Tiny House Movement

dcbrewer wrote:
.... Some people are crazy, 400 sq/ft with 2 kids!!

That's not unusual in Manhattan.

MagillaGorilla wrote:

rjxj wrote:

10forty2 wrote:
The Tiny House movement is all part of the current, so-called "progressive" mentality. They think they are minimizing their impact on the climate....

I'll take my RV any day, and still keep my modest 1,200sq. ft. ranch home!

So 300 sq ft vs 3,000 sq ft isn't better for the environment/climate and uses much less energy?

It depends on where the house is. If the house is in Hawaii and uses no heat or AC then the energy differential is minimal.

As a general rule of thumb a smaller house will require less energy than a large house. Most people don't need 8500 sq/ft but they also may need more than 185 sq/ft.

Also the original post was about comparing the Tiny House movement to the RV that already exists. The point was that many people think that tiny living is new. Full time RV's have been doing for ever.

I would rather have what I want, Not what I need.

McMansion

too big a house on too small a lot

take a lot with a 800sqft house
tear it down and build it 2 stories to the MAX size the local codes will allow
no front yard to speak of just a tiny patch of green
back is just a tiny patio, no yard

I like the idea behind Tiny Houses. They're different from RV's because the owners usually design and build it themselves.

We met a Workamper last winter (Isabelle) who built her own. It was very cool.

I live next door to a tiny house, there are several in my neighborhood around 400 to 500 feet and built pre 1950 so not exactly a new idea. House next door was built in the 40's, 300 square feet the family raised 3 boys.
Now that the kids are grown would love to convince the husband to go down to 500.
the ones on wheels I don't get. 50,000 dollars could get me a nice used double wide or rv. But if they are happy.

John&Joey wrote:
Excuse my language, but tiny homes are stupid. You watch the shows and they all talk about seeing the country. Then none of them have the means to pull the rig so they hire it out. During the move they sweat bullets to go 5-10 miles.

Then the neat thing is a loft bedroom in them. Put's the tiny home over 14 feet high. Good luck going down the road with that height.

None of them have tanks so FHU is a must. None of them have slides so you're stuck on livable square feet. What really makes me laugh is when they come in around $60,000 for 300 square feet. That's $2,000/ foot with no land, and cheap construction to boot. Sorry, that's just dumb in my book. I guess being a hipster and looking smart, doesn't mean you are.

go to the back of the class....it's $200/sq ft
but I agree with the rest.....

Tiny houses are just a way for Gen-Yers to afford a house without actually having to work and save. Remember the yurt fade in the early 70s? Samo-samo.

Goldencrazy wrote:
I am curious what you mean by wasted storage. It has always seemed to me to be the opposite. Tiny houses are really just park models and they do some clever things. They do learn what those of us who RV have learned that most of us in Sticks and Bricks have much more space than we need. My home is 3,000 sq ft and lake home 1800. We are great in the motorhome at less than 400.

DutchmenSport wrote:
I absolutely agree with you there. I've been bewildered over this "new" movement also. I think the big difference between an RV and a tiny house is, tiny houses are mostly stick-built, wood and nails, very indiviudalized. RV are still mass produced.

Another thing that grabbed my attention about "tiny houses" is the creative use of storage space. RV's don't utilize very many "smarts" when it comes to utilizing every inch of available space. RV have a LOT of dead space never used, covered over, and hidden.

Also, RV are designed to "move" on the road. Tiny houses, although are designed to (sometimes) move, most do not.

It still blows me away that those tiny houses sell for UP from $100,000! Astounding! Simply crazy in my opinion. But, if it makes someone happy, I suppose that's all that matters.





Give this a few more years and the "fad" will come to an end. They will be wanting to move back to their McMansions and they won't be able to sell their tiny houses, because the market will not want it any more .... BUT ...

RV's will continue on! Rock on RVers!

Maybe this is misunderstood. I mean, RV's waste space that could be utilized where-as tiny homes do take advantage of every square inch. Case in point? That space under my refrigerator? It would make a nice cabinet if it had doors. But it's enclosed. That space where the electric power supply pig-tale enters the camper is in a space that's closed off. I did open that up and put a hinged door on it for easier access when I installed a surge protector. But space that could be used more effecient.

How about that space along the back window where the television goes up and down? That's a huge cabinet with lots of dead space. I'm sure it could have been designed a lot "tighter" to sill accommodate a television that moves up and down out of site and still provide storage space. Instead, it's just blocked off.

How about that space UNDER the camper, between the 2 main frames? How about all that over-head space. Some 5er's are so tall you need a ladder to get to the ceiling. Cabinets have flat tops and nothing from the top of the cabinet to the ceiling. (dead space that could be used).

I think you get the idea. This is the one thing that DOES impress me with the Tiny House designs, how creative some folks are utilizing every inch. RV manufactures could take a lesson from them.

Like the OP, I think Tiny Houses are not a new invention, because RVers have been doing Tiny House for a long-long time. What does blow me away, is the price they cost.

FYI, it is now my "dream" to build my own "tiny house". I want to build a "Gypsy Wagon" some day, from the wheels up, if I ever can get a hay-wagon frame. Sure won't be taking down any interstates, but it sure would be fun in my back yard!

IIRC, here in Montana an RV must be less than 400 sq. ft. of living space.
A tiny house must be more than 400 sq. ft., and probably won't be legal for road use.
However, I do not know that for a fact.
Things have changed over the years. In 1950, we lived in an eight by twenty two foot M System "trailer house". NO, it was not a travel trailer, it was a TRAILER HOUSE! No holding tanks, no propane bottles, a self contained oil burner for heat, and a 20 gallon (I think) water heater. Many of the construction workers on Hungry Horse Dam lived in similar trailers. the guy my parents bought it from delivered it from Billings to Hungry Horse for them, towing it behind a half ton Chevy pickup!

Speaking of change, exactly what IS a "McMansion", and why is it called that?