Tiny Houses - not just small, but tiny

[JWmHarmon]

How much space do we really need for a house to be livable?

I have been viewing posts at

http://www.tinyhousedesign.com

Quoted below is part of the essay:

Focus on the Future
Small is beautiful and eminently livable
by Michael Mehta
Sunday, January 3 2010

http://flyingshingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20100103192814698611

"... it is somewhat shocking to see a long-term trend in the Western world towards larger and larger houses. For example, in the 1930s our parents or grandparents often raised families in houses that hovered around the 700 square foot mark. In the 21st century, many people now think that a 2000 square foot house is “about right,” if not a little tight! What’s startling about this trend is that as families get smaller and children “leave the nest” it’s not uncommon to see couples or even singletons rattling around in these McMansions.

This lunacy must end. In many parts of the world, people are beginning to realize that current consumption patterns, individualized modes of carbon intensive transportation, and living large places unrealistic demands on Mother Earth. Small houses represent a significant cultural and social shift that may provide several lessons about the merits of living better on a smaller scale. For the sake of argument I define small houses as falling between 100-700 square feet of covered interior floor space..."

[phansford]

Yeah.... those are real cute. I find them intriguing also. Maybe we can build a couple at Grand Lake, Buckeye Lake or Indian Lake.... no offense.

However the issue in two-fold. What the market will support (meaning what people really want) AND they don't want a 200 SF house on wheels.... otherwise we would all live in an Airstream.

But probably more importantly - what the local zoning ordinances and HOA's will permit. And this is the real issue. Most communities in Ohio are not going to permit anything under 1,200 to 1,500 SF - which is still a small house compared to the average. And HOA's have even more power.

Local jurisdictions are going to fight tooth and nail. Its called the tax base. Think about it..... can you actually fund a decent school system with a community of five thousand 900 SF houses. The city of Dayton is struggling to do it as is every other community with an aging housing stock.

I think we are better suited to try and focus on ideas such as "The Not So Bid House". Quality over Quantity.

I appreciate your interest in housing issues, but you might want to look more deeply into the issue. Check out the requirements from the State of Ohio concerning "low/moderate housing" (my emphasis) and tax-credit housing. Also - architects have absolutely no voice in housing.... it is driven by developers and builders. Also check out what Habitat's programs for their houses.

I guess my point is .... the issue is much more complex than "Hey - let's be sustainable and build little houses!!!"

If you are a Miami grad (being that you are from Ohio)...... what do you think someone like Tom Dutton would say about these houses?

BTW - I also like this idea..... Seriously.

[JWmHarmon]

One of the recent posts at http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/ was a house design made from pallets.

The pallets had been cut in half and stacked in a common bond brick pattern. The designer suggested that they would be filled with expanding foam and plastered on the inside and stuccoed on the outside.

Another suggestion was a combination of insulated walls, trombe walls for storing solar energy, and south-facing windows.

Your point about taxes and building codes specifying minimum sizes of houses are often political realities. That does not prevent us from asking the question, "How big or small a house do we really need?"

Ohio relies extensively on real estate taxes to fund its schools. The inequities in such a funding system are obvious with better school facilities in wealthier districts. The state's effort to build new schools in its 600-some districts has improved the schools in many districts. Local districts were required to increase their tax property tax millage to qualify for the state funds for the new buildings.

One southeastern Ohio cummunity proposed an ordinace that no dwelling be less that 1500 square feet.

The local Habitat for Humanity affiliate had to change it's bylaws to allow it to build houses that would comply with the code. Its Habitat homes were 1000 to 1200 square feet depending on family size.

I once lived in a house that was 800 square feet. I now live in a house that is over twice that size. The only real difference is that my taxes and utility bills have more than doubled and the place is filled up with more "stuff" than any person really needs.

The tiny house site has many different examples, many of which are not on wheels. Tiny houses could be expanded with the addition of extra rooms as needed.

[phansford]

I think the tiny house as an exercise lets us talk about how someone might start with a smaller house, add to it as needed, and keep people basically in one place.

Personally - I don't think the tiny house is worth pursuing..... I prefer to focus on affordable housing that isn't a vinyl box.

Not knowing what part of Ohio you are practicing, I can tell you most areas have zoning ordinances that demand houses to a particular size. I can easily imagine there are parts of SE Ohio (which is very rural and has a high poverty rate compared to developed area of the state) don't have zoning. As you know - zoning is communism.

What does intrigue me for the tiny house..... is the potential for the homeless. Can we move people out of impromptu tent citiesinto something more humane?

[SDR]

Maybe it's because I live alone, in a studio apartment of perhaps 560 sq ft, in which I am perfectly comfortable -- maybe its the older architecture, 9-foot ceilings and thoughtful lighting. But I have always believed that the quality and variety of space, and the amenities, can contribute greatly to making the most of footage. In the end, as in so many things, psychology is the key -- and I'll leave it to the specialists to explain that.

But one's preconception will have a lot to do with acceptance or rejection of what is made available. . .

One could start with Sarah Susanka's "The Not So Big House."

http://www.notsobighouse.com/

SDR

[phansford]

One could start with Sarah Susanka's "The Not So Big House."

http://www.notsobighouse.com/

Couldn't agree more

I think we are better suited to try and focus on ideas such as "The Not So Bid House". Quality over Quantity.

Required reading for my clients..... or at least HIGHLY recommended.

I think when you live someplace like the Bay Area, you become more in tune with quality over quantity and realize that it's not about sprawling houses. Unfortunately here in Ohio..... people just more two cornfields over and build a bigger and uglier house.

SDR - Someone told me that there is more interest in the Eichler type of homes in the Bay Area (small, thoughtful, modern houses).... more than ever.... since the start of the recession. Are you seeing that???

[SDR]

I don't have personal evidence of that -- but it may be happening. All it takes is one article in a shelter magazine (Dwell, Metropolitan Home, etc) for such rumors to begin !

Seriously, I do hope that the ever-present interest among a small group of MCM (mid-century modern) lovers will swell a bit, meeting the new century head-on with ready examples of more modest and efficient environments. . .which manage at the same time to demonstrate architectural "luxury". . .

We have already seen how easily -- and irreversibly ? -- rural farmland can become exurban housing tract. Maybe it will sink in, soon, to the larger public, that this has been happening for decades ?

SDR

[cousinbirgco]

WTF......now that's conspicuous consumption!





TOKYO – A giant bluefin tuna fetched 16.3 million yen ($177,000) in an auction Tuesday at the world's largest wholesale fish market in Japan.
The 513-pound (233-kilogram) fish was the priciest since 2001 when a 440-pound (200 kilogram) tuna sold for a record 20.2 million yen ($220,000) at Tokyo's Tsukiji market.

[cousinbirgco]

All kidding aside, the discussion is important and in addition
to downsizing housing, we're going to need more
economic incentives to move existing technologies toward a cleaner,
more sustainable environment. The "genie" is out of the bottle
(and I don't think he's goin' back in.)
We can't go back to an agrarian society and even though technology
has been the vehicle for much of the mess we're in, it may also
hold the key to our salvation.
Give me three wishes....
- hydrogen fuel cell car(water vapor and O2 out the tailpipe.
- $100 (200 watt solar cell) affordable/competitive solar power
- mass produced, inexpensive housing from sand/earth/clay mixtures

These really aren't crazy wishes. We could have all these
things tomorrow with a push at the grass roots level
and some strong leadership from our mostly worthless politicians.

[SDR]

Word -- as the hipsters (used to ?) say. . .




SDR

[JWmHarmon]

Hipsters from the 1950's might have lived in a Lustron house. Lustrons were manufactured in Columbus, Ohio, after World War Two. They were made of porcelain coated steel panels on steel frames.

The most popular model was a small three bedroom house of about 1200 square feet. The smallest two bedroom Lustron was about 700 square feet.

Here is a chart from Wikipedia showing Lustron sizes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lustron_house

We had whole neighborhoods full of houses this size in the mid 20th century. Most of these were conventional wood framed houses.

From - abuse alert -.com/askeds/us-home-size.html

"According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average home size in the United States was 2,330 square feet in 2004, up from 1,400 square feet in 1970."

At $100 per square foot the average home in 2004 would cost $233,000.

At $100 per square foot the average home in 1970 would cost $140,000.

Square feet 2330 8 foot ceiling equals 18640 cubic feet of space to heat or cool
Square feet 1400 8 foot ceiling equals 11200 cubic feet of space to heat or cool
Square feet 700 8 foot ceiling equals 5600 cubic feet of space to heat or cool

What does a person really gain by living in a 2300 square foot house compared to living in a 700 square feet house? Or a 1400 square feet house? Then we could ask again, how much space does one really need to live comfortably? Those with larger families may have different answers from a single person.

The cost of heating and cooling the larger house will be a continuing expense for the useful life of the house.

[lekizz]

Where do all the Americans live who can't afford massive houses? Surely there must be house building for people with more modest means?

In the UK (unlike most other countries in Western Europe, I think) the houses are generally marketed and judged on the number of bedrooms they have. Therefore new houses are often built with upstairs rooms that can *just about* fit a double bed (and maybe a wardrobe). A conventionally built 3-bedroom house can be fitted into 1100 sq ft!

[phansford]

Where do all the Americans live who can't afford massive houses? Surely there must be house building for people with more modest means?

In the UK (unlike most other countries in Western Europe, I think) the houses are generally marketed and judged on the number of bedrooms they have. Therefore new houses are often built with upstairs rooms that can *just about* fit a double bed (and maybe a wardrobe). A conventionally built 3-bedroom house can be fitted into 1100 sq ft!

lekizz - I thought I take a shot at trying to answer your question.

It really is pretty complex...... and would take a long time to explain it in detail. So I know I am going to miss alot here.

There is plenty of older housing stock in America that is affordable. And much of it very nice. However, much of it is also obsolete to put it kindly. Typically - older, smaller houses get passed down to lower economic classes. They typically can't afford the upkeep OR afford to modernize the house..... eventually we get large areas of our cities with run down older houses. There are efforts to rebuild these areas and this is typically handled on a local basis. But you don't see homebuilders here doing anything.... they are filling up cornfields with condos. Typically these areas have the worst schools (american schools are funded by property taxes - at least here in Ohio) and people will locate to the better school districts. City of Dayton actually has metal detectors at some schools (guns/knives).

Most Americans do not return to the City center.... such as you see in Europe, where the center of the city is typically where the wealth live. Americans live out in the suburbs.

For whatever reason.... Americans think they need to "build" a new house. So we get LOTS of vinyl sided boxes........ in former cornfields.

About 68% of Americans own their own home. During the housing bubble that number was inflated to above 75%.

I can tell you from direct personal experience that local governments don't want cheap houses. They want big expensive houses so they can get the property tax of the houses and income tax out of the occupants. Of course - they don't want to take any blame for the housing bubble...... they can blame Wall Street like everyone else.

As far a small bedroom... a small bedroom here is 10 ft x 10 ft (3.3 meters by 3.3 meters). Most american children do more than sleep in their bedroom. My sons have computers, double size beds, large dressers, my youngest has all his guitars in his room - and an easy chair. Their rooms are their private areas for them to study, play and hang out with friends. I grew up in a small 3 bedroom house about 1,100 SF and my bedroom was about the same....except I didn't have an easy chair. My room was probably 9 x 10. So.... kids bedrooms are multi-functional.

[cousinbirgco]

Tiny?...........how about skinny,
hmmm....and small equals affordable?



Wednesday, January 13th 2010, 4:00 AM


City's skinniest house at 75-1/2 Bedford St.


The 9-1/2-foot-wide townhouse at 75-1/2 Bedford St. in the West Village was purchased for $2.175 million by an undisclosed buyer, Curbed.com reported Tuesday night. The three-story, 990-square-foot house, built in 1873, went on the market in August for an asking price of $2.75 million.

BY BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

[csintexas]

No not everyone in America lives in a large home. Mobile homes tend to be less that 1000 sq. ft and are relatively in-expensive.

Need and want are two different things. Even a family of 5 does not need that much space. They simply like it because it is nice to have and society tells us that the more we have the better we are.

My dad and step-mom lived on a 29 ft. boat for a few years because sailing around the Virgin Islands was worth it for them. In other words we can do with very little for a perceived benefit.