I will be building my tiny house on my parents’ property in central Pennsylvania. They have about four and a half acres at the top of a hill with a beautiful view overlooking the Lykens Valley. The valley is a predominantly agricultural area in what was once coal country. There is a thriving and long-established Amish community in the valley.
The property itself is a thin strip of land that extends from the road back to a section of woods that borders the local creek. For my early childhood, we leased most of that land to the neighboring farmer, who cultivated the back few acres.
Around fifteen years ago, we decided to convert the land to pasture so we could keep our horses at home. These days, the property is home to two very playful and curious horses, Phoenix and Toby.
While I initially considered building my tiny house at the back of the property for more privacy, I ultimately decided to locate the house closer to the other buildings on the property to minimize the impact on the pasture, allow access to back-up electricity and water sources when needed, and eliminate the need for a generator during the construction process.
The house will be located in a roughly 50×60-foot mostly unused area of the property. It is located between an old chicken coop/hay barn to the east, a thin strip of pasture and the riding ring to the west, more horse pasture to the south, and our neighbor’s field to the north. The main downside to this location is that it is (at least for now) right next to the manure pile. My parents are open to moving the manure pile if we can find another location that meets their requirements, so that will be one of the first design challenges I will tackle once the house is completed.
