number) apart from cleaning it up, as no city permits can be granted to a lot without a street address. After five meetings at DCRA, I have formal word from the Chief Building […]