Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 04-27-2007, 03:31 PM   #1
Bus Crazy
 
Steve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 1,839
Send a message via AIM to Steve
Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu

An article about living in a 96sq ft house. Skoolies are bigger than that!

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...carollloyd.DTL


__________________
View my 1972 Ward: Topic from the Build : The Picture Gallery
View my 1986 Blue Bird: Topic from the Build : The Picture Gallery
View my 1960 GMC: Topic from the Build : The Picture Gallery
Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2007, 05:01 PM   #2
Bus Geek
 
the_experience03's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Saint James, MN
Posts: 2,669
Send a message via MSN to the_experience03 Send a message via Yahoo to the_experience03
They sell those things prefabbed all over around here. The difference is that ours are panelled in cedar and have a big wood stove in them. The Finns might not be good for much, but atleast they gave us saunas.

That's sow-na, not saw-na for the record.
__________________
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/...09f20d39_m.jpg
Skooling it...one state at a time...
the_experience03 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2007, 05:38 PM   #3
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84

I have long been in favor of smaller houses. There is so much crying about "affordability",
but few seem to want to address the real issue. My last house in Sacramento was
1170 sq ft, and it was bigger than I needed, with lots of space wasted by a
"rabbit's warren" floor plan.

Here in Clearlake, I have a 600 sq ft trailer house, and it is enough -- just poorly laid out,
again -- long and skinny -- all corridor. My excuse is that I bought the place
for the land, cash.

I will be building my new house right here to replace the trailer shack, with my own floor plan.
Just one problem: The City requires at least 1000 sq ft for a new home.
Stay tuned to this station.

Meanwhile, the building permit is almost ready for my 864 sq ft "barn". That's what many
of us really need -- a place for our hobbies, side-line jobs and so forth. Much
cheaper to build per sq ft. Thus more realistic for a poor dude.

Not one word about Millicent in this post!
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2007, 06:17 PM   #4
Bus Geek
 
the_experience03's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Saint James, MN
Posts: 2,669
Send a message via MSN to the_experience03 Send a message via Yahoo to the_experience03
[quote="Elliot Naess
Not one word about Millicent in this post! [/quote]

Does that count as a word?

I agree...I'm all about the 600 square foot house with the 2 acre hobby shop. Houses are for sleeping. Workshops are for living.
__________________
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/...09f20d39_m.jpg
Skooling it...one state at a time...
the_experience03 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2007, 06:46 PM   #5
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84

Hey, I want some credit for not mentioning Kinetic Sculpture Racing in that post!

So... if I have the House/Shop ratio correct, why am I still single? Ah, yes. It's a Guy Thing!
Guys want shops. Girls want palaces. I knew there had to be some kind of difference.

The female member of our core Millicent / Kinetic team wants to shower Under The Stars.
The guys want to get the mud off.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2007, 07:47 PM   #6
Bus Nut
 
Griff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Off-Grid
Posts: 740
Year: 1982
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: IH S1723
Engine: IH V345 Gas V8
Rated Cap: 66
More tiny houses here:
http://tumbleweedhouses.com/houses.htm
I had checked into these before the skoolie lit up over my head.
__________________
~(G)Q Arduously Avoiding Assimilation
Griff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2007, 10:44 PM   #7
Bus Geek
 
the_experience03's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Saint James, MN
Posts: 2,669
Send a message via MSN to the_experience03 Send a message via Yahoo to the_experience03
So any idea how much those things weigh? Are they something that could be attached to a frame to make a sort of house truck....er...trailer?
__________________
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/...09f20d39_m.jpg
Skooling it...one state at a time...
the_experience03 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2007, 04:09 AM   #8
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 245
Here’s a link to a site that shows Jay Shaffers Mobile Hermitage being built ….
This is his tiny house model built on a trailer frame.
The site is designed in a wacky way….to see it all you click on the various pictures to see different construction aspects which makes it a bit hard to navigate ...but its worth the trouble .This is a very nice Tiny house

http://www.resourcesforlife.com/groups/ ... /index.htm
__________________
Are you questioning my Aaa-thoritttyy ?
soused moose is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2007, 06:58 AM   #9
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 263
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

I have long been in favor of smaller houses. There is so much crying about "affordability",
but few seem to want to address the real issue. My last house in Sacramento was
1170 sq ft, and it was bigger than I needed, with lots of space wasted by a
"rabbit's warren" floor plan.

Here in Clearlake, I have a 600 sq ft trailer house, and it is enough -- just poorly laid out,
again -- long and skinny -- all corridor. My excuse is that I bought the place
for the land, cash.

I will be building my new house right here to replace the trailer shack, with my own floor plan.
Just one problem: The City requires at least 1000 sq ft for a new home.
Stay tuned to this station.

Meanwhile, the building permit is almost ready for my 864 sq ft "barn". That's what many
of us really need -- a place for our hobbies, side-line jobs and so forth. Much
cheaper to build per sq ft. Thus more realistic for a poor dude.

Not one word about Millicent in this post!
elliot, why don't you just kill 2 birds with one stone. Build yourself a 1500 square foot house. Make about 500 sq ft of bath/kitchen/bed/living room and the rear 1000 ft a work shop errrr I mean great room. Cathedral ceiling that section of itso it will look like the inside of millicent. And paint the exterior in skoolie yellow!!!
pete c is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2007, 09:37 AM   #10
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84

I certainly considered that. An extra advantage would be that the whole thing could be converted
to dwelling for resale. And I may very well do that with the house. I'm actually thinking of
leaving part of the house "un-built" except for slab, steel frame and roof -- creating carport
type of covered space at the north end of the house. This will depend on sneaking it
past City Hall. But I'm going with a separate shop building first.

