t-dog
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Post by t-dog on Jul 8, 2015 14:15:02 GMT -5
As a 13 year old at camp in 1982 I got pushed out of an upper bunk bed - I landed elbow first on a wooden cabin floor. Normally when your arm is bent in makes a V - mine made a W - it was a traumatizing experience and to this day I can not do upper bunk/loft beds.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jul 8, 2015 15:43:04 GMT -5
You, know, Sears use to sell "small houses" via their catalog... it's not really all the new of an idea. Some of the older Sears house plans/materials do NOT include a bathroom... There's one of these little beauties = The Chateau = on my block. www.searsarchives.com/homes/images/1933-1940/1934_3378.jpgThe plans don't seem to specify the square feet -- but I suspect it's about 800 square feet. Cute as Button. (I also find the idea of a flatbed truck with all the parts of a house on it to be intriguing. I keep imagining a bunch of paper work with instructions like put Tab A in Slot B.... and then the free tool (like the Ikea allen wrench thingy) getting lost making it harder to put your house together.... LOL!)
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Jul 8, 2015 15:46:36 GMT -5
Yeah they do not always seem to be economical. To get everything to fit in such a small space they are highly customized, and that costs money. Plus, if its on wheels, and you can pull it with a truck...it a trailer. Call it a tiny home to make yourself feel better, but its a trailer. I would definitely need one that was permanently in place. Which of course adds more costs in form of sewer and water hookups. The reason they are often on wheels is because they are not allowed to be permanently in place in most places. Most places have building codes for permanent buildings, and tiny houses often do not meet those codes.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 8, 2015 15:52:27 GMT -5
Yeah they do not always seem to be economical. To get everything to fit in such a small space they are highly customized, and that costs money. Plus, if its on wheels, and you can pull it with a truck...it a trailer. Call it a tiny home to make yourself feel better, but its a trailer. I would definitely need one that was permanently in place. Which of course adds more costs in form of sewer and water hookups. The reason they are often on wheels is because they are not allowed to be permanently in place in most places. Most places have building codes for permanent buildings, and tiny houses often do not meet those codes. There's been an amendment made so they can be built as permanent structures, there used to be minimum square footage requirements IIRC. If they can travel I suspect they'd be treated like RV's not permanent structures.
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Jul 8, 2015 15:54:36 GMT -5
We have a 300 square foot camping trailer. It's 30 feet long and has two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a living/dining/kitchen area. I don't see much of a difference other than the "cuteness" factor. We lived in the trailer for two months five years ago. I accidently rented out our house before school was out. We weren't moving until three weeks after school was out. It was a pain in the patooty, but certainly okay for a month. There were four of us in it. We did our laundry at the laundromat. Now, that was cool because we could get a week's worth of laundry done in two hours. Renting out the house was also good because it's been five years with the same tenant, and they've never been late at all plus he fixes stuff.
I realize that we don't need our 2000sf house. But, it sure is comfortable.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jul 8, 2015 15:55:39 GMT -5
The other thing I find 'odd' is that people around the world are living in small spaces - often without running water or electricity. It's not that 'novel' of an idea. We all just live in a place were we could afford 20K for custom designed under 200 square foot "house". Lots of people spend less and live in the same amount of space.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Jul 8, 2015 16:13:01 GMT -5
When DS1 was in college he had to live on campus. After that he rented a house with 5-6 other guys. It was a 1950s era home with an addition to make it 4br 3 bs. It was right off campus so you could walk ( save on campus parking fee). Not really walkable to stores or food though. I think most of you can picture the level of cleanliness.
My sons monthly rent plus utilities was $220. And he had a room to himself, the smallest room. Others shared rooms. He was in a small college town.
He probably spent less in his 3 years than the guy I the article.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Jul 8, 2015 16:39:42 GMT -5
I miss our 1,000 sq ft house. I would LOVE to build a house that's laid out to work for us in a small space, say under 1,000 sq ft. I like things uncluttered and minimal. Seems like I am always fighting with DH on cleaning crap out of the house. Would be so much easier if we just didn't have the space to begin with. You cannot be serious about missing that house after the buying your current house? Your new house is beautiful!!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2015 16:55:39 GMT -5
I also hate that almost all of them have ladders up to the loft. I've seen one that had stairs, I might consider that one but I doubt it. There was still a loft. 700 square feet is tiny enough, these things? No thanks. I want a functioned stove AND oven, a good sized refrigerator and sink. And a real bathroom. I live in a 1980s A-frame. It has a loft that you access with an attached ladder. There are railings on either side of the stairwell that leads to the basement; it is built into that.
I hate that loft with a passion. My grandkids have wanted to go up there to play since they've been big enough to walk. If they fell on that ladder, they'd be falling essentially two stories. There is absolutely nothing up there (on purpose). I have always said you have to be 12 to go up there, and the oldest one will be 12 in November.
I'd get rid of it, but we really can't afford to do that type of remodeling. So I just keep a table in front of it. It is the most useless architectural feature on earth, but everyone says, "How cool! You have a loft!"
I get sick just standing by the railings up there.
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kent
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Post by kent on Jul 8, 2015 17:49:15 GMT -5
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 8, 2015 18:01:50 GMT -5
I'm with MJ, the idea of living in one of those places totally makes me hyperventilate.
And this from a person who raised / is raising 4 kids in a 2200 square foot, 6 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom house. You can imagine that our bedrooms and bathrooms are quite small (one bedroom is technically a walk-in closet, and another is in the basement.)
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Jul 8, 2015 18:33:41 GMT -5
The reason they are often on wheels is because they are not allowed to be permanently in place in most places. Most places have building codes for permanent buildings, and tiny houses often do not meet those codes. There's been an amendment made so they can be built as permanent structures, there used to be minimum square footage requirements IIRC. If they can travel I suspect they'd be treated like RV's not permanent structures. An amendment where? Building codes are at the local level.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jul 8, 2015 19:03:11 GMT -5
I definitely need to downsize, but don't know if I could go this small. I know I could not sleep in a loft. It would just be me and a cat so it could be done.
When I was in college, I lived in an efficiency and thought it was great. I later realized I thought that because I was no longer under parental guidelines. It wasn't the size.
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msventoux
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Post by msventoux on Jul 8, 2015 19:43:44 GMT -5
When I was younger I found comfort in having lots of stuff and it was important to me. The last few years I've started feeling suffocated by all of the stuff, so I've pared down a lot and have plans to pare down even more. I'm finding the minimalism lifestyle to be more and more appealing. If I could have a tiny house in the Pacific northwest on the coast somewhere without any close neighbors, I would move in a heartbeat. The only downside at this point in my life is I'm not exactly sure how I'd fit 4 cats and 2 very large dogs into such a tiny place.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jul 8, 2015 20:13:25 GMT -5
I have absolutely nothing to back me up with this position but, I'd bet far more men than women are OK with a VERY small house - we only need a place to sleep, cook, shower and take care of bodily functions.
Back to tiny houses for a minute - kind of a nice unit IMO -362 sq. ft.
I agree, it's nice because it's got actual rooms with doors. Two people could be in this little house and NOT have to see each other. Maybe it's cause I'm an introvert - I sometimes think being in jail in a little cell (or in Solitary confinement) would be rather pleasant and quite cozy and nice. But then I think if I had a cell mate - someone would have to die. If I lived with someone in a Tiny or a Small house - we'd need some sort of separate spaces - I need my 'alone time'.
Part of the reason my "Little House" slum - which is 800sq feet seems to work - is because it's got a 1/2 basement. The bedrooms are 10*10 and have access to the living room and kitchen... so the only way to really 'get away' is to head to the basement. Sometimes it's healthy to have a place to 'escape' to.
I don't think I could live comfortably in a "loft" style home - where it's just open space and few walls.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2015 20:16:51 GMT -5
I do agree w/posters who say they wouldn't want to live in a tiny home, frankly neither do DH and I (and even being empty nesters...) would just be way too small for us. They look adorable to look at to me though (kinda like a life sized doll house lol) but wouldn't want to live in one fulltime...
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Jul 9, 2015 8:21:29 GMT -5
I miss our 1,000 sq ft house. I would LOVE to build a house that's laid out to work for us in a small space, say under 1,000 sq ft. I like things uncluttered and minimal. Seems like I am always fighting with DH on cleaning crap out of the house. Would be so much easier if we just didn't have the space to begin with. You cannot be serious about missing that house after the buying your current house? Your new house is beautiful!!! I love the new house, but it's already becoming cluttered It seems like stuff accumulates faster than I can shovel it out. However, I do like that we have enough room to spread out so DH can be in the basement playing rock star and I can go upstairs and not feel like my ear drums are being assaulted (he's a great musician, but likes things SUPER loud!)
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Jul 9, 2015 8:27:35 GMT -5
If it was just me and maybe a small dog, I could probably live in a tiny house for a short period of time. Forever? Not sure.
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grumpyhermit
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Post by grumpyhermit on Jul 9, 2015 8:43:52 GMT -5
My issue is that I am a total home body. So its where I spend most of my time. I also suspect the tiny homers tend to be out and about types. If the home is really just a place to sleep, prepare food, shower, and maybe relax for a few hours, the size becomes much less an issue.
I lived for years in around 400 sqft (space did not contain a kitchen, that was shared) and it was fine. I don't think I would want to go back to that now. I like having separate rooms for separate purposes. I'm not sure what my current apartment is (I would probably guess around 700 sqft), and it more or less works. It can't quite fit everything I want, but I think that has more to do with the layout than the square footage. If you have a solid layout, you can definitely get by with fewer square feet.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Jul 9, 2015 10:54:16 GMT -5
I think the way space is utilized in some of them is creative and interesting. I'm not really interested in the lifestyle, but in the creative use of space and efficiency. Some of the ones on TV show none of that, they're just scaled down versions of regular homes which I don't find interesting.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 9, 2015 11:03:09 GMT -5
Hubs likes the tiny houses and would be fine living in one. I think we live in 700 square feet, so an upgrade to 1000 Sq ft and a second bedroom would be all I need.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 9, 2015 11:04:01 GMT -5
There's been an amendment made so they can be built as permanent structures, there used to be minimum square footage requirements IIRC. If they can travel I suspect they'd be treated like RV's not permanent structures. An amendment where? Building codes are at the local level. They're adopted at the local level but are often national codes. International Code Council puts out a set every 3 years, lots of the local levels here have adopted theirs. I believe they are the ones who made the amendment to their codes.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 9, 2015 11:11:51 GMT -5
Unless you're a larger man, then you might not even fit in the shower. Or the bathroom.
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beergut
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Post by beergut on Jul 9, 2015 12:16:39 GMT -5
Completely agree. I've only seen one made for a woman, and that was a case where a complete bad ass of a carpenter built one for the homeless woman who was sleeping on the lot next to his house. It went viral on Facebook. One thing to consider is that I think a lot of us unwittingly live in 'tiny homes' at different times in our lives, we just call them hotel rooms.
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violagirl
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Post by violagirl on Jul 9, 2015 15:01:00 GMT -5
Every year when we rent the cabin at a local national park I think it would not be too bad. It has one open area, a small kitchen and a small bathroom. Probably 300 square feet. But you'd need storage. Probably easier to have small places when you don't have to store snow shovels, winter clothes, boots, lawnmowers, snowblowers - the garage would end up bigger than the house.
That said - I did live quite comfortably in a 900 square foot house. Doing it again, I'd create more storage, but wouldn't mind doing that size again.
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kent
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Post by kent on Jul 9, 2015 15:02:55 GMT -5
Wow! What a great guy!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2015 15:27:09 GMT -5
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 9, 2015 15:32:32 GMT -5
The angle of that picture makes the door look too small for the frame. That's all I can see now. lol
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2015 15:44:51 GMT -5
The angle of that picture makes the door look too small for the frame. That's all I can see now. lol I think I might see a bigger problem . . . that is the door to the bathroom? Must be a man-cabin . . . I don't see any uhhh facilities in the cabin!!
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jul 9, 2015 15:50:28 GMT -5
I love it! I'd use it as my second home though, not my primary.
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