A Lot For Us To Learn From Tiny House Living

[LS6 Tommy]

Pllllbbbbb... Yet another tv show based on Yuppie idealists doing stupid chit to be "artsy"...

Tommy

 

[fastjohnny]

Spent several evenings last week hosting a tiny house display at the county fair. (see tag for photos and timelapse of build) Biggest difference in this particular model compared to a camper: Show me a camper with R21 spray foam insulation in the walls and R30 in the ceiling.

No doubt they are not for everybody, but for a young couple in college, beats an apartment in my book.

http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/university/#more-36528

 

[zkling]

This is all well and good, but anytime you're considered a hoarder because you have two boxes of cereal ain't gonna work for me.

You won't have a set of screwdrivers, wrenches or sockets, only the specific sizes absolutely needed for what you own.

 

[iagsxr]

I've lived in a 700 sq. ft. house for over ten years. There's one room that I basically don't use, a spare bedroom/office. This winter the second bedroom is becoming mine and my current one a walk-in closet. A few other tweaks and it'll be good for another ten years barring full time live in girlfriend. Even then I think the single stall garage would be the most immediate problem.

I look at other houses, mainly for location, but when you're used to inexpensive living it's hard to make the move. Not talking about the mortgage, that'll eventually go away. Utilities and property taxes never go away, never go down. I can have a lot of fun on the money other people pay in property taxes.

Oh yeah and a 3500 sq. ft. shop, 1000 sq. ft. storage building.

 

[brycez28]

My wife and I have talked about tiny houses. I could do with the smaller space for a house and a large garage (which is what we would do). But I agree, you can buy a heck of a camper for $40k with a lot more space. But also need to consider, with a tiny house, everything is custom and all the houses I've seen on the shows appear to be made from higher end materials vs what a typical middle of the line house is finished with.

 

[mrodgers]

A lot of people say they do it so they can pay for the house outright (they usually cost around $25k - $60k) and not have a mortgage to deal with. This lets them spend money on more activities that enhance the quality of their lives. It also means they have to work less because the bills are less

Ridiculous when you can get a mobile home for half your low end number and have 3 times as much space. You're a ***** if you live in a 300 sq. ft. "house" for $25k.

We started out in a mobile home. We gained 10 sq. ft. when we bought a house, though I'm not including the damp basement. You guys stating 1600 sq ft houses, that's not a small house.

Hell, we went to Disneyworld and stayed at a value resort. 260 sq foot and we hardly had anywhere to put 2 suitcases of our stuff let alone try to fit every day living stuff in something like 300 sq foot.

 

[Falcon67]

I lived in a 300 sq/ft apartment after high school, shared. Not again. IF I do that again, it'd be a motorhome parked in a 2000 sq/ft shop/building.

>Ridiculous when you can get a mobile home for half your low end number
I don't know where you'd find that. With the regulations on mobiles these days, they are in the 80~100K range for a double wide and over 50K easy for a single.

 

[mrodgers]

BTW love the signature. You'd be interested to know my full name is David Gilmore. And I have a little Pink Folyd ink on my body of course ;P

Something funny going on. I am probably David Gilmour's and Pink Floyd's biggest fan. Yesterday I notice not just Bronson's signature but another poster with Floyd lyrics in his sig. Then you pop on here today and say your name is David Gilmore (different spelling, but close enough.) Weird I'm seeing all these Floyd references all within a day's time.

Dude, I get it. I can't even find peace in my house when I shut the door to the Throne Room. I can't even imagine being in one big room with a tiny sliding door for the potty

My anxiety doesn't come from going into the small Throne Room I have. My anxiety comes from the fact that I only have one throne room and live with 3 women! Every time I head in there, 30 seconds later I hear a knock, "You going to be done soon?" Ah, no, I'm only on page 2 of the Free Parking subsection of Garage Journal on my phone.... LOL.

 

[SouperGrover]

I know a lot of people are comparing the tiny house to a camper or a mobile home. They are not the same. They are constructed completely different. They really are a tiny HOUSE. Insulation, construction materials, etc. And an important key here is the FOOTPRINT is what they are measured by. Sleeping areas tend to be a loft and those aren't counted in the sq ft I don't think. They are almost always "two stories" so the interior walls are higher than the average single story wall. This gives them room to store a lot of stuff vertically.

