tiny homes

[Hermit]

My mountain cabin started out at 24x36 (864 sq ft), then expanded to 26x36 (936). Then the placement demanded a walkout basement because of the slope (1872). Of course I had an attached garage and it had to be slid forward about 12 feet to manage the slope. Well, that left just wide enough space at the lower level for an additional garage with a shop above. Then the the architect thought it would be a good idea to have room for a kitchen table so there went 96 sq ft out of my wood shop and into the house (1968 sq ft) I have no idea what I need that much room for, but I'm going to have an awesome home theater!

[gromit]

Just out of curiosity, a while back I looked at how zoning would come into play for a weekend getaway tiny home on land near a national park. I suggest anyone interested in a tiny home look into the zoning first. Whether the county considers a tiny home to be a cute travel trailer, a mobile home or a permanent residence is important.
For the county I looked at, mobile homes were restricted to very limited areas. RVs and travel trailers were allowed to be used in areas near the national park, but could only be placed and occupied on property for 3 months in any year. Putting a tiny home on property for more than 3 months a year required that it had to be a permanent structure. That meant no attached wheels and "permanently connected" water, septic and electric utilities. At that point I stopped looking. I'll guess that adding a permanent structure with "permanently connected" utilities to property would also open a Pandora's box of property taxes, building inspections and complying with obscure building codes that weren't written with tiny homes in mind.
I still think they are cute for a weekend place, but it may not be as simple as just deciding to park one somewhere.

[Dancer373]

I think a tiny home would be too small for me. A weekend of rain in a 30 ft motor home with 2 grandkids was a very tight fit. I live in 1800 sq ft but I'm getting to the point where I'm not using it all. 1300 sq ft sounds much more comfortable.

[SDHiker]

My daughter-in-law is always posting these tiny house things on Facebook. The funny part is she has a TON of stuff. Perhaps it is something she aspires to. They are just too small for me. We bought our house in 1985 with twin 2 year olds. It was 1,040 sq. ft. and seemed very small. We added on in 1990 a bath and master bedroom to give us 1,400. We resisted upsizing until a kitchen remodel where we added another 100 sq ft laundry room/office area. We stuck with the house and the boys have been gone 10 years. It is the perfect size. We want to keep a guest room available and it gets used somewhat regularly with visitors. I could not do under 1,000. A trailer or RV would be fine for trips under a few weeks.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDHiker My daughter-in-law is always posting these tiny house things on Facebook. The funny part is she has a TON of stuff. Perhaps it is something she aspires to...

My DD does not have a problem in this area. She just uses my storage for all her extra stuff.

[imoldernu]

Not "tiny", but our first 14 years of retirement....'89 to '04. To save $$$.

Campground- 27 ft trailer, then our park model... 400 s.f. plus a a 400 s.f. add-a room, and a 400 s.f. deck...
and:
Senior park in FL... 14X70 mobile home w/300 s.f. sun room.

In 2004 to our 1600 s.f. home in CCRC... Perfect size.

Rationalize the hoarder instinct by putting a $$$ value on a "got junk" declutter.
Eases the guilt complex over the frugality.

[SDHiker]

Hermit, LOL, we have some of their stuff too!!

[martyb]

Our 1636 sf house feels small to me. I could do short periods in a travel trailer type situation, but not for a permanent living arrangement.

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