Tiny house movement thrives amid real estate bust

You are right, the northeast is expensive. You are also right, some services are expensive. I was thinking along the lines of making myself a 400 sq ft place with a sleeping loft with almost all salvaged and free materials. I am also thinking of moving out this area and going out to south or north dekota. I am too cheap and too poor to pay someone that kind of money to dig a well, so I will most likely collect rain water and filter and use that for my water needs. Will the rain catching fulfill my needs, I think so, unless there is a drought. I would adjust my lifestyle to the limitations. I would not be able to have a large screen tv, take half hour showers, leave the light on all the time, and waste resources on other so called luxeries, but I would be living my dream and persuing freedom.

Thank you again, your post helped me see some of the pitfalls I will need to be cautious of and the potential for folly.

Highland, love your cottage, it is the sort of place I want to build.
How do you get your water?

Some people are mentioning re-sell potential, I think the only people who really care about re-sell value are the banks who give a morgage to the people who ask for one. The bank wants to make sure they can sell the house to make back the money for the loan and the person who took the morgage wants to make sure they can get back the insane amount of money they tossed away for the house.

I dont think the plains indians worried too much about the re-sell value of their teepees, or the eskimo their igloo. Todays world , with morgages and inflated cost on building materials is perverted IMO. We just need to know how to make shelter for ourselves for the whole of our lives, teach the kids how to do it also, and when we die maybe the place we lived in is reused or maybe it is detroyed or recycled.

people use to be buried with their personal belongings, their tools, their weapons, their cups and dishes, because people saw those things as being part of the individuals soul made by that person's own hands and skills, it would have been perverted to take their things and use them after they were dead. The next generation was taught to make their own things just as every generation was taught, so people were not as helpless as we are now.

The realistate market and the banks are for the most part, evil.

I do not consider this guy a patriot, I consider him a merchant. true patriots share information that can improve the lives of their countrymen for free. This site is free, we share here, we help each other, it is a community, it is not run by some greedy company trying to make profits. Free exchange of ideas leads to inovation and understanding.

If you look at the early days of the "alternative" building movement that came out of the 60's counter culter the information was shared freely, and people who felt inspired added to the dream, it was personal, it was real, it was from the heart. I do not get that impression from this guy. I do admire his creation, but I would admire it much more though, if I felt he was sincere about it.

Nice deal.

The state(s) and national homebuilder's associations are doing everything they can to wage this battle. They are winning in some states. The other side has real deep pockets, and are well supported by firefighters. Personally, I haven't met an code official or fireman at the local level that sees this as anything but what it is, a scam.

Yes, the 2009 International Residential Building Code (IRC) has the 'residential sprinkler requirement'. However, each individual juristiction may or may not adpot this requirement. I know in my area, the requirement has been rejected.

I my area, just that requirement alone, would tack on 2-5K on the price of a new home. Also, if you are on a water well, then you might need a booster pump and other such goodies to ensure proper water flow.

The IRC, whether you may be under it's juristiction or not, is a good code to ensure that your house/cabin and familly are protected under a minimum amount of care. Further, for folks just going off on their own to build their paradise, and they might not have construction experience, I think it is a good guide for them.

Just my two-cents.

I agree. The codes are all political. The new residential sprinkler code came about because of the lobbist that represent those who manufacture the sprinklers systems. They pressured the ICC and thus, we have this dumb code.

I think we are on the same side of this issue....Govt is to big and too controlling. alomu.

Obviously you know more about this guy than me. I simply watched his vids on the net via a link obtained here, and while watching, he gave me the impression that he has 'escaped'. I'm not aware of the products he is selling. Sorry for any confusion. Perhaps my classifying him as a patriot was over the top?

I do know this, my cousins and brothers in Iraq are patriots.

alomu.

"I firmly believe that everyone should know that if you sit on a red hot wood stove with your bare tuchus, that you'll get burned. However, if a gent wants to try it and get his 'tats', well, this is America, and you have a right to find out for yourself." Amen.

I am under the impression that you are talking about the solar cabin guy and tioga thinks you're talking about the tiny house guy that sells them for $50,000.

IF IF IF you are building a home with the goal of living there for the rest of your life... then PLEASE plan ahead!!!

