Why the obsession with "tiny houses"?

Ya'll are evil, evil, evil people. First, ya'll talk about tiny houses, and then ya'll introduce me to Sketchup.

I have spent DAYS designing tiny houses and cottages....complete with full-sized kitchens and bathrooms. Everything from 250 sq. ft. up to 800 sq. ft.

This program may eat my life.

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Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck

While you're obsessed, design me a not-so-tiny one. My slab is 30 x 30 with a 8x10 addition that is the bathroom.
The whole thing has to come down and we want a 1.5 to 2 story one on the slab.

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A ship in the harbor may be safe, but that's not what ships are built for

Hmmm, how many people in it Otter? And what are you indoor or semi-indoor pet situation like?

I designed an absolutely ROCKIN' macaw habitat inside that 20'x20'

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Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck

My family of 7 currently lives in a 1190 sq ft home. It's not a tiny home, but if you think about it, that's only about 170 sq ft per person. So, why can't a single person live in a 200 sq ft home? Of course, if I lived in a 10' x 20' home, I would have 8x10ft of kitchen, 7ft of living area/bed room, and a tiny bathroom closed off in the corner. And, it would all be built with expert craftsmanship! No particle board or plywood in the place.

Because they don't all need their own stove. Because 7 people don't need storage for 7 brooms, or 7 sets of cookware.

If you add in all the common spaces for single things that one, single individual also needs in a home- it comes out to more square feet then that per person.

I'm not saying that you couldn't live in a 10 x20 space if you wanted too - just pointing that out about the math. LOL, right now, to me, 10x20 all to myself would feel very luxurious. I can see the fascination with tiny homes and I do love all the cool design feature. Just living it - and tripping over my vacuum constantly - I've discovered it's not for me, at least not at this stage in my life.
Before children I could have rocked it!

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A ship in the harbor may be safe, but that's not what ships are built for

*grin* We have two ferrets. There is a maze of piped tunnels along and through our walls for them built right into the house which leads outdoors to an outdoor bathroom and garden for the little critters.

http://SugarMtnFarm.com/2012/05/18/ferret-out-house/

Good point most of a house is common space, probably no matter how large or small the house.

In our 252 sq-ft home with five people we each have about 16 sq-ft of private space. Probably not quite that, maybe half that. That totals only about 80 sq-ft so the rest, about 170 sq-ft, is common space for book shelves, wood stove, kitchen, bathroom, dining room, etc. it is a little complicated figuring private vs common space and square feet since we have layers and the walls are covered with bookcases, etc. Most square feet also serve multiple functions throughout the day depending on the time.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Originally Posted by Otter
Because they don't all need their own stove. Because 7 people don't need storage for 7 brooms, or 7 sets of cookware. If you add in all the common spaces for single things that one, single individual also needs in a home- it comes out to more square feet then that per person.

This is a very good point. The utility areas like the kitchen and bathroom and laundry are the most expensive areas and the common areas like dining and living require the most space. Personal space does not have to be very large. I am often surprised at how big bedrooms are in modern houses.

We have a friend who built a great small house of 16 x 30' or 480 sq feet with a loft. The north wall of the house is a bank of cupboards that run from the front door all the way to the end of the house. Thirty running feet of 2 foot deep storage.

Why is it built so high up, and how did you do the foundation?

Long story on that, but we do get some flood water down on the river and I put it 5 ft in the air, by myself. I had never done anything like that but for good reason. The building was delivered on Monday and that same week on Friday, we received a hundred yr flood. My building was setting on only blocks, 3 high. It picked it up like a shoe box and floated it about 100 yrds. So I waited till the ground was dry and lifted the front end about 1-2 ft, the slowly dragged it back to the orginal position. I decided then and there, that wasn't going to happen again.

