4 ms·

I think many of these kinds of designs are very expensive, and often not as sustainable as I'd like. When I finally settle down and build my own tiny house, I

I think many of these kinds of designs are very expensive, and often not as sustainable as I'd like. When I finally settle down and build my own tiny house, I will likely start from an existing structure. Either a classic RV (like an Airstream of Avion) or a shipping container, and build up from there. It'll still end up costing about $15k-$30k, but I'd also like to reuse old materials wherever possible; not so much to save money (as I have a decent income), but to reduce waste and environmental impact. All of these "sustainable" building designs always use so much newly manufactured material. It makes it somewhat less impressive, to me. Another option might be natural building materials; cob, earth bag, etc. I've only recently started learning about them. Though they have other issues...they take of a lot of space, and often make it more difficult to build up, when you need more space. Tiny houses built with conventional modern building materials can be quite tall without a lot of extra effort. At the very least, a loft bedroom is pretty useful in building with a smaller footprint.

bcbrown 13y ago
You'd probably enjoy checking out the books of Lloyd Kahn: http://www.amazon.com/Lloyd-Kahn/e/B001JS1BQY/ http://www.amazon.com/Lloyd-Kahn/e/B001JS1BQY/
205guy 13y ago
I think old RVs are flimsy and poorly insulated, and good ones hold their value and can still be used as vehicles. The idea of recycling shipping containers is really just a designer's dream--you only ever see new-looking containers in their images. Decomissioned containers are probably rusty and/or bent/damaged and thus unsuitable for a dwelling--if they were good enough for living in, they're probably still usable for shipping. And I haven't done the math, but coverting a shipping container to a living space (insulation, plumbing+electric, doors+windows) seems like more waste than recycling the steel into a new container. Cob/earth and/or locally sourced logs are great from a sustainability point of view (though not available in all locations), but they don't make portable housing. I would think that a house such as this, with its small size wouldn't be too expensive even if made with sustainably harvested wood and other building materials--you could also substitute recycled building materials.
- SwellJoe 13y ago
  I don't disagree with anything you've said. I'm very familiar with RVs (I've been living and traveling in a motorhome for five years), and their limitations. And, you're right about shipping containers, generally speaking. But, I've met folks over the years who have successfully built a modern, energy efficient, home inside of the shell of all of these things, often with reused components (though insulation is one of those things that degrades with age and has developed dramatically in effectiveness in recent years, so it's usually new). And, of course, energy efficient appliances are a relative new invention; so they're also usually new. So, re-use is much more limited than I'd like. I also know some folks who've built tiny houses on trailers; this one is 10x10, which makes it not street legal. It'd need a wide load permit and a good travel plan, in order to move it. I like the idea of an updated RV because I could haul it with my truck, even if I'm not regularly traveling with it (I'd rather have a motorhome for regular travel). But, many tiny houses built from scratch also have that property. There are trade-offs in any construction. I probably should just say this is not the house I would build, when I build a tiny house (and I will build a tiny house, at some point). There are several reasons why it isn't. And, speaking of re-used vs. newer/better materials, I've become somewhat enamored of structural insulated panels. There are a couple of folks who've built tiny houses with these materials, getting them custom cut for their needs, and it's pretty cool to see how fast a house can go up, and how efficient it can be once built. I don't know if I'll got that route, either. Compromises all over the place...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

bcbrown 13y ago

You'd probably enjoy checking out the books of Lloyd Kahn: http://www.amazon.com/Lloyd-Kahn/e/B001JS1BQY/ http://www.amazon.com/Lloyd-Kahn/e/B001JS1BQY/

205guy 13y ago

I think old RVs are flimsy and poorly insulated, and good ones hold their value and can still be used as vehicles. The idea of recycling shipping containers is really just a designer's dream--you only ever see new-looking containers in their images. Decomissioned containers are probably rusty and/or bent/damaged and thus unsuitable for a dwelling--if they were good enough for living in, they're probably still usable for shipping. And I haven't done the math, but coverting a shipping container to a living space (insulation, plumbing+electric, doors+windows) seems like more waste than recycling the steel into a new container. Cob/earth and/or locally sourced logs are great from a sustainability point of view (though not available in all locations), but they don't make portable housing. I would think that a house such as this, with its small size wouldn't be too expensive even if made with sustainably harvested wood and other building materials--you could also substitute recycled building materials.

SwellJoe 13y ago
I don't disagree with anything you've said. I'm very familiar with RVs (I've been living and traveling in a motorhome for five years), and their limitations. And, you're right about shipping containers, generally speaking. But, I've met folks over the years who have successfully built a modern, energy efficient, home inside of the shell of all of these things, often with reused components (though insulation is one of those things that degrades with age and has developed dramatically in effectiveness in recent years, so it's usually new). And, of course, energy efficient appliances are a relative new invention; so they're also usually new. So, re-use is much more limited than I'd like. I also know some folks who've built tiny houses on trailers; this one is 10x10, which makes it not street legal. It'd need a wide load permit and a good travel plan, in order to move it. I like the idea of an updated RV because I could haul it with my truck, even if I'm not regularly traveling with it (I'd rather have a motorhome for regular travel). But, many tiny houses built from scratch also have that property. There are trade-offs in any construction. I probably should just say this is not the house I would build, when I build a tiny house (and I will build a tiny house, at some point). There are several reasons why it isn't. And, speaking of re-used vs. newer/better materials, I've become somewhat enamored of structural insulated panels. There are a couple of folks who've built tiny houses with these materials, getting them custom cut for their needs, and it's pretty cool to see how fast a house can go up, and how efficient it can be once built. I don't know if I'll got that route, either. Compromises all over the place...

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]