The overall idea is to create an old fashioned farm yard tableau. Red gambrel barn on one
side, with main door on the long wall facing towards middle of lot. Off-white house on
other side, with full length covered porch also facing the center (facing the barn).
That will create a courtyard between the house and the barn.

Third quadrant of the lot already has a garage, and the fourth quadrant gets a couple
of rows of grape vines.

But this is a ten year plan. The barn goes up this year. The house will take muuuuuch longer.

Oh, I should mention that I'm building with steel. This is wildfire country, and I routinely set
things on fire with my own sparks. All right, my tools' sparks.

I'm done babbling now.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-29-2007, 06:49 AM   #11
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 245
Someone sent me this link to a company that builds some very good looking ‘Mobile Homes’…..
http://norwesterindustries.com/home.html

If I was to think of building something semi-permanent … I’d go for a couple of these built so that they could be connected together in an L shape….

Here’s an interesting site where people use Shipping Containers to make some pretty good looking homes…
http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm
__________________
Are you questioning my Aaa-thoritttyy ?
soused moose is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-09-2007, 08:44 PM   #12
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84

I picked up my building permit today -- for my 864 sq ft workshop. I believe the
correct uttering now is... "WOO-HOO". Hmmm... should probably add an "!".

No, I ain't starting no project thread called "Kinetic Barn; Crazy Man tries...."


Silly thing is, I had to pay the school district fee for the square footage, as if the shop
were dwelling space. The city said a "hobby shop" counts as dwelling space. That
may turn out to be... my loop hole around the 1000 sq ft minimum for the future
new house!
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2007, 09:17 PM   #13
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 151
Year: 1950
Coachwork: don't know
Chassis: cheverolet
Engine: to be determined
Rated Cap: 28
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu

heck my house is not quite 900 square feet I want a skoolie so i can increase my squarefootage
my shop is three times as big as my house, but .......... I have no mortgage and I recently went debt free
dale
delbertinie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2007, 11:21 PM   #14
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu


Yep... no mortgage and no debt here also. There are tradeoffs, like my rough neighborhood, but WOOHOO it's a great feeling to have no debt.

No, I don't mean to brag -- heaven knows I have been in the "debt trap". I just want to recommend that living debt free is worth almost any sacrifice to get there.

My steel barn kit is scheduled to arrive in two weeks.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2007, 01:49 AM   #15
Bus Geek
 
the_experience03's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Saint James, MN
Posts: 2,669
Send a message via MSN to the_experience03 Send a message via Yahoo to the_experience03
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu

Well if only you lived closer. We could have a bolt turning party...we'd get a barn built and some roofs raised.
__________________
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/...09f20d39_m.jpg
Skooling it...one state at a time...
the_experience03 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2007, 09:04 PM   #16
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 151
Year: 1950
Coachwork: don't know
Chassis: cheverolet
Engine: to be determined
Rated Cap: 28
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu

boy howdy I went through it too I had a couple of heart attacks and had a bunch of personal debt too. took us 7 years to get out
with the medical debt house and all we paid off 324000.oo I am bragiing al little but I am damm proud.
I would love to come help too
delbertinie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2007, 11:03 PM   #17
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu


Just to make it clear to any innocent bystander who might come stumling in here,...
We are ranting about having gotten out of debt because it is so darned important that young folks learn to be careful about taking on debt. Don't ever buy "all the house you can afford". I did. In the long run, in the real world, I couldn't.

All rightythen. Sure guys, come on over and help raise the barn!

Actually, there is plenty of cheap real estate for sale here in Clearlake -- if any of you want to move to a snow- and rust-free area. But there are tradeoffs.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-08-2007, 10:33 PM   #18
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 151
Year: 1950
Coachwork: don't know
Chassis: cheverolet
Engine: to be determined
Rated Cap: 28
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu

talking about being off the subject. lol but I really think credit could be the ruin of our younger generation.
Instant gradification will get you into financial problems every time
listen from our mistakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! save a little spend a little don't borrow any
delbertinie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-08-2007, 10:49 PM   #19
Bus Geek
 
Elliot Naess's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Clearlake, Northern California
Posts: 2,505
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC-2000 Frt Eng, Tranny:MT643
Engine: 5,9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu


Not off topic at all!

Oh, and this... from memory...

"Sure, I'll tell you the secret of our success. We don't borrow money."
-- Henry Ford, circa 1925.
__________________

Elliot Naess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2007, 10:51 AM   #20
Bus Crazy
 
Steve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 1,839
Send a message via AIM to Steve
Re: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimu

Think Ford is still not borrowing money!
__________________
View my 1972 Ward: Topic from the Build : The Picture Gallery
View my 1986 Blue Bird: Topic from the Build : The Picture Gallery
View my 1960 GMC: Topic from the Build : The Picture Gallery
Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Who's Up For A Challenge? Stu & Filo. T Conversion General Discussions 10 02-23-2014 12:07 PM
Tiny Houses Petition lornaschinske Everything Else | General Skoolie Discussions 6 04-11-2012 10:37 AM
Tiny houses for inspiration lornaschinske Everything Else | General Skoolie Discussions 9 03-25-2010 05:04 PM
Houses In Detroit lapeer20m Everything Else | General Skoolie Discussions 8 11-24-2008 11:53 PM
Fifth Gear - Veggie Oil Speed Challenge Steve Alternative Fuels | Electric, Propane, Wood & Biofuels 3 02-23-2007 05:33 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.