# Tiny Houses



## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

I wanted to share this because, these look a bit more put together and customizable than a travel trailer. If you need to go, you can take a home with you.

Viable as a mobile BOL? You can drop your trailer at your BOL or move on if things get rough. Thoughts?

Tiny Houses Big With US Owners


----------



## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

I plan to build a tiny house on the land we purchased with a second tiny house used as a kitchen/dining area


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

They're way too small. There's just no room for anything. Why not have something bigger? I don't get it.


----------



## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I have a love/hate thing going with these homes. I would probably build the smallest home I could if I was starting from scratch again. Keep it cheap and get council approval..... and build a really BIG barn/shed just out the back door. No way I could fit all my stuff into something that small, my kitchen is over 240 square feet and I'm half way through adding another 500 square feet. 

I should add that we live in a barn/shed that is partly house partly workshop and some areas that are both. A lot of spaces don't even have walls on all sides, including our bedroom. I like it this way, not sure how I'd fair living in a totally enclosed space . It's not really cold here though, hubby does complain on the mornings his beard is frozen though hahahaha. Our actual proper house like living spaces are small if you ignore the kitchen, bathroom is 3 feet by 7 feet for example.

As far as mobility goes probably wouldn't work for me as within a few years of me living anywhere my house and garden are so overgrown you struggle to find the front door  no way you could hitch it up and drive off without major work.


----------



## northstarprepper (Mar 19, 2013)

My DW first pointed these out to me, and I was not much interested because I also wondered about where we would keep all of the "extras" we have been collecting. But then she talked about building a few other buildings on the land we buy, like a barn, a workshop for me, a storehouse (maybe underground), and well, she really got my attention. Those little houses have all we need to be comfy, while the other stuff can be next door. She found some real cute little cabins that she is looking into for retirement. Now comes the decision over where that will be.


----------



## CulexPipiens (Nov 17, 2010)

As a place to live (i.e. sleep & eat) I like them. As a place to store all your stuff or have people over or... they won't work. 

In general I do like them and would consider something small but the article definitely hit major sticking point... code. A lot of places have code that says a house as to be at least xxxx square feet or a minimum of xxx sq feet per person or something. This is really BS as why should a city dictate to me what I have to have? Of course by doing so they keep the prices up and eliminate a certain "class" of person. Oh wait, I think the modern term is a HOA. 

As a "bachelor/bachlorette" pad for someone who spends most of the time outside or away from home I think it would be just about perfect.


----------



## Dixie (Sep 20, 2010)

*A program just aired tonight called Tiny House Nation on A&E's FYI Channel. Looks like it is going to be a series. I meant to watch it, but you know how it goes....kids. Just Google "Tiny houses fyi Channel" and one links says you can view the full episodes*


----------



## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

The tiny houses are much more sturdy than a travel trailer and can be customized to suit your needs. Many people who are interested in them and have built them find that they suit their needs. 

For people going off to college, they can save money on rent. There are young people in h.s. who are building them. After a couple years, they can sell them and have a deposit on a larger home. 
You can move your residence around. I get an email everyday with links to them. One woman had some serious health issues, causing her financial issues. She built one and has it in her friend's back yard. She has her own space without paying rent. She has much less house work as well as no mortgage or rent.

I think if a person found some land to bug out to, and you had the space at home to build one of these, it would be a strategy. After SHTF, nothing will be ideal. Heating larger homes will be problematic. If you get burned out or have to leave your residence, one of these would be better than no shelter by a long shot. I have seen them with woodburning stoves as well as propane stoves. It doesn't take a lot to warm one of these up. Many people use less than $10 a month for energy. I think that they would work for young people and others who have struggled getting on their feet.

They are well built with quality materials, completely unlike the typical RV or camper. The floors are well insulated. They can easily have solar panels for energy. 

They are no mansion nor palace, but many people have much more space than they really need. I have thought that having a box truck to pull one would work. You could keep your preps in the box truck and live in the tiny house. 

