Not bad. I like the cottage plans, but his "small homes" get a little big! :eek1 1,000-2,800 sq ft? I think of a "small house" as under 1,000. His range of "small" is my definition of "mid-sized". The other thing, while odd dimensions make a space feel larger, and more exterior corners (and more complex roof designs) make a house look better, having so many corners drives up the cost of construction. The less corners in a plan, the cheaper it is to build. So, while plans like his "Gilann Cottage" are small (637 sq ft), they would be more expensive to build, which sort of defeats the purpose. I think he mostly hit the mark with the "Betty Gable Cottage" and the "Betty Sue House", though. Simple footprint, and a decent use of space. I feel like the larger bedroom in the Betty Gable Cottage could be moved right, allowing for a more rectangular footprint, though. Move the laundry into the hall closet, turn the bathroom 90 degrees, and you can loose the unused hall space by the bedroom entrance, move the bedroom back, and square off the footprint, making construction cheaper. Have a continuous roof that runs the length of the plan, and you can create useable loft / attic space down the length of the house. Same goes for the Betty Sue House -- square off the footprint, and work with your roof to create more practical space. Here's some more tiny house pr0n: http://tinyhouseswoon.com/
I would agree. As has been mentioned here, tiny houses are more of a design exercise. They don't work for many people. If you're single, or are a couple with a good relationship, and want to remain mobile, then a wheeled tiny house would likely work for you. But, if you have a hobby that you need a room for, or if you have kids, the tiny house probably isn't going to work very well for many. A small house, perhaps. From what I understand, when Jay left Tumbleweed, it was over creative differences. He had a business partner who wanted to stick with the original premise, and Jay wanted to take things in a new direction. Personally, I think he's smart. He's seen the practical limitations of what can be put on a trailer frame, and has moved to a segment that will likely get more market appeal.
Actually ... Uh ... No. Most of those houses weren't even as big as a conventional travel trailer. No slideouts and most were less than 30 ft. long on an 8 ft. wide chassis. With that said mobile homes and portable buildings go up to 16-18 ft. wide in many states. Even park trailers that aren't meant to be as mobile as travel trailers often go 10-12 ft. wide. You are perhaps best off getting a professional to move something like that but mobile home moves are generally dirt cheap. I keep thinking that there has to be some scope for a truly modern, truly mobile home that is livable and affordable. Alas, I haven't found the ideal yet. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Pretty much exactly my point here. It's a cool design exercise, but a design exercise nonetheless. Which is why I'm more into the "small house" idea. Something sub 1,000 sq ft would still have some market / resale value in a college town. If anything, if I move elsewhere I could hold on to the property and rent it out to other students. But I have addictive hobbies that take up "space" at home... Mostly tools and car bits. Definitely couldn't do 8'x20'.
An unfinished basement with "walkout" french doors make our 1200 Sq. Ft. home perfect for my small business and working on motorcycles. That's a lot of fairly cheap storage space plus it keeps the house more comfortable year round.
I've lived in a less than 750 sq ft home for many years. It's just me for now but I have been there as part of a couple and it still worked well for us. You do have to figure out what you really need and use your space wisely. I see two substantial benefits from it along with many other smaller or almost intangible benefits. First is low utilities, I can heat and cool it very inexpensively, second is that my upkeep is very easy due to it's size. When I'm done here, I'm thinking about building an even smaller home just to take advantage of newer techniques and technologies. It ain't for everybody but I sure like my small home. If you come over thinking you want to stay for a night, I have no problem with that but you'll be on the couch. If you think you can't do that or want to stay longer than a night or two, the motel is down the road just a little ways. Not trying to be an ass but I see no reason to pay to keep extra rooms in my home for an occasional guest. If I did want to do that, I would have a hotel.
Works well in Europe where pop density/history are major factors. Would it work in the US? Apols if 205. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NBYS3ZsC-cY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Love the Storage/bedroom cube.
Saw these folks on a show called "Extreme RV." http://www.andersonmobileestates.com/ If you had the ability to tow a trailer (ie, owned a semi rig) I'd think you could puchase a used trailer and do something pretty nice for far less than the cost of what they sell. 8x50 would make a pretty nice platform to work with.
