Seriously, I am so HAPPY! I feel like I’ve been holding my breath since January! Now I actually ONLY have good news to share! Getting approval from the municipality, the county governor, the road authority, and finding a transport company that has both a mobile crane, a well hanger aaand time before winter was certainly not easy!!
And as I ended the last post: How does one ask the municipality if it’s okay to place a tiny house in the garden? And who else do I need to ask? Where do I start, where do I find out things, and what will it all cost?
And since I was unsure, I started by calling the municipality.
Picture above: Looks a bit like a battlefield, but it’s for a good cause!
I have had a permanent caseworker in this “illegality case” as my tiny house case is called. And she is super sweet and super helpful, and she explained in detail how I send in an application for placing an annex on the plot. I hoped it would be a form to fill out, but such an application is simply a freehand project. I got a list of things that must be included in the application, such as:
- Sketches of the tiny house from all angles with dimensions
- Placement on the map
- How many meters it is to all neighbors
- Explain how the garden will be developed in advance
- Draw the tiny house in the garden
- Write what it will be used for
- Signed neighbor notifications from all affected neighbors
Picture above: Little Else also wanted to be part of the dismantling ❤️
To build a structure in this part of Vestby, there are a bunch of requirements that must be met. Then I found out that the tiny house “breaks” three rules/requirements that I have to apply for dispensation from:
- The tiny house is 30 cm (12 in) too high
- There is a requirement for a gable roof (normal ridge), but since the tiny house has a sloping roof, I had to apply for dispensation from this requirement
- The tiny house will be placed only 1 meter (3 ft) from one of the neighbor’s fences (the requirement is 4 meters (13 ft)), so I had to formulate a personal letter to the person concerned and ask for permission
Picture above: Dismantling the exhaust pipe for my Cinderella incineration toilet, which I have received from my sponsor Cinderella ❤️
And a few other small things. The neighbor notification went above all expectations! There were seven people I had to notify, and the most effective way to get it all done was to print seven neighbor notifications in addition to seven receipts showing that they have received and approved the neighbor notification. Ding dong x7 later, I stood with a stack of signed neighbor notifications in hand. I took pictures of everything and threw it into the 18-page long application to the municipality.
Picture above: My fear of heights is put to the test once again when dismantling the exhaust pipe!
And I have found a transport company that does it all:
⭐ BLUECRANE ⭐
HAPPINESS!
Because if there was one thing I learned from the lousy experience when the tiny house was transported from Tønsberg to Vestby, it was that the next time the tiny house is moved, I will have ONE company to deal with, and not three or four!
And it was certainly not easy to find! Either they only had mobile cranes, or only well hangers, or no availability until next year, and several companies had a bit of a hesitation since this project is a bit unusual.
Picture above: My kitchen, sponsored by the generous IKEA, must be strapped down once again!
Bluecrane came to inspect the farm.
Two sturdy guys showed up at the tiny house one Friday with warm eyes and big smiles. They asked and dug about the tiny house, walked around it, measured, took pictures from all angles, looked at the wheels, and measured some more. They had plenty of time, which felt very good, so we ended up talking about everything else but tiny houses too. There’s something special about people who show genuine interest and therefore also ask good questions so you feel seen and heard.
Then they drove behind me all six kilometers (3,5 miles) home to our house to see how the route is in terms of road widths, types of roads, tunnels (fortunately none), hanging power cables, etc.
They thought the route looked good!
They also said that this route includes both county roads, municipal roads, and private roads. And because the weight of the mobile crane and equipment is initially too heavy for these roads, we have to apply for dispensation from these three instances. IF all three say yes, we finally need approval from the Road Authority.
There is so much to arrange to drive from A to B with a tiny house!
Picture above: Carefully cutting off the water pipe to avoid damaging the frost protection inside, which I received from my cool sponsor Etman! The frost protection was 40 meters long, and I pulled it out, rolled it up, and secured it inside one of the technical rooms.
Weeks passed.
The application to the municipality came back negative because I was missing one sketch, scale, and “north arrow” on the sketches. The municipality also did not want to grant permission to drive on the municipal road (and it was only 100 meters (300 feet) of municipal road, the rest was county road). Ugh..
Picture above: This beautiful shower, sponsored by luxurious Dansani, was well secured (and can really take a lot!)
Calling and emailing back and forth, and I feel time is running out because it’s getting colder and colder outside.
But then the approvals came like pearls on a string!
The county road, the municipal road, the private road – CHECK! The Road Authority – CHECK! And the application to the municipality to place the tiny house in the garden was also approved – CHECK!
YES!
Picture above: Pulling the plug! Melancholy and exciting at the same time.
Så var det bare å ringe hulkende av glede til Bluecrane og finne dato fort som F!
Then it was just to call Bluecrane in tears of joy to find a date ASAP!
Listen! STAY TUNED!
Thank you so much for reading ❤️
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🌈Irene