I watched one the other day where the couple were avid cyclists. They wanted to store their bikes inside so the designer devised a hook and pulley system that easily allowed them to hoist the bikes up and well overhead so as not to be in the way. I might do something like this to keep my bikes and ladders up in the rafters of my garage as well.

There was another episode where the couple did outdoor activities with a group of kids - like a day camp. They needed some extra food prep areas. So, the designer made a small shelf that was attached to metal arms on all four corners underneath a cabinet in the kitchen area. This allowed it to swing up and be latched out of the way under the cabinet when not in use, but swung down when needed. These are the kinds of things I find very clever and look to emulate when storage is needed in my own living/garage situation.

 

[SouperGrover]

Something funny going on. I am probably David Gilmour's and Pink Floyd's biggest fan. Yesterday I notice not just Bronson's signature but another poster with Floyd lyrics in his sig. Then you pop on here today and say your name is David Gilmore (different spelling, but close enough.) Weird I'm seeing all these Floyd references all within a day's time.

That's it. As a tribute we're all playing Dark Side of the Moon while watching Wizard of Oz TONIGHT!

My anxiety doesn't come from going into the small Throne Room I have. My anxiety comes from the fact that I only have one throne room and live with 3 women! Every time I head in there, 30 seconds later I hear a knock, "You going to be done soon?" Ah, no, I'm only on page 2 of the Free Parking subsection of Garage Journal on my phone.... LOL.

3 women? There are only two in our house and it's too much for my son and I at times. Wich is partially why we are so motivated to get the woodshop done. You win

 

[Moose97]

The reason they are often built on a trailer frame is so the local building codes do not apply. Its not a dwelling, its a trailer.

Paco

I know a lot of people are comparing the tiny house to a camper or a mobile home. They are not the same. They are constructed completely different. They really are a tiny HOUSE. Insulation, construction materials, etc. And an important key here is the FOOTPRINT is what they are measured by. Sleeping areas tend to be a loft and those aren't counted in the sq ft I don't think. They are almost always "two stories" so the interior walls are higher than the average single story wall. This gives them room to store a lot of stuff vertically.

I watched one the other day where the couple were avid cyclists. They wanted to store their bikes inside so the designer devised a hook and pulley system that easily allowed them to hoist the bikes up and well overhead so as not to be in the way. I might do something like this to keep my bikes and ladders up in the rafters of my garage as well.

There was another episode where the couple did outdoor activities with a group of kids - like a day camp. They needed some extra food prep areas. So, the designer made a small shelf that was attached to metal arms on all four corners underneath a cabinet in the kitchen area. This allowed it to swing up and be latched out of the way under the cabinet when not in use, but swung down when needed. These are the kinds of things I find very clever and look to emulate when storage is needed in my own living/garage situation.

The original purpose for putting "tiny houses" on trailers was not so they can move them around necessarily. Nor was it to by-pass building codes (I hope!). It was to get around zoning ordinances. Minimum square footage, masonry requirements, etc. I think the 1st "tiny homes" were not on trailers but usually outside the municipal jurisdictions. When urban dwellers decided to try it they would run into zoning issues so, build them on a trailer and rent a friends back yard.

 

[readhead]

I build tiny houses and there are a lot of reasons people want them. Most of my customers want them for get away second homes. Just a place to enjoy for a weekend or a few weeks vacation. Some folks do it for financial reasons. A lot of our houses go on property owned by family so the home owner isn't buying property.

Obviously a RV would probably be cheaper but most people want something that is more "homey".

We don't build on trailers and our max size is 400 square feet. The buildings can be 8, 10, or 12 feet wide for easy transportation over the road to the final site.

Tiny homes are just another option to the housing puzzle.

 

[SouperGrover]

I build tiny houses and there are a lot of reasons people want them. Most of my customers want them for get away second homes. Just a place to enjoy for a weekend or a few weeks vacation. Some folks do it for financial reasons. A lot of our houses go on property owned by family so the home owner isn't buying property.