Another approach to the small home that I think is ripe to be exploited are the SIP's. Come up with a decent basic footprint and exterior walls, floor, roof package, designed to drop onto a foundation - the foundation designed as dicated - slab on grade, crawl space or full basement, etc. Interior layout could be one of several variations. I would imagine that a pretty decent sized house could be delivered by two semi-loads of SIP's. They go up in a few days, then you finish as desired. A 600 SF basement foundation holds up a two story 1,200 SF house - basic but you could have 3 bedrooms if you needed it. And yes, the savings on utilities, construction materials and ease of maintaining a smaller home all pay off. My neighbor has a big house and spends upwards of $2,000. month on heat in the winter. I spend less than $1,000 on the entire season of heat and I buy wood and pellets retail. There are two people living in each house.
Here's another Faircompanies one where she built a mobile tiny house from recycled materials (junk). Yeah, she's cute in that kooky hippie kinda way. <object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UB-MhZkYVo8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UB-MhZkYVo8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
The open floor plan version is imo nice. I'd have no qualms putting the bedroom up front, as it seems irrational to me to be worried about visitors in the middle of the night (I suppose I live in a nice enough neighborhood). I'm not exactly envisioning people dropping this house right next to a sidewalk in the city. It would be simple enough, imo, to just swap the sizes of the larger bedroom and smaller, and have the master in the rear. The lofts are not functional as a master, per se. Sloping roof line would relegate standing height to an area about 5' wide in the center of the loft. It's storage--something any small space will need.
I've been in that tiny house, that girl is the daughter of some family friends. Nice girl, and it's a cute little house, well thought out, and a lot of time and labor went into it. Like a lot of little jewel-box type places, you kind of wish for a chunk of solid colored wall without things on it somewhere, just to give your eye some place to rest. I think she sold that house to go off to art school on the other side of the country.
That's the nicest place I've seen in this thread, I think. I'm not sure I like the squeeze around the back up to the stairs, but I have wide shoulders and tight spaces like that make me feel a bit trapped. Good stuff.
The reason a lot of tiny homes are built with wheels on a "trailer" platform is first and foremost....TO AVOID EXCESSIVE DEVELOPMENT COSTS. If you're building a structure that's fixed to a foundation, etc. you incur most or all of the same costs as you would to build a 3,500 square foot house. Tacking wheels onto the structure is a simple way to avoid these costs (in most areas that runs $10-20K just in fees). Not to mention it gives you flexibility for the occasional move, but they're not intended to be "RV's". I'm a big fan of Ross Chapin's work. I particularly like how he uses the sleeping loft feature in his small home plans. Locating the sleeping area above the footprint of the main living space is very efficient. Why pay heating costs/taxes/etc on a vaulted ceiling "master bedroom" when you only use it 8 hours a day? A cozy loft with a skylight....above the main living space, and the sunrise as your morning alarm clock is the way to go. And for those commenting about resale value, consider the tiny home "development" in Portland on SE 43rd and Division (Google it). The units sold very quickly at @ $120K apiece. With current interest rates, if you have a small down payment that's cheaper than renting an apartment here.
$2,000!:eek1 Even $1,000 for a winter seems like a lot of $ Climate, design, and efficiency is a major factor too. I live in the PNW and it costs me a max of $180 per month to heat almost 4,000 sq ft during the winter while I have a buddy who is above $250 to heat a place a little over a third the size of mine. Would maybe have more motivation for a small place if I was in a different situation
Probably one of my favorite small houses. I love just about everything about that design. You could even pull a couple motorcycles onto the patio, and have them secured at night! Wouldn't mind having a place like that in a big city. Bedroom up front doesn't bother me, either. Reading the blog of someone who built that very same model (in fact, their's is the one in the pictures), they widened the rear bedroom to the width of the house. It made it a more spacious master bedroom, and allowed for a larger closet. The lofts depend on perception. With skylights or dormers, they could definitely work as sleeping lofts. Personally, I'm fairly short (about 5'8"). I'm usually in my room just to sleep, and actually like sleeping in high places. Throw a mattress on the ground in the loft, and I'd be happy.
