Tiny House

[roguerower]

I watched a documentary on this "movement" last night and while the documentary felt a bit "hippie-ish" and sensationalized some things, it left me wondering whether or not I'd be able to live in something that small (< 200 sq. ft.). On the one hand I think it would be cool and as I don't have a lot of "stuff" it would be doable. But on the other hand, I like have room to move about and there is little to no room in those things. Throw in another person if I'm living with an SO and I think we'd end up dueling with pistols at 10 paces by the end of a week. With that said though, I don't think a 1,000 SF house is ridiculous but at that point you're required to comply with building codes and all that jazz. Anyone else heard of this or know someone living in one?

 

[soulcougher73]

I watched that doc about a month ago. I could probably do it, but it is definalty a life style change and not something that would probably come natural or easy to anyone. I think the main advantage of tiny houses is freedom to travel more or move around possibly. Not being tied down to one location with a permanent expensive fixture.

 

[IronWing]

My wife and I lived in a 360 sq ft apartment for over four years. The only issue I see with the tiny houses is bathroom privacy. A tiny house plus a well built heated/cooled workshop would be great.

 

[lxskllr]

I'd love to do it. I'd want to add an outbuilding as a workshop, but otherwise the space is fine.

 

[waggy]

Once my kids are moved out I hope to move to a far smaller place. All we need is a living room. bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.

I have had big houses (first 2 farms had 3-4k sq/ft houses) and it was just to much wasted space. while the homes were buetiful they were to big. my current house is only 2k sq/ft with 2 kids and even then we have plenty of space

I can see living in a far far smaller place without any problems.

long as it has a porch. i love sitting outside

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Couldn't do it. My home office is almost 200 sq. ft by itself and is packed with all sorts of goodies.

 

[purbeast0]

lol not a chance in hell. i like having things and doing stuff.

 

[DougK62]

My only concern is with the bathroom. So these places have some sort of composting toilet? Nope. With a "regular" toilet and shower I could do it easily. The house I own now is only 888 sq.ft.

 

[nickbits]

no way... i've never lived in a house that was less than ~1000 sq ft per person

 

[mmntech]

Me personally, not a chance in hell. I guess it depends on your lifestyle. If you live in the city and you're only ever home to sleep, it's doable. It would have to be very, very cheap though.

 

[PliotronX]

Couldn't do it, I'm 6'9" and need all the space I can get.

 

[notposting]

My wife had that thing on. If it had actually been about the homes and not about dumb asses who couldn't budget or hold jobs, and judgmental "I'm better than those people with cars and real houses" it might have been okay. Can't remember if I left the room to go play some COD or just shot the TV.



(also, the things are so small forget having company over HEY NOW)

 

[roguerower]

Yea, the kids would be a giant PITA with something that size...it seems like the people who do this are either young and have no plan on having kids or are all 40/50+ and the kids are out of the house.

I really enjoy open concept houses. I'd love to have a 1,000sf house on a lake or cliff where the side you approach the house is all wall and then the side facing the "feature" is almost all glass. Walk in the front door and you're in the living/dining/kitchen and then a door to the decent sized bedroom. The roof supports are exposed to create a larger feeling. A covered porch that wraps around 3/4 of the house tops it off.

EDIT:

My wife had that thing on. If it had actually been about the homes and not about dumb asses who couldn't budget or hold jobs, and judgmental "I'm better than those people with cars and real houses" it might have been okay. Can't remember if I left the room to go play some COD or just shot the TV.

Yea, that was my problem with it. The whining of the people pissed me off to no end. Frickin hippies.

 

[Exterous]

I couldn't do it for long periods of time since I like to be able to spread out and have things. Besides - who wants to spend that much time that close to their SO?

 

[IronWing]

Besides - who wants to spend that much time that close to their SO?

Certainly not your wife.

 

[Kwatt]

Lived in a camper 187.5 sq ft for 6 years.

200 sq ft building would manisonesque. The key is bathroom and bed.
I redid the camper. One end had a bathroom with a full size shower. The shower was a remodel for a house. It came in 3 pieces and was the biggest that would fit through the camper door. The rest of the bathroom was built around it after installation.

The other end a bedroom with a queen size bed.

If you can get a hot shower and a good nights sleep you can live anywhere!

.

 

[Exterous]

Certainly not your wife.

We've always had a lot in common

 

[Red Storm]

If you can get a hot shower and a good nights sleep you can live anywhere!