Both my Grandma's fell and broke their hip. My Mother fell and broke her hip. Guess who took care of them? Yep.... ME!!!! I am wayyyyy tooooo familiar with trying to get a wheelchair thru a doorway or hallway. I am wayyyy toooo familiar with having to hire somebody to build a ramp out the front door. I am wayyyy toooo familiar with having to relocate them to MY HOUSE (which is a single story) because they lived in a 2 story with the bedrooms UPSTAIRS!

I will NEVER buy a 2 story home. Every time I walk into a home, I have this bizarre habit of inspecting it for it's "handicap" potential. LOL

That $5,000 Bathroom Remodel job I had to get because of my wheelchair mother was a major PAIN!!!! But Man Oh Man do I LOVE my new bathroom. Wouldn't have it any other way.

I hope not. I am clearly limiting my remarks to the OP's link. It appears to me that others are as well?

Fifteen years ago my wife had a nearly fatal stroke, we had two preschoolers and lived in a two story that I had built. It took a few years for my wife to come to terms with the fact that she really needed an accessible house. In 2000 we moved into a modest ranch that I designed. I was well adapted for her needs, but doesn't look like a nursing home. It does not have, or need wheelchair access, but it has all the other key features. 36" doors, wide hall, large bathrooms, walk-in shower, lever door handles etc... I cannot really express how much more livable it makes the house for everyone. It is open, easy to maneuver around and pleasant inside. I have had guests who assumed that it was 500 sq. ft. bigger than it it, just based on the fact that it's not cramped and "tight" feeling like a lot of typical ranch houses. The architectural types call it universal design and it is the way to go for anybody who is building a house that they are intending on owning for the long haul.

Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree. The latest edition is a 900 page, $90 text book geared toward those with a deep knowledge base and training in the industry. "Fuel gas ventilation requirements" and "fenestration to floor area" ratios are not user friendly for the average owner/builder. As I have posted here, it is also the driver for a corrupt system of spend a lot on unnecessary material and labor. The last two editions have huge "upgrades" to foundations,structure, and mechanicals that are simply out of control. If you are an owner/builder, lucky enough to be in a code free area, and plan on building a fairly traditional structure, stick frame, SIPS, block, etc... there is a lot of practical information available cheaply. Check Amazon for earlier editions of the "Code Check" series of code review guides. These are spiral bound, glossy, picture heavy guides for how understand the "big issues" in residential codes. I would look for used additions of the early 2000s books. They can be had for $3 or $4 each and cover everything from plumbing to structure. These are the kind of books that can teach you how to design a safe practical set of steps, or what size rafters you need to span a room. finally, if you have a choice, follow the IRC plumbing guidelines not the UPC ones in the book. The UPC rules are particularly overblown, and require 2X the venting you really need. Another great source is a wonderful old teacher and carpenter by the name of Larry Haun. He wrote a book with Habitat for Humanity about building small practical homes.

Heh, I don't even know what that means Part of the problem with the IRC is that they have to make money to pay their people. So they come up with more and more ridiculous requirements to sell more books to pay their board of directors and other staff. It is nothing but a big scam.

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http://www.xanga.com/shackman A blog about whatever

Both of my grandparents lived in two story homes until the day they moved to the nursing home. One of my grandmothers always swore that the workout from the stairs is part of what kept her mobile so long.

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~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

Here is an add from a local auto and rv sales- 10x20 cabin.Loft above porch.$3,055.Mid Michigan Mini Barns. 213-825-0227

if you want to check out all sorts of tiny houses, just for ideas or whatever -

www.tinyhouseblog.com

It's fun to check out each day. Tiny Tumbleweed is one shown but there are many others.
I think the Tumbleweeds are way expensive, but looking at them could make a regular house more efficient in space use (sorta the difference between an RV and a Mobile home in space usage).

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

I disagree also.
In addition to those mentioned, there are a multitude of good books for builders that not only give an overview of basic code requirements but also tips and tricks for getting there.
My old TimeLife series book, Stairs, for example, not only gives the code requirements, but also shows you how to use your framing square to mark out your stringer for cutting treads (or placing cleats if you prefer).

That is a "good guide." Not an expensive, technical manual written by and for professionals (with an assumed level of expertise).

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~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop