Micro/tiny homes

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I thought we already had a thread on these, but I can't find it. Pretty cool story:

 
I like this idea very much. If we could get the government far enough out of our business to allow us to live as we choose, I am certain that more folks would choose to downsize.

http://www.dwell.com/articles/Five-Inspirational-Shipping-Container-Homes.html
Small houses is an idea that has been used all over europe, but here in the US we have assinine regulations regarding how big a house must be. In our county, it may not be built smaller than 1,200 s.f. under air. Until about the late seventies, the average Florida cracker house was around 800 - 850 square feet. I have a number of friends living quite comfortably in older houses. They are cheaper to maintain, heat, cool and furnish. It is an idea that simply makes sense.
 
Near me there is a "commune" where many of the people have converted old school buses to live in. It's a lot of work, this guy is doing it better, most likely. Thing is, tiny implies a worse surface area (heating and cooling losses) to volume (living space) issue, and from seeing these guys need a full sized woodstove to heat a bus - the same I use to heat my home - well, I'll take what I have, over that.
 
DC,
My firm buys se vans to store equipment in and a few years ago we bought a relatively new one for 2,000 bucks for storing documents. We used a product called expanding polyisocyanurate [brand name Tiger Foam or Icynene] to insulate it and painted the outside silver. In the heat of the summer the highest temp I measured in that thing was 107 degrees on a hot ass day. We cut vents in the bottoms of the doors and cut an exhaust at the top in the back. We then bought a medium sized solar panel to run a little DC fan we got from the auto salvage yard. To date, it has worked out quite well.

I picture two or three of these things strung together, insulated and carpeted with a couple of windows cut out for light. A nice and cheap way to construct housing.
 
Yes, that sounds good for where you are. Where I am it's below freezing and 30-40 mph winds....location matters!
 
DCFusor said:
Near me there is a "commune" where many of the people have converted old school buses to live in. It's a lot of work, this guy is doing it better, most likely. Thing is, tiny implies a worse surface area (heating and cooling losses) to volume (living space) issue, and from seeing these guys need a full sized woodstove to heat a bus - the same I use to heat my home - well, I'll take what I have, over that.
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I believe the guy in the bus is actually having an issue with insulation. In general, smaller homes cost less to heat/cool, but a very well insulated house could cost less than a very poorly insulated small house.
:wave:
 
Yes, it's hard to insulate a bus. They do remove nearly all the windows and replace with wood/insulation on the walls, but if you try to get thick, there's noplace left wide enough to put a bed in there. I mean, it works kinda, for people who for whatever reason think they have no other choice, but it doesn't work very well.

The Hoi Poloi of the commune live in mobile homes with baseboard hot water heat, from a wood water heater everyone has to keep going as part of their "rent" to live in a bus that doesn't get that heat. It's pretty screwy and most finally realize this and move on.
 
a block up the street from me, a guy built an adobe looking house (the style). The walls are actually something about two feet thick and I'll bet there isnt four hundred square feet in the house. I've never been inside. It's really cool looking, and he said he's never had an electric bill over 40.00. I can believe it. The adjoining neighbors had a fit and did everything they could to stop his construction (it would "lower" their property values) but he prevailed. He has two teenage sons. My house is a drafty old 1920 duplex, but a metal roof makes it tolerable in the summer, and a wood stove keeps it toasty in the winter.
 
Jay said:
a block up the street from me, a guy built an adobe looking house (the style). The walls are actually something about two feet thick and I'll bet there isnt four hundred square feet in the house. I've never been inside. It's really cool looking, and he said he's never had an electric bill over 40.00. I can believe it. The adjoining neighbors had a fit and did everything they could to stop his construction (it would "lower" their property values) but he prevailed. He has two teenage sons. My house is a drafty old 1920 duplex, but a metal roof makes it tolerable in the summer, and a wood stove keeps it toasty in the winter.
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is it a straw bale house?
 
"Adobe", means bricks made of rammed earth, sometimes mixed with straw & cow's dung (but not necessarily). Very good in some climates (deserts - ie south of US, I suppose), because they have big thermal mas: the house keeps cool during the day (walls cooled during the cold night are absorbing the sun's heat), while radiating absorbed heat during the cold desert nights. In short, adobe walls' big thermal mass averages out extreme temp swings between day & night.

