Building types are gathered into chapters:

“Tiny Homes on Foundations”

“Tiny Homes on Wheels”

“Tiny Homes by Architects”

“Prefab Kits”

“Earthy Materials”

“Treehouses”

“On the Road”

“On the Water”

The book has 213 pages packed with fascinating and thought-provoking pictures of actual buildings and the people who have designed and built them.  It is a must-read for anyone who wants to down-scale or simply enjoys reading about human creativity.

Lloyd published Shelter “an oversized offspring of the Whole Earth Catalog” in 1973, the first in his series of major building books. He promises to publish “Tiny Homes 2” and invites submissions to tinyhomes2@shelterpub.com.

Green roofs can help with rainwater management, cooling and energy conservation, increasing biodiversity and can insulate from noise.  Some people use the extra space to grow food.  Green roofs are often used to provide a wildlife habitat, but this should be managed carefully in order to avoid rodent problems.  We pay special attention to the underside of YardPods to ensure that critters cannot eat their way inside to the warm insulation, or even to the inside of the YardPod.

A green roof adds weight to the YardPod roof, so it is important to know in advance what is to be placed on the roof.  Just one inch of topsoil adds about 10 pounds per square foot in weight and that increases when it gets wet.

We recommend and can supply a single ply membrane roof which comes in a single sheet and can be an excellent foundation for a green roof.  We use an upgraded version of our standard membrane, so that owners can walk on their roof.

There are a lot of articles written about creating green roofs on large buildings, but I have just completed reading one that is directly applicable to a YardPod, an excellent book “Small Green Roofs – Low-Tech Options for Greener Living” by Nigel Dunnett, Dusty Gedge, John Little & Edmund C. Snodgrass, Timber Press 2011. ($16.47)

The book is described as “….complementary to but very different from other green roof books.  Like many Landscape, DIY, or garden books, green roof books tend to be authoritative- information is given by an expert to the uninitiated.  They speak with a single clear confident voice. This book is different.   We give some general and introductory material on construction, planting, and biodiversity, but the main bulk of the book is made up of the real experiences of people and their small-scale green roof projects…..Along the way things have gone wrong, turned out differently, or simply exceeded all expectations.” (from Small Green Roofs).

The book profiles some forty projects including advice on design, construction and how to look after the roof.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in building a YardPod (or any other garden building) with a green roof.

Reason #1: “You need MORE SPACE.”

This is the primary reason why people add a YardPod. More and more people are working from home either part time or full time, and the dining room table is simply not the most efficient place to work.

A YardPod provides additional usable space quickly and efficiently and the cost may be tax-deductible as a business expense. Because most YardPods do not need a building permit, you save time and money and can enjoy your new space in weeks.

Reason #2: “You need to get away from the KIDS/DOGS so you can work.”

The workspace needs to be quiet-enough to support concentration and telephone calls.  Having a screaming infant or a barking dog disrupt a business conversation is both unprofessional and unproductive. Children respond better to “Mommy has to go to work now” as you leave the house for the YardPod office, rather than “Mommy is working, please be quiet” as you type with one hand and entertain the toddler with the other.

As detached units, YardPods leave the noise of the house behind.  They can also be constructed with additional sound insulation to meet specific acoustic needs, such as road noise.

Reason #3: “You need to get your TEENAGER, his friends and his MUSIC – OUT OF THE HOUSE.”

Teenagers need space of their own to meet with friends and to share music, games and hobbies.  Parents need their sanity.

A YardPod is often a win-win situation!

Reason #4: “You need a place to meet CLIENTS.”

The home is a great place to live, but it is difficult to project a professional business image when the kitchen is also the business meeting room.  Just as you do not meet clients in PJ’s, you should not meet clients over the sight of your breakfast dishes, you meal preparation, or the noise of your dishwasher.

A YardPod can be finished as a very efficient office and meeting room.  Whether the furniture is from Ikea, Design Within Reach, or your local recycling store, it can be arranged to project the business image that you need.

Reason #5: “You need to get MORE ORGANIZED.”

A homeworker needs to be as organized as an office worker, there needs to be a place for files and a work surface, as well as a place for the computer, printer, scanner and whatever other digital devices are needed.

YardPods can be set up to precisely meet the way that you work.  At the end of the workday, you can simply turn off the lights and lock the door, having full confidence that everything will be just as you left it when you return.

Reason #6: “You need a WELL- LIGHTED workspace.”

