Tiny/Small Houses

[neohic]

I’ve caught myself having the conversation more and more lately about small and tiny houses with others. Personally, I love them. They’re definitely a lifestyle choice but they’re also so much of the time decided on based on financial reasons. No matter the reason, there’s all sorts of variations. They don’t need to be on wheels and I prefer them that way. Others would argue that a tiny house just isn’t a tiny house unless it’s built on a trailer frame. Some are bigger than others and some aren’t even technically permanent structures. 

 

I’ve already said it, but I think tiny houses are rad. Mine is on the larger size at a massive 478 square feet and its got some neat history. It was originally part of a hunting lodge resort in the 1940s. Since then it fell into disrepair until we came along a few years ago. Here’s a comparison from a postcard from 1953 to its current state...

 

 

This little house has been a real life changer for my wife and I. It’s the third house we’ve owned now and each time we’ve gone smaller and downsized. When we moved from MN to CO the plan was to go small. Living with less has been such a freeing feeling! Everything I have either has meaning or a purpose. Granted, I’m building my new shop which lets me cheat to a point, but even that is the smallest work space I’ve built at 416 square feet. Even so, living in a small house let’s us plan on paying off our house within ten years, live easily in comfort with what’s important to us, and it’s on a foundation that I don’t have to worry about where I’ll park my home. 

 

Anyhow... Fad? Good way to live? What are everyone’s thoughts on small or tiny houses?

[derf]

I like the idea of a small house.  At least once I'm in my retirement house.  I'm in a house for about 15 years or so before I look at downsizing.  For now, my medium size house is enough for me.

[fiatslug87]

I would love a small house on a lot of acreage. I've been in my 1,700 sq foot house on 0.144 acres for 25 years now, I need more property and less house!

[jdog]

don't care how small the house is, how big is the shop and can i fit something in it, I'd live in a one bedroom hut as long as it has a garage

[Torq_Shep]

If it was just me? Yeah I would do it. We live in about 1700 sqft of the house and the other 500sqft is rented out. At one point I had all of the bedrooms rented out (4 adults sharing 1700 sqft. That was a bit tight. 

 

Personally, my life trajectory is likely to stay living in 1500-2500 sqft 2 of us and a dog. Probably attached 2-car and a big shop out back... Or that is the plan...

[89 MJ]

When I am in a position to buy a house I plan to build a shop house type house. It wouldn’t be a very large house, but the overall building out be 50x70 feet. The house would maybe be 20x50, but I would want a basement below the house along with an upstairs for a master bedroom. But the living room area would be smaller. 

 

A reason son I want a smaller house is for cleaning it. I would want my main floor and the basement to have cement floors if possible. And I would want drains in each of those floors that way the floors can just be hoses off. I don’t know why, but I think that would just be nice. 

[Minuit]

I can certainly understand the appeal, but putting aside the fact that I am a legendary tight-@$$, they aren't for me. For instance, my current electronics lab alone takes up a little under 70 sqft of my garage, but I'd really rather have that be indoor, climate controlled space and use all of the garage space to you know, park vehicles in. I could probably slim that number down a little, but I could definitely buy some more 80s boat-anchor equipment and use even more space too.

 

I really don't like the idea of having to take care of a large plot of land that doesn't make me any money just so I don't have neighbors close. Doing yardwork and tree trimming and all that takes away from things I actually want to do.

 

...so give me a normal sized house on a normal sized amount of land!

[Dzimm]

I am about to be 26, and with my wife we own an 1,100sqft house on a 1/2acre lot with a roughly 800sqft shop and we are completely out of space.  We want to move back out to the family farm and build a much larger house to fit all our stuff and hopefully soon a family but ya know, money...

 

If the world were a different place, I certainly could live off the land in a small cabin in the woods.  I couldn't imagine raising a family in a tiny house but if it were me and the wife, we could certainly do it. 

 

We actually know an older couple who went from a very large house (2000+ sqft) on a big chunk of property to a tiny house on wheels and they love it.  

[MiNi Beast]

tiny house on wheels is a camper. 

 

 

[Eagle]

I remember a few months ago watching a YooToob video about the "ultimate" tiny house. It was something like 8x8 or 10x10 feet, and the author/producer of the video was extolling it as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

Except -- it was on a lot with another house. The tiny house had no water -- he ran a hose from the main house. It had no kitchen -- his "kitchen" was a plywood counter nailed onto one end of the tiny house with knee braces to hold it up. There was no bathroom -- IIRC, he used the hose for showers, outdoors, and he either used the bathroom in the main house (which was owned and occupied by someone else) when he needed to do number two, or he had a chemical toilet. I don't recall.

