Tiny House Utilities - How Teacup is Looking Out For Customers
May 16, 2022
You don’t know what you don’t know. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced tiny house builder at the helm!
Here at Teacup, we are huge fans of empowering our customers to make decisions from a place of strength- and that means explaining why we do what we do! So today, we wanted to give you a peek inside our brains to show you how we’ve thought through tiny house utilities.
Tiny house utilities are an essential topic of discussion. After all, they will determine the functionality of your house. We want your Teacup experience to be as effortless as possible, which is why we’ve gone to such great lengths to consider tiny house utilities from so many angles. But let’s break it down so you can decide if it makes sense to you!
Water.
Water is the life force! It literally makes up 70% of our bodies. So this is one utility that we knew we had to get right. And to be fully transparent with you, this was a tricky one at first!
You are closer to the elements when you are in a tiny house. Yes, our houses are built with closed-cell spray foam insulation, but there is still less of a buffer between you and the outside world.
So what does this mean for a tiny house’s water supply? It means there is a greater risk of frozen pipes. Yeah. Not fun.
Many things can be done to mitigate the risk of frozen pipes, but one thing that sets us apart from most tiny house builders is this: we only build houses with heated floors. Not only is this mandatory for us, but it is HOW we do the in-floor heat system that really sets us apart. Sure, this feels like a swanky upgrade (and yes, it really is that good on cold winter mornings!), but we include it as a standard step of protection for our customers.
Here in Canada, the risk of frozen pipes is greater than in other areas, but as tiny houses can be moved, we wanted to mitigate that problem no matter where a customer was located. We do this to protect a customer’s locational freedom and to maximize the resale value of the house in the future. Trust us, second-hand buyers pay more for houses with options.
So rest assured that your team at Teacup is looking out! We hope you enjoy your heated floors, your running water in the middle of winter, and your peace of mind. You deserve all of it.
Electricity.
When we were thinking through your Teacup’s electrical system, we thought about it like this:
-What are our customers’ electrical needs?
-How can we meet those needs most efficiently?
-How can we use our expertise to protect our customers from things they might not know yet?
You may have seen some builders advertising tiny houses with one hundred amp panels. We, however, build our houses with fifty amp or 30 amp versions. Why would we give you less? We give you less because we’ve done our research. Not only is 100 amps illegal in the RV standards CSA Z240 RV & NFPA 1192, but here’s the thing, it might sound like more is better, but that’s only until you’ve tried to find tiny house parking.
You should know that most parking spaces will have a maximum of fifty amps of power available, with thirty amps being slightly more common.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering what happens if you end up parking somewhere with a thirty amp power supply, don’t worry. We selected all your major appliances carefully, and they will run on thirty amps just fine. ;)
Tiny Toilets.
Tiny house toilets are always a big topic of discussion! And there is a lot to know! Initially, most of our customers are inclined to stick with the flush toilet they know and love. And while we get it, this is another area in which our team at Teacup will flex our experience to help you make an educated decision.
Here’s the thing: if you plan to park your Teacup on private land, it’s unlikely that there will be an extra sewer connection lying around. Moreover, putting in sewer (or septic!) systems can be expensive. This is where a composting toilet is your friend.
How a composting toilet works could be a blog in and of itself. Suffice it to say, though, that composting toilets take water out of the equation. Here at Teacup, we are big fans of the Separett toilet. Not only does it save two gallons of water per flush (!!), but it also makes parking a tiny house easier.
OK, but what if you really want a regular toilet? Awesome! We can definitely do that. Or, if you want, we could do something super tricky and double plumb your Teacup for you.
Ready to have your mind blown? We can plumb your house to support both a composting and regular toilet. This will allow you to swap them out depending on where your house is parked or what your needs are. Oh, and this is another thing that will contribute to the resale value of your house! More flexibility is always better.
~
We could probably write a book with all there is to know about tiny house utilities! Please don’t feel overwhelmed, though! Here at Teacup, we have made it our mission to learn everything we can about your options. You don’t have to be an expert; you just have to choose a builder you can trust.
And to that end, if you’re just getting to know us, welcome! We’d encourage you to sign up for our email list so you can continue the educational process. This blog comes out every week, and we’re happy to pop it right in your inbox!
Are you a visual person? Fabulous! In that case, let’s also be friends on Instagram! There, you can meet our team and see pictures of us in action.
Oh, and if you were ready to get started on your tiny journey, like, yesterday, you can check our product gallery and build your estimate here.
Well, that’s it for this week! We hope you enjoyed learning more about your tiny house utility options, and we hope to meet you soon. Maybe on a Discovery Call?
Until then,
-Jen