The home office needs to be well lighted for health and comfort.

Even standard YardPods can be configured with windows of size and position to maximize daylight and views.  And, skylights can be easily added.

Reason # 7: “The house is TOO HOT / TOO COLD.”

Older houses can be difficult and expensive to heat and cool.

YardPods are very highly insulated in the floor, walls and roof, and windows and doors have energy-efficient double-paned glass. YardPods are far more energy efficient than most homes.  A small space heater and/or small AC unit (depending on geographic location) will provide year-around thermal comfort, saving the cost of heating or cooling additional rooms that you are not using.

Reason # 8: “You need a MAN-CAVE / You need a Yoga Studio”

If you are a regular host of Monday Night Football for your friends a neighbors, and have a spouse that hates football, you NEED a YardPod. YardPods can be delivered complete with couches, large screen TV and beer-sized refrigerator complete with your favorite team logos and photographs, or you can customize your own.

If you need a Yoga Studio, we can outfit a YardPod with appropriate mats and finish the inside with neutral relaxing materials.

Reason # 9:  “You need a LIBRARY.”

Are you a book-lover who is running out of bookshelf space?  Not ready to “go digital” yet? You NEED a YardPod!

YardPods can be fitted out with wall to ceiling bookcases to keep your treasured books safe and dry. And you can create a comfortable, quiet reading nook to enjoy them.

Reason # 10:  “You need a studio for your HOBBY.”

If you are a writer, an artist, a photographer, a knitter, a musician, a potter or…..  you need a YardPod.

YardPods can be finished with materials that are appropriate for most hobbies. Water-resistant flooring, pinboard or mirrors on the wall are all easy. Unfortunately, for those artists working with metal sculptures and use welding gear (and we have had inquiries), we cannot recommend a YardPod, a concrete shed with a metal roof would be better.

BUT, that is one of the few exceptions to the rule:

Whatever you want to do, you can do it better in a YardPod!”

Designing for sustainability is not a binary activity, everything involves trade-offs.  In an ideal world, we would only use materials that were affordable, renewable and produced locally that was easy to assemble, had structural strength and thermal stability, used no paint or glue, that needed no maintenance, did not deteriorate, were waterproof, fireproof and immune to insect and animal damage and were 100% recyclable at the end of life. I do not know of any such a material, but will keep looking.  In the meantime, we offer the following:

Steel Framing: Our light gauge steel framing contains a minimum of 30% recycled content and is 100% recyclable at the end of its life. We minimize the amount of steel we use through in-line framing (floor joists line up with wall studs which line up with roof joists) and with 24” centers for studs and joists.  Our steel framing is galvanized and is maintenance-free with a life cycle of over 100 years.  Whenever possible we prefabricate our framing in a factory reducing construction time and waste on site.

SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels): Our panels are manufactured in Nevada, just 100 miles from Grass Valley, California where they are cut to size and prepared for installation. The OSB (Oriented Strand Board) used on both sides is from a rapidly-renewable wood species and the foam core is 100% recyclable EPS. Our SIPs contain no CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons), HFCs(Hyrdrofluorocarbons),  or HCFCs(Hydrochlorofluorocarbons). They form a very tight envelope with high levels of insulation as we use the same panels for floor, walls and roof.  SIPs are very fast to assemble on site. For more information on SIPs, visit www.sips.org.

Roofing: We prefer to use a single sheet membrane roof that is light in color (Cool Roof), reflecting the sun, has a 15 year warranty and requires no maintenance.  The membrane is very fast to install saving on site resources and reducing cost.

Windows and Doors: Our first choice is an aluminum product with an integral thermal break with double low-e glass, which is manufactured locally in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The aluminum is powder coated in the factory, needs no maintenance and never needs painting.  These windows and doors are highly efficient.

Exterior Wall Finish: We offer a range of options, but the most sustainable are the cement board panels, which are fire-resistant, waterproof, and resistant to insect attack and can be installed with self-coloring that never need painting.

Interior Finishes:  We recommend cork or bamboo for the floor (both renewable).  Walls and ceiling can be left unfinished on YardPod SP projects, or can be painted or have drywall or another board applied.  YardPod ST projects need either drywall or an MDF (Multi Dimensional Fiber) board applied.  We prefer not to use drywall because it is a labor-intensive multi-step process that introduces a lot of moisture into the building.

Our glues and resins contain no added formaldehyde, and none of our finishes contains VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).  If we have a wood exterior finish, we prefer to use a no-VOC soy-based stain.

