Printer Friendly Version - A DIY Life

Derek 'Deek' Diedricksen assembled this "backwoods builders entourage" for his new show, Tiny House Builders. They are, from left to right, Phil Laplante, Jim Shippey, Diedricksen, Johnny "Milwaukee" Lyman, "Creature," and Dustin Diedricksen.

When Living first interviewed Madison native Derek "Deek" Diedricksen (Daniel Hand High School Class of 1995) back in 2010, the tiny house enthusiast was riding a wave of success, buoyed by a popular YouTube channel and well-received book. Four years later, Diedricksen's parlayed that acclaim into an even more visible accomplishment: He is the host and subject of the new Scripps Network show Tiny House Builders. The hour-long pilot aired on HGTV last Sunday afternoon and will re-air this Saturday, Dec. 20 at noon on the DIY Network.

"Luckily I'm distracted from [what's] going on" with Tiny House Builders's future, he says, alluding to his packed schedule. Instead of wondering if the show will take off and more episodes will be ordered beyond the two currently in existence, "It's more like-can I plan stuff for spring? I have all these projects I want to do...I'm hoping something happens, but if it doesn't I've got enough going on anyway."

And that's indeed an understatement. To start with, there's Diedricksen's blog, RelaxShacks.com, which chronicles his adventures in constructing small living spaces and salvaging found items. Then, there's his YouTube channel, RelaxShacksDOTcom, which boasts 184 videos to date. There's also the tiny house edition of ABC's Chronicle that will feature him, set to air later this month-Diedricksen's second appearance on the series. And there's the book he's working on, Microshelters, which will be released via Storey Press next fall. And don't forget his newest undertaking, a factory art studio from which Diedricksen's sells his repurposed salvaged creations and about which he reports, "I've been trying weird ideas out [there], and almost everything I do is sold by word of mouth and through my Facebook page."

What takes up most of Diedricksen's time, though, are the hands-on workshops he leads on small space design and building across the country. He has a slew of home and garden shows lined up in the next few months and recently received an invitation to share his experience in Australia.

The woman who contacted him about leading a workshop said that his projects are "whimsical in weird ways that would go over really well with Australians."

And if Diedricksen's latest stint on Tiny House Builders is evidence, it's not just Australians for whom his quirky appeal is a draw. One of Tiny House Builders's most distinguishing features is its crew-"a bunch of weird-looking dudes," as Diedricksen refers to himself and his "backwoods builders entourage."

The ability to select his own crew for the show, which was filmed near his hometown of Stoughton, Massachusetts, was crucial to Diedricksen.

"I told HGTV that I didn't want any wimps, supermodels, or high-maintenance Chippendale look-alikes, and they were obviously cool with it-I mean, look at us!," he says. "We...have a guy who looks like a pirate; another guy seemingly fresh off the Sons of Anarchy extra roster; my 6' 5", 270-pound brother; a backwoods New Hampshire knucklehead; and a tattooed indie-rock guy from Milwaukee...I'm very biased, but I think [the show] is certainly more fun, gritty, and real than some of the other shows on TV."

Diedricksen was also able to bring along his longtime friend Melissa Teper, a former colleague at 104.1 WBCN Boston, to add some female energy to the mix. Teper handles the interior design aspects of the projects.

Diedricksen is particularly excited to be able to work alongside his brother, Dustin, also a graduate of Madison's Daniel Hand High School.

"He's like my right-hand man-in life and on the show," says Diedricksen. "He's my go-to guy."

Having his brother nearby and being close with the crew helps the projects featured in the two episodes of Tiny House Builders run smoothly-or as smoothly as possible.

"We're doing things the hard way, at breakneck speed-and all off the grid, too, in just four days. It's absolutely grueling," says Diedricksen, noting that the structures are built from scratch from the ground up.

Ultimately, if more episodes of Tiny House Builders are ordered, Diedricksen would like to bring the crew to his native home to build a home in Madison. In the meantime, he's happy with the two episodes he's shot and looking forward to sharing them with the world.