Tiny House Movement

[Zecatfish]

Originally Posted by PirateJohn

We have a ton of those around here and by and large they look VERY nice, once again considering that the RV community here is primarily a retirement community.

There is a separate thread running today on that old subject of housing being made from steel ISO containers. If there was a genuinely portable park trailer out there that I could move every few years, and which I could incorporate a workshop into, I'd give it some serious thought.

Buy a set of these and you could convert to quarters and the other to a shop/garage.

[Manuel Garcia O'Kely]

Originally Posted by PaleRider

... that is simple cool, I like

Smaller houses tend to be expensive for several reasons [IMHO]:

It's easier to spend money on smaller quantities of better materials because in a tiny house, you can't get away from your ugly kitchen cabinets by going into the living room!

Efficient use of space may also require more custom work rather than standard items.

While there may be fewer square feet, the cost is often a lot about mobilization - getting to the job, setting up to do it and getting back home. Plus, smaller spaces may need more intricate work - particularly in the case of tile work in bathrooms.

Try buying small furniture!

It's pretty difficult to break $200/square foot once all is said and done, IMHO. We nearly gutted and remodeled 800 SF and it cost us about half that amount - we had a decent shell to work with - only about $15k went into repairs to the structure - although we did replace a new roof with an upgraded, insulated metal roof, which was not [strictly speaking] necessary.

All of this assumes you are paying someone else to do the work. No one with a brain allows me to do anything more complicated than painting and watering the lawn.

Living small requires a committment to it though. I think we would be unable to do it if we did not have a nice shed to store junk in.

[beefjerky]

Originally Posted by Manuel Garcia O'Kely

Smaller houses tend to be expensive for several reasons [IMHO]:

It's easier to spend money on smaller quantities of better materials because in a tiny house, you can't get away from your ugly kitchen cabinets by going into the living room!

Efficient use of space may also require more custom work rather than standard items.

While there may be fewer square feet, the cost is often a lot about mobilization - getting to the job, setting up to do it and getting back home. Plus, smaller spaces may need more intricate work - particularly in the case of tile work in bathrooms.

Try buying small furniture!

It's pretty difficult to break $200/square foot once all is said and done, IMHO. We nearly gutted and remodeled 800 SF and it cost us about half that amount - we had a decent shell to work with - only about $15k went into repairs to the structure - although we did replace a new roof with an upgraded, insulated metal roof, which was not [strictly speaking] necessary.

All of this assumes you are paying someone else to do the work. No one with a brain allows me to do anything more complicated than painting and watering the lawn.

Living small requires a committment to it though. I think we would be unable to do it if we did not have a nice shed to store junk in.

I just finished my interior..... 1200 SQ FT, flooring, sheetrock, kitchen, doors, a few windows, insulation, etc.... $5K Roof last summer, $2500.

I think I could build the whole thing for $20k.

[Vance]

My new tiny house:

Not for realsies, cuz...I have a family...but...

If I ever found myself alone and on the road. It's all I would need. I'd put a huge water containment in the back of my truck and a queen sized bed under the tarp. Home is just a place to sleep at that point.

[cornercarver]

Originally Posted by Xeraux

...is a little expensive for 320 square feet.

Wanna bet? This is a current (post bubble) video. He finally drops the price at about the 5 minute mark. Watch a minute or two then skip to the money shot.

[Mr. J]

i was ready to sign at "swanky joint"

[Mr. J]

proven once again, the good die young:



http://archrecord.construction.com/f...4mockbee-1.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Mockbee

http://archrecord.construction.com/p...2mockbee-1.asp

http://citizenarchitectfilm.com/

[Xeraux]

Originally Posted by cornercarver

Wanna bet? This is a current (post bubble) video. He finally drops the price at about the 5 minute mark. Watch a minute or two then skip to the money shot.

Hey, I cant see this stuff at work.

Is it a video of an auction?

What did it sell for?




I just copy and pasted the information from the website into my post. I really don't claim to have any insight as to where these things actually trade.

For instance...

Have you dreamed of living in a small, mobile, eco-friendly home? Our team is currently working on a 8’ x 16’ living space on a dual axle flatbed trailer. For sale, ready in August 2010 for $25K

Bathroom not included but available upon request.

