Let me say I have always liked this site, good people and good advice. And some very good projects shared, thank you for all those who have shared.
Maybe this site is not as popular as it once was but I still like it.
I really liked the Tiny Tiny House Design Contest and the winner 10' x 20'.
I would like to see a new contest where there a few more restrictions so that the home can fit on a trailer and go down the road.
so only 8 feet wide at the base and more than 8'6" in total width. assume the worse case for a deck over trailer 2 1/2 feet off the ground so 11'6" in total height of the home [this includes the floor joists]
perhaps a few categories say maybe 16' long and 20' long and with and without sleeping lofts.
ok may not be enough interest i can understand that
but let me tell you what i am thinking
first let me say i do welcome all input any one may have, i have not done anything on this project yet just thinking about it
I am 58 yo, my kids are grown and gone, 31f,29m,23m
none of my kids live near me all my kids are happy doing ehat they are doing.
I have been married 2x, 20 years the first time 10 years the second, so recently on my own again
I never expect to own land or a home ever again. either do not have the resources or do nto want to be tied down.
I graduated from college in 1978 with a degree in industrial engineering, and worked as an engineer until about 12 years ago. it was a good run and provided for my kids to get their start in life. now i make about 18,000 a year and own a 1998 toyota tacoma bonus cap truck.
btw i have one grand son , 4 months old by my daughter and they live in Philadelphia
I love to garden and most things to do with growing food.
I hate the small apartment i am in with people above me and the the sides of me.
I hate the apartment as it is not 'mine'
so i adore the winner of the tiny house contest and have been thinking 8' x 20' on a trailer.
I have been all over the web on tiny houses on wheels and some ok and actually very little real information, maybe cause it is rather new
and some very fancy prices
i know i can do better!!
some say just get a camper, i do not want to camp, i want to live, campers are for short term use and i want 'my' space my way
ok paul where do think u are going to put this tiny house on wheels????
well the exterior will look like a cute non nondescript farm shed and i want to put it on some ones farm, perhaps someone that has a agri-tourism farm and needs an employee
in four years i will draw my social security at 1500 per month.
ok call me crazy,
Paul
hi paul,
not crazy at all.. i love the house we built in the poconos.. http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=7107.0
and the tiny house that we built this summer is very cool.. http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=13525.msg176823#top
but I too would like to begin to develop a plan for living on a very small amount of money - the tradeoff being more time. And I really don't want to wait! But life and circumstances seem to always get in the way. What I have come to terms with is that the pocono house would put a big dent in an annual income of 25-30 k.. just for taxes, heat, etc. so it may not last as part of the long term plan. And, the tiny house is neat, but just a bit small to truly be our primary residence.. especially as we near our 60's .. so something in between might do it.. i have bought john's builder's cottage plans, and , with a few changes, I am wondering if that might be the ticket.. jt
Ok, I am going to figure this thing out. I think I need to define just exactly what I need/want and then design from there. My thinking right now is how small can my 'house' be and meet my requirements.
Sleeping, humm I need a real bed size, twin is 39" x 75". sheets and mattress are all available. Would be nice if it did double duty, well maybe, and served as a couch. I think I want it on the ground floor, i can not sleep in a loft long term. If on the floor, then storage below so may be a bit high for more storage. go a bit higher with desk under or even more storage? Some tiny homes have wierd sized beds and basically a room with wall to wall mattress. How do you sleep and how do u make up the bed, etc?
Cooking, i want two burners on propane, and a sink that is deep so i can so some hand laundry. a refrigerator of decent size, I like to eat but needs to be very energy efficient. Need to research this.
Energy demands, humm lets just say 15 amp, 110 volt. so a good extension cord. and one day a few deep cycle batteries and an inverter.
a place for two to sit and eat, serves a lot of functions additional food prep area, desk, etc.
A comfy place to sit, one nice chair or the bed as a couch, I say bed as couch but never saw one i liked, sitting and sleeping are so different. maybe the bed slides all the way out for sleeping and part way out to be a couch seat base!!
bathroom, ok ok i have been thinking 8 feet wide so across the trailer width near the tongue a 36 inch wide room shower to the left and flush toilet to the right , and straight ahead a door to a composting toilet mounted on that triangle tongue of the trailer.
a small closet for a few dress shirts, slacks and suit
good window placement and natural light
Every day i downsize my life a little more.
shape of house
ok outside dimension of 8 feet wide
length to be determined
a simple gable roof for balance [i think] simple shed style is possible
2 x 4 stud walls , 2x4 or 2x6 floor joists and roof rafters.