 

Bottom line -- it wasn't a "house." It was a ramshackle bedroom, nothing more. It was also in southern California, so heat wasn't an issue.

 

[Eagle]

38 minutes ago, MiNi Beast said:

tiny house on wheels is a camper. 

 

 

 

Quoted for truth.

[derf]

8 minutes ago, Eagle said:

I remember a few months ago watching a YooToob video about the "ultimate" tiny house. It was something like 8x8 or 10x10 feet, and the author/producer of the video was extolling it as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

Except -- it was on a lot with another house. The tiny house had no water -- he ran a hose from the main house. It had no kitchen -- his "kitchen" was a plywood counter nailed onto one end of the tiny house with knee braces to hold it up. There was no bathroom -- IIRC, he used the hose for showers, outdoors, and he either used the bathroom in the main house (which was owned and occupied by someone else) when he needed to do number two, or he had a chemical toilet. I don't recall.

 

Bottom line -- it wasn't a "house." It was a ramshackle bedroom, nothing more. It was also in southern California, so heat wasn't an issue.

 

Yeah, I'd probably need around 1,000 square feet at a minimum for a liveable house.  Basically a 2 bedroom apartment or so.  Maybe 1 bedroom if it was a big enough room.

 

Plus a garage/shop.

 

I have toyed with the idea of building a 50x50 shop with a loft apartment above half of it.  That would give me around 1,250 square feet for living space.

[gogmorgo]

I go back and forth on this. I know a couple who quite happily were living with their baby in a 15’x15‘ shed with a loft on about five acres, with no running water until he hand dug his own well. It wasn’t out of necessity, just what they wanted to do. They had a big garden, a small storage shed, outhouse, and a fenced-in run for the dogs, and the only real yard maintenance they needed to do to was collecting deadfall (they burnt it all in the fire pit), keeping driveway and paths clear of snow, and preventing the aspen grove and hazel undergrowth from encroaching too much. No need for perfectly manicured suburban lawns or anything of that nature. It was nice. They’re on kid #2 now and out of necessity built a “real” house but it’s still on the smaller side. They also have sheltered parking now, which is definitely a plus. That’s the sort of place I can see myself living someday, just with a “shed” big enough for a few vehicles and a hoist. 
 

I went out and looked at a chunk of land this summer. 14 acres of mixed forest, not a lot of it cleared, with a creek running across it. It’s long and thin, with the narrow end right off the highway and a decent hill going up the other end. A house built up there would have a great view up a mountain valley, but without external access to the rear of the lot it would be a pretty hectic driveway... 300’ of elevation gain in about 1500’ of property. There’s an old overgrown logging road running up and back, but the realtor didn’t have a ton of time for me to walk around and explore (or apparently much interest in pushing through the bush with me in her high heels) and the landowners didn’t want me there without her around, and there were multiple trail cams up. I didn’t really get the impression they were super keen on selling, or even in showing anyone too much of the property. It’s also about 70 miles away from work and on the wrong side of the continental divide, which won’t make for a great winter commute. 
Unfortunately though the town I live in is the sort of place where mobile homes go for a half-million. Anything that’s semi-affordable has no parking or storage space. Half the reason my projects progress as slowly as they do is because I don’t have reasonable sheltered space to work on anything, which effectively means a two-car garage which isn’t easy to come by in the sub-half-million range it would seem, and finding a chunk of land that I’d want to built on isn’t any easier. Living in a national park has its perks, but there are some serious drawbacks as well.

[MiNi Beast]

 

i live on mother earth and sleep where i fall asleep. its all about free parking mofos  

[gogmorgo]

4 minutes ago, MiNi Beast said:

 

i live on mother earth and sleep where i fall asleep. its all about free parking mofos  

Home is where I park my Jeep.

[87MJTIM]

8 hours ago, fiatslug87 said:

I would love a small house on a lot of acreage. I've been in my 1,700 sq foot house on 0.144 acres for 25 years now, I need more property and less house!

 

Wife and I have a 2500+ sqft (plus 1200' of a finished basement), 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2 car garage, on a 1/4 acre.  Too much house for 2, not enough land for me.  Our daughter is in college currently.  In the past 28 yrs of owning it, we have "acquired" lots of stuff (nature hates a vacuum).

