Development of a Tiny House Design Tool To Increase Safety, Efficiency, and Cost-Effectiveness

Author

Michael Joseph Stratton II, Grand Valley State University

Date Approved

12-2020

Graduate Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Engineering (M.S.E.)

Degree Program

School of Engineering

First Advisor

Lindsay Corneal

Second Advisor

Mehmet Sozen

Third Advisor

Laura Schneider

Academic Year

2020/2021

Abstract

A growing number of people are choosing to live more sustainably, and this is commonly done through living in an extremely small house, also called a “tiny house”. There is no set definition for a tiny house, but it typically refers to a structure less than 500 ft2, sometimes built by the homeowner, and frequently built on a travel trailer.

The popularity of tiny houses has increased over the years due to different television shows, internet videos, and photo sharing websites, but the technical details are rarely covered, which is why this study examines the structural, stability, weight, and thermal requirements of two gooseneck style tiny houses. A configurable SolidWorks model was created, and the location and quantity of structural supports were determined by performing structural finite element analyses. The center of mass, tip angles, overall weight, and tongue weight were computed to ensure stability while stationary or during transit. The heating and cooling needs for the tiny houses were calculated by performing thermal finite element analyses for twelve host cities of varying geographic locations and regional climates across the contiguous United States.

The result of this study is a Scilab design tool that takes as input items such as location, desired size, utility related information, etc. It calculates the materials needed for the shell of the structure in addition to a projected cost that the user can reference. This design tool, along with the separately provided construction drawings, allows the user to build a safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective tiny house.

ScholarWorks Citation

Stratton, Michael Joseph II, "Development of a Tiny House Design Tool To Increase Safety, Efficiency, and Cost-Effectiveness" (2020). Masters Theses. 1002.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/theses/1002