Obviously a RV would probably be cheaper but most people want something that is more "homey".

We don't build on trailers and our max size is 400 square feet. The buildings can be 8, 10, or 12 feet wide for easy transportation over the road to the final site.

Tiny homes are just another option to the housing puzzle.

Great post. They aren't for everyone, but they do give people another housing option.

 

[Keel]

If I was single, I could do a small loft style home with a large shop/garage..
my cape style house isn't huge by todays standards, basic size that a 1934 house was..
but I have a large lot and a 2nd deeded lot, and I could see us doing a tiny home on the extra lot and the 2nd home down south and rent out this one, when I'm closer to retirement

 

[justanengineer]

Pllllbbbbb... Yet another tv show based on Yuppie idealists doing stupid chit to be "artsy"...

Bingo. A friend of mine in Colorado took me around to tour a bunch of his friends' "tiny homes." My first reaction was that these folks must be suicidal for how most were built. Not to be impolite, but my second thought was that they were all hippy-dippy artsy-fartsy types trying too hard to be stylish.

JME growing up in the sticks then living in Alaska, but Ive known plenty of folks who have been living decades as what some call "off grid" today, they hunt/fish/grow 70+% of their own food living off the land, and usually live in either a small'ish cabin or "RV" trailer. Usually its just a good ol boy hillbilly like myself with a wife and maybe 1-2 kids. Folks tend to think of them as white trash but many of the cabins and trailers are OUTSTANDING, well insulated, and really nicely finished with modern amenities. After seeing how those folks live, I really wonder about the folks living in glorified outhouses in someone else's backyard in town.

 

[SouperGrover]

Bingo. A friend of mine in Colorado took me around to tour a bunch of his friends' "tiny homes." My first reaction was that these folks must be suicidal for how most were built. Not to be impolite, but my second thought was that they were all hippy-dippy artsy-fartsy types trying too hard to be stylish.

JME growing up in the sticks then living in Alaska, but Ive known plenty of folks who have been living decades as what some call "off grid" today, they hunt/fish/grow 70+% of their own food living off the land, and usually live in either a small'ish cabin or "RV" trailer. Usually its just a good ol boy hillbilly like myself with a wife and maybe 1-2 kids. Folks tend to think of them as white trash but many of the cabins and trailers are OUTSTANDING, well insulated, and really nicely finished with modern amenities. After seeing how those folks live, I really wonder about the folks living in glorified outhouses in someone else's backyard in town.

Whether we agree that tiny houses are useful or a waste of money, I think one thing that we all agree on, and another lesson I would hope these kinds of shows start to weave into our society, is that we don't need huge houses. And we live in a disposable society where we toss something out because it may be cheaper (because we have to pay someone to fix it) and easier to just go buy another one. People have too much stuff.

Here's the opening part of George Carlin's "A Place For My Stuff" routine. So on point.

Actually, this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That's all; a little place for my stuff. That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there.
That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is- a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that **** you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff! Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore.

 

[rodsnratfinks]

I'm what you might call a minimalist. If it were not for my musician habit and my tools/projects, I could probably do tiny house living. But, as with most things, the place someone should be on the continuum between nothing and wanton excess is somewhere in the middle. I did experiment when I was single and living in a 3/2 1100 square foot home: I sold every stick of furniture and moved all my belongings to one room temporarily. Then, shopped at thrift stores for specific pieces of quality utilitarian furniture that would match my needs and wants for living a certain type of lifestyle. I wanted:

- To be able to entertain for up to 20 people
- To have modular seating
- To keep most of my musical instruments and my vinyl collection out of sight.
- To have a table to dine and play games at
- For my room to be used primarily for sleeping and dressing
- No TV, but lots of music

I ended up closing off one bathroom and one bedroom.

- The master bedroom had a bed, a night stand, a small writing desk, a chair, a dresser, and a piano.
- The dining room and living areas contained only a dinette, a desk, an organ, a variety of well placed chairs that made up two seating areas, some side tables, a coffee table, a large stereo, and some art.
- The other keyboards and my record collection were placed in a spare bedroom.