If I was to build one, I would put a bed on the ground floor, not sleep in a loft. I would use the loft space for storage or garden plants set by windows up there.

I see many building materials for free everyday on Craigslist. The creative
person could build one for little. The biggest expense is the trailer and they need to be very strong and shored up. There are projects for homeless people and tiny homes.

They are not for everyone. Some people live in a small idea box


----------



## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

As for prep storage, I think a shed would need to be built but as a way to be financially independent, I don't think it's a bad idea. This would be perfect for college kids. I know some that are paying close to $1000 a month in rent for 10 months out of the year. Heck one years rent could build a pretty nice tiny house.


----------



## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Most people live lives dictated by society. They could or would never be able to do this. It does not fit our societal norm. 

There is a man who wanted no debt when going to grad school, so he bought a van, got a parking permit, parked in an out of the way lot and lived for two years in his van. He had a gym pass as a student and showered there. He had a one burner gas stove and cooked in his van. He wrote a book about his experience and has been on David Letterman. So many of us could NEVER even think of this.

There are many single people in the world and many people struggling to come up with rent and mortgage payments. A person who owns a home has much in comparison to many.

These tiny homes can have virtually everything a person needs to live. They would be a challenge for a prepper. You would have to have another building for preps.

How small is the mental box you live in? How much of your life is dictated by societal norms? Preppers typically get that we do not fit the norm in some aspects of life. People who live in tiny houses don't either.


----------



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

> These tiny homes can have virtually everything a person needs to live. They would be a challenge for a prepper. You would have to have another building for preps.
> 
> How small is the mental box you live in? How much of your life is dictated by societal norms? Preppers typically get that we do not fit the norm in some aspects of life. People who live in tiny houses don't either.


Ditto. In my travels around the world I was often struck by the huge variation in housing styles - we're only limited by the climate we live in and our imagination. I think the grooviest house I ever saw was the soda-can shack in Zimbabwe. People there live in one-room circular houses - wealthier people build them out of concrete, but most people build their own with found materials. This dude went a step further and stacked found soda cans with homespun mortar. He saved precious trees in that desert environment, and the air circulation in the blazing heat couldn't be beat. A solution like that might work admirably in some of our North American climates, but zoning boards would have a massive conniption.

I think tiny homes as they're presented here would be a great solution for people with robust social lives who simply used them as crash pads. I'm more of a homebody, and cramming my border collie into one would qualify as animal cruelty. I did find some not-quite-as-tiny models that look a lot like dream homes to me - compact, but with a few different spaces that I could use for socializing, sleeping, and a work space.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm getting really unhappy in my apartment complex as the quality here goes downhill. My economic picture gives me very little to work with in a region where housing prices are astronomical. I thought that rehabbing a scruffy foreclosure was my only buying option, and I'm just not interested in doing that level of work (that, and I can't afford _both_ the house and the materials. *sigh*)

Last month I found a gorgeous house in a highly desirable neighborhood that had major foundational problems. Other than that, it was perfect - it was right in my price range, had a big pre-fenced backyard, snazzy new appliances, and a beautiful garden in front. This thread has gotten me thinking. I could probably find something else like that, raze it, and salvage the materials for one of these tiny units. Thanks for the idea!

artydance:


----------



## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

Dixie said:


> *A program just aired tonight called Tiny House Nation on A&E's FYI Channel. Looks like it is going to be a series. I meant to watch it, but you know how it goes....kids. Just Google "Tiny houses fyi Channel" and one links says you can view the full episodes*


I watched it.
A couple and their 2.5 year old daughter moved from a big house into a tiny house that was 240 Sq ft I think.
They had to get rid of everything that would not fit.
Each one was limited to 20 sq ft of storage.
Interesting and I liked the finished house.
If it was just me I could do it no problem.
We currently have way too much stuff but my wife is very attached to stuff.


----------



## ras1219como (Jan 15, 2013)

It could be done, it would definitely take some creative storage solutions and creative arrangement of furniture and appliances. I think most preppers would have to have a secondary storage area...at least I would. 


