Tiny houses
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I envision a 200 sq ft home in a lovely photo. Just outside the frame is a 1500 sq ft storage shed. 
Tiny houses come in two flavors: those on wheels which puts them in the same category at mobile homes from a property standpoint with well known laws that accompany them.
And permanently placed ones. The permanently placed ones have had issues with city building rules, but that is changing on some places. Here in Austin, there is a village being built to shelter homeless people. Our church help build one of the buildings.
I'm a little surprised that I haven't yet seen this same idea applied to a retirement community built of tiny houses of the permanent variety. Though I think such houses would need to ditch the loft - I know I won't be climbing ladders by that time.
Big-papa
Tiny houses come in two flavors: those on wheels which puts them in the same category at mobile homes from a property standpoint with well known laws that accompany them.
And permanently placed ones. The permanently placed ones have had issues with city building rules, but that is changing on some places. Here in Austin, there is a village being built to shelter homeless people. Our church help build one of the buildings.
I'm a little surprised that I haven't yet seen this same idea applied to a retirement community built of tiny houses of the permanent variety. Though I think such houses would need to ditch the loft - I know I won't be climbing ladders by that time.
Big-papa
timo2
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
This is interesting
from the article:
"The verdict? While I loved staying in a tiny house for a weekend getaway in the woods, I can safely say I won't be permanently moving into my own miniature abode any time soon"
I Tried Living in a Tiny House and It Wasn’t For Me - Tiny House Movement
from the article:
"The verdict? While I loved staying in a tiny house for a weekend getaway in the woods, I can safely say I won't be permanently moving into my own miniature abode any time soon"
I Tried Living in a Tiny House and It Wasn’t For Me - Tiny House Movement
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Her five reasons for disliking the tiny house:
1. Pets
She wants to keep her kitties out of her bedroom so she can sleep later. OK, well, not all of us even have pets and this is no issue for me.
2. Baking
She wants a full sized oven and full sized refrigerator. Others sometimes manage without needing either, especially if they eat out a lot or if they are just cooking for one. I must admit that after living with a tiny borrowed frig for over three months after Katrina, I was happy to the point of tears when my new full sized frig with nice big freezer-on-top was delivered. Thank you, Sears! And thank you for giving me the sale price just like people in other cities, even though half of New Orleans was ordering refrigerators at that time.
3. Toilet
That toilet was gross. OK, I wouldn't like that either.
4. Entertaining
Entertaining frequently at home is not a universal hobby. At least, it's not a big part of my life.
5. Boyfriend
She wants to live in the tiny home with someone else. As many of our forum members can attest, when living with somebody else often you need more than twice the square footage than when living alone. Then again, some of us prefer to live alone.
To me, the only problem that she mentioned was the toilet and maybe the tiny frig. I'd want:
I. All the utilities available for a SFH, like water, sewer, trash pickup, cable internet, and electricity.
II. Sturdy construction and a solid foundation
III. A nice smooth road leading to it and a garage in which to park one's vehicle.
IV. A full sized washer and dryer in a laundry room, room for a king sized bed, and a nice big shower.
I can already see the square footage skyrocketing!
I suppose that technically my present 1500 sf house has a little more square footage than I actually MUST have. I could probably survive with several hundred fewer square feet while still having all the amenities that I want.
However, it's also nice to have a little extra wiggle room included in the square footage devoted to storage, so that one doesn't have to spend every single weekend going through all of one's items and separating them into the usual "keep, toss, donate" piles and making Good Will runs. This could quickly become tedious and is something that never seems to be addressed in tiny house shows. Keeping one's possessions downsized apparently happens magically.
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Ronstar
Moderator Emeritus
Found this article on Tiny house communities and "pocket neighborhoods". I won't be getting a tiny house anytime soon, unless it comes with a not so tiny workshop.
13 Livable Tiny House Communities
13 Livable Tiny House Communities
timo2
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
III. A nice smooth road leading to it and a garage in which to park one's vehicle.
IV. A full sized washer and dryer in a laundry room, room for a king sized bed, and a nice big shower.
I can already see the square footage skyrocketing!
.
I was pondering once I had the garage, putting the storage and washer, dryer in there. Does that defeat the purpose of the tiny house, when the out buildings are larger than the house?
Teacher Terry
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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We have a 27 ft RV (167 sq ft) that we take trips in. When we got it I thought we would travel for a year in it. Then a 2 week trip later not so much. I am neat and DH is not. So we start out neat and in about 3 days we are a disaster. WE have 4 dogs (3 tiny) and 1 80lbs. They like to lay right in the hallway and have us step over them. Last year we took a month trip and had to keep our sense of humor so no one got hurt) My friend's parents owned it before us and traveled for a year in it but both are extremely neat people. We like to entertain, have full size appliances, etc. When I was single I lived in a 2 bd 868 sq ft condo and fit perfectly. Then DH came and no room for anything but some of his clothes. We finally bought a 1400 sq ft house that is perfect for the 2 of us. We like our separate offices.
) My friend's parents owned it before us and traveled for a year in it but both are extremely neat people. We like to entertain, have full size appliances, etc. When I was single I lived in a 2 bd 868 sq ft condo and fit perfectly. Then DH came and no room for anything but some of his clothes. We finally bought a 1400 sq ft house that is perfect for the 2 of us. We like our separate offices.
Sarah in SC
Moderator Emeritus
I think W2R's earlier post nailed it for me--they are cute and there is a McGyver-esque quality I find very appealing.
I would go with one of the park model floor plans, though, with no loft and a real bedroom with a Murphy bed.
And a real toilet, no composting toilet for me!
I would go with one of the park model floor plans, though, with no loft and a real bedroom with a Murphy bed.
And a real toilet, no composting toilet for me!
Music Lover
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I've noticed that too. A competent DIY'er looking for a house that size could do most/all of the work themselves and save a lot of money. That's what I would do.
