Oversights are bound to show up with any project that you're working on for the first time. Finding solutions has been on of my favorite parts of the tiny house build, despite the annoying belittle mental chatter that I need to navigate through the process. You've probably noticed the utility shed photo above that I decided to use as the theme of this tiny house site. I couldn't be happier with the finished product.
As I started looking into building the utility shed, I noticed that it wasn't going to be deep enough to store a standard sized propane tank in it since the width only had 7" of usable interior space. I really want to hid the tanks from view so I decided to build it out to hold (2) 12" diameter standard propane tanks. I angled out the wall 30 degrees to get the clearance needed. Being a CAD professional helped greatly since I had wall angles that were articulating with the angle of the roof. It was a very tedious and slow process that many consideration needed to be made. Aside from the propane tank dilemma, I also need to make sure that the door for the electrical panel on the right was at least 24" wide. This is the minimal working requirement needed for electrical panels. I also needed minimal clearances for the other side of the utility shed to accommodate the Eccotemp L10 propane on-demand hot water tank I wished to use. This is where I really encourage you to research all appliances and look specifically for any required space clearances before you build. I was able to meet most of the requirements, but I had to 'cheat' a couple clearances. And this wouldn't stop bothering me.
Window Saga 2.0: One of the requirements needed to be met for the water heater was 3' of clearance away from any window. I was able to get within a couple inches of this, but it just wasn't happening. After a few days of dwelling in the impossible, my landlord Gabe suggested that I just move the window. "What! Then the window won't be symmetrical" was my first reaction. We'll the window still hasn't come, I guess no hurt in taking some measurements to see if it was possible. After a half hour of figuring out, I was confident that this was the best solution. Not only did it solve my biggest problem with the water heater, it also solved some problems with my sink and mirror placement in my bathroom Killed two tiny house problems with one window! Out of square windows rule!
As I started looking into building the utility shed, I noticed that it wasn't going to be deep enough to store a standard sized propane tank in it since the width only had 7" of usable interior space. I really want to hid the tanks from view so I decided to build it out to hold (2) 12" diameter standard propane tanks. I angled out the wall 30 degrees to get the clearance needed. Being a CAD professional helped greatly since I had wall angles that were articulating with the angle of the roof. It was a very tedious and slow process that many consideration needed to be made. Aside from the propane tank dilemma, I also need to make sure that the door for the electrical panel on the right was at least 24" wide. This is the minimal working requirement needed for electrical panels. I also needed minimal clearances for the other side of the utility shed to accommodate the Eccotemp L10 propane on-demand hot water tank I wished to use. This is where I really encourage you to research all appliances and look specifically for any required space clearances before you build. I was able to meet most of the requirements, but I had to 'cheat' a couple clearances. And this wouldn't stop bothering me.
Window Saga 2.0: One of the requirements needed to be met for the water heater was 3' of clearance away from any window. I was able to get within a couple inches of this, but it just wasn't happening. After a few days of dwelling in the impossible, my landlord Gabe suggested that I just move the window. "What! Then the window won't be symmetrical" was my first reaction. We'll the window still hasn't come, I guess no hurt in taking some measurements to see if it was possible. After a half hour of figuring out, I was confident that this was the best solution. Not only did it solve my biggest problem with the water heater, it also solved some problems with my sink and mirror placement in my bathroom Killed two tiny house problems with one window! Out of square windows rule!
The last of my issues with the water heater was venting out the roof. I would have to cut a 4" diameter hole and extend a pipe at least 2' above the roof. I wasn't too happy about this. I hated the thought of having a penetration through the roof and after a number of correspondence with Eccotemp about this heater, the recommendation for this heater is really outside installed and it's also really not suitable for every day use according to them. Leaving the unit exposed on the outside of my beautiful house was always a non-negotiable. So the research continued and I can across another propane on-demand hot water heater that could vent the the floor of the house, the Precision Temp RV-550 NSP. It's a very pricey alternative. I'll follow up and write about that after it's installed. I didn't really want to take up space in the tiny house with this, but some compromised need to be made. Since the utility space won't need to house my water heater, I now have adequate space to install water filters, a water meter and a reducing valve in the shed.
Accept that you most likely will buy products that you only discover at a later time won't work for your application. At times you'll be able to return them, and other times you'll have to eat the loss. This wasn't the first, and I'm sure it won't be the last yet.
Accept that you most likely will buy products that you only discover at a later time won't work for your application. At times you'll be able to return them, and other times you'll have to eat the loss. This wasn't the first, and I'm sure it won't be the last yet.