That about sums it up. If you can poop, shower, and sleep peacefully and comfortably you can live there.

 

[Kaido]

I think it's a pretty cool idea, but at the same time, why not just buy an RV? (assuming you want a mobile tiny house)

I did see a portable tiny house on a trailer at McDonald's the other day, it was absolutely beautiful - almost like a tiny log cabin. It's a neat idea if you're not into having a lot of gear. In particular with the mobile idea, it would be a lot more feasible if the 4G hotspots they sell had more data, so you could pick up & move and still stream Netflix & whatnot.

I think it's a cool idea if you're single or newly married. If you have kids, they come with a lot of accessory gear. For me personally, I've kind of got the minimalist route...Roku, Chromebook, a tiny LED projector, a bicycle, and maybe 10 pairs of clothes. Most everything else is digital (photos, music, movies, documents, etc.). So it's doable if your hobbies don't take up a lot of space...

 

[PricklyPete]

I have a century old home that has been expanded to 2000 sq ft. I think that is as small as I could do comfortably with kids (we have unfinished basement space and a detached garage for storage). Without that extra storage, I think even 2000 sq ft would not be enough without living in chaos. I understand the appeal to a simple lifestyle, but i think living in such a small space actually requires too much focus on living simply and takes away from the goal which is to just enjoy life (and not be focused on material things).

 

[roguerower]

I agree...at that size a camper would cost the same and probable be just as nice on the inside. The tiny houses do look spectacular though when compared to a camper.

I don't think that I'd ever go that (<200sf) small, however a 1000sf house would be all that I'd ever want if it was me and my SO with no kids. Add a kid or two and add some room to the house...up to about 1500sf. I'd also do a lot to make it as sustainable as possible. I doubt I'd go the solar route...but rainwater harvesting, geothermal, radiant heat, multi-zone AC, etc.

 

[Eug]

I lived in a 1000+ square foot 2 bedroom townhouse. Two people. (It'd probably closer to 900ish if you removed the stairs.) I felt it was too small. I'm now in a much bigger house (but with 3 people, with a 4th coming).

If I had to move into a small place by myself, it would be no smaller than about 475 square feet, but preferably 550+ though.

However, if you want that porch, it's still space. They should be counted separately.

 

[waffleironhead]

I've shown this before, but I live in a 14*20 foot house. It's an open room. Very cozy. Very easy to heat. It was just fine when my wife and I first got married. Now with 2 kids it's kinda cramped, but plans are in the works to build something bigger in the near future.
We weren't trying to do anything green or anything like that. It was just some property we found that we really liked. 20 acres with a small house. Also power, well and phone lines were already in place. Plus 4 outbuildings for storage. All for $40k. Our kitchen and bath are in a separate 12*12 building which was the old milk house. For toilet we have an outhouse.

pics.bbzzdd.com/users/waffleironhead/houseFrontFin2.GIF

 

[Eug]

I've shown this before, but I live in a 14*20 foot house. It's an open room. Very cozy. Very easy to heat. It was just fine when my wife and I first got married. Now with 2 kids it's kinda cramped, but plans are in the works to build something bigger in the near future.
We weren't trying to do anything green or anything like that. It was just some property we found that we really liked. 20 acres with a small house. Also power, well and phone lines were already in place. Plus 4 outbuildings for storage. All for $40k. Our kitchen and bath are in a separate 12*12 building which was the old milk house. For toilet we have an outhouse.

pics.bbzzdd.com/users/waffleironhead/houseFrontFin2.GIF

Interesting, but in other words, you don't live in a 14x20 foot house. You live in 14x20 + 12x12, with extra storage, and a separate bathroom.

That's equivalent to 424 square feet with extra storage, which is in some ways equivalent to roughly a 500 square foot apartment.

I'd be keen to get an indoor toilet though.

P.S. What did you do for internet access? I'm curious.

 

[waffleironhead]

Interesting, but in other words, you don't live in a 14x20 foot house. You live in 14x20 + 12x12, with extra storage, and a separate bathroom.

That's equivalent to 424 square feet with extra storage, which is in some ways equivalent to roughly a 500 square foot apartment.

I'd be keen to get an indoor toilet though.

P.S. What did you do for internet access? I'm curious.

Yeah, when you add everything up it equals a small apartment.
We had DSL, but we moved away for a few years, and when we moved back they claimed all the bandwidth in our area was used up. They then did run fiber right past our place, but they want $500 to run it to the house. Now we survive on 10 gigs of data/month thru att cell network.