The site: One often overlooked element of sustainability is the site work itself with disruption, noise, pollution and waste.  We prefabricate as much of the YardPod off site as possible to minimize time on site during construction.  We offer galvanized spike foundations, which are fast and efficient and we aim to complete a YardPod in days, not weeks or months.

For DIY YardPods, which we ship across the country, we only ship the prefabricated wall panels that are light and easy to handle.  We do not ship additional materials such as doors and windows, which can be purchased locally without additional shipping costs.  The only exception is the option to ship our roof membrane that is not available to individual buyers, they are shipped directly from the manufacturer to the YardPod customer, avoiding additional transportation and cost.

Operationally, we operate as a virtual company with no facilities, no employees and almost no overhead.  We out-source manufacture to order, so have no inventory, no spoilage and no waste. We communicate electronically and avoid the need to print on paper (except when dealing with 19^th century Building Departments!).

We work hard to ensure that YardPods are as sustainable as they can be, are easy and quick to assemble and are as maintenance-free as possible. We are always open to suggestions for new materials or new methods, which can improve the sustainability of our operations and our products.

Malcolm Davies, YardPod Guy.  md@yardpods.com

I built my YardPod with two objectives; first to provide a showcase for our business in designing and selling YardPods.  It is all very well having pictures and showing photographs on the website, but buyers often need to see the real thing before making a purchase decision.  My YardPod has served this purpose well, there continues to be a stream of visitors who “kick the tires” and ask questions.  With very few exceptions, visitors have been very impressed.  My second objective was to create a Backyard Home Office for myself.  I already have an office in my house, but I wanted to experience living with a YardPod.

Because the structure is so well insulated, I can work very comfortably in the coldest of winter, which is admittedly not very severe in Northern California, but would work just as well in a harsher climate.  I use a small space heater to warm up the building on cold mornings, which is more than adequate.  We are fortunate to have cool evenings most of the year, so the YardPod stays cool on warm days, there have only been three days this summer when I was uncomfortably warm, but my YardPod was still significantly cooler than my house!

My full-height windows have allowed me to enjoy seeing the wildlife, particularly squirrels which live around the building.  There is a utility line above my YardPod that the squirrels use as a highway and frequently drop nuts onto my roof.

Enjoying my YardPod mid-November, it is grey and about to rain!

By far the most successful feature has been the outward-opening French doors which remained open while I was working, for the whole of the summer, I still have them open now, in mid-November.  They make the YardPod part of the garden. I am not merely inside a building looking out; I am part of what is going on outside with full visual, sound and smell effects, while being sheltered in a comfortable environment.  The feeling is totally different from being in a house with the window open, it is far more immersive and enjoyable and every day is different.  Currently, I am looking out onto hummingbirds enjoying the flowers at the edge of my deck.  Neighborhood cats come buy, stop in for some petting then go on their way.  Apart from when the cats are around, the garden has birds constantly chirping, singing and scratching for worms and insects.  I have lived in this house for ten years, but until I got the YardPod, have not experienced the garden, it is a different, very peaceful and very enjoyable world!

Another surprising benefit has been my ability to focus and to be productive in the YardPod. My house is not noisy, there are no children, no pets and apart from telemarketers and political fundraisers phoning daily, I always considered it a good place to work.  It is, but the YardPod is even better.  I carry my laptop between the two buildings and added a signal booster in the house to provide good wireless network access in the YardPod so that I can print to my color printer in the house or my printer in the YardPod. Internet access is excellent.  I use my cellphone for work and the signal in my YardPod is far better than in my house.  I had electrical floor outlets installed by a licensed electrician during construction, these give me the flexibility to change the arrangement of furniture at will.

There is only one item needing maintenance, that is the cedar siding, which will need to be cleaned and re-stained in the spring after two winters.  Cedar weathers to a natural grey finish and while I normally prefer the natural finishes, there is something about the original bright cedar finish that I prefer, and I am willing to invest the time and energy to keep it looking new.

I will enjoy my YardPod for many years and look forward to helping many others become “YardPoders!”

If you have any questions about my YardPod, or YardPods in general, please contact me directly by email (md@yardpods.com), by telephone (415-347-1924), or leave a message (and please “Like” us) on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/YardPods/227953680600405?sk=wall

Malcolm Davies, CEO, Co-Founder, YardPods

Media Room
Move the kid noise into the back yard. Or watch your favorite movie without distractions.


