LaCrosse builder experimenting with tiny, healthy homes

The first tiny, healthy home John Ellis of LaCrosse built.

When John and Shannon Ellis’ son Kaleb was younger, he spent a lot of his time in the family RV in the backyard.

It soon became his “escape pod.” Kaleb, 16, is autistic, and he is his parent’s top priority.

They have devoted their lives to helping him, and now think they have found something that will not only benefit him, but many others with disabilities as well.

John worked as a builder and developer in Mount Vernon, Wash., for 20 years, and John and Shannon raised alpacas there before moving to Fredericksburg, Texas, to be able to access special therapies for Kaleb.

They moved to Shannon’s hometown of LaCrosse after four years in Texas to care for Shannon’s parents.

With John looking for work where he didn’t have to commute and the family seeking to stay in LaCrosse, John had the idea to begin building tiny homes, something which will eventually benefit Kaleb.

He has spent the last year in the research and development phase, and he emphasized that he is still in that stage.

The questions he sought to answer as he entered this endeavor were if he could build in a remote farming community and make a profit and if there was a market for his specific tiny home.

John’s homes are different than those found in the popular tiny house movement throughout the U.S. He seeks to build tiny, healthy homes out of the best available non-toxic materials.

He said these materials will make a difference in the quality of the home.

“People don’t realize how much toxins are in our indoor environment,” John said.

He said the homes are “built with health in mind.” A brochure for Sensory Homes, John’s business, explains his purpose of incorporating non-toxic, health-promoting materials into homes, after discovering sick home symptoms wreaking havoc in his own family.

The way John has found to build these homes is by purchasing the best available materials and using zero plastics and products that do not off-gas.

He also steers away from recycled materials.