 

For me, I would like 1500-2000 sqft of living, a large detached garage, and 3 - 5 acres.

 

Tiny houses don't have much appeal.  I feel we would constantly in each others way.

[coheed]

I grew up with a guy that was building tiny houses for a living out in Dolores, Co for a while. Solar composting toilets, natural lighting, wood or gas heat. They were quite cool.

 

I'm in the market for my first home at the moment. It's currently just me and 2 dogs, and I doubt that change anytime soon. The 1300sqft I have now is about twice as much as I really need. I have right at an acre and wish I had more. The "garage" I have is a 12x19 and it's not even close to what I need to work on my vehicles. It's good for mower and 2 wheel storage but that's about all it's good for.

 

My ideal spot right now would be 6-800sqft house with wood heat, 3-5 acres decently wooded, and at least a 3 car garage for all my toys. Unfortunately for me something like that in the area I'm wanting to move to is usually 200-300k or more and I only pull in 38k a year.

[neohic]

10 hours ago, MiNi Beast said:

tiny house on wheels is a camper. 

Right? That’s where they loose me. Campers hold their value better too. 

[neohic]

4 hours ago, 87MJTIM said:

... we have "acquired" lots of stuff (nature hates a vacuum).

 

... Tiny houses don't have much appeal.  I feel we would constantly in each others way.

That’s the problem we ran into with our previous houses. I agree completely that if there’s space then something will probably fill it. My parent’s house is the epitome of this. I get claustrophobic when we go to visit in their five bedroom house. The biggest things we have in our small house is furniture and it really keeps things open to not have all the extra “things” sitting around on shelves or filling up closets in spare rooms.

 

A huge concern of ours was that we’d just be in each other’s way. When we first moved to Colorado we had a budget that put us in a 500 square foot apartment for a year. This was a great learning tool! We were on the fence about living small and after the first month or so the decision was made that we could easily do it. Feeling closed in? Have a seat on the porch. Need more space? Go for a hike. No place of my own to park my Comanche? Build a new shop... again. Home base to me is where I sleep.

[scguy]

Well, I was 25 and single, looking for a house. I didn't need much, almost bought an 800 sqft house, but ended up finding my current house up for auction as a HUD repo. I didn't care much about the house, but I liked the shop. I placed a low bid, and ended up winning. 

 

So here I was, single with a 2500 sqft, 4BR, 3BA house and a ~650sqft shop on 0.8 acres in town. It worked out well, because 4.5 years later, here I am married, with 1 kid, and another on the way in February. 

 

[Pete M]

circumstances are everything.  I grew up in a small 2 story (plus basement) house and my sister had to walk through my room to get to hers.  plus only one TV.  there was no place for me to go to escape my family (only one bathroom so even that was temporary).  fast forward a bunch of years and it was just me in that same house and I basically lived on part of the first floor.  one bedroom, the bath, and livingroom/kitchen.  the upstairs and the basement and the spare room were basically closed off (from the HVAC too) essentially making a tiny house and it was lovely with just me and my dog.   

[schardein]

For about six years I lived in a ~180 sq ft "apartment" (barracks room) with a roommate not of my choosing.  At another point, I lived in the same arrangement, but shared the head (bathroom) with two others living in the next room (the two rooms were joined by the bathroom).  For a time, I also lived in a slightly larger room but with 2 roommates.  In all cases, all my "stuff" had to be locked in a wall locker at all times, so that dictated how much stuff I could own.  Later, I rated my own "room" which was pretty nice.  I had my complaints of those times, but they had positive aspects as well.

 

Fast forward, now I live in a medium sized house, with a large shop, on 30 acres.  I pay a price (time & money) in utilities and upkeep, but it's worth it to me.  If someone wants to live in a small house, go for it.  It's really about what's important to you and what your personal situation is, and everyone is different, and situations change as you go through life.

[Eagle]

My house (which I inherited) is probably around 1500 to 1700 square feet. I need less house, but more garage, shop, and storage space.

 

But ... a tiny house? No thanks. I'd go nuts.

 

[FrankTheDog]

2 hours ago, Eagle said:

My house (which I inherited) is probably around 1500 to 1700 square feet. I need less house, but more garage, shop, and storage space.

 

But ... a tiny house? No thanks. I'd go nuts.

 

You need to clean out your garages so you can work in them.

 

Just like I do.🙄

[Eagle]

^^^ Truth