Arts & Crafts Studio
The perfect setting for inspiration. Picture yourself lost in creativity.


Zen Retreat
Uninterrupted meditation. Just what the doctor ordered.


Exercise Room
A few steps and you are in your personal club. Don’t drive or get dressed up.


Work Shop
For the ultimate craftsman. Leave your tools out and lock the door.


Pool Cabana
Keep the wet clothes and pool toys out of the house.


Wine Cave
Invite your wine connoisseur friends over for a private tasting of your best stuff.


Music Studio
YardPods are fully insulated. Crank it up as loud as you want!


Photo Studio
A place for your creativity and gear.

Watch the time-lapse on-site assembly of a 10′ x 12′ YardPod in San Rafael, CA.
From the foundation to pre-built steel frame panels to wall and roof assembly to finishing with clear stain cedar exterior. Fully insulated and ready for the owner. Beautiful inside and out!

We design and manufacture YardPods to achieve the highest standards of sustainability. We continuously evaluate material and assembly performance reviews as well as new sustainable materials in a process of continuous improvement.

Materials
YardPod materials are selected to achieve high sustainability ratings as well as outstanding performance.  Some examples:

YardPod ST Framing
We do not use wood framing which is prone to warping, twisting and shrinking and which can promote infestation and mold when wet and which deteriorates over time.  Instead we use light-gauge steel framing with a high recycled content for our floors, walls and roof.  All steel used is 100% recyclable.

YardPod ST Insulation:
Our insulation is manufactured of Natural Cotton Fiber, these fibers contain inherent qualities that provide for extremely effective sound absorption and maximum thermal performance. The insulation DOES NOT ITCH and is very easy to handle and work with.  It contains no chemical irritants and requires no warning labels compared to other traditional products. There are no VOC concerns when using this insulation, as it is safe for you and the environment.  Insulation is also a Class-A Building Product and meets the highest ASTM testing standards for fire and smoke ratings, fungi resistance and corrosiveness. The insulation contains 85% post-industrial recycled natural fibers and uses cotton, a rapidly renewable resource, as one of its main ingredients.

YardPod SP Panels
Prefabricated with SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels), one of the most airtight and well insulated building systems available, making them an inherently green product.

The major components of SIPs, foam and oriented strand board (OSB), take less energy and raw materials to produce than other structural building systems. SIPs are also fabricated in a controlled environment, allowing for greater efficiency than site-built framing. (source: Structural Insulated Panel Association)

Flooring:
We offer two standard floor finishes:

Bamboo:
This flooring achieves its sustainability rating because it is a fast-growing renewable resource.  We use only urea formaldehyde-free bamboo flooring.

Cork:
Cork is the ultimate green flooring material, it is a completely renewable resource harvested as bark from living cork trees, never harmed by the harvest. Our cork flooring is composed of 100% post-industrial recycled content from wine-stopper production.  Cork trees store carbon in order to regenerate their bark, and a harvested cork tree absorbs up to five times more than one that isn’t. Comprised of millions of air-filled cells, corks absorbs sound, impact, stays warm and always remains resilient.

Sustainable Processes
We deliver factory pre-cut prefabricated floor, wall and roof panels throughout the USA, minimizing production waste, ensuring accuracy and eliminating job-site waste and re-work. YardPods are assembled quickly and easily minimizing site work and site costs.

Pre-assembled in precision engineered panels at our factory and fully assembled on your site –permit free in most areas. For play, for work, for escape –your personal space can be only days away!

There are many reasons why steel framing has come to the forefront as one of the best and most feasible alternative building materials for residential and commercial construction. Steel is a superior construction material.

• Highest strength-to-weight ratio of any building material
• 100% recyclable
• Minimum of 25% recycled content
• Non-combustible – does not burn nor contribute fuel to the spread of a fire
• Inorganic – will not rot, warp, split, crack or creep
• Dimensionally stable – does not expand or contract with moisture content
• Less scrap and waste (2% for steel vs. 20% for lumber)
• Consistent material quality – produced in strict accordance with national standards, no regional variations

Benefits to the Consumer

There are many reasons why homeowners are turning to steel framing:

• Discounts on insurance
• Fire safety
• Not vulnerable to termites, or to any type of fungi or organism, including mold
• Less probability of foundation problems – less weight results in less movement
• Straight walls and square corners
• Stronger connections, screwed versus nailed
• High strength to weight ratio results in a stronger structure