My friend and I were having a similar fantasy of putting places like that all over the western US so we started with a one-off project to build a tiny house so that it can just be “plopped” down (or rather rolled in).
How big were you thinking? Something like 400 SF? Or a proper house?
As I said in another comment on this thread I think it’s possible to build something totally custom for a similar budget (200-250 psf) as long as it’s on a trailer because you avoid most of the code and inspection issues in several western states by putting it on wheels.
Still working on the interior but this house is built better than my actual house in a high-cost market in California. It is super tiny though (200 sf and that includes the loft).
While the house cute and quaint, cozy and cheap, methinks most of us are more fond of modern straight-line homes than "hobbit" habitats.
For some time now I've been digging for info on building ultra-cheap housing, starting with an interest in log homes and branching into "tiny houses". Goal is to get my kids to earn and move into paid-off real estate by graduation.
Uncharted Tiny Homes is the only one that builds small homes, but I was looking into tapping some college resources (they have competitions on sustainable container houses) and some talent there in terms of what it takes to build one out.
You can get shipping containers pretty cheap, and the trailer doesn't even have to have wheels for it to be considered not a permanent residence.
The short of building out a house is basically you cut holes in the container for all the inteface to the outside world, do insulation on the inside, facade on the outside, run all wire/plumbing stuff in cut channels in the insulation, then build out the walls and furniture from treated wood. A lot of the existing RV stuff (shower, retractable beds, e.t.c) can be reused.
I have no experience living in one, but my understanding is they can be hooked up to services if you desire. The reason they are on trailers is because the person who invented the first tiny house (now runs Tumbleweed Tiny House Company http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/) was looking for a way to get around zoning laws. These houses are so small they are not allowable under most zoning laws. But if you put them on wheels, they qualify as "trailer homes" and, voila!, now you are legal.
From what I gather, the fact that they are too small to be legal in most (urban/within city bounds) areas creates all kinds of challenges. I have long been interested in the subject, and I sometimes fantasize about living in a tiny house, but I have not yet in earnest tried to make it happen.
Curious if anyone here has built/bought a tiny house or has any recommendations? My folks live up in Northern Nevada and have a small patch of land they've thought about putting one on, but I'm having a hard time figuring out a reputable place to buy one.
That's pretty epic to have a fully functional human nest for 49k.
Is there a place where I can try them out. I will be visiting SF and definitely want to experience staying in a container home before deciding to make a call.
A dream of mine is to buy some land in a remote place with a gorgeous view and place a container home there.
Yeah, it seems this house is similar dimensions to a single wide trailer. Just different construction and fancier interior.
It seems like most urban/suburban CA zoning would prohibit either model - a trailer, or placing this in a backyard. It seems trailers are common in rural areas and small towns because the zoning allows for that option.
Yeah, what I have heard is that it’s technically not a “tiny house” if it’s not built on a trailer. Which I’m okay with but I guess it also means there might be other housing regulations from whatever city I setup in.
It might be naive of me to think that maybe you haven't already seen this, but if there are any examples of what you're trying to accomplish in California, they're probably somewhere on this list: http://www.ic.org/directory/listings/?cmty-country=United%20...
California certainly has some ecovillages, but most have buildings sized like typical houses.
A modified parking garage with simple utility hookups would be a good place to park tiny houses. If you could spring ~5k for a tiny house and $50 a month for garbage collection/water, you'd have a decent situation going. Cheaper to build and more flexible than an apartment building, but still "stackable."
Don’t think this is novel, but I’ve mentioned on an HN thread before that my friend and I were building (and have now built) a tiny house. We’d been complaining for years that housing was too expensive and so after doing a house flip and stops and starts on trying to build a spec house we decided to try a tiny house to see if we could build something move-in ready that looks (somewhat) nice and also is inexpensive.
Just started marketing it for sale a couple of weeks back. And we figure if we can’t sell it then we’ll rent it so that either way someone gets a roof over their heads for a price that’s just not really available in most locations these days.
1. http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/
reply