Micro/tiny homes

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I left my life in DC to live in a 400-square-foot tiny home near Tampa. I feel like I have more space and I'm saving money so I don't regret it.​


  • Stefanie Mortenson, a 53-year-old HR director, moved from Virginia to a tiny home near Tampa, Florida in May.
  • Her 396-square-foot dwelling at Escape Tampa Bay Village's tiny home community cost her $159,000.
  • Mortenson says she's saving money and feels like she has more space compared to her previous Virginia apartment.
This essay is based on an interview with Stefanie Mortenson, a 53-year-old HR director who moved from Virginia to Escape Tampa Bay Village's The Oaks community, a tiny home neighborhood near Tampa, Florida. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

My priorities changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1998, I moved to Alexandria, Virginia about 10 miles from Washington, DC for a better career opportunity. I was a month shy of 25 years in Virginia and working at the US Senate Federal Credit Union — where I'm currently the director of human resources — when I moved to my new tiny home in Escape Tampa Bay Village's The Oaks community.

More here:

 
I need at least 600 sq ft, but 750 is better with a W&D.
 
Anyone who likes or wants these...that's fine. I have no problem...frankly, my apartment is small, too. By budgetary necessity.

What chaps my arse is, how the political propagandists ("nooze" "reporters") get so excited about these houses - FOR THEIR LESSERS. FOR US.

While THEY live in high-ceilinged, spacious, Manhattan townhouses, often with portraits of Mao or Stalin on the walls. Yes, dig a bit - several prominent noozereaders have done home-set broadcasts, and those inconvenient artworks were in the background.

They won't stop until they have us living in a company cot, like a Navy berth. For all our (short) lives.
 
They won't stop until they have us living in a company cot, like a Navy berth.

Not recommended. The vid below looks good compared to the shit hole compartment I had to sleep in. And while the enlisted sleep like animals the zeros slept 2 to a room each with 2 safes and a nice sink. Never saw the captains' quarters but I'd venture it was probably sweet.

 
Major difference between the canoe club and sailing as a merchant seaman.

 
Not recommended. The vid below looks good compared to the shit hole compartment I had to sleep in. And while the enlisted sleep like animals the zeros slept 2 to a room each with 2 safes and a nice sink. Never saw the captains' quarters but I'd venture it was probably sweet.


I don't recognize any of that. Not the dungarees - entirely different, now; they seem like a cross between the traditional dungarees and working blues - and not the khaki caps. Khaki was, in my Navy, the EXCLUSIVE property of officers and chiefs.

We had no straps. The lights didn't work on most of our berths...put a repair chit in, they'd never get fixed. We DID, on the carrier, have a mini-lounge in berthing, with seats around a couple of tables. Evenings, before lights-out, there'd be enough light to read. And a television set - closed-circuit VHS movies, all through the ship.

EEBDs were kept near the ladder, not in the berths.

There was wide variety in racks. Some racks were two across, with perforated sheet-metal panels to divide them. Others were against the hull sides, or against bulkheads. I had one that was not double, and next to a ladder that was never used, kept dogged down. My "condo" - had it all to myself.

My carrier had been commissioned in 1981, and was relatively new when I was on it. We had a number of first-classes and chiefs off the Ranger and Kitty Hawk (the Schitty Kitty and the Grunger, they was called) and they never wasted a chance to tell us how spoiled we were.

We didn't have the Type Fs on board, at least not ship's company. A number of guys had come off sub tenders or USNS vessels, which were coed...and all I heard was how disruptive it was. Those guys were happy to do the tail-chasing on weekend liberty, not on the ship, with everyone posturing to impress the females.
 
Not recommended. The vid below looks good compared to the shit hole compartment I had to sleep in. And while the enlisted sleep like animals the zeros slept 2 to a room each with 2 safes and a nice sink. Never saw the captains' quarters but I'd venture it was probably sweet.
Captain's at-sea cabin is not. It's cramped and spartan.

Never saw the Captain's stateroom, mostly used in-port; but I'd been to the XO's (Executive Officer, second-in-command) stateroom in-port many times, with documents from the Warrant who was our Administrative Officer. It was all business - the same bilious green, steel desk bolted down, coffin-sized bed. Private head, of course. Rank has its perqs.

At least that's how it was 35 years ago. Of course, everything's changing as the Navy gets feminized and soft.
 

Concerned by trash, they print $50K homes from used plastic​

Sep 10, 2023


15:57

They 3-D print homes in one day using recycled plastics for less than $50,000. Using a massive 3-D printer, Azure Printed Homes prints the floor, roof and walls in a day and then finishes 99% of the home in their Culver City factory. Because the plastic is so light it can be put on the back of a truck and driven to the install site where it is connected to the foundation and utilities.