I loved living like that. It was so easy to clean and thus, was immaculate. It was easy to entertain in, and I was so productive; both in work and in play. My wife always hated the way it looked. She said it looked like no one lives there.
I lived with this configuration until after I met my wife. Once we married, I sold most of that stuff and we bought a house that is primarily furnished by boxes of stuff she needs to go through.



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[rodsnratfinks]

Anyway, that taught me about how much space I really needed. Truth is, I could have lived in a little over half of that space the same exact way. This has made me a big fan of the 'small house' movement, where you don't live in a miniscule house, but you live in small house relative to the norm. Truth is most families don't need a house bigger than 1200-1500 square feet and very few people need a garage at all, or even much of a yard for that matter.

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[Jagmandave]

Well, I do like the idea of everything in it's place and so on.....and these tiny houses force you to do with less and use each space for multiple things. And I agree that most of us do have too much stuff, and way more than we'll ever need or use in our lifetimes. Recycling and living off the grid also appeals to me, and they are a good blueprint for that style of living.

My wife and I looked at the idea of buying a motorhome and traveling around the states - I thought it sounded fantastic but she decided it was not for her.....so the idea of living in one of these tiny places with someone means they really need to be on the same page with you.

Living by yourself there with an occasional overnight guest would not be as hard.

 

[rsanter]

My first house was an older 800sq ft with two car garage. The neighborhood was nice and the layout of the house was good.
I lived there with my girlfriend at the time and that was pleanty of space. I cou do that again.
However I did have a separate shop that held the cars and tools and stuff.

My current house is 1978sqft and is bigger than I wanted to buy. However smaller houses that were available at the time were in **** areas or had horrible layouts, outdated and they still wanted top dollar for them.....
Pass....what I bought was a compromise for best I could get for the money. Nice house, good neighborhood, affordable price.

Bob

 

[bwringer]

I always wonder how many of the tiny house people are secretly renting a storage unit somewhere packed with ****.



Back to the OP's point, you do see a lot of ideas packed into the tiny houses -- some awful (saw one with a glass wall between the ******* and the kitchen to "make the place look bigger" -- WTF?), some pretty darn good (lots of great storage solutions).

 

[Jagmandave]

If it's only one person living there, it doesn't matter - if it's two, then both party's personal sensibilities and privacy concerns need to be addressed.

I can see these places for young people just starting out, or an older person living alone who needs to watch their budget but doesn't want to be in an apartment or rent a room

 

[SouperGrover]

I always wonder how many of the tiny house people are secretly renting a storage unit somewhere packed with ****.
.

That thought has crossed my mind as well. Part of the formula for the show on FYI is one of the hosts of the show visits the place the person(s) currently lives in and we get to see the purging process of them getting rid of stuff and only keeping what will fit. The two shows on HGTV (one is where the occupant builds the house and the other is where they are looking for premade options) don't show any of this so you may be right - they end up with a storage unit somewhere that doesn't get shown on TV

 

[NewShockerGuy]

I actually really like the show. I like the tiny house hunting a little more than the ones building the house on a trailer. As much as I like the idea of being able to "move" your house and go anywhere, that's just not that realistic to me. I would MUCH rather have a 600 sq ft house, that is surrounded by land than a 200 sq ft trailer that I could take with me.

I do think we need to be more multi-use in the products we use. I can't talk honestly because we live in a 5,000sq ft house and it's just my wife, and two small dogs. So clearly a lot of house for 2 people but that's a different story. I have told my wife I would in a heart beat love to move somewhere that there is a tiny house, more garage space and land and forget all this hustle bussle ********...

I think the best aspects of the show are the multiuse rooms/furniture and seeing people pairing down. I really like that a piece of furniture can double or triple as other items. It reminds me of Japanese culture and how efficient they make such tiny spaces and putting storage or multiuse things in a space. Pairing down is also really nice. You don't realize how tied down these objects that we own make us.

