The Tiny Home Movement

Short Bus · Post by **Short Bus** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 5:09 am

I find these tiny homes somehow very interesting, we have a few here in town, mostly due to being built out of pocket, more than any real plan. Two of these get though the year with only 300 gallons of fuel. I find the 16 to 20 foot square units on a septic tank, much more appealing than the trailer units. 125 Square feet and a composting toilet would just not work for me. I'm living in 640 square feet now, on grid. Off grid around here requires a garage, even if it is unheated they generally stay above zero, even at forty below. Modern cars start at forty below but it's worth it to keep them above zero.

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 6:19 am

SB, can ya get a pix or 2 of your local small houses without getting shot at?

Just curious:)

waldo lemieux · Post by **waldo lemieux** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 7:58 am

Write it up like ya did get shot at and there was a farmers daughter thing goin on . It makes for a way better story and hell your so far outta town we'll never know the difference

S

Short Bus wrote: I find the 16 to 20 foot square units on a septic tank

so the house sits right on a septic tank? That would require almost no sanitary piping. Now what if you used two tanks and one was for a root cellar or mech. room/ fallout shelter?

I like that allot. Maybe a third for a cistern. Stand by I might just try this....

SheepDog68 · Post by **SheepDog68** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 7:59 am

Like any fringe group pushing back the frontiers of knowledge I find them interesting and try to absorb some of what they have learned.

SD

Short Bus · Post by **Short Bus** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 1:28 pm

When I say on a septic tank I mean connected to a septic tank. The houses are small here due to low income and no bank loan. One belongs to a seasonally employed fishing guide, and the other to a retired Vet, both are connected to the power line. I'm sure with a reality TV camera we could add some Unabomber attitude, and drama.

top top · Post by **top top** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 3:29 pm

Last week I saw something about a house built in the four foot wide alley between two existing buildings, in Poland I think. Complete with bathroom, bedroom & kitchen. The funniest part is it being designed by an architect and built by contractors from another country. And he only got a permit by calling it "art".

grumpy · Post by **grumpy** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 3:45 pm

top top wrote:Last week I saw something about a house built in the four foot wide alley between two existing buildings, in Poland I think. Complete with bathroom, bedroom & kitchen. The funniest part is it being designed by an architect and built by contractors from another country. And he only got a permit by calling it "art".

http://weburbanist.com/2013/01/26/4-foot-wide-hom ... the-world/

SMITTY · Post by **SMITTY** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 3:49 pm

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ......

lowfog01 · Post by **lowfog01** » Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 5:45 pm

Check out these tiny homes. I read an article that said some city landowners are renting space and sewer hook ups to owners of these homes. They are apparently very popular.

http://www.tinyhomebuilders.com/tiny-house-trailers

NoSmoke · Post by **NoSmoke** » Sun. Mar. 01, 2015 6:24 pm

I started out with a small home: a 24 x 24 garage because I was 20 years old at the time, did not have a lot of money and was getting married soon. My plan was to build a house onto my garage, but that never happened. Over time I just added on to my house and now that 600 sq ft footprint has swelled to 4000 sq ft...and yes no mortgage payment!

So I agree with the movement. I tend to be a minimalist anyway, but inevitably if a couple grow to be a family, they will want more room as mine did. In some ways it was still the smart thing to do considering the amount of interest I did not have to repay, the fact that most building materials came from off the farm, and my carpentry skills grew with the home. I guess I just never expected to have what my parents had after 40 years of life when I was only 20 years old...

The growing trend of tiny houses however will ultimately negatively impact the rest of us no matter if they are energy efficient or off-grid. That is because utility companies are now in a death-spiral. With the cost of electricity going up, everything is becoming more energy efficient, and with a system based on consumption (consumers pay per kilowatt hour) the less consumers use, the more the utility companies must charge in order to maintain the grid. As that per kilowatt cost goes up...yep...more people buy items that consume less electricity so the dreaded death cycle for utility companies has already started.

Going completely off-grid does help that individual dwelling, but once again they are not contributing to the grid to help defray some of the costs. But already there is talk of utility companies charging a flat line fee to every house on the grid. That stops the dreaded death cycle, but what about the power producers. In some states they are one and the same, but in Maine where we have deregulated power and the power provider and the power producer are two separate companies, there are some issues. The former can use the Public Utilities Commission to up their flat fee to account for inflation costs, but power companies...who use very volatile commodity prices such as natural gas or coal to produce power, cannot rely on a flat monthly fee. They LOVE the pay per kilowatt of power used.

There are no clear answers for the average homeowner that is for sure. A Microhome MAY be part of the answer if it is completely off the grid, but alternative power has a ways to go yet. My family's attempts at wind and geothermal power have not, nor will they, ever pay for themselves, and while solar power looks promising, the lifespan is in question.