Tiny enough to tow: Engineer creates saltbox home on wheels
Jon Soehl hopes to sell red and yellow roving home for $65,000
Jon Soehl doesn't find living in a small space to be confining. In fact, he loves it.
And next week, Soehl will take his tiny red and yellow home on the highway. He and his girlfriend plan to park it in Bonavista, on the central part of the island, for the summer.
"I've lived in a van before, I've lived in a tent before while tree planting. I've lived in small spaces before so I'm going to embrace it," the engineer and owner of Driftwood Dwellings told CBC News during a tour Monday.
The builder and engineer plans to eventually sell his flagship model — aptly named the Bonavista — but first, he wants to experience off-grid living.
"It's going to be in a beautiful place in Upper Amherst Cove, which is in an incredible part of the world. It's going to be a really great summer."
From the ground to the peak of the roof, the home is just under 13 feet, six inches tall — within regulation to haul on the highway.
The exterior mirrors a traditional Newfoundland saltbox. The inside has white walls with a miniature wood stove mounted to one side, and a chimney that leads all the way up to the top of the home's cathedral ceiling.
"This house is meant to be operated off-grid," Soehl said. "So you don't need to have any electrical plug-ins or sewage."
"You need a water source but it could be a stream, or you could collect water from the roof."
For adventurous spirits
Soehl estimates about 100 hours went into the planning and drawing phase of the design. Construction began on the home in November.
The final product was a marriage of Soehl's interest in tiny spaces, his love of travel and his work as an engineer.
He's looking to sell the Bonavista for $65,000 — pointing to expensive features that make the home unique.
"People may have a piece of land out around the bay that they're going to build on someday but, in the meantime, they can put a tiny house there," he said.
The space could also work for those looking to avoid making regular mortgage payments, or as a vacation rental or guest house.
The Bonavista follows the tiny house movement that started in the U.S. and has spread across Canada.
For now, this Newfoundland-inspired tiny house sits on an 8x16 trailer next to Soehl's full sized home in the Quidi Vidi area of St. John's.
That is, until it makes its summer journey to the real Bonavista.
With files from the St. John's Morning Show