As promised we want to take this opportunity to put our experiences and thoughts about some interesting challenges in our project on the paper – so to speak 🙂 A lot has happened, so this is a longer entry in our blog with some technical informations (that I am not yet that good in writing down 😉 ). You will soon find a detailed collection of all the technical details, Tips, as well as our personal Do’s and Don’ts here.
As you might have read in one of our first posts, we got an “unofficial” confirmation, that we get to build our Tiny House where we wanted it to be. The key term really turned out to be “unofficial” in this scenario; I think in a way we both felt some hesitation in our joy over this victory early on. To not have a certain letter of confirmation in your hands feels strange and has been warned about several times. So when we several weeks later got an email of the Canton of Jura, informing us that our desired piece of land is agricultural land (as we already knew) and therefore not to be built on, it came on one side still as a huge shock but also felt a bit like an old acquaintance that you don’t like but you knew he is going to show up at the party.
So our next plan of action became to write an absolutely convincing proposal to pass to the commune and the canton, to make them change their minds and see, that our Tiny House is what’s best for that little bit of unused land. But not only that: It was supposed to be about the ecological importance of tiny living and about how we would use this space in the best possible way – for us and our Tiny House but also for the wildlife around us. You will find said document here soon. We were quite convinced by our document and our suggestions. And it made us actually see possible additions and ideas for the Tiny House as well as the space around it. A Tiny House, we realized for ourselves, really is -more than a “regular” house- something that is meant to be integrated into an existing space. The surroundings are not meant to adapt to the house but rather the other way around. This means that with the design (materials, colors, shape, etc.) one is supposed to be respectful and mindful of what is already there. To us, the longer the more, that became an essential conclusion of the whole “preparation part”.
But laws in Switzerland seem to be strict. Things are labeled and are rarely relabeled unless it serves a – in the opinion of the ones executing those laws – useful cause. Our Tiny House does not belong in that category. Not yet anyway! And even though there is little else to do with that little piece of land from a traditional agricultural standpoint, arguing with the canton that our Tiny House is a good way to use that piece of land – we decided – will probably not change their answer.
We were set on the piece of land – it seemed like it had been waiting for us to live there. But we also had of course respect concerning this clear “No” of the canton. This in the end led to our decision to rethink the whole “Trailer-Idea” – a less permanent seeming option, in case the people from the canton ever decide to drop by – instead of our original plan: to build on a pillar foundation, which is still a quite mobile option but less mobile in the traditional sense (as: you can hook your house on a car and drive away – to put it very simple).
So after some back and forth and careful consideration of other possible parkingspots on the property, we said yes to the Trailer-Option.
An introduction to Vlemmix and many new informations about the fascinating world of Tiny Houses…
We decided to get in contact with Vlemmix – they are located in Germany/Holland and are probably one of the most known trailer companies. We learned that there are companies that build trailers in Switzerland as well and maybe – if we would do it all over again – we would think more about the pros and cons of ordering our trailer outside of Switzerland (but more on that later ;-)). That being said: our first contact with company was super friendly and in our phonecall with them we learned a lot of useful information. The one of them being: you can build a 3 meter wide house on a 2,55 meter wide trailer, it is done often. This was a huge relief and a big motivation to keep going.
Three axes make sense when you plan to build lofts in your Tiny House but are not absolutely necessary when you don’t move your house often. Even though this will probably be the case with us, we went for the three axes anyway.
How does this thing get here?
After the order was officially placed with Vlemmix, the long wait started. A trailer is newly made and in our case the waiting time was 12 to 14 weeks, which back then seemed like a eternity but in the end went by so fast that we still had not figured out the whole transport from Holland to Switzerland. With Vlemmix, the transport of the trailer is usually ones own responsibility and was in our case a challenge since neither one of us has a driving permit yet – let alone the one you need to move a trailer this size. Vlemmix works together with a slovak company but due to the Covid Situation they were not available. First we had our own (awesome!) friends and family members offer to do the transport or pay for it. And after that, friends of friends said they could do it. It was – once again – wonderful to get so much support and we are happy to be blessed with all those great people. Nevertheless we realized that being able to drive is not the only hurdle we will face. Which in the end led us to the door of professionals transporters: Planzer. For a negotiated but still substantial fee, Planzer will pick up the trailer and deliver it here. The big advantage of this solution: All the paperwork has been taken care of and all that was left for us to do was to wait in anticipation.
The first snow and a big arrival
On Tuesday the 1st of December we woke up to a completely white Creux-des-Biches. Everything was covered in thick layers of snow. It was absolutely magical.
Disappointed about the Monday that came and went without a promised arrival of our trailer, we appreciated and enjoyed this white winter paradise. The hours went by and we had still not heard anything from Planzer – it started to feel weird. It was shortly before 5 o’clock in the evening, when suddenly Sam’s phone rang and we learned that the truck with our trailer inside is already in Le Noirmont. Exited and wrapped tightly in winter coats and snow boots we went to wait at the junction of the main road. I can tell you: the moment when that huge truck came into our sight, I actually got that “what the heck have you done”-feeling. The truckdriver was not able to turn into our side street because of the snow and a lack of grip and therefore parked on the side of the mainstreet. Luckily he was a very humorous man, could speak Dutch with Sam and took a lot of our nervosity away. With the trailer being unloaded on the mainstreet, that still left us with the challenge of at least getting it off the street and somewhere safe, so we could transport it to the actual parking spot the following day with better light conditions. Thanks to our routined tractor-driving-volonteer, another current resident of our community and my mother as well as a few patient street-construction workers we succeeded. The trailer and us got some rest for the night.
After a solemnly transport through the snow and an at times panic inducing lifting over a little stone wall the following morning, the trailer has arrived on our little piece of land. And after some moments of feeling like we had to admit that we gravely underestimated the weight of the trailer and almost conceding defeat, we could proudly leave it there and have a well deserved lunch.
We finished this milestone of a day around a crackling fire with self made hot wine and exchanging our visions for the Tiny House, with Sam saying: ” I am looking forward to the first night in the Tiny House, looking around and knowing every single nail and screw, because we put it there ourselves.” This moving day and this moment around the fire wrapped up a chapter defined by planning and waiting and certainly made us bond for the first time really, physically with our future home on wheels.
The Three Tiny Deers 
Wow! What an adventure! But now you have got “that thing” on its spot. Congratulations!
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