It's definitely a fun show and depending on which ones you catch are really cool. Some are looking for a tiny vacation home, while others are looking completely to change their lifestyle. It would be cool having a tiny house in the middle of a huge plot of land and just enjoying outdoors, all while still being connected but perhaps not as connected as we are today with things. I do think it would be nice to drop $50k on the house and not have a house payment again. That has to be some type of a release if nothing else. Utilities and taxes would almost be nill as well.

One thing they don't tell you is depending on where you are building your tiny house some areas require a MINIMUM size structure depending on the lot size... Some areas will simply not permit a tiny 400sq ft house if the rest of the neighborhood is 2500+ sq ft.


-Nigel

 

[stikman56]

My Wife watches those shows and now after we have been tiny house living, she says it ain't for her. We're in a 27 foot fifth wheel while the house is being built. Going to be quite the change going into the biggest house we've ever had, from this thing.

 

[SouperGrover]

I think the best aspects of the show are the multiuse rooms/furniture and seeing people pairing down. I really like that a piece of furniture can double or triple as other items. It reminds me of Japanese culture and how efficient they make such tiny spaces and putting storage or multiuse things in a space. Pairing down is also really nice. You don't realize how tied down these objects that we own make us.

This is my favorite part of the show, too. There was one episode where the designer made an office/bedroom and when the bed folded up, a shelf folded down to make the desk. And, when the bed came down, the shelf stayed parallel to the floor so nothing on it would tip off.

Your comment about mimnmum sizes made a funny picture come to mind. I pictured an area of track home with large two story houses and on one of the lots.... tiny house. I think that would look pretty funny

 

[SouperGrover]

My Wife watches those shows and now after we have been tiny house living, she says it ain't for her. We're in a 27 foot fifth wheel while the house is being built. Going to be quite the change going into the biggest house we've ever had, from this thing.

Yeah you two are EXTREME tiny house living!

 

[reader2580]

I think the small lots with today's news houses are a function of high land prices and the developer's desire to make more profit.

Tiny house are real and not just on TV. Some were built locally for the homeless.

Most cities around where I live have minimum house size requirements. A tiny house would not meet those requirements. I suspect the minimums are to keep the property taxes up as much as anything.

 

[bwringer]

I think when humanity finally figures out high-speed internet access anywhere on the planet, they're going to sell quite a few more tiny houses.

Also, one thing that's relatively rare in the US that could also take off is the idea of a rented garage or workshop space. I could quite happily live in a tiny house, but I'd need somewhere to store and use my tools and motorcycles.

 

[wasfast]

The tiny house interest seemed to be a counterpoint reaction to the Mcmansion epidemic that was going on across the country for some time. I'm a minimalist at heart and appreciate the "doing more with less" and having less things in general. But clearly the tiny house isn't for everyone. Someone earlier mentioned young people starting out and older people that live alone. The family with 2-3 children would be terribly challenged to live in a tiny house.

Most of the articles focus on the structure only. The mobile versions still need somewhere to park and all the relevant hookups (water, electricity, sewer etc.) Unless you buy some land (killing the low cost aspect in many areas), you are either renting a space or squatting on someone else's property. I saw one that didn't have a showering facility. She said she just went into the parents house where her house was in the back yard. Huh?

 

[dutchgray]

None of this is new, most of the worlds population lives in small dwellings, we a just lucky here in the west that bigger is available for most. My house is 700sq ft plus a single garage, its more than enough to live in, but if I could I would have a 5000sq ft building with 500ft living quarters.
Small trailer built houses are quite common here, often for holiday rental.
There are all the old traditional ones too, shepherds huts, living vans, converted railway carriage bodies.

 

[SouperGrover]

None of this is new, most of the worlds population lives in small dwellings, we a just lucky here in the west that bigger is available for most. My house is 700sq ft plus a single garage, its more than enough to live in, but if I could I would have a 5000sq ft building with 500ft living quarters.
Small trailer built houses are quite common here, often for holiday rental.
There are all the old traditional ones too, shepherds huts, living vans, converted railway carriage bodies.

This is a great point. Also on HGTV is a show called "House Hunters: International" and I always get a chuckle out of Americans who go to Europe, see the homes (especially in a city) and respond with "it's so smaaaallllll". Shows how spoined we are in this country. Everything bigger in the US