Denis fulfilled his childhood dream of living in a riverside cottage with his DIY tiny house in Canada.
Who are you? Tell us something about you!
By trade I'm a web developer and build websites out of code. Being able to build my own tinyhouse alongside my Dad allowed me to get out of the digital world and into the physical. Strangely, building a house is very similar to building a website. Plus, finally learn some of the family trade I've yet to learn. #buildersgonnabuild
In my teens I trained as a wilderness survival instructor and spent countless nights deep in the woods by a shelter and a blazing wood fire. There's nothing like wood heat. As soon as I made the decision to build my own home, no question a wood stove would be the very first thing that came inside and would build everything around. In fact, the kitchen designer pulled my black kitchen style from the black tinywood stove!
Where did you install your Tiny Wood Stove?
My 4KW Dwarf sits front and center in my 192 squarefoot tinyhouse on wheels. Being in Atlantic Canada, our winters are cold and long. We're talking multiple snowstorms with freezing temps and feet of snow, oh and power outages. Climate made for chopping wood, strong coffee and woodstoves.
How did your tiny living journey begin and what were your reasons?
Sometimes a major life event gives you the freedom to start over, to let you get rid of all your stuff and reinvent your life. Having my heart on a little piece of land right next to a lazy river meant I could live out my childhood dream of a riverside cottage with my parents as neighbours, my aunts and uncles close by and relive cottage life that I fuelled my younger years with bonfires, canoeing, swimming and fishing.
This started of 3 years ago and my Dad and I worked on weekends and really too the time to design this for my life. Officially moved in Dec of 2020, working from home and after 2 winters, I'm in my second year and I'm finally in a home that feels like my castle, that I built with my own hands. Having huge windows facing the river, it's everything a country boy could ask for as a view.
How did you decide on a Dwarf stove?
Being in a tinyhouse, clearance needed to make it safe and insurable meant the stove needed to be small. Seeing all of my options out there, tinywoodstove.com won me over by the look, the fact that it can have a direct rear exit, and the team that stands behind it.
How difficult was the installation process? Did you need any assistance of any kind?
Install was great, in fact I've got a youtube video on my #tinylifeTAKEOVER channel explaining it.
How has your experience been using the Dwarf? Have you been enjoying having a tiny wood stove in your space?
Love my 4KW Dwarf. I've used it for 2 winters so far and I've learned so much. Figuring out how to use small firewood was tricky. Combining eco wood bricks, 8" hardwood fuel and newspaper was the key.
Clearly having direct rear exit is much different than having a section of the stove pipe inside. It means that the stovepipe is cold, and will push smoke inside the house. I've been smoked out more than a few times but I've learned how to make it work.
If you take a look at the elevator bed video on my channel, you'll understand why I needed a direct exit. With a bed hovering on top of the stove, I needed that feature to make the design work. And it worked out perfectly!
I was relieved to learn that many homes, with regular brick fire stacks, also deal with this problem. Making sure there's no back pressure, using paper, and being okay to have a few seconds of smoke, you'll hear when the air finally shoots up the pipe. I'm exploring using some type of safe heating element, but so far, getting to know your setup and a little trial and error, you'll get the hang of it.
Would you recommend a tiny wood stove to others?
Absolutely, the product is top self but even better are the people that stand behind the product. When I ordered the stove, being in Canada, customs really messed things up and the good folks at tinywoodstove.com helped me get the stove here going above and beyond. I'm a fan for life.
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