Modular Homes for Under $50k • Hacker News Board

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#301

Post by AlgorithmicTime » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 6:58 PM UTC

hogFeast wrote: post #252

toss1 wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first idea that strikes me (aside form the obvious in-law apt addition) is to use this approach for the homeless. It's been shown that the best solution for many (non-mentally-ill) homeless is to literally provide a home. E.g., merely the fact of falling on enough hardships to lose a home and having no fixed address is a major impediment to getting a new job and becoming a homed, taxpaying resident. Yet I've read…

In London, they used shipping container homes to house homeless people on unused local government-owned land. Pretty much instantly stories were in the media about how the conditions were "inhuman" (bizarrely, from people who had chosen to illegally immigrate to the UK from France, and complained that they had a nice house in Sudan or wherever). So I think the reality of these schemes is often...difficult because the…

I lived in a CHU (Container Housing Unit) in Iraq... modern and comfortable enough. Only problem was when they did generator maintenance and the AC would turn off. But that's not related to the CHU itself.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#302

Post by CyberDildonics » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 7:01 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #239

organsnyder wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see it that way at all. Perhaps I've been too immersed in this terminology (I built an ADU a couple of years ago), but it makes sense given typical property descriptions: it's a dwelling unit (i.e. a place where people live) that's secondary ("accessory") to the primary dwelling. Or is the depressing part the fact that it assumes single family residences?

'Dwelling' sounds deeply depressing to me - to 'dwell' somewhere sounds like to simply exist in a space rather than actually living and thriving there. To 'dwell' on a problem means to sit and think quietly. And 'unit' to me sounds cookie-cutter and impersonal. This is your unit, just like everyone else's. Sit in your assigned unit and dwell in silence, human. I guess 'dwelling' and 'unit' don't have all those connot…

I don’t know if you’re a non-native speaker, but there is actually a popular magazine called dwell - https://www.dwell.com/

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#303

Post by blacksmith_tb » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 7:12 PM UTC

toss1 wrote: post #228

thesausageking wrote: post #4

This house is 375 sq ft and uses low end materials, and it doesn't include setup, so it's going to cost ~$100k, or $266 / sq ft. Most new home construction is more like $150 / sq ft. And with this system, you're very limited in what you can build. Who's the target customer for this?

The first idea that strikes me (aside form the obvious in-law apt addition) is to use this approach for the homeless. It's been shown that the best solution for many (non-mentally-ill) homeless is to literally provide a home. E.g., merely the fact of falling on enough hardships to lose a home and having no fixed address is a major impediment to getting a new job and becoming a homed, taxpaying resident. Yet I've read…

Sure, though some of that relies on your city having large parcels of empty land to situate them on. And these are much bigger and nicer than the ones we recently rolled out here in Portland[1] but cost almost 10X more, so you'd hope they are.

1: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/tiny-home-pods-help-p...

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#304

Post by bick_nyers » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 7:35 PM UTC

fulafel wrote: post #291

bick_nyers wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At that point, if you have the land for it, why not just go for an "efficiently sized" home. Like 500-700 sqft.

It's a big waste of energy to cool and heat a house bigger than you really need, an ethical problem in this day and age (global warming).

True, although a lot of smaller houses/tiny homes will use mini splits for their heating/cooling, which are significantly more energy efficient than central AC units. Insulation is also relatively cheap. Solar is an option to offset it as well, although extra insulation is a much easier and cost effective option here (at least in the short term).

Most houses that are classified as tiny are in the 200-400sqft area, so while a "small home" is about twice as large at 500-700sqft, we gotta remember that most houses are 1500sqft anyways, so we are still coming out ahead.

Plus, I think it's much much easier to convince the average joe to live in a 500-700sqft home than in a 200-400sqft home.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#305

Post by coderintherye » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 7:36 PM UTC

Johnythree wrote: post #157

coderintherye wrote: post #30

I imagine the margin isn't there for it, but I wish someone would target the I'd have to guess the market just isn't there for it, maybe everyone else just doesn't mind dealing with the building codes and permit requirements for larger units?

The problem is your assumption that "it doesn't need to pass any code". It varies with location but in general you first need a Building Permit, then a Certificate of Occupancy" before you can live in it. And of course for either, the dwelling has to meet local codes.

