A Tiny House is a real timber-frame house on wheels. Like all houses, it requires regular maintenance to keep it looking its best for decades to come!
In this article, we'll give you our tips and tricks for ensuring your Tiny House's durability and comfort, with a focus on healthy, planet-friendly products.
The following topics are covered:
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Wood cladding is a highly aesthetic, eco-friendly façade covering that adds real character to your home. Maintaining your larch or red cedar cladding is designed to bring out the wood's natural, warm color. It is therefore a purely aesthetic intervention. The durability of the wood is not affected and will exceed your lifespan!
We use only FSC- and PEFC-certified natural wood species. For your exterior cladding, we use Larch or Red Cedar. Naturally rot-proof, these wood species are immune to fungi, termites and other insects.
Larch is a resinous tree that grows exclusively in the mountains. Accustomed to cold, harsh climates, it is renowned for its strength and durability. It is highly prized for its light-brown, veined color. Exposed to the sun but protected from water, Larch will turn red. Under the combined effect of UV rays and rain, it will turn gray and may even blacken in places. This evolution, which is purely visual and aesthetic, is harmless to the wood.
Red cedar is also an extremely hardy softwood. This noble wood is naturally fungicidal, and its reddish-brown color gives it an attractive appearance. Over time, red cedar takes on a grayish hue, with an attractive silvery patina. This top-of-the-range species has a very straight grain, making it extremely hard-wearing. Thanks to its honeycomb structure, it dampens noise and provides good acoustic insulation.
Wood is a natural material. It is a living material, and its color changes over time to grayish hues. If you want to preserve the original warm color of your red cedar or larch cladding, maintenance will be necessary to ensure that the color of the cladding remains resistant to the vagaries of the climate (weather, UV rays, etc.) and the stresses of everyday life.
We recommend that you carry out maintenance as soon as the wood begins to lighten or grey slightly. For best results, maintenance or renovation should ideally be carried out after wet periods.
Larch and red cedar are durable woods that age very well. Their color will evolve over time and with the vagaries of the weather. Depending on the aesthetic you're looking for, there are several options available.
If you choose to let your siding go gray, you won't need to do any maintenance. Rot-proof wood will never rot. You can clean it once a year with a low-pressure karcher.
You can maintain the siding on your Tiny House or wooden house by applying a nourishing and
and protective product.
The aim of applying a protection product to rot-proof wood is purely aesthetic:
Depending on the aesthetic you wish to achieve, the frequency of maintenance and the technique used, several
options are available.
Whether your cladding is in larch or red cedar, the process is the same. For red cedar, we recommend using a product specially designed for this wood species. This will preserve its natural, slightly reddish hue. As soon as your siding begins to fade, simply apply a new coat of the product. It's important to follow the manufacturer's recommendations.
Before carrying out the first maintenance on your siding, allow it to age for about a year. After appropriate preparation (stripping, sanding in the direction of the wood grain, etc.), you can apply a saturator, oil or woodstain, depending on the desired appearance.
Composition: oils are made exclusively from vegetable oils. Saturators are oil-based, but also include other components.
Usage and finish: Nourish, waterproof and protect wood while maintaining its natural appearance. Oils and saturators penetrate the wood and are non-film-forming, so the wood retains its natural appearance. They can be tinted or colorless, and offer a range of finishes (matte, glossy, oiled, etc.).
Advantages: Moderate preparation required, depending on the intensity of graying: Karcher, degreasing. Oils and saturators are the most environmentally-friendly solutions.
Disadvantages: More frequent application during sunny periods. Oils: wipe off excess with rags. Caution: they may be flammable.
Maintenance frequency: approximately every 1 to 2 years, depending on climate.
Saturator and oil are very similar. The difference lies in their composition, oil being the most ecological protection. Linseed oil is a good option, as it will prevent your siding from darkening. Larch is an oily wood that is difficult to impregnate. If you choose to use a saturator, we advise you to use a product based on vegetable oils for exterior wood.