The first homes were built with post industrial plastic waste, but Azure cofounder Ross Maguire explains that as the recycling revenue streams have gotten cleaner, they can now print with post consumer waste, like plastic bottles.

Prices start at $43,900 for an 180 square-foot ADU (accessory dwelling unit), bathroom and kitchen included. Two modules can be attached for 360 ft.² of floor space for $85,900. Permitting, foundation, delivery and installation usually cost an extra 20 to 30% of the price.

With the app, you can lightly design your home choosing from clear glass side walls, multiple window options, flooring, paint color, and you can add solar panels and battery and go off grid. Maguire explains that because the home is printed in one monolithic unit there are no thermal bridges so the homes are very efficient to heat and cool.

 

From D-Day to Bohemian Bliss: living in WWII Normandy landing craft​

Aug 20, 2023


22:33

World War II saw the quick development of amphibious boats capable of landing on shallow waters to allow quick deployments like Normandy's D-Day. One of such plywood landing crafts survived to become a fine, cocoon-like bohemian houseboat in countercultural Sausalito, the picturesque old fishing town on the other side of San Francisco's Golden Gate.

In the 1890s, they called themselves "Venetians of the West," in the 1960s, they staged the "Houseboat Wars," and today, Sausalito’s floating homeowners are suspended above carefully-planned watery streets and fully-legal parcels.

Gina Locurcio discovered this community when she visited by boat one afternoon and was sold on the floating lifestyle. When she discovered a friend was selling an old WWII-landing-craft turned houseboat, she bought it and updated the Bohemian home into a more modern trapezoidal home that preserves the history of this one-of-a-kind shelter.

It's been home to Shel Silverstein, Alan Watts, Allen Ginsberg, and Stewart Brand (still is). Otis Redding wrote “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” here. wrote “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” here. Jennifer Garner's floating home is located on the Liberty dock here for the Apple TV series "The Last Thing He Told Me" (based on the novel).

After WWII, when the Marinship shipyard closed down nearby (at one point, 20,000 people built military ships there 24 hours a day), needing places to live, people began to turn leftover boats and craft into floating homes.

Locurcio's 568-square-foot landing craft home is snug, but has a storybook charm. She finds it a place of calm, but is now living in a larger spot on a nearby dock with a roommate so is selling her unique home. https://micheleaffronte.evrealestate....

https://www.ginalola.net; Instagram: @ginalola
 

Concerned by trash, they print $50K homes from used plastic​

Sep 10, 2023


15:57

They 3-D print homes in one day using recycled plastics for less than $50,000. Using a massive 3-D printer, Azure Printed Homes prints the floor, roof and walls in a day and then finishes 99% of the home in their Culver City factory. Because the plastic is so light it can be put on the back of a truck and driven to the install site where it is connected to the foundation and utilities.

The first homes were built with post industrial plastic waste, but Azure cofounder Ross Maguire explains that as the recycling revenue streams have gotten cleaner, they can now print with post consumer waste, like plastic bottles.

Prices start at $43,900 for an 180 square-foot ADU (accessory dwelling unit), bathroom and kitchen included. Two modules can be attached for 360 ft.² of floor space for $85,900. Permitting, foundation, delivery and installation usually cost an extra 20 to 30% of the price.

With the app, you can lightly design your home choosing from clear glass side walls, multiple window options, flooring, paint color, and you can add solar panels and battery and go off grid. Maguire explains that because the home is printed in one monolithic unit there are no thermal bridges so the homes are very efficient to heat and cool.



That is expensive. The going rate for new CBS construction is $200-300 sq ft for an average 3/2/2 or 4/2/2 1500+. CBS will last much longer too and they didn't even mention the roof.
 
That is expensive.
That is what I thought. My 30x40 two level garage/office may have cost 80k or a bit more in materials, including the concrete for the pad and ICF for the bottom level. All sheathing was 5/8 plywood, sides and roof. I paid my neighbor a couple thousand as a helper for framing. I did 100% of the electrics. I got a few hours of help setting the windows. I did all the drywall, mud, and paint. No problem there.

My opinion is that kitchens and bathrooms are expensive per foot, the rest is cheap. So it is not useful to claim some dollar cost per square foot of a house.
 
Seems like an amazingly lucrative monetization of real estate, but I imagine maintenance costs will be high and, these days, the prospects of local gov appropriating the space for housing immigrants would be worrisome.
 
^^^^^^ Check out Hong Kong shoe box living.
 
More pod living. Blondie seems happy.