Incorrect. This is not an "assumption". Though I'll admit my comment is U.S. specific. Read up on your state and county laws, there are many states and counities in the U.S. where structures Also no one mentioned living in one.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#306

Post by handrous » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 7:58 PM UTC

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #181

thesausageking wrote: post #4

This house is 375 sq ft and uses low end materials, and it doesn't include setup, so it's going to cost ~$100k, or $266 / sq ft. Most new home construction is more like $150 / sq ft. And with this system, you're very limited in what you can build. Who's the target customer for this?

>Who's the target customer for this? 80% people who want the ease of setup of a double wide but really, really, really want to visibly distance themselves from the stereotypes and can afford to pay a premium and give up a lot of square footage to do so. (There's a reason this is on the front page of HN.) 20% developers who will pay big bucks to skirt some local busybody ordinance that says "no trailer homes".

Bingo. Same as "tiny homes". They're not solving a problem without an existing—possibly even superior—solution. They're just solving it in a way that doesn't offend one's class self-image. Modular homes, prefabs, trailer homes, RVs, all already exist and have for a long time—but they're associated with he wrong sorts of people.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#307

Post by handrous » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 8:01 PM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #275

vel0city wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 1000sqft house versus a 500sqft house probably only adds a half bath. Its not like you're going to jump from one bath to five in another 500sqft. The plumbing work on adding a half bath in new construction really isn't too much when properly planned.

Proper planning generally means those bathrooms are right next to each other, so the toilets use the same drain and vent pipes and water supply except for the last 2 feet. You ideally put the kitchen and laundry close as well. Of course you often cannot put everything close and that add cost, but it is attempted.

The drain's practically the only hard/slow part these days, and it's not really that bad. PEX makes everything stupid-fast for the water lines, given unfinished walls & ceilings.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#308

Post by dmos62 » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 8:01 PM UTC

vaidhy wrote: post #237

dmos62 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those sound like good things. I live in a place where non of those demands are considered acceptable (or noone bothers to coordinate) and family-home suburbs look absurd. Every house is from another world, like the neighbors didn't exist. Color, style, fence, roof: everything is as random as you can imagine. It's a continuous spatial conflict.

I am very curious why you would want your house to look exactly like ( or coordinated) with your neighbor? One of the things I felt odd in US is that every house in a sub-division looks like they were made from cookie-cutter. Isn't expressing individuality and having the freedom to make use of your own land in way that suits you more important, as long as it does not impact the living conditions of your surroundings?

Copy-paste suburbs is bad too, that's the other extreme. What you want is for the architecture to have awareness of its surroundings and to have it seek harmony, not conflict.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#309

Post by dmos62 » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 8:04 PM UTC

hellbannedguy wrote: post #232

dmos62 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those sound like good things. I live in a place where non of those demands are considered acceptable (or noone bothers to coordinate) and family-home suburbs look absurd. Every house is from another world, like the neighbors didn't exist. Color, style, fence, roof: everything is as random as you can imagine. It's a continuous spatial conflict.

I'm with you on wealthy people who want to build huge houses. I'm not with you on the guy whom justs wants to remodel, with no increase on footage. (I don't like the increase in Permit fees either. It prevents basic upkeep on a home. Towns/cities know they can increase revenue by raising fees on anything. That's why we have $270 green righ turn citation. (you can only turn left on a green in certain situations. You n…

As far as I'm concerned what I'm talking about doesn't have anything to do with remodeling, unless you're doing something janky.

Re: Modular Homes for Under $50k

#310

Post by dmos62 » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 8:09 PM UTC

cassonmars wrote: post #238

dmos62 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those sound like good things. I live in a place where non of those demands are considered acceptable (or noone bothers to coordinate) and family-home suburbs look absurd. Every house is from another world, like the neighbors didn't exist. Color, style, fence, roof: everything is as random as you can imagine. It's a continuous spatial conflict.

Those sound like good things to you — some people prefer a world where they are free to do as they wish with the property they own, so long as it doesn’t cause a problem for neighbors (I.E. basic maintenance to avoid pests, overgrowth, etc.). I have the opposite take on the neighborhood you described: uniformity is boring, uninspiring, and depressing.

The word uniformity puts a negative spin on the sense of cohesion I'd like to see (like uniforms). What I'm talking about is how a group of friends adjust to each other. They show a sense of togetherness, self-awareness and interplay that leaves a sense of harmony. I'm not talking about a platoon of soldiers in uniform at attention.