As far as the foundation, keep in mind that most storage sheds are built on skids. So I poured footings, using plenty of rebarb, pipe and basically anything I could find. All piers are tied to the footings and filled with concrete all the way to the top. Coming up and tied to the footings, then thru the concrete blocks are mobile home straps, that I tied to the skids. To make things even better, I took mobile home anchors and extended them to a full 6 ft, have 4 on each side. Bottom line, it will never go anywhere, again. This was my first attempt at doing anything like this.

I used OSB for the walls, instead of sheetrock and used a good quality paint, you cant tell its OSB. Of course I also used a quality blocking paint before the basic wall paint.

My ceiling is bead board 4x8 sheets untreated and it looks good.

I have had several individuals who call themselves professional carpenters, house builders etc, ask me so many questions. Bottom line, I had a dream and stayed with it till it was done, what I didn't know or understand, I read about or talked to those who knew.

Here is a few more pictures of what I wrote earlier. Again, its a work in progress but almost completed. Actually I had thought for about 10 yrs or so before starting this project.

Attached Thumbnails

     

3 of us in my 13 x22 house originally planned for ONE bachelor used to living in trucks and motel rooms!

Oh Loriechristie, I just love love love your place! I agree, add just a little more space and it will be a great tiny house. I can't wait to get mine. Sheryl

Thanks, really feeling far more motivated to just go nuts on getting everything organized and finishing off this cute little cabin! We can also add onto this, if needed, but best not to since there is no permit needed for 200 sq ft buildings. If we wanted to build another behind it, we could, and just extend a roof over a path to the other one. I hope you get your cabin soon

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Christie Acres
www.SequimForLife.com
http://www.irealtyvirtualbrokers.com...lori-christie/
http://luxurywaterviewhomes.com/
SequimLiving@gmail.com

I went through every single picture and I am blown away with all the work and detail you went and put into your cabin. It turned out really really nice. Love the tile counters, floor and the carpet is what I put into my first home. I even like how you decorated it on the inside. Love the kitchen and the detail in it as well, including up above the cabinets. Very good job.

The flood blew me away, that is a TON of water? Sure glad it is only every 100 years.

At least two.

Ain't nothing like being sick and having a teenage daughter in the bathroom.

Well, some of the expensive ones... I think it is a way to feel you are living with less while still having a sense of aesthetics or even luxury in your space. I think homesteaders live with and on less in much more practical ways. But then, I haven't had my coffee yet this morning, and well, it's dangerous to postulate theories before I turn on my brain, so YMMV. =0)

Cindyc.

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"Relish your reading. Make note of the melody of the phrases, the architecture of the page. Let the joy of discovery soak right down to your bones!" Dr. George Grant (paraphrased)

Other than my wife loving to have friends and family over often after church and needing a large dining room I'd love to try a micro house soley based upon heating/cooling costs. I'd really have to get organized and get rid of some junk but it'd be worth a try just to get back to the basics. It's hard for me to think about the amount of wasted energy I'm paying for heating and cooling my stored junk.

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Francismilker

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" James 5:16

For storage of stuff that doesn't need heating we have a number of sheds on the farm. We used to have all of that under one roof when we lived in the farm house down the mountain. Since it was impossible to heat the whole thing we closed off all but about 700 sq-ft every winter and moved inward. With our tiny cottage we don't have to do that closing up and opening up each year which saves quite a bit of time.

The large gatherings are an issue indoors with a tiny house. We have all gatherings outdoors by a small pond near the cottage with stone tables, stone benches, a sandy beach and a rock bonfire circle.



http://images.google.com/search?q=si...K4IFI&tbm=isch

That does have limitations. Planning around the weather is important - rescheduling Sundays might be difficult.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Thank you for the kind comments. The cabin was something I truly enjoyed doing and use it year round. As with anything, it takes time and as I get closer to retirement, I look forward to the day when I can go to the cabin and not rush back for work. I have planted several fruit trees and a small garden that produces very well.

Good luck on your project and if I can assist you in anyway, let me know.

the appeal to me is less heating expense.

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