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum. Please forgive typos.


----------



## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

Dang these are crazy. My plans include a tiny home after the kids move out but no where near this small. Even with storage sheds, barn, and a workshop I couldn't imagine living so closed in as this. 


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


----------



## Moose33 (Jan 1, 2011)

I once lived, quite comfortably, in a 500 square foot apartment. My current residence is about 1,300 which is really more than I "need". I think 700-800 would be just perfect. If I had a family that number would need to at least double to be comfortable though.

200-300 is really pushing the edge of my comfort envelope even with creative storage solutions.


----------



## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

1200 would be my version of "tiny". I currently live in a 3200 sq feet two story that I bought from the builder. It has entirely too much space for me but for the price I couldn't pass it up. Ideal for me with a wife and two kids would be 1600-1800 sq ft. After the kids move out I plan to build a well insulated home on a slab in the neighborhood of 1200-1600 sq ft.


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


----------



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

We're going to build a tiny cabin on top of a trailer that came with the 2.5 ton truck. We'll be getting all of our ideas from these tiny houses. I think they are so cute but there's no way I could live in one.


----------



## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*If you stream Netflix*

There is a movie called "Tiny: A Story About Living Small" that is 1 hour and 1 minute long. It shows a young man building a tiny house outside of Boulder, Colorado. He and his girlfriend actually made the movie.

At different parts throughout the movie, people are interviewed who have built and live in their own tiny houses. Their homes are also shown in the movie.

The woman I mentioned previously who is ill, has congestive heart failure and is interviewed in the movie. Her house really feels confining to me. It is 84 square feet, which is smaller than any room in my house, except my powder room.

It is good to see the different styles of decoration and how people live. You would certainly not be able to raise a very large family in one, although my daughter helped build a house for a family in Honduras that was 12 feet by 12 feet. I think that family had 4 children.

We do live in a time and culture which values bigger homes and more space.

My daughter has been telling me that she is aware that her generation will be the first to think smaller home, if they will be able to do that. The economy is making home buying and ownership more difficult, and a tiny house might be as good as many young people or retiring people will be able to do.


----------



## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

Heck I lived in a 100 square foot cabin for 2 years before getting my camper... 34 feet long woohoo..... If I wanted more room, I just went out side. I had a bed, wood stove, desk and shelving. I still had room to make more shelves up off the floor. No water or electricity and guess what? I survived!

I am spoiled now. Think of the families that lived in one room cabins.(bigger than mine).

The good thing about building small is the lack of required heat. I had one of those white porcelain trash burners that is about 16" wide 30" deep and 42" tall and I would fill it about 8 pm and again before I went to bed and sometimes I had to open the window because it was soooooooo hot. Just think, a couple of branches keep you warm all night. Not big chunks, they would not fit in the stove. Another way to keep a small place warm is to lower the ceiling. I dropped mine to 6.5 feet because heck I am only 5'8".


----------



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Our culture has been deeply conditioned toward the "more is better" philosophy for decades. But it really isn't true.

What do we actually need? Food clothing, shelter, physical security, and ultimately a means to self-actualize. Housing addresses every one of those needs, from the physiological, to the social, to the actualization as we have the space to explore and shoot for our dreams.

Along with many other things, I'm grateful to my travels for giving me an essential perspective on "wants" as opposed to "needs." I have a sense of gratitude for having those lower-level needs met; in the industrialized world our infrastructure makes that a _lot_ easier. And that perspective and sense of gratitude makes me want less. Anything more than a little 2 or 3 bedroom cottage would be a burden to me because I'd have to clean it, heat it, furnish it, and pay taxes on it. Not everyone else would feel that way (I have no kids for one thing,) but it's liberating to know where I stand. I think we should all ask ourselves these questions honestly and fearlessly.


