Archives: Nomad Blog

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

“Micro-burst” Charred Cedar

Ottawa was hit by a micro-burst last week that soaked the tiny home (link). Half of us were running for the tarps, the other half for the DSLR camera. Check out what charred cedar looks like wet: Photo credit to... More

Monday, September 18, 2017

Craftsmanship

What is craftsmanship? With respect to carpentry, one might argue it is a blend of skill/mastery applied to the right building materials. Here are two examples of beautiful building materials installed with care on showcase in the Nomad: Reclaimed barn board used as a ceiling finish (thanks for Atmosphere Bois for providing this high-end... More

Friday, September 8, 2017

Northern Nomad Design Poster

Credit to Brigitte Martins (4th year Architecture, design stream)   Northern Nomad Poster... More

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Media Coverage

This is a rolling post of the great media coverage the project has received. Thanks again to all who have reached out: CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-tiny-house-net-zero-students-1.4243693 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/programs/ottawamorning/net-zero-tiny-house-1.4246210 http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1024541251626 Vice... More

Friday, August 25, 2017

Thank You JELD-WEN

A warm thanks to JELD-WEN for their window donation. These are triple-glaze hybrid windows, thermally broken, argon filled with aluminum cladding and a vinyl/wood construction. These windows were key in getting us to net-zero energy. Some might assume that the weight of triple-glaze windows might be a cause for concern on a tiny home... More

Friday, August 25, 2017

Thank You CUFCA, Insultech and Genyk

Many thanks to CUFCA, Insultech and Genyk for their donation of spray foam to our project. We knew early that hitting net-zero energy using a 2x4 wall would not be easy on a metal trailer. Early on we decided that spray foam is an ideal choice to achieve a high R-value per inch while... More

Friday, August 25, 2017

Tiny Home Renders

What might life be like in a tiny house? Here is what we envision! Credit to Brigitte Martins, 4th year Architecture Design Stream (Aug... More

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

A Tiny Touch of Timber Framing

When Scott asked me on the phone to design some kind of a supporting structure for the roof cantilever, I immediately thought of heavy timber frames. I have always been enchanted by the majestc feel and ancient look of timber frames, and this was the perfect chance to use it. I started exploring possibilities... More

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Visitors!

The Northern Nomad has been gaining traction over the past weeks in terms of construction progress and publicity. With its central location on campus, the work site gains a lot of attention from passersby. Many stop to watch us work and ask questions, ranging from Carleton professors and staff to students and parents, young... More

Thursday, August 10, 2017

What has happened in the past 3 weeks?

Hello! Hope you had a good past 3 weeks. I know we definitely have had an eventful time. there were ups and downs, but there were definitely tonnes of learning. This is what happens when you take a bunch of engineering and 1 architecture students out of the classrooms and tell them to build a house.... More

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Step One: the Trailer

So one of our first big purchases, the "foundation" came in. We are now one step closer to our final goal of making a net zero energy and water tiny house. Soon you will be able to see us start building the Northern Nomad in the architecture quad. We would like to thank everyone that... More

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