How about a new contest?>

[paul s]

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

[pocono_couple]

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

[paul s]

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

[pocono_couple]

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

[paul s]

do not recall that site going there right now

[Bob S.]

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

[paul s]

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

[pocono_couple]

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

[Bob S.]

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

[paul s]

I thought that is what u might be thinking Bob

[Bob S.]

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.

[paul s]

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

[paul s]

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

[UK4X4]

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

[paul s]

all I can say about those pics is  DOUBBLE WOW

[UK4X4]

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

[paul s]

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

[Texas Tornado]

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.

[Texas Tornado]

http://tinyhousetalk.com/communities/

[paul s]

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