----------



## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

weedygarden said:


> There is a movie called "Tiny: A Story About Living Small" that is 1 hour and 1 minute long. It shows a young man building a tiny house outside of Boulder, Colorado. He and his girlfriend actually made the movie.


Thank you for the Netflix tip.
I watched it last night.
It was fun watching them learn and work through the problems they encountered.
He is a very resourceful guy.
His estimates on how long something would take him was interesting.
He always under estimated how long.
He estimated he could do the floor install in one day, actually took him 3.
He wanted to be finished by September and it actually took him until August, I think, of the next year.
In the end they had a pretty nice place but they had over $23,000 in it.
You can buy a bigger and nice RV for way less but I guess the satisfaction is in doing it yourself.
There is a lot of videos on YouTube.
I think I could do it buy my wife could and would not.
Maybe being in the Navy taught me I don't need as much as I think.
The personal space on a ship is pretty small even on an Aircraft Carrier.


----------



## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

The idea is nice but storage isn't, there is a real nice tiny house I drive by every day, really cute except all the stuff on the front porch and the old tractor trailer trailer sitting next to it. Heard a podcast from a guy that built one and loved it, fit everything perfectly, at the end of the show he admitted he had to build a barn and two sheds and was planning in another shed, kinda seems to defeat the point of living small. 


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


----------



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

sgtusmc98 said:


> The idea is nice but storage isn't, there is a real nice tiny house I drive by every day, really cute except all the stuff on the front porch and the old tractor trailer trailer sitting next to it. Heard a podcast from a guy that built one and loved it, fit everything perfectly, at the end of the show he admitted he had to build a barn and two sheds and was planning in another shed, kinda seems to defeat the point of living small.


Yes and no.

We have a 2,200 square foot house for us 2 empty nesters. You should see the look of panic on the wife's face when I talk about downsizing. ALL of her "treasures" could be stored in a unheated building. I figure that would reduce our heating cost by 50% which equals $1,000. Then add the lowered property tax, maintenance & etc. We could retire before the age of ninety!


----------



## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

TheLazyL said:


> Then add the lowered property tax, maintenance & etc. We could retire before the age of ninety!


And give up your WalMart greeter job? You would miss it.....artydance::laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Our home is less than 1,000 sq ft and I love it! Less junk I keep, less to clean, heat and cool. 

Once Gramps and Mom move here permanently, we are going to build them a small dog trot house. Just large enough for what they need and nothing else. 

Big houses are great to have, but I think its a waste of time, money and energy to build/upkeep.


----------



## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Isn't the size we need to live really in our head and training?

A friend of mine who is close to 70 years old, told me about her childhood. Her alcoholic father would disappear and leave her, her sister and their mother with no money to take care of necessities. They eventually moved to live with her mom's brother. My friend told me they had a large house. We drove by the "large" house one day, and in my mind, it was a small house. Given the situation her family had struggled with, it may have been large in comparison. 

If I could have a tiny house and some sort of storage area that did not require heat and utilities, etc. I would be all about it.

I actually know some people who have a fairly new log type home, that is very good sized. I have never been to their home, but see it in their photos on facebook. They have a warehouse, or at least that is what their children call it. They are Mormons, and they have a business that requires some equipment including at least one truck, and other equipment. They have a good sized motor home and although I have never seen it, a good amount of food storage. Their large 3 large garage door building is probably a prepper's dream.

Everything we own does not need to be heated nor under one roof. 

As I have said, it is the mental box we live in, with the training and idea of what we need to live. I know we are all different and some people need huge homes, while others just need minimal space.


