Tiny houses: Everything you need to know

Every pioneering movement takes time to become legal. If we do an analysis at the European level, the general trend is in favor of small ecological homes focused on low consumption and minimal impact on their environment and more and more countries are developing laws that allow the installation of mobile, autonomous and sustainable Tiny Houses. Countries like France, Germany or England already have them and there are many examples of legalised Tiny House communities in Holland or Northern Countries.

First of all, if you are looking for a piece of land for rent, you will have much more success if you first start your tiny house project and then look for the land. A Tiny house project takes at least 6 months between the first contact, the pre-project, the wait for a production space, the construction and its delivery. So, it is very likely that the perfect land for your Tiny house will escape you if you start your search too early.

In addition, with 2D and 3D plans made during the pre-project phase and construction in progress, your motivation and persuasive power will be doubled.

Putting a Tiny House in a camping: the fastest and easiest way to get a piece of land is through campings because they already have all the necessary authorisations and licenses. It is literally a “plug and play” solution to be able to live in your tiny house. In addition, we have cases of clients who have stayed in a camping for a season as a provisional solution that has allowed them to take more time to find the ideal plot of land for their Tiny House.

Find the land for your Tiny House doing door to door in your search area: We have cases of clients who have found the land in 15 days to live in their tiny house all year round, even without prior knowledge of the area.

Searching for Tiny House Communities on Internet: Searching for a place on Internet for your tiny house is like looking for a needle in a haystack. At the moment it is not easy to find information on Internet, simply because the Tiny Houses community projects that are being developed work mainly through word of mouth and communicate little on social networks or the web in general.

The perfect land for your tiny house through circles of friends and family: Many times it is the first support to achieve it. Your friends and family can give you clues and contacts to get the land for your tiny house. Talking about it with them, we do not doubt that opportunities will arise from the fields of acquaintances or from people sharing similar values and goals.

The great advantage of a tiny house is that you do not need any foundation or connections / septic tank in its off-grid version.

The most important thing you have to anticipate is transportation and access to your land. Make sure that the width of the road and its height are not blocked by trees or bridges that could compromise the passage.

Make sure that your land is not in an area with flood risk. If your land has relief, it would be ideal for the place dedicated to the Tiny House to be completely flat or else it will have to be levelled.

Ideally, the soil needs to be compacted in order for your tiny house to be stable and for the solution to be viable in the long term. If this is not the case, the tiny house will have to be levelled again from time to time.

At the moment there is no specific insurance for Tiny Houses, although some of our clients have been researching and collaborating with insurance agencies to develop their own custom offer that takes into account this type of light and mobile homes.

• With our experience, many of our clients have insured mini houses such as:
  Bungalow
• Trailer with a load of value XXXX€

The price will depend on the insurance company, the relationship you have with it and the use of the tiny house. The insurance will usually cost between €300 and €800 per year.

We are lovers of real wood and we consider that it is the only material that meets the criteria of a sustainable society. We do not use products such as metallic structures or strange mixtures and that implies being more aware of how a natural material is cared for. That said, our compromise for quality & sustainability implies that we build our Tiny Houses to build a lifetime and not only until your warranty is over…

Usually, the exterior can remain as it is and will turn grey over time. It has been done that way for centuries in many countries and it has proven to be the best natural way of doing so. For optimal visual maintenance (as new) we recommend putting a new layer of paint or linseed oil on all facades and window frames every three years. It does not require machines, it takes less than a day to do it and you do not have to have any kind of knowledge or experience. If you do not, it will not affect the energy efficiency or the properties of the materials.

Inside, we recommend a coat of paint about every five years on painted furniture, but this will depend on the use of each part of the tiny house. We recommend paying more attention to parts exposed to water (kitchen, bathroom) and checking joints and pipes once a year. Each construction has its own accesses so that you can control everything, or intervene in the event of a leak, without having to destroy anything or call anyone.

Regarding energy autonomy, solar panels must be kept as clean as possible to preserve energy performance. You will always have access to the entire status and history of the solar installation through an application supplied with your Tiny House if you opted for the off-grid pack.

Regarding the autonomy of the water, the gray water filter must be cleaned regularly and the natural material used changed every 6 months. The filters to clean and purify should be checked regularly and we will provide you with a maintenance plan around this aspect. We only use standardised formats that can be easily found in many places in case you have to buy a replacement.

Something can happen in any type of home and we want you to feel safe in your home, without depending on external intervention in the event of a problem.

That is why each Tiny House has smoke and carbon monoxide detectors by default, as well as a fire extinguisher, easy access to the connection boxes, water valves for each device, and other details that make our houses so different. Have lived in Tiny Houses ourselves, our recommendations and design choices are based on actual experiences, or as we say, eating our own dog food.

The doors, windows and locks are the same as those usually found in a traditional home.

In addition, exterior shutters can be added so that the house is completely covered when you go on a trip.

If necessary, we can add extra security devices such as a GPS beacon or remote intervention systems for the solar installation.