1/2 inch exterior plywood siding
1/4 or 3/8 inch plywood interior
height of home is 13'4" max , this includes it on the trailer
i am thinking a small loft at each end for storage like say 40 inches deep
hot water for a shower? not sure what to do so more research.
thank you for letting me think, will put pencil to paper tonite
and every one have a very good ay in any way u want
i guess merry christmas to all my christian friends
paul
it sure is fun to plan! looking forward to seeing some sketches :) perhaps you have done a lot of looking on line.. but just in case.. have you checked out tinyhouseswoon.com ? lots of neat ideas .. one that i saw just recently was a plan for putting small trap doors in the loft floor so that you could use the space between the joists as storage. jt
do not recall that site going there right now
I would build it on skids. I would size it so it would fit on a trailer. I would build two units that could be joined together, one for a bedroom and bath and one for a kitchen and setting area. If the authority's made you move them you could rent a trailer. You could research availability of trailer rental before you built the small house. Some small RV'S have Murphy beads that would work if you only had one unit. Where I live a local storage shed company advertises that they will move your existing shed, might be a option as you would not need to own a truck and trailer. You could build it in your driveway in town and move it to a rental site. I think if it was portable the authority's would leave you alone. I like your idea on loft storage.
Bob
I have to agree it is an idea worth considering. In the last few days i read on the net as to why would u want to waste a good trailer under your house?
Skids are a great and proven solution, so 8' x 16' for one unit with it all.at my last residence we had moved from one house to another and for 125 dollars a man with a roll back moved our 8' x 12' garden shed
just thinking here but two or 3 skids of 4 x 6 pressure treated and the house very well connected to them then at each end some sort of something for a winch to connect to.
something to think about tomorrow while i toil away at building bikes and grills and exercise equipment for the store
thanks
our tiny house is on skids.. i used rafter ties at each joist to tie the house to the skids.. the skids are 6 by 6.. and i used four ties per joist.. the joists extend about 6 inches beyond the skids. in our case, the skids are resting on a concrete pad, but originally, I had intended to put down 4 inches of stone and then set the house on that.. I am confident that that plan would have worked fine.. just happened to have a ready made pad.. jt
The reason I suggested two units was to make it easier to move if you had to. You could make a small structure to fit between the two units that wold act as a entry and a mud room. I would make the third unit so as it could be disassembled for transport. Bob
I thought that is what u might be thinking Bob
I am 72 years old and I would not be conferrable climbing a ladder to go to bead. That is the main reason I would need two units. If you are younger a sleeping loft might work fine. As you can tell I have given this idea some thought.
I am 58 Bob and my climbing days are limited, and i am NOT sleeping in a cramped loft
so a twin bed off to one side or the bed slides in and out from under a raised platform where the kitchen is, have u seen that one.
Do not have a link handy but it is out there
thnks for the input to all
Have decided a few things:
1. will be 8' x 16'
2. will be on a trailer
3. height will be limited to 13'- 4" [This includes the trailer]
4. main sleeping will be on the ground floor will be a queen siize
5. two lofts for storage and one with a twin bed
6. a 32 x 36 inch shower
7. a flush toilet
8. simple composting toilet [enclosed up front on on trailer tongue]
9. 4' long [8 ft wide] galley kitchen
10. propane for cooking and hot water [on demand]
a place to start
remember when your designing a transportable unit you can think of the RV -expedition truck world too for inspiration
how to fit more space into a small truck or camper
the roof could be foldup, pushup or motor up on arrival, adding head room and space
hard sides are possible too as you can see here
(https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/soenke-outside-2.jpg)
(http://www.safaripacific.com/vehicles/hbda-t2/test06.jpg)
(https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/highrise-2.png)
(http://www.robgray.com/graynomad/wothahellizat/15721.jpg)
all I can say about those pics is DOUBBLE WOW
You are only limited by your imagination !
Commonly when looking at a new project, we stick with knowns. ........others think a tad outside the box !
The last one is from Australia, built by Rob grey, that rear part is an awsome bit of engineering
http://www.robgray.com/graynomad/wothahellizat/
I liked this trailer too
http://www.kimberleykaravans.com/offroad-caravan-photos
soooo cooooooooooooolllllllllllllllll
i think i am going 20 ft long to accommodate the first floor sleeping in a queen bed, as good looking as i am i think there will always be a woman next to me, well much of the time any how
paul
There are tiny house communities popping up all over the country. Have one of my retired friends fixing to place his tiny house/storage unit at my place with my cabin/barn. The kicker with my place is 100% off grid.
http://tinyhousetalk.com/communities/
Update. Well been all over the web and have further refined plans. Have some sketches to post in a few days.
In my design I am trying to make it flexible for others to use and fit their needs. But my aim is towards housing for a couple or one person with sleeping that is assessable for each person. I just can not see climbing over some one in the middle of the night to go use the toilet.
I have a design spread sheet also that allows one to adjust different sizes for the interior and it calculates the house length. it is fun to play with. be a few days before i can pull it all together.
Paul