----------



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

*Less is better sometimes.*

The Mayfield (Model No. 3326); ($1,082 to $1,189), 23x36, 2 bedroons, 1 bath, kitchen, dining room, 1933-1940`s Sears catalog homes, my home is much smaller, build during the Korean war time and I loved it, big attic space and crawl space and is a work in progress for more build-in wall shelves and space under the beds and restaurant style booth dining room set with storage space under the benches,. Imagine a tool fanatic, camping gear, fishing gear, every cooking gadget imaginable, hundreds of books, and more, the key here is proper storage space and utilization off, very simple. Less cubic feet's means less cooling and heating bills, less property tax, and less relatives coming to stay.:2thumb:


----------



## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

readytogo said:


> Imagine a tool fanatic, camping gear, fishing gear, every cooking gadget imaginable, hundreds of books, and more, the key here is proper storage space and utilization off, very simple. Less cubic feet's means less cooling and heating bills, less property tax, and less relatives coming to stay.:2thumb:


Imagine a prepper! What we need is preparedness stuff, not large living space. We need stuff that we can access for survival purposes. (firewood, tools, books, camping gear, fishing gear, books) Food storage that is dried basic goods such as beans, rice, etc., does not need heat or cooling, if you live in certain areas.

Larger living means larger expenses.

Now if we had larger families, that would mean we would need larger living spaces.


----------



## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I don't have a problem with small to LIVE in, I've been happy in 80 square foot tents for extended periods of time. BUT I don't just live in my home I WORK and TEACH here. If I had the sort of lifestyle that was a work day followed by evening relaxing reading or watching tv small would be fine. I have a 12 x 18 foot space just for my sewing machines, knitting machine, spinning wheel and tapestry frames  and that doesn't include my cutting table that is in the attic alongside this area and I have no intention of ever getting rid of any of it (I teach in this space). We are adding another lounge area to the house, the one we have now is 12 x 12, the new one will be 21 x 21. We need this space as we can have up to 10 adults here at a time and this new area can be a bit rough so we can relax in our work clothes. I AM going to have nice furnishings in my little lounge room one day . It also gives us the choice of heating a big space or a little one. We only heat the areas we are using, a huge advantage of living in a temperate climate. The one luxury I do want in this house is a guest room, love the idea of a space ready for family to stay in, this will double as a still/sick room for days when we can't get up the stairs. My pantry is 11 x 14 and it's not really big enough, the laundry/mud room is 12 x 14 and again it's only just big enough. You put 10 pairs of soaking adult shoes and coats in there and it's not so roomy.
This building is 1890 square feet, biggest space I've ever lived in but you put 10 hungry, cold, tired adults in here and it feels tinnier than any tiny house. Space is only space when it's empty. Our finished area will be 2800 feet or so, we'll use every square inch of it.


----------



## Ozarker (Jul 29, 2014)

LOL, A minimalist who is a prepper! Contradicting terms, one who gathers and one who sheds unnecessary things.

The Tiny House forum as well as the Shanty Boat forums talk about moving them from one location to other locations, but general building construction techniques used aren't the best for a traveling gypsy wagon. You can move a house, after you do there will be cracks in ceilings, floors and walls to repair. I've had house moving projects. These are much like storage buildings, expected to be moved once not really turned into an overland mobile habitat.

You'd need to build more like a travel trailer, you'd probably be better off starting with an older well built travel trailer and gut the inside and start there. Wooden boat construction techniques and materials would be better than standard home construction. IMO. 

I suppose you could beef up walls and corners with hurricane strapping but even at that it would be hard stabilizing an 8' wide, 20' long building with 8' walls would be hard to keep from twisting and flexing over the road, much less off road, not considering wind loads. You can move them a few times if they are anchored properly. Might consider modular construction and building on site. There are also some collapsible or folding shelters.

I'm in the process of designing a trailer, I wish I could just load a tiny house type on and be done with it, but that won't come close to being sufficient for bugging out. Weight is your enemy on or off road, weight dictates the size of your vehicle and the range that can be traveled.

Having a small cabin location would be nice, storage lockers, buildings, containers might solve the prepper side and live inside as a minimalist, might find a balance between the two. 

I'd like to have one in my backyard, it would make a great mancave. I might just do that if I can empty my 10X24 storage building! They are cool.  

Goggle "tiny houses" and go to the pictures, some weird shelters and some are pretty cool, I didn't say functional or cheap.


----------