If you are afraid that someone with malicious intent will tow your house away, you can remove the hitch and wheels, put a wheel clamp or separate the tiny house from the trailer with our Twist & Lock system.

For us, it is essential that you feel comfortable in a Serena.House Tiny house

The doors, windows and locks are the same as those usually found in a traditional home.

In addition, exterior shutters can be added so that the house is completely covered when you go on a trip.

If necessary, we can add extra security devices such as a GPS beacon or remote intervention systems for the solar installation.

If you are afraid that someone with malicious intent will tow your house away, you can remove the hitch and wheels, put a wheel clamp or separate the tiny house from the trailer with our Twist & Lock system.

For us, it is essential that you feel comfortable in a Serena.House Tiny house

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The second hand market is very limited and good opportunities are sporadic. Building a Tiny house is not something that can be improvised and it is essential to ensure the know-how of the builder and the quality of the materials used.

Several of our clients entrusted us with the sale of their Tiny house, and all of them were sold in less than a 1 month.

Wooden houses have existed for thousands of years and the durability of each one has always depended on the quality of the work and the commitment of its builders. If we talk about Tiny Houses, since the beginning of the movement in 2008, the Tiny houses that last or retain their value are those that are made with every detail in mind, with carefully selected materials and techniques at all levels.

The components of the Tiny Houses that Serena.House builds are meticulously selected, in particular for their efficiency, environmental impact and durability.

If you take care of your Serena Tiny house, it will pay you back and last a lifetime, that’s our goal.

Being in a legal vacuum, at the moment Tiny Houses are not legally recognised as housing. By default, real estate loans cannot be obtained. However, many of our clients got consumer loans & several of them also were able to obtain financially interesting loans, including real estate ones, thanks to their relationship with their banks

Many times our clients have also obtained loans through their circle of friends and family.

That said, the grand majority of the people that we know off, integrally financed their Tiny Houses, especially due to the financial liberty it allowed them to get.

To start working together we ask for a first amount of €3,200 + VAT to be able to start the pre-project and guarantee you a production space.

Once the pre-project is finished and the contract signed, the payment schedule is as follows:

• 40% of the total when we sign the final contract
• 40% of the total when we start construction
• The remaining import when we complete your build

The first phase of a collaboration between Serena.House and its clients, is the pre-project phase, where you will be accompanied by your dedicated project manager who will analyse, together with our construction team, all the needs, wishes or requirements related to your tiny house.

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Our main priorities are ecology and sustainability. We build Tiny Houses that are respectful of the environment and healthy for their inhabitants, to reduce the impact of housing on the planet and for future generations.

Each of the products we use, each supplier we choose, each decision we make, has to respond to our need to have a positive impact on the planet, be it the type of forest our wood comes from, the environmental impact of the production of the materials we use, or how raw materials can be maintained or recycled in the healthiest and most respectful way possible.

We are pioneers in the sector of Tiny houses in Spain and our founder originally built & lived in its own Tiny House (one of the first fully ecological & off-grid model in Europe) before creating Serena.House. We give complete priority to the quality of the materials we use, where we get them and who we buy them from. With our years of experience, we have developed an ecosystem of suppliers and a circular ecosystem that allows us to have great proximity, adaptability and reactivity with our partners.

It is a life project and that is why our Tiny Houses are designed for lasting decades.

Our clients have very different profiles, but they all have something in common: they want to live in a sustainable, minimalist way, being close to and respecting nature, without compromising on quality.

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We provide a warranty of 2 years on the furniture, finishes and the like. Our structures are warranted for 5 years & many of the materials we use propose an even longer warranty. That said, we cannot be held responsible for damages related to improper transport, or weather (external visual appearance, color variations of the raw wood, etc.). It is your responsibility to carry out adequate maintenance of your Tiny House, including elements such as drinking water filters, stains on windows and facades, phytopurification, etc.

70% of the heat in a house comes from the roof. For this reason, we have developed a ventilated ceiling technique so that air can circulate under the ceiling and reduce its temperature.

Also, it is very important to anticipate the location of the house and its surroundings. If the house is next to vegetation and shady trees, this will impact the solar radiation on the tiny house, particularly in the afternoon.

If need be, we can also install systems such as AC or heat pump but we prefer passive methods that do not require energy & do not have any environmental impact.

We use 100% ecological insulation based on cotton, linen and hemp or wood fiber. In addition to having efficient thermal properties, they are excellent acoustic insulators.

Metallic structures can cause thermal bridges due to the accumulation of humidity on the walls over time. To avoid these problems, at Serena.House we build tiny houses with 100% wooden structures.

In addition, we build the walls using an ancestral Nordic technique, combined with the latest innovations in terms of wooden buildings, which allows us to have very interesting properties. The walls “breath”, that is to say that the air and the water do not enter, but the humidity leaves the tiny house in a natural way. In addition, we have a natural renewal of the air in the house thanks to techniques from the world of high seas.

The first step before making a visit is to schedule a twenty-minute video call with us to understand if your project and budget are aligned with the constructions we do and our way of working.

