So, it's basically a gentrified trailer park? I guess I don't see the appeal. It seems like they're marketing this as a hippie commune with shared gardens and whatnot, but that's going to require...
So, it's basically a gentrified trailer park? I guess I don't see the appeal.
It seems like they're marketing this as a hippie commune with shared gardens and whatnot, but that's going to require renting to a very specific group of people in order to work. I guess that's the "eco-friendly" part, since it wasn't mentioned anywhere the article. Meanwhile, I'm reading terms like "affordable housing" and "repeatable design", which to me sounds like "low-income housing" and "prefabricated and mass-manufactured". The two concepts aren't really compatible, since if you make a park of affordable prefabricated homes you end up with, well a regular old trailer park, which is bound to scare off the yuppies and hipsters.
Personally, I'm not really sold on the idea of tiny homes. I love the idea on living simpler and with less, which sort of match tiny homes. However, I don't believe tiny homes are efficient. Their...
Personally, I'm not really sold on the idea of tiny homes. I love the idea on living simpler and with less, which sort of match tiny homes. However, I don't believe tiny homes are efficient. Their cost/sqft is generally quite high. A well design condo apartment or townhomes with proper civil planning is probably a better bang for your buck. And those can (and often do) includes community areas, green space and such. Tiny homes can be a great pilot for greener building and maintenance practices though, often able to prototype ideas a lot quicker.
I have a friend who spent 2 years building a tiny home. He was so happy about it, and proud. Kept saying he was going to buy a cheap property somewhere and move there and homestead. Then he got...
I have a friend who spent 2 years building a tiny home. He was so happy about it, and proud. Kept saying he was going to buy a cheap property somewhere and move there and homestead. Then he got married, had a kid, and ended up selling it so he could put a down payment on a house his new family could live in.
I tend to agree with you that tiny homes are probably not as good of a solution for people as high density housing. The cost per square foot is high, because all the most expensive parts of building a house are still included in the tiny home. Every house needs a kitchen, plumbing, electricity, etc. The inexpensive parts of houses are the big empty spaces with some structure above and simple finishes like bedrooms and living rooms. Tiny houses don't have as much low-cost space, so the costs go up per square foot. They also are generally mobile, so the adds cost as well, accounting for the structure of the trailer base and complying with laws to make the home road-legal. Most cities also usually have zoning ordinances preventing non-permanent structures from being the only thing on a lot in residential zoning districts, so buying an empty lot and moving a tiny house there is generally not possible within cities.
If you get a condo or apartment the costs for things like power and water/sewer hookups can be split among many tenants, reducing the individual cost per unit. If you're homesteading with a tiny house, you'll need to put in a septic system and a well on your property, or pay to connect to a public water/sewer line, which is much more expensive as an individual, especially in rural areas. That being said, those costs would still be there if you wanted to build a house in a rural area as well, and getting construction materials out in rural areas can cost more as well.
In the end, it's likely just a personal choice, based on what kind of life you want to have, where you want to live, and how much you have to spend. If minimalism is your goal, small, well-designed apartments may be more cost effective. If homesteading in the country is your goal, maybe a prefabricated home would be more economical. If you want to homestead with the ability to travel, a tiny home may work best for that situation.
Definitely. And in the case of this article, it may be a good stepping stone for people to rent. Off topic - was your friend disappointed in selling it? Two years is a long time for any project.
In the end, it's likely just a personal choice, based on what kind of life you want to have, where you want to live, and how much you have to spend.
Definitely. And in the case of this article, it may be a good stepping stone for people to rent.
Off topic - was your friend disappointed in selling it? Two years is a long time for any project.
I think he enjoyed building it more than he ever enjoyed having it or living in it. I think to him it was more of a project for the sake of having a project. He definitely spent more on it than he...
Off topic - was your friend disappointed in selling it? Two years is a long time for any project.
I think he enjoyed building it more than he ever enjoyed having it or living in it. I think to him it was more of a project for the sake of having a project. He definitely spent more on it than he sold it for, but that would have been true if he bought an RV or something as well.
Cool. I'm one of those too. I never know what to do with my projects after I'm done, though I've never worked on anything this big.
I think he enjoyed building it more than he ever enjoyed having it or living in it. I think to him it was more of a project for the sake of having a project.
Cool. I'm one of those too. I never know what to do with my projects after I'm done, though I've never worked on anything this big.
So, it's basically a gentrified trailer park? I guess I don't see the appeal.
It seems like they're marketing this as a hippie commune with shared gardens and whatnot, but that's going to require renting to a very specific group of people in order to work. I guess that's the "eco-friendly" part, since it wasn't mentioned anywhere the article. Meanwhile, I'm reading terms like "affordable housing" and "repeatable design", which to me sounds like "low-income housing" and "prefabricated and mass-manufactured". The two concepts aren't really compatible, since if you make a park of affordable prefabricated homes you end up with, well a regular old trailer park, which is bound to scare off the yuppies and hipsters.
haha, I've always sort of wondered what the difference was between a tiny home and a trailer/camper, other than one is far more marketable.
Personally, I'm not really sold on the idea of tiny homes. I love the idea on living simpler and with less, which sort of match tiny homes. However, I don't believe tiny homes are efficient. Their cost/sqft is generally quite high. A well design condo apartment or townhomes with proper civil planning is probably a better bang for your buck. And those can (and often do) includes community areas, green space and such. Tiny homes can be a great pilot for greener building and maintenance practices though, often able to prototype ideas a lot quicker.
How do you feel about tiny homes?
I have a friend who spent 2 years building a tiny home. He was so happy about it, and proud. Kept saying he was going to buy a cheap property somewhere and move there and homestead. Then he got married, had a kid, and ended up selling it so he could put a down payment on a house his new family could live in.
I tend to agree with you that tiny homes are probably not as good of a solution for people as high density housing. The cost per square foot is high, because all the most expensive parts of building a house are still included in the tiny home. Every house needs a kitchen, plumbing, electricity, etc. The inexpensive parts of houses are the big empty spaces with some structure above and simple finishes like bedrooms and living rooms. Tiny houses don't have as much low-cost space, so the costs go up per square foot. They also are generally mobile, so the adds cost as well, accounting for the structure of the trailer base and complying with laws to make the home road-legal. Most cities also usually have zoning ordinances preventing non-permanent structures from being the only thing on a lot in residential zoning districts, so buying an empty lot and moving a tiny house there is generally not possible within cities.
If you get a condo or apartment the costs for things like power and water/sewer hookups can be split among many tenants, reducing the individual cost per unit. If you're homesteading with a tiny house, you'll need to put in a septic system and a well on your property, or pay to connect to a public water/sewer line, which is much more expensive as an individual, especially in rural areas. That being said, those costs would still be there if you wanted to build a house in a rural area as well, and getting construction materials out in rural areas can cost more as well.
In the end, it's likely just a personal choice, based on what kind of life you want to have, where you want to live, and how much you have to spend. If minimalism is your goal, small, well-designed apartments may be more cost effective. If homesteading in the country is your goal, maybe a prefabricated home would be more economical. If you want to homestead with the ability to travel, a tiny home may work best for that situation.
Definitely. And in the case of this article, it may be a good stepping stone for people to rent.
Off topic - was your friend disappointed in selling it? Two years is a long time for any project.
I think he enjoyed building it more than he ever enjoyed having it or living in it. I think to him it was more of a project for the sake of having a project. He definitely spent more on it than he sold it for, but that would have been true if he bought an RV or something as well.
Cool. I'm one of those too. I never know what to do with my projects after I'm done, though I've never worked on anything this big.