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Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

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Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#31

Post by pbhjpbhj »

pwim wrote: post #18
ciupicri wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, do you have a bathtub or just a shower?

It's Japan - so having a bath is an important feature, which I do. In fact, I think it would be pretty rare to find a place with just a shower. It's kind of a bath shower/combo, as is typical of Japanese homes and looks something like this: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/16/27/30/t... In here, the bath is covered as Japanese usually share the same bath water amongst the family (you wash in the show…

>If I don't use something, I give or throw it away.

>That being said, I never use my bath.

Just saying.

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#32

Post by sammyo »

bittersweet wrote: post #30
mikecane wrote: post #4

Has anyone here done this or is doing this? Back in 2008 when I first encountered this, I was aghast at how you'd first have to do some heavy research as to where you'd locate because the rules were so different, especially regarding what's considered "real estate" for tax purposes.

Is it still possible to find a nice piece of land in the US and just build your home there? I'm from the Netherlands and there is no way in hell you can buy a piece of land away from everything.

There are huge areas away from the main coastal population centers, this is a really big continent. But you might have to live without easy connection to the grid, drill your own well, handle you own electricity generation, deal with some long distance wifi connectivity. But there are folks with their nearest neighbor several km away.

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#33

Post by ekanes »

RiderOfGiraffes wrote: post #28

Why does this turn up so often here on HN? It's cute, and interesting, and perhaps a fun hack to try to do, but I've seen it several times now. Here's one earlier version found in 30 seconds with http://searchyc.com : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=921959 ... and here are some related links: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=659799 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=651810 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=…

I'm guessing that people post it as a physical hack. Hack in the sense that they're doing more with less than "should" be possible. Add that it's mildly counter-culture and environmentally friendly, and people vote it up.

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#34

Post by starkfist »

bittersweet wrote: post #30
mikecane wrote: post #4

Has anyone here done this or is doing this? Back in 2008 when I first encountered this, I was aghast at how you'd first have to do some heavy research as to where you'd locate because the rules were so different, especially regarding what's considered "real estate" for tax purposes.

Is it still possible to find a nice piece of land in the US and just build your home there? I'm from the Netherlands and there is no way in hell you can buy a piece of land away from everything.

Where I grew up I would say building your own home is almost as popular as buying one. But I wouldn't say the land is "nice." You can even do this in places close to Silicon Valley, such as the Santa Cruz Mountains. Although, there can be a lot of restrictions on the land use due to environmental and other zoning regulations.

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#35

Post by whyenot »

stretchwithme wrote: post #26
starkfist wrote: post #21

I've lived in multiple < 200 square foot apartments in Japan and a 300 sq foot apartment in SF. I think these tiny homes would be a fun getaway. That said, something about a tiny detached house like this gives me the creeps, whereas a tiny apartment does not.

Maybe because it reminds you too much of an outhouse or a toolshed? :-)

or Ted Kaczynski?

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#36

Post by whyenot »

starkfist wrote: post #34
bittersweet wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it still possible to find a nice piece of land in the US and just build your home there? I'm from the Netherlands and there is no way in hell you can buy a piece of land away from everything.

Where I grew up I would say building your own home is almost as popular as buying one. But I wouldn't say the land is "nice." You can even do this in places close to Silicon Valley, such as the Santa Cruz Mountains. Although, there can be a lot of restrictions on the land use due to environmental and other zoning regulations.

Yes, you can find inexpensive land in the Santa Cruz mountains, but you have to be a little careful. One common reason why the land is cheap is that there is no pre-existing well or other easy access to water. If you have to drill a well, it can cost many thousands of dollars, and there is no guarantee of success.

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#37

Post by dabent »

RiderOfGiraffes wrote: post #28

Why does this turn up so often here on HN? It's cute, and interesting, and perhaps a fun hack to try to do, but I've seen it several times now. Here's one earlier version found in 30 seconds with http://searchyc.com : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=921959 ... and here are some related links: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=659799 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=651810 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=…

To me, the most interesting "hack" here is how the Tumbleweed house company has hacked its way onto Oprah, NPR and the top result for "tiny house" on Google.

I wish my startup could do that.

They've done a remarkable job with PR and are effectively the Apple Computer of trailer homes.

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#38

Post by aarongough »

Pyrodogg wrote: post #3

As habitual pack rat I'm fascinated by these tiny houses. I think it would be great to simply live in a smaller space. Then there isn't any room for clutter to accumulate.

It would probably be a better solution to change your habits... I used to be a bit of a hoarder, then I set myself a rule: "If I haven't used something in 6 months, it needs to be thrown out or given away."

My apartment is pretty minimalist now...

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#39

Post by rue »

roel_v wrote: post #27
rue wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With respect, 1000 sq.ft. (about 92m2 for those of us using sane units) for two is not "downsizing". You are suffering from space blindness. About 75m2 (800ish sq.ft.) is comfortable for a family of three, and you can certainly get by with much less.

Where do you live? In Belgium 90m2 apartments are considered small, even for a couple with no kids. 120 m2 is standard for newly build ones, I'm building a few between 125 and 170 although these are luxury apartments. My sister bought a 170m2 one smack dead in the center of a big city (Antwerp), as urban as it gets in Belgium. Where I live now in the Netherlands the standards are lower though, especially in Amsterdam…

The topic was "downsizing" :)

My somewhat educated guess is that recent and current construction have been a bit smaller than Belgium. The law says new apartment buildings, for example, have to have an average apartment size of 75m2 but I would say that in the city here 100-120m2 is pretty standard for a family of four.

Mind, even 120m2 (~1300 sq.ft.) is quite small by U.S. "middle class" standards.

Re: Do-It-Yourself Downsizing: How To Build A Tiny House

#40

Post by roel_v »

rue wrote: post #39
roel_v wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you live? In Belgium 90m2 apartments are considered small, even for a couple with no kids. 120 m2 is standard for newly build ones, I'm building a few between 125 and 170 although these are luxury apartments. My sister bought a 170m2 one smack dead in the center of a big city (Antwerp), as urban as it gets in Belgium. Where I live now in the Netherlands the standards are lower though, especially in Amsterdam…

The topic was "downsizing" :) My somewhat educated guess is that recent and current construction have been a bit smaller than Belgium. The law says new apartment buildings, for example, have to have an average apartment size of 75m2 but I would say that in the city here 100-120m2 is pretty standard for a family of four. Mind, even 120m2 (~1300 sq.ft.) is quite small by U.S. "middle class" standards.

Well yeah, unless I'm misunderstanding, you were saying that 92m2 is not downsizing (at least not downsizing enough). So I said that 92m2 is at the bottom of 'normal' size apartments. I guess you can argue that 92m2 to be below average means that the average is too high, but it would seem that everyone else thinks that it's normal.
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