If you choose to apply an oil, wipe off the product between coats. Beware, too, of oil-soaked cloths, which can self-ignite. Soak them in water to avoid any risk of fire.
Composition: less environmentally-friendly, with a binder (acrylic resins, alkyds, etc.) and a solvent (water, white spirit, etc.).
Usage and finish: Protective coating to preserve wood color for longer. The appearance is less natural than with saturator, as woodstain is a film-forming product. It can be tinted or colorless. Several finishes: satin, gloss, matte. Wood grain can be preserved.
Advantages: Woodstains mean less maintenance.
Disadvantages: Requires sanding to remove old protection before re-application. They may flake over time. Their composition is less environmentally friendly.
Maintenance frequency: Once maintenance has been carried out, your cladding will be protected for an average of 3 to 6 years.
If you opt for stain, sand your siding to remove the previous stain or to make up for any greyed areas, then apply two coats of stain in the direction of the wood grain. Drying times are usually short and are indicated on the product container.
The floors of our tiny houses are made of laminate parquet. This material is easy to maintain and is perfectly suited to heavy traffic. The varnish applied to the surface prevents dirt and dust from penetrating, making maintenance simple. However, care must be taken to avoid damaging the protective layer of your laminate floor.
Regular dry maintenance is ideal, to limit moisture and contact with water. A microfiber broom will dust your floor perfectly and gently.
For more thorough cleaning, avoid cleaning with large amounts of water: wring out your mop properly, so that it is slightly damp. If the floor is stained, proceed with a sponge or soft cloth. Spray on a product specially adapted to laminate flooring and rub gently to remove the stain. Abrasive detergents such as bleach or nail polish remover are not recommended.
To prevent scratches, we recommend installing a small mat or doormat at the entrance to your Tiny. You can also install felt pads under your furniture. We also remind you that a laminate floor should never be sanded.
A solid wood worktop is a good option for bringing warmth and elegance to your kitchen. However, this robust, natural material requires more attention than a laminate worktop. Wooden worktops require special care and maintenance to maintain their good looks for a long time.
A solid oak worktop is ready to use, i.e. already treated and protected when you receive your Tiny House.
Prolonged contact with water and strong detergents can damage wooden surfaces. It's best to avoid using them. Likewise, avoid using rough sponges, preferring soft cloths made from natural fabrics.
For long-lasting protection, apply a little olive or sunflower oil to a soft cloth and wipe over the surface in the direction of the wood grain. We recommend you repeat the operation every 2 months or so.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, we recommend that you pour your cleaning product onto the soft cloth before applying it to the worktop. When cleaning the surface, make sure you wipe in the direction of the fibres. Always wipe the surface dry after cleaning to remove any excess and polish your surface.
Finally, to avoid marks and scratches that would be difficult to remove, do not use knives or sharp objects directly on your worktop.
To keep your worktop looking its best, use a clean cloth to wax or coat it with linseed oil, or use a waterproofing product to protect it from stains.
We recommend you carry out this operation once or twice a year. This will effectively protect your wooden worktop from ageing, stains and dust.
We've written an article devoted entirely to the operation and maintenance of dry toilets. You can read it by clicking on this link.
The special feature of your wooden cottage on wheels is that it's built on a trailer. So you need to bear in mind that the trailer must be properly installed.
Crutches attached directly to the underside of the trailer help to level it during installation. They are not, however, sufficient to support the weight of your Tiny over the long term. You need to install 4 stanchions to support and distribute the Tiny's weight evenly.
These can be found in specialist car accessory stores. To help you choose the most suitable stanchions, please note that there is about 47cm between the ground and the underside of the chassis of our Tiny Houses.
Before moving your Tiny House, we recommend that you check the tire pressure, even if it rolls very little or not at all. This will avoid the risk of deformation. On our models, we recommend a tire pressure of between 4.1 and 4.5 bar.
Need more information on maintaining your Tiny House? Don't hesitate to contact us!