Mar 6, 2019 7 mins 13 secs



I moved to LA a few months ago and now I live in a pod. I know you techies love efficiency, organization, productivity, and all that minimalism so here's a tour of my pod! Check out the future of coliving and coliving spaces - think budget friendly Team 10

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@blondiebytes/videos
 
Everyone's happy when Eww Toob starts paying their click-bonuses.

Look, I've seen the elephant. Or, more accurately, the cell.

You live in a "tiny house" - otherwise known as a cell, or room, or shanty - when you have to.

NO ONE with choices, chooses that.

I've traveled extensively - as an itenerant. Lived in nice hotels - when the employer was paying for it - and dive motels. Lived in rented basements. Once lived in an old cabin scarcely larger than a tollbooth, and did it in bad weather in Michigan. I nearly went nuts, with the snow-squalls closing me in.

If you're in mostly-warm weather and have things to do outside, or if you work 72 hours a week, as I sometimes did, you don't notice the cramped accommodation. If you have time to yourself, you discover, quickly, that h.sapiens was not intended to live in such a way.
 

The Inside-Out Tiny House - A Off-Grid Craftsman's Dream​

Dec 8, 2023
When I walked inside this tiny house my jaw hit the floor. This is one of the most exceptional timber homes we have featured on the show. The level of craftsmanship and attention to detail on the interior of this DIY, off-the-grid home in South Australia is truly remarkable and all for a budget that's hard to believe!

The exterior is equally as stunning. This beautiful home has been decorated with a home-sized mural of a giant wave. Keeping top the nautical theme, an actual old boat sail has been up-cycled into a shade sail. A good sized deck, perfect for entertaining has been constructed around the home and there's even a nicely built outdoor toilet and shower.

Affectionally labeled as an inside-out house, this is a home which is designed to fully connect the indoors with the outdoors, bringing a charming sense of nature into every aspect of the home.
We hope you enjoy the tour of this amazing tiny house. You can find out more about Tess and Joel's tiny home via their Instagram: / the_sea_pod . While traveling, they also rent out their tiny house as a BnB, you can book your stay here: https://www.airbnb.com/h/theseapod


18:35
 

Woman Living Off-Grid on a Remote Island – 2 Years in a Small Cabin​

Dec 7, 2023
Amanda lives alone in an off-grid cabin on a remote island in British Columbia. She previously lived on a sailboat in Vancouver for 8 years and then headed North with her boat. She eventually wanted to move onto land because her dog Buttercup was getting older and after searching online, she connected with the owners of an island who were looking for a caretaker to keep an eye on things.

So for the past two years, Amanda has lived solo on the island (aside from a couple of months in the summer when the owners and cabin guests are visiting) and she has taken care of everything from splitting and stacking firewood, maintaining the lawn, running the generators, and a lot more! It's a big job and she does most of her caretaker tasks in the morning and in the afternoons she works remotely as a web designer. She also has a great YouTube channel that she uses to document her liveaboard and off-grid lifestyles.


13:04
 
This is a first for me. Kinda a wtf????

WINTER IN A BIKE CAMPER with a WOOD STOVE!​


22:17
 
"It's off the ground so that if the volcano blows you can put your house on a tractor trailer and go." WTF?????

Left NY to build tiny off-grid homestead atop remote volcano​



15 years ago, Jade Chen left New York City to settle on a remote lava field far from any store or utility. She bought 1/6 of an acre on top of a neighborhood that had been buried in the 1990 eruption.

Jade was one of the first to return to the area but slowly others joined, and now despite being far from the grid, there are dozens of homes here, capturing the sun and rain. Her property came with an unfinished home and she has slowly turned it into 3 units which she uses for nightly rentals and yoga classes.

Some of Jade's renters have gone on to buy properties and are now her neighbors (she now manages 10 homes in the area).

Some of her Jade's tenants have bought their own lots and built their own floating homes. Treehouse builder Will Beilharz lofted his Phoenix and Ohana houses several feet above the lava so in the event of another eruption, they can be scooped up and carried off on tractor-trailers.

Our family spent the night in the Phoenix house, and its adjacent escape pod, which are equipped with a tin wash-basin sink, a camp stove, and showers that drain right onto the lava. Outside, a 5000-gallon tank holds rainwater captured from the roofs.

With the sparse vegetation and no power lines in site, the views across the lava feel endless. It’s a landscape that Jade explains is not understood by everyone, but for her, it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth.
 

Turns empty lot into Pocket Neighborhood of 4 shotgun houses​

Feb 4, 2024

Just outside the historic downtown of Waco, Texas (Dr Pepper was founded here in 1885) you normally find small bungalows drowned by large lots, but Cameron Bell has squeezed four narrow houses onto his quarter acre, creating a pocket hood of unique homes (shotgun house and dogtrot house included).

