Our clients choose us because they care about the sustainability of the planet and the health of the homes they live in or rent. As such, they tend to be research driven and not easily swayed by the influx of "greenwashing" across all industries. The goal of this FAQ is to answer those important questions thoroughly and in depth. However, the short and sweet: Sol has been training teachers, developing trade programs, and leading community workshops to bring sustainable practices into schools and communities since 2011. Our commitment to sourcing materials that have a low impact, whether local or renewable, paired with a model that leads by example to show that construction does not have to be toxic sets us apart from almost every other tiny house builder. We believe that while most construction companies are moving to scale and produce as inexpensively as possible, sacrificing quality or fair labor practices, disregarding local economies, and doing anything to create larger profits, there is a demand for locally designed, sourced, and built homes that will last. We practice what we preach and teach and tiny houses provide an excellent opportunity to build exceptional homes that are still affordable due to their size. How and where you spend your money is important and one of the best ways to "vote" for change. Thank you for diving in to be an educated consumer!

We get into the nitty gritty of specific components in later section, but let's talk a little about quality! Tiny houses are obviously much smaller than a typical American home. As such, they provide an amazing opportunity to make the things that clients interact with every day be of high quality without being overly expensive. As an example, going from our bamboo or wood flooring (~$5/sq.ft.) to HempWood (~$11/sq.ft.) would be quite the line item in a 2-3k square foot house, but with our average tiny house being around 300 sq.ft., it's an increase of $1800 in materials, but also includes the subfloor so there is a savings of ~$800 in labor and materials. At the end of the day, clients can upgrade from a good product to a great product for $1000. You can still get carried away, but we apply this principle to all of our finishes and include a few custom woodworking elements to create a high-end luxury feel while only being ~5% more than a standard tiny house that feels like a spec home. In short, a small investment in quality makes a huge difference in the day to day experience and the longevity of our homes.

New construction (and old building practices) typically include substantial use of products that produce Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, benzene, and other toxic chemicals as they age. These can range from mildly irritating to mucous membranes to being fully known carcinogens, endangering the health of those living inside. We choose to use formaldehyde free plywood inside the house, no-VOC (low-VOC is a moving target in the paint/stain industry), soy based glues, alternatives to PEX polyethylene water pipes, and real wood products instead of Medium-Density Fiberboard (a.k.a. MDF or particle board). The products that we use are slightly more expensive than the chemically infused standards, but we believe that it's worth the expense and, again, in a tiny house, the extra cost is minimal.

There are a number of reasons that people to choose to "GO TINY": to simplify their lives, save money, own instead of rent, provide housing for others and supplemental income for themselves, and to have a lighter footprint on our planet. Whether this is the motivating factor, it is a positive consequence that comes from creating homes that are much smaller than the typical American home. In addition to the given attribute of simply being smaller, we believe that sourcing materials that are locally and/or renewable produced is a small step we can take to make a big impact. Our community is still home to many mills and we source our finish wood from these family-owned businesses whenever possible. Our HempWood flooring is produced in Kentucky, which incurs a carbon cost with transportation, but the renewable nature, carbon sequestered during growth, and the amount of square footage that can be produced per acre is leaps ahead of most other flooring options. Our reclaimed redwood offerings from Ethica Wood is a wonderful way to showcase this beautiful resource in a responsible way. In short, Sol chooses all of our products with an eye towards environmental health and not just attempting to get the widget to be as cheap as possible.

Beyond sourcing materials locally when possible, Sol's initiatives and new product offerings are funded through community based micro-loans. When we expanded from the educational sector and into manufacturing, we raised $220k through small loans made by regular people. We then built 2 tiny houses, sold them, and either paid everyone back with an extra 10%APR or reinvested that in the next phase of the business. Cycling that interest through our local economy at least one more time strengthens our county. Many companies give a portion of profits back to causes that are important and we believe that, as a local business, supporting other local businesses and the place we call home is one way we can give back and inspire other small businesses to do the same.