Jay Talks Tiny

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Jay Shafer discussed some of the economic and environmental aspects of our housing laws.

Proposal to amend

Proposal to amend IRC Code Restricting House Size:

Analysis:

Environmental Costs: The International Residential Code dictating how small our homes can be has helped make our houses the biggest in the world—four times the international average. At well over 2000 square feet, the average American house now emits more than 18 tons of greenhouse gasses every year, consumes a quarter acre of forest in its production and dumps seven tons of construction waste into our landfills.

Economic Costs: Excess and economy are mutually exclusive. We can have exorbitance, or we can have the serenity that a sensibly sized home affords, but we cannot have both. Like anything else that is not essential to our happiness, extra space just gets in the way. It requires maintenance and heating, and ultimately demands that we exchange a portion of life for the money needed to pay for these extras. Mortgage payments can appropriate thirty to forty percent of a household’s income not counting taxes, insurance, or maintenance expenses. [Read more]

Building the Fencl

Over the spring of 2009 we built our largest home on wheels, the Fencl. This small house is 130 square feet and features a kitchen, bathroom, sleeping loft, fireplace and much more.

How long did it take to build?

Jay Shafer, the designer, and a crew of 4 others built this house over 10 weeks.
We spent 825 hours to purchase materials and build this green design house.

How much did it cost to build?

When all was said and done we spent $19,148.
Jay shopped around and shaved almost $2,000 from the cost when he found a trailer 100 miles away at a much lower cost.

Build one myself?

Depending on your skill level and determination it is possible to build a mobile home for a fraction of the cost of buying on already built. We do recommend hiring licensed contractors for the plumbing and electric work. When we build a house we hire specialist for those tasks. Typically, the electrician and plumber are the highest paid people per hour, so we keep the amount of their work limited to just those two areas. We spent less than $2000 to have that work completed on the Fencl.

When we build a small house we usually hire a finish carpenter as the job foreman. We keep the number of workers at any given time to 2 or 3. Aside from the finish carpenter and electrician and plumber, the other crew doesn’t need as much experience.

Buy this house from Tumbleweed?

This green home can be purchased for $53,997 plus shipping and applicable tax.

Is the price negotiable?
We price our homes and home plans with a very low markup. We do not leave room in our pricing for a discount. Our expenses are subsidized by selling ad space on our website and by the sale of our books. We are proud of the fact that we pay our crew a fair US wage with insurance.

Inside Ben and Sabrina’s Enesti

In 2008, Ben and Sabrina built a modified version of the Enesti. Take a look inside.

Why Buy a Tiny House?

Why would  you want to spend $15,000 to $50,000 on a small house when you could add a real addition to your house and have a permanent improvement built right on to your existing house?

This article is assuming you are building a tiny house as an additional room along with your existing home.

Here are a few suggestions that may also get you thinking of other  reasons this might apply for building that tiny house.  You can then decide what would work best for you and your circumstances.

1. Permits Costs: The cost of a permit has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. I want to give you an idea what an average permit will cost you today. In most places in the U.S. they range from $15,000 to $50,000. Just to add another room or addition to your existing home. Remember that is just to get a permit to build your addition.
2. Permits may not be available at all: Some towns, cities and counties no longer will issue a permit. You are banned from any new construction or additions in some areas of the country. This takes the ability to add to your home completely out of your hands. The answer is NO!
3. Permit Time: Once a permit is requested it can take up to one to two years to process. If you need a space addition right away, it won’t happen. It is necessary to plan way in advance and to know your needs are long before the construction can even start.
4. Mobile: If you build a small house it can be moved when tenancy or purpose changes. It is not contained by a permanent foundation, but can be connected to a truck and towed to your new location and used again for the same purpose.
5. Little Houses can be Sold Separately: When it comes time that you no longer need the additional space you can sell the little house separately from your real estate. It is easy to get back your investment, without completely selling your existing home to downsize. Or if you are living in this home and need to upsize because of additional family members, etc., you can sell it and migrate upwards.

These are five good reasons to buy a tiny house or space on wheels. Do you have other ideas or good reasons to do this? If so please use the comment section to give us your suggestions.

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)

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