It all started when Cameron Bell was visiting his parents in his hometown of Waco, Texas, when he saw a boarded-up shotgun house being prepped for demolition, so he contacted the owner, who offered it to him if he could find a place to move it. Bell found a sliver of a lot (just 48 feet wide) where the home was rebuilt (on the show Fixer Upper) with a lofted second bedroom accessible by retractable stairs on a counterweight system.

A couple years later, he bought the lot next door, and using the city's new Small Lot Ordinance, which shrunk the minimum lot size, he began to build 3 new homes. All of the new homes are small, with the dogtrot house the narrowest at about 12-feet-wide. The dogtrot design, like the shotgun, has rooms lined up in a row, but this one consists of two living areas divided by a covered porch.

Not wanting the homes to appear too uniform, he staggered them on the lot and created unique builds for each one. As an homage to the city's historic downtown, Bell created a two-story brick building that resembles the old storefronts with housing above a shop.

To create a home more suited for families, he designed a wider structure with a large living space and two tiny bedrooms divided by an atrium. The bedrooms are so narrow that when he saw them constructed, he was worried they wouldn’t fit a bed (it just fits).

https://www.instagram.com/7southwaco


23:14
 

Couple's Cozy Log Cabin Home Built from Scratch with 40 Trees from the Land​

This couple built a small log cabin from scratch using trees from their land. Rémi and Noémie call themselves the Wildcrafters because they make everything by hand, including their homes. They started off by building a tiny house with reclaimed materials and lived in it for around 5 years, and then they built this incredible tiny log cabin with a greenhouse attached and they live in it full time.

The log cabin is about 600 square feet and has 3 floors. The main floor has a bathroom, kitchen, living and dining room, the second-floor loft has 2 bedrooms, and the third-floor attic is an artist studio for Noémie.

In addition to building their own home, the couple also plans to become more self-sufficient with their food production and have already started preparing large gardens as well as a greenhouse with raised beds and a rainwater collection tote. They have a well, they collect firewood from the land, they are connected to the province's hydro electric grid, and they use a composting toilet and an outhouse.

The couple is thriving in their rural and remote lifestyle but they admit that it isn't always easy. These projects are all a lot of work so they are trying to pace themselves after realizing they can't make their dream a reality all at once. So they're pacing themselves and developing patience :)


15:16
 

Inside a UFO Tiny House: The Futuro Home Tour​

Welcome to the Futuro House tour with Nick! 🌟

In this captivating video, you'll get an exclusive look inside the iconic Futuro House, a unique piece of architectural history that dates back to 1968. This futuristic abode, designed by architect Matti Suuronen, boasts a UFO-like appearance and has become a symbol of retro-futuristic design.

Meet Nick, a passionate enthusiast of the Futuro House, who has dedicated his life to preserving and restoring these extraordinary structures. Follow along as Nick guides you through his meticulously restored Futuro House, sharing his journey from childhood fascination to owning and refurbishing multiple units.


11:38
 

US' tallest Container Tower is self-sustaining 18-home oasis​

Feb 25, 2024

He had already stacked containers two and three stories, but with his Ida apartment complex, Brian Stark went 85 feet high with 64 containers (on top of two floors of concrete culverts) to create North America's tallest container building.

All the containers have been well-used and dents are visible and Stark likes it this way. "Why we like using containers is they exist in our world already so this building is 300 tonnes, 600,000 tonnes of steel that we didn't have to build." There are 18 condos, both one- and two-story, and all are made from high cubes so have expansive ceilings.

All the water that falls on the building is collected into one vertical container that acts as a cistern for irrigating the rooftop and surrounding landscaping and for washing the building.

Solar panels cover the sidewalk in front which helps to power the building, but also provides much needed shade for a desert city.

The IDA sits in the Roosevelt Row arts district and within a few blocks, Stark has two other container projects. We also visited the Churchill, a complex of 10 locally owned restaurants, bars and shops inside 20 containers. A few blocks away, we stopped at The Oscar which is 9 apartments and 2 offices from 24 containers.

Local Studio https://www.localstudioaz.com/


32:53
 

The Evolution of Tiny Design - Expanding Container Home​

Mar 5, 2024

Welcome to a unique journey through John Winder's meticulously designed container home, a manifestation of his journey from hobbyist to a full-time tiny home builder. This video tour, led by John himself, showcases his latest creation – a space that's both a personal sanctuary and a testament to his craftsmanship and attention to detail.


13:24
 
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