The Tiny House Industry Needs To Collaborative And Be Inclusive
I was honored to be a guest on the Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast with Ethan Waldman for the second time to give an update on the ASTM E06.26 Tiny Houses Subcommittee. Ethan is a gracious host and he puts you at ease immediately.
One important message I want to really get across is that the tiny house industry needs to work to be more collaborative and to be inclusive of the various standards that are being developed, not to work against what others are doing, and embrace all methods of construction, whether a tiny house is built as a modular, to the HUD code, the RV standards, or the new ASTM Tiny Houses Standards to support all levels of manufacturing, whether you have a factory, or you are an owner builder. Let’s support all paths for the recognition for tiny houses as a viable option for housing.
Janet Thome is deeply involved in the tiny house movement, leading the Tiny House Alliance USA and serving as the membership secretary of the ASTM International Tiny House Subcommittee. In this episode, Janet will share insights into the current state of the tiny house market, the impact of recent economic shifts, and the ongoing efforts to develop standards that ensure safety, affordability, and compliance in the industry. She’ll also discuss the importance of certification for owner-builders and the essential role of inclusive regulations. Join us as we dive deep into these topics and explore the future potential of tiny house living with Janet Thome.
Inside the Effort to Develop a Tiny House Standard for the Entire World with Janet Thome – #296
In This Episode:
- 🌍 Global Standardization: Janet discusses efforts with ASTM International to create a worldwide tiny house standard, streamlining safety, affordability, and compliance across different countries.
- 👷 Safety and Compliance: Emphasis on the importance of adopting ASTM standards to ensure that tiny houses are built safely and adhere to recognized industry benchmarks.
- 🏠 Affordable Housing: Keeping the tiny house industry affordable is a primary concern, facilitating support for small manufacturers and DIY builders.
- 🚚 Local vs. Transport Costs: The cost benefits of selecting local builders to prevent high transportation costs of materials and completed homes.
- 📋 Certification Needs: Highlighting the importance of certification to streamline and ensure consistency in the building and approval processes across states.
- 🛑 Fraud Alert: Warnings about the prevalence of scams within the tiny house industry, urging potential buyers to thoroughly research and verify builders’ credentials.
- 🤝 Industry Collaboration: Collaboration with various stakeholders like manufacturers, engineers, and architects to create comprehensive and inclusive standards.
- 🔍 Future Trends: Emerging trends, including a push towards creating new classifications of housing to keep up with societal and economic changes.
Links And Resources
Tiny Houses Finally Found A Home With ASTM
We Are The ‘Tiny House Architects’ Of Our Own Future
On several occasions, I have been asked to explain in common language what exactly is the opportunity with ASTM to create tiny house standards and why does the tiny house industry need them? An ASTM standard is a document that is developed within the consensus process utilizing the ANSI Essential Process For Due Process.
First of all, if you look around you, you will recognize the pattern of standardization. Systems and procedures that work in harmony, have an agreed upon way of how things are produced or implemented.
Look at the simplest of things, like mailing a letter, to the standard size paper that goes into a printer, sending an email, making a phone call, or cooking a meal, how an I-Phone is the same in every country, and you will start recognizing the patterns of harmonization and creating uniformity in standardization.
Typically tiny houses on wheels are built to recreational vehicle standards which are built for short-term use. This has prevented the advancement of the industry to obtain good financing and to be allowed as housing in municipalities across the world.
Join US! Every Voice Matters
The Tiny Houses subcommittee is open to all and every voice matters. Please Join Us!
First You Join ASTM
Join E06 Performance Of Buildings Committee
Join E06.26 Tiny Houses Subcommitee
Learn More About ASTM Membership
Students Are Free!
Tiny House Alliance USA Editor
April 26, 2024
The Future Of Tiny Is Now!
Janet Thome Founder And President
janet@tinyhouseallianceusa.org
509 345 2013