Might not be that good intrinsically in cold climates, where it is cold for the whole winter time (as opposed to the short night/day cycle), and the thermal mass has no means to heat up passively (but it has all the properties needed to suck the heat out). It would need a proper insulation from the outside, to keep the accumulated heat in - and in this case, wood burning stove would be a good match (again, stove is not that great for long, stable, low-heat radiation (low burn efficiency in that case, creosote buildup etc.), but it is good for short bursts of heat - which might be absorbed into adobe walls (if designed properly for), to be released at slower rates, around the clock). With that said, a styrofoam outside insulation, externally cladded/plastered (cross-section, looking from the inside: adobe wall -> styrofoam sheets (surface glued/pinned every .5m) -> glued glass fibre mesh -> thin plaster (5mm approx) cladding), should be a good match, and quite cheap one. It adds to the thickness of the walls, so it is not always a preferred option, but sure as hell it eliminates all the possible heat bridging, and is a good match for a high thermal mass house.
 
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mike said:
...and the Swedish style:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/11832/one-modular-homes.html
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...see, for me that's PRECISELY what I hate about <redacted - see forum guidelines on epithets>got "designer" ideas: modular homes, are nothing new in concept (and might have its merits, if you are young, single, and want to start small, with room to expand later - although if you need something bigger to start with, well, this kind of design is not optimal, cost & performance wise), and they dare to ask $35k for a "base module starts at(...)" price, for fox's sake?! I mean, seriously, $35k for WHAT, a shoe-box sized boxee, made of plywood (most probably), with few square meters of insulation needed to wrap it with, with the whole BOM at around few grand, I suppose?!

Joke, if you ask me.

BTW, speaking of a container homes/systems, this one seems to be quite clever (if one is into something like that):
http://www.lamidesign.com/ibu_revo/system.html
 
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bushi said:
...see, for me that's PRECISELY what I hate about <redacted - see forum guidelines on epithets>got "designer" ideas: modular homes, are nothing new in concept (and might have its merits, if you are young, single, and want to start small, with room to expand later - although if you need something bigger to start with, well, this kind of design is not optimal, cost & performance wise), and they dare to ask $35k for a "base module starts at(...)" price, for fox's sake?! I mean, seriously, $35k for WHAT, a shoe-box sized boxee, made of plywood (most probably), with few square meters of insulation needed to wrap it with, with the whole BOM at around few grand, I suppose?!

Joke, if you ask me.

BTW, speaking of a container homes/systems, this one seems to be quite clever (if one is into something like that):
http://www.lamidesign.com/ibu_revo/system.html
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It's $35K because it's made in Sweden. That's the price of Socialism. You don't think all that free health care is actually free do you? :D
 
What's up with the old fart asking if it was licensed? Someone should've shot him in the face for asking.
 
If you are insulating a bus you need to build it up on the outside. Do they ever drive the busses? if not they should build a type of shed around the bus. Build it so it is a tight fit and fill in the space with leaves and newspaper/ feathers and other types of insulation
 
here's another "simple life" story, evolving around a tiny place to live:
 
Jay said:
thats the thing, I didn't see them build it. My Republic of Texas neighbors were telling me about it.
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TC was up here yesterday. He said its Styrofoam with adobe on the outside.
 
Jay said:
TC was up here yesterday. He said its Styrofoam with adobe on the outside.
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...while I appreciate the guy experimenting, it really should be the other way around. Adobe wall inside, styrofoam insulation outside, and cladded on top of it (any way he likes, be it new super-duper thin-layer epoxy coating, or something oldschool - but it must be UV-, water- and preferably, wind resistant - while breathing the vapor). For many reasons, thermal insulation works better when applied from the outside in such case, and especially, when you have a high thermal mass external walls, it is PERFECT.

Styrofoam on the inside, will more or less nullify the benefits of having high thermal mass walls. Not to mention living in rather unpleasant and potentially unhealthy micro-climate (plastic walls, limited wall breathability/vapor transport, high temperature and humidity swings inside, dependent mostly on heating being on/off (=no thermal mass to speak of)) - unless he also have all the latest in high end automation, to deal with that - i.e. recuperated ventilation, some smart-ass intelligent heating, etc. Which I, 1st doubt, and 2nd, it kind of defies the purpose, IMHO, versus simple & good principle design.

At least in Poland (where styrofoam insulation is wildly popular, for many years now), it is always done that way. Polish climate could be compared to Maine, to give you some reference.
 
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bushi said:
...while I appreciate the guy experimenting, it really should be the other way around. Adobe wall inside, styrofoam insulation outside, and cladded on top of it (any way he likes, be it new super-duper thin-layer epoxy coating, or something oldschool - but it must be UV-, water- and preferably, wind resistant - while breathing the vapor). For many reasons, thermal insulation works better when applied from the outside in such case, and especially, when you have a high thermal mass external walls, it is PERFECT.