After that, we will receive you with pleasure, by appointment, from Monday to Friday from 8 in the morning until 5:00PM in the afternoon

A visit to our workshop lasts between 1 hour and 1h30 and is only possible in our Tona workshop, about 45 minutes by car from Barcelona. The nearest train station is Balenyà Tona Seva (line R3).

Also, we regularly organise open days. You can sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social networks to stay up to date with our events and news.

Your future home has to adapt to your lifestyle and not the opposite.

We have created and integrated some standard models that correspond to different uses: traveling or changing places on a regular basis, escaping for a weekend or on vacation, living all year round in the tiny house more (or less) permanently. These models are tested and approved, but we understand that each person is unique, and that her house has to fit her lifestyle.

We love projects with fully customized structures, but it must be taken into account that each structural change has an impact on the final cost.

That does not mean that all projects are the same, on the contrary. We have a wide range of materials, options, solutions, and more, within our quality memory and we take each project as a collaboration, analysing even the smallest details with our clients.

An air conditioning system can be installed in a tiny house, but it is a system that requires a lot of energy. If you want autonomy in electricity, you will have to compensate this energy need with a very powerful and of course very expensive electrical installation.

If the house is connected to the network, an installation can be done as if it were a traditional house.

Heating a small volume is very simple and very fast, particularly if the tiny house is efficient in retaining the heat that is produced inside. We propose different systems so that they can fit with your needs:

The wood stove is very nice and gives a very nice touch to the atmosphere of the house.
The gas system works with butane and lights up in 2 seconds.
If the house is connected, an electrical system can also be installed.
We do not recommend a pellet system, simply because the stoves are too large and produce too much heat for a space of this size.

All the systems that we recommend are combined with 4x16x4 climalit double-glazed windows & proper floor, walls & roof insulation

OPUS

• brown pine
• green pine
• Sapless Douglas
• Douglas Gray

The autoclaved coatings (amine, ammonia, copper) are treated against putrefaction and are thus not susceptible to xylophages or fungi. It means that this coating will last a long time.

‘Sapless Douglas’ is made from the heartwood of the tree, which is the hardest part of the center of the trunk. It is not susceptible to xylophages and lasts a long time.

All woods oxidize naturally, whether or not they are Autoclaved and will return to a silver color which many people like and has a more natural characteristic. Wood can be treated or painted with a stain to bring it back more of its original color, but it will require treatment every 3 to 5 years.

We do not recommend that the coating be treated and let it look as it does after half a year to 1 year. If it is not pleasant, you can put a lasur again and rejuvenate the wood.
Because it is a natural product in constant movement, cracks or imperfections may appear, this is normal and is not cause for alarm. Also the appearance of small fungi in winter with humidity is very normal and will not affect the wood.

MEZZO

• Douglas Brown
• Douglas green
• Sapless Douglas

Douglas pine is a harder wood than Flanders pine, it lasts longer and is more stable. Due to its hardness, the autoclave treatment does not penetrate both Douglas wood and pine and if it is going to be in contact with the ground, treated Finnish pine is recommended.

Lunawood Heat Treated

The heat-treated is exposed to a heat treatment process (between 190ºC and 230ºC) that changes the properties of the wood. It results in a lighter product, resistant to xylophages and without the need to treat. This process does not require the use of chemicals or additives, and heating is the only ingredient in the process.
Like all woods, it will oxidize and return to a very natural and beautiful color. The manufacturer does not recommend any treatment of this wood and it already carries everything it will need to last a long life through the heat treatment process.

Luna wood:

We are highly in favor of energy self-consumption.

During the pre-project phase we will carry out a study of your energy requirements so that you can use all the electronic devices you need.

• How many solar panels and what type of battery
• What power available and for how long
• Where and how to place solar panels
• etc…

For the solar installation, we work exclusively with the Dutch brand Victron Energy, a reference in the electrical installation sector, for its stability, quality and longevity.

The possibility of autonomy in water depends a lot on the place where you are going to live, what type of water you want to use (rain, well, tank, network, etc.) and what level of consumption you want to be able to have to achieve autonomy throughout the year .

We offer several solutions to be able to face this challenge and we will talk about it during the pre-project phase:

• Recovery and filtration of rainwater
• Purification of well or river water
• Water delivery by cistern
• etc…

We also recommend the use of a dry toilet, that is, without water, which saves up to 40% of the “traditional” daily consumption of a home. In the pre-project phase, we will explain the different types of solutions that exist so that you can choose the type that suits you best:

• with or without sawdust
• With or without urinary separation
• With or without automatic deletion
• etc…

First of all, we recommend the use of the dry toilet for your tiny house. This system allows you to save on the management of black water and only have to manage grey water.

The vast majority of our customers choose ecological soaps and detergents and combine it with the Finnish phytofiltration system that we propose. This system allows you to eliminate all impurities from residual grey water. It is a filter that is installed outside the tiny house, semi-buried to have gravity so that the water can flow through

Once passed through this filter, they can be poured directly into the ground and return to their natural cycle, without any environmental impact.