Quick housing

[cre90602]

well we are in need of a small house that we can build cheap and fast I was hoping to build a nice 24 X 36 cabin but thinkgs are getting tighter by the day some of the small house plans look good any body got a rough cost of the 14 by 24 looks like some that could be weathered in quick and we couild finish as we live it

[John Raabe]

There is really no such thing as quick housing, especially if you are an owner-builder.

Trailers and modulars are quicker than stick built, but you still have to get the infrastructure in - (clearing, road or driveway, foundation or pad, power, water, septic, etc). Often the actual building of the shell is the least of the hurdles and the most fun.

Try to limit the things you have to do after you move in to things that you don't have to move out to do - ie: get the walls insulated with drywall or wall finish up. You can do finish floors and window trim later but not the plumbing and wiring.

Here's our article on costs. Understand that you will never be able to predermine the cost of building and that people build similar houses for very different costs.

[Amanda_931]

John said:

Often the actual building of the shell is the least of the hurdles and the most fun.

Sounds right to me.  Get rid of all the frustration waiting for someone to return calls by pounding nails!

[cre90602]

Wheni said quick I was meanibng something thaty I could get up in a short period of time then add on to from there We all know your never  done I am ordering the little house plans today Me and my wife and two boys looked at it and think its a great start for us.

[cre90602]

We have been tossing Ideas for months just spinning our wheels. We have some great land we have been paying on and we are feed up with the city, the landlord. i was over thinking everything and worring about trying to build to big my wife gave me a slap on the back of the head and said we just need something basic to start with she saw th the little house plans and said that the 14 x 24 would work for us.
 

[John Raabe]

I've long thought the quickest and least expensive way to build an expandable house is to build a simple classic shape first with the core requirements and then plan in for future expansions (ie: bury a header in the wall for the future addition).

The Enchilada plans do this with a 14' wide core house. The Universal Cottage starts with a larger core of 20' width and two stories.

[bil2054]

This is an idea with great historic precedent.  Many of the surviving colonial houses you see here in New England can be traced through a series of additions back to one relatively small core house.  Especially in the early years the folks arriving by ship needed to get something up quickly before the winter, and there were no lumber yards to supply materials!  They did, however, have a tradition of community co-operation.  You see similar amazing results in Amish areas with house and barn raisings, and I see an extension of this in the Habitat program.  How many freinds and neighbors can you collect? Just remember, the lunch and beer start AFTER the work is done!
I think your idea and John's suggestion are about as quick and practical as it gets.  You could get something in place relatively quick and inexpensive, and add on as you please later. [smiley=smiley.gif]

Good luck, and have fun!

[cre90602]

Thanks for all the ideas we got started this weekend with the peirs. Now if we could just get the weather to cool off a little bit got everything dry after 15" rain in 75 days but now it wants to be 95 degrees. I believe its call sweatr equity