Styrofoam on the inside, will more or less nullify the benefits of having high thermal mass walls. Not to mention living in rather unpleasant and potentially unhealthy micro-climate (plastic walls, limited wall breathability/vapor transport, high temperature and humidity swings inside, dependent mostly on heating being on/off (=no thermal mass to speak of)) - unless he also have all the latest in high end automation, to deal with that - i.e. recuperated ventilation, some smart-ass intelligent heating, etc. Which I, 1st doubt, and 2nd, it kind of defies the purpose, IMHO, versus simple & good principle design.

At least in Poland (where styrofoam insulation is wildly popular, for many years now), it is always done that way. Polish climate could be compared to Maine, to give you some reference.
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I actually don't even know the guy, so I'm not sure how he did it. I threw some Styrofoam on a trash pile and it burned thick black smoke...
 
Be careful with that. Burning styrofoam gives off toxic fumes:
... Research has shown that when Styrofoam is burned it releases toxic chemicals and smoke that can damage the nervous system and lungs. ...

Styrene

Styrene is the most worrisome chemical released when Styrofoam is burned accidentally. According to Earth Resource, styrene is has been listed by the EPA as a possible carcinogen. Workers who are exposed to styrene in the manufacturing of polystyrene or Styrofoam complain of eye irritation, headache, fatigue and muscle weakness. Styrene has also been shown to affect the kidneys and blood. Styrene has been labeled as hazardous waste and is outlawed in many cities now for that reason.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

PAHs are chemicals that are found in many products made from petroleum, including Styrofoam. They are a naturally occurring group of chemicals that also can be released from Styrofoam when it is burned. Some items like coffee, grains and vegetable oils contain very small natural amounts of PAH. When meats are smoked or burned, they release PAH as well. The danger from Styrofoam comes when the smoke from burning it releases harmful amounts of PAH. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, it is known that PAH stays in the environment for years; has been linked to short-term symptoms like eye irritation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and confusion, and long-term symptoms like kidney and liver damage and cataracts.

Carbon Black

Carbon black is a carbon-based substance left behind after Styrofoam is accidentally burned. It is not as volatile a chemical as others released from burnt Styrofoam. It is similar in makeup to soot or cinders, but is not the same. It is a dusty, black, ashy substance that will not harm you unless you inhale extreme quantities or small amounts over a very long period of time. Symptoms for short-term exposure include mild coughing or irritation of the eyes or throat. Long-term exposure has shown a higher occurrence of lung issues like bronchitis, scarring, chronic cough or reduction in lung function. The dust is so fine, it is easily inhaled and causes respiratory issues.

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide has been known as the silent killer for some time. The highest danger of carbon monoxide poisoning is within your own household, particularly while sleeping. Accidentally burning Styrofoam will release significant amounts of carbon monoxide, but if it is done outside and infrequently, you will see little harm to your health. If you burn Styrofoam inside in a fireplace or stove, you should ventilate the area well. Short-term exposure, even outside if the concentration is high, can lead to symptoms that are flulike. Continued exposure can lead to brain and heart damage, organ dysfunction and emotional problems. These can be permanent.
...
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http://www.ehow.com/info_8313527_dangers-accidentally-burning-styrofoam.html
 
...all that also counts why you would rather have styrofoam on the outside of your walls.

It might be worth mentioning, that these Aromatic Hydrocarbs/Volatile Organic Compounds are often being released, from various kinds of plastics/organic paints/thinners/anti-funghi wood preservatives etc, sometimes for years after original application - and they are not good for some people, can cause nausea, migraines, lowered immune system resistance (others would tolerate them well).

I shall also mention, that there is another option to insulate walls externally, using the same technology (insulating panels glued & pinned to the wall every 75cm or so, externally cladded), using slightly compressed mineral wool panels. It is just more expensive than styrofoam. But it wouldn't release any of these nastiness.
 
There is a system that the government now favors called EFIS, or External Finished Insulation Syatem. It is little more than isoboard panels finished with a vintl cement veneer with a [supposed] weep system for condensed water in the "breating space" between the back of the isoboard and the exterior of the building. If not properly installed, these systems can become a nightmare for the owner. Mold can fester in the cool, damp backside of the panels and water can migrate through walls if the weep system is not maintained. Either way, insulation is the absolute key here in Florida. Without climate control, the population of Florida would be about eight hundred psople total.
 
You mean I should stop burning styrofoam and inhaling the fumes to get high? Drat!

This last experiment on a home I did worked really well. There is zero leakage in the vapor barrier (inside the insulation, inside the walls. No holes at all. Space blanket over silvered back fiberglass. It's so tight I then have to (and want to) control the ventilation.

I have one hole in a north facing wall, from which direction the cool breezes in summer come. That's my air intake. It happens to be located right at the woodstove. In the diagonally opposite corner of the room (ground floor) there is a small fan blowing into the crawl space. This gets the coolest air (still warm in winter) down there, and keeps that space dry. I have a special exhaust fan in the roof, driving a turbine with a big (8") computer fan on a speed control. It will move up to 3000 cfm due to the "impedance matching" properties of the 14" turbine. I use that in summer and can wall it off or not in winter. I sometimes keep an upstairs window open about 4" in summer - west side in morning, east in evening, to get a nice breeze up here in my hangout space.

I cool in summer with just one, sub kilowatt window AC, just installed in a hole in the wall, upstairs. A 30k btu propane heater overheats the place in half an hour in winter, but I use that only for quick heat, and build small fires in the woodstove usually. This way, air is sucked over the woodstove, most of the heat comes up here (but enough stays downstairs, unlike with the propane), the crawl space gets warm and dry...and I use diddly fuel. In a two story, the ratio of surface to volume is good as it's almost spherical. This works, in real life, and has been working well for years.

Yes, it was a PITA to run all wiring and piping inside the walls. Once. There is a single 2" hole, plugged with foam insulation, that lets the services in, in the floor downstairs. I don't get bugs, varmints. They can't find a way in. Well, once something tried to get through the down-blowing fan, but all I found were pieces of it. Put a high-blue (led) light under that fan, and any bugs that do get in with people get attracted to that fan and chopped up nicely as they leave.

Compared to all my other tries, this rules. And I do have literally many tons of thermal mass in here - lathe, mill, drill presses, stock, tools...you name it.

The only problem is if I abandon the house for a few days in winter. With all that thermal mass, 100k btu (woodstove maxed and maybe the propane on too) takes 6-10 hours to make the place comfortable again.

Not bad for 1024 sq feet as regards heating/cooling costs.
 

The Top Tiny Homes Of 2022!​


Living Big In A Tiny House
Dec 30, 2022


It's been another huge year for tiny houses and as 2022 now comes to an end, it's time to look back on the year that was and some of our top tiny house tours! You can see the full tours of these homes via the links below. 11:00

*Watch the vid on youtube for the links.
 

I pay £50 a month to live in a skip in London​

Mar 9, 2023


6:00

An artist in London was sick of being asked to pay crazy prices in rent. So he moved into a skip instead.
 
searcher said:
...
An artist in London was sick of being asked to pay crazy prices in rent. So he moved into a skip instead.
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tenor.gif
 

Tiny home community with ocean views boasts $650 rent, free Wi-Fi​

A tiny-home community in Oregon is renting out its beachfront space for just $650 to $750 a month.

Located in the coastal city of Waldport, the enclave boasts unique amenities such as Wi-Fi and parking at no additional cost.

Tiny Tranquility, founded in 2018, counts 43 sites.

Anyone with a trailer, tiny home or RV can set up at the park for the low monthly cost, which includes water, electricity, and sewer hookups.

More:

 

Amazing Off-Grid TINY HOUSE Built While At University​

Jun 23, 2023

15:15

Phoebe and Luke have constructed a spectacular tiny house for themselves. It’s modern, beautifully built and enjoys a wonderfully spacious design. Totally off the grid and parked up on a friends farm, the home is surrounded by captivating rural views and is certainly an enviable place to live.

With the explosive cost of housing and affordability across the board at a remarkable low, it’s tough for young people to get ahead in life. Especially if you’ve been to University, most people start their adult life in debt and have to dig themselves out before they can even consider getting onto the housing ladder. This inspiring young couple on the other hand chose to do things a bit differently and constructed their own tiny house on wheels while they were finishing their degrees, giving them a debt free home to move into and a phenomenal start to their independent adult lives.

With very little prior building experience, constructing their own tiny house was a huge learning curve for the couple, but the result is impressive and has provided them with construction skills which are bound to be abundantly useful going forward in their lives.

This tiny house is paired with a massive solar system and is totally off the grid. An impressive array of solar panels and a great sized battery bank insure the house always has an abundance of power.
 
I have an RV trailer. I suppose I could put a shed veneer on it...real attractive with cedar siding and a pitched roof...and call it a Tiny House.

Probably cheaper than some of these. And just as liveable, for long periods - that is, not very.
 
The STATE wants people to reduce their standard of living so theres much propaganda supporting this. dont be fooled by the rhetoric
 
jrog100 said:
The STATE wants people to reduce their standard of living so theres much propaganda supporting this. dont be fooled by the rhetoric
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Absolutely true. Or, to clarify, Davos Man wants us reduced to penury...because of their own ignorant fantasