Tiny houses work if you substitute the lack of space with close access to friends and family. That’s how nomadic people live and it works. But if you live the modern isolated American life, 250 sq ft isn’t going to cut it except for a certain personality type.
Small World: The Tiny House Trend
131–140 of 344 posts
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#132> Tiny homes usually sell for $40,000 to $90,000 without land, and buyers typically pay cash or finance them with a property loan.
Home Depot sells a 12X18 "shed" with a loft area for $10K. If you're handy, I can image you'd be able to fit this out and make a nice tiny home for much less than $40K.
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. The nice thing about 16' lumber is that you can still just barely haul it in a full-size pickup by weighing it down, strapping it in, and putting a flag on the ends sticking out. Once you're talking about 20' plus you probably need to pay them to deliver it -- which realistically is the better option anyway if you're talking about doing a whole garage, as that would be a lot of trips in a pickup truck. A shed i…
Real lumber yards have free delivery.
On some minimum order size, surely. Like I wouldn't expect I could order a handful of 2x4"x20' and have those delivered for free.
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#134I've lived in a ~250sqft 1940's era wood train car for the past 9 years, with my wife and now a newborn. It is doable if you enjoy the constraints and how it affects your decision making. I live about 5 miles from Seattle in a very rich neighborhood (a few blocks from the Paul Allen estate) on a large piece of land that is set aside as a reserve, while most of my neighbors have 5000sqft houses. As long as you have am…
Do you spend less time in your house as a result of its size?
I have a feeling this is where your username came from. :)
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#135I'd be more impressed by "tiny" houses (~20% of normal size by my own definition) if they didn't cost 50%-60% of a full size house.
I agree with this. The main reason is that there are a number of fixed costs mostly relating to building codes which are a good thing (IMO). Building materials are not the main cost (though they are considerable) of building a home.
Also the land. The price of the home is often a fairly small part of the price of the property.
That's why you see a lot of these tiny homes built in the parents backyard.
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
What links have you looked into for these projects? They seem really interesting.
I started by googling "Free garage plans" and going from there. I went with these plans: http://www.todaysplans.com/og2424g.pdf I modified them to add a full size staircase in the corner, change the window and door layout, and add dormer windows upstairs. I got a permit and had the plans approved by the city. Once the slab was poured I just started framing the walls and went from there. I'm working mostly on weekends…
Worth mentioning that when I was talking about full-size truck, I was specifically referring to the size of the bed. If it can carry a full sheet of plywood or drywall then you're good. Hell, even a shorter bed (like say 6') might be fine if the tailgate opens up flat and you can secure a load sticking out the back properly.
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#137I don't mind living in a small house (maybe not that small). But, the problem with most houses I see today, is that they're designed incredibly Ugly. I'm talking about the classic 2 car garage in front with an enormous concrete slab in-front (3 or 4 cars wide!!), and a little L shape next to it on a lot that's too small to accomodate such a layout and as a result, the neighbors house is 2 feet on each side. Why can't…
They can build what you propose, but there is a downside: cost. A 2 story house costs more to build. Towers cost a lot of money for what you get, and are hard to insulate well. The driveway your propose actually takes up more of the lot than the one you hate (it is cheaper, but there are downsides to stone that makes most people willing to pay a lot more for something hard).
You can get the nice house you propose if you are willing to pay. However most people who build decide that pretty isn't worth paying that much extra for when a cheaper house gives them the space they want/need. When they realize that a square box with the garage out front is cheap to build but too ugly they ask was can be done and the builder offers a few features that don't cost that much extra to break things up. Which is why you see a lot of bay windows and dormers, but fewer two stories.
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
This house looks amazing! But it doesn't seem like a "tiny house". I thought tiny houses were by definition on wheels with a more flexible way to hook up and out of utilities?
I don't think so. Rather, typical zoning codes in the US don't really allow for permanent tiny homes, so they usually have to be built on trailers in order to be legal.
I've seen plenty of "tiny home" projects built out of old shipping containers for example.
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#139"Tiny house" AKA a normal house in the rest of the world.
Is that really true? Most of the trendy tiny homes are 200-300sqft with a loft bedroom. My townhouse is modest by US standards at 1500sqft and 3 bedrooms. I believe this was about average in the early-70s (when the home was constructed). The average new home in the US is now about 2600sqft and 4-5 bedrooms.
"Most of the world" is almost about half living in apartment buildings, not detached houses.
Re: Small World: The Tiny House Trend
#140The Tiny Home trend and the "Van Life" trend are slightly unsettling to me - I wonder which forces are at play who intend to convince us that lowering our standards of living is cool? No judgement from me if you do choose to do these things, though. I do see the appeal. Maybe there is no conspiracy, maybe it is a coping mechanism. Edited "deeply" to "slightly" upon further reflection.
I have the same unsettling feeling as you. The conspiracy theorist in me is definitely on high alert and sees it as an attempt at conditioning this generation towards accepting a lower quality of life than their parents had. If we can be made to actually believe we want to live in tiny cramped homes and apartments, then when it comes to pass we won’t get out the pitchforks and torches and riot.
Eating bread and plain water is healthy, and good for the soul!
Bicycling instead of driving is good for the environment and keeps you fit!
Living in a van is freedom and ultra mobile!
Note that none of these statements is wrong, but they are arguably propaganda aiming to get people accustomed to living with less.