US$200.00 per square foot and it doesn't even include the land??? (or a bathroom for that matter) The cost per square foot of these "tiny homes" is absolutely unconscionable.

Again, I think this is expensive, and quite frankly, unrealistic for 99.99% of the population, considering you don't even get a bathroom.

If people are actually buying these things, P.T. Barnum was right.

[2speed]

Originally Posted by PaleRider

... that is simple cool, I like

I wouldn't want the V roof. You can see it holds the snow. Poor design, eventual leaks.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Zecatfish

Buy a set of these and you could convert to quarters and the other to a shop/garage.

Ironically, I think that the conversation in the other threads has sorta turned to considering converting a trailer. Or two.

A pair of 28 footers is interesting.

Too bad that UPS and FedEx don't seem to have any used package trailers out there because they are built lower to the ground.

[Hannda]

I'm not sure what it is about the human condition that makes some of us gravitate towards the extreme ends of whatever spectrum seems to be the topic du jour. We're seeing it in politics and, in the last twenty years, home building. For years, the average home used to be between 900 and 1,500 square feet. Then they started getting bigger. Then HUGE. I guess it was to be expected that, to counter this trend someone would try to show how a family of nine can live comfortably in a 16sf house rather than try to steer things back towards the 900>1,500 models.

Hey, if you're comfy in 400sf I'm all for it and happy for you. If you need 2,200sf, fantastic. I just get upset when folks preach that theirs is the only true way to live. When it comes to these tiny houses it's usually from someone who grew up in 4,500sf.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Hannda

Hey, if you're comfy in 400sf I'm all for it and happy for you. If you need 2,200sf, fantastic. I just get upset when folks preach that theirs is the only true way to live. When it comes to these tiny houses it's usually from someone who grew up in 4,500sf.

A-men.

[Manuel Garcia O'Kely]

Originally Posted by Hannda

I'm not sure what it is about the human condition that makes some of us gravitate towards the extreme ends of whatever spectrum seems to be the topic du jour. We're seeing it in politics and, in the last twenty years, home building. For years, the average home used to be between 900 and 1,500 square feet. Then they started getting bigger. Then HUGE. I guess it was to be expected that, to counter this trend someone would try to show how a family of nine can live comfortably in a 16sf house rather than try to steer things back towards the 900>1,500 models.

Hey, if you're comfy in 400sf I'm all for it and happy for you. If you need 2,200sf, fantastic. I just get upset when folks preach that theirs is the only true way to live. When it comes to these tiny houses it's usually from someone who grew up in 4,500sf.

Interesting point. The need to keep ahead of the Jones' and the growth of the home theatre, pool, craft rooms, game rooms, 'master suites', etc.

Personally, I agree with you that there's a bit of a backlash. I've never lived in a huge house myself - my first house was overlarge at almost 1,800 square feet, but there were 3 of us.

But I also live in an area where 5,000 SF is not uncommon and more is not unusual. When I see 10,000 square foot 'ski chalets', I want to vomit at the waste. These places sit empty 50 weeks a year.

Our little place is something of an experiment for us, it's true, but I don't really think of it as a political statement as it is an economic one. I'm as much amused by dealing with a small house as anything.

[Manuel Garcia O'Kely]

Originally Posted by beefjerky

I just finished my interior..... 1200 SQ FT, flooring, sheetrock, kitchen, doors, a few windows, insulation, etc.... $5K Roof last summer, $2500.

I think I could build the whole thing for $20k.

I respect your resourcefulness!

[Hannda]

Originally Posted by Manuel Garcia O'Kely

Our little place is something of an experiment for us, it's true, but I don't really think of it as a political statement as it is an economic one. I'm as much amused by dealing with a small house as anything.

That's where we're heading next . . . once/if the housing market comes back. We don't have stocks and bonds and investments, just this one house. The hope is that if the housing market returns we'll be able to sell this and walk away with enough to build something in the 1,200sf range for cash. We'll probably spend a few more $/sf for efficiency as I'd like to be able to heat it with indigestion and a candle. I'm thinking a 2 bed/2 bath fairly open floor plan in a super insulated shell situated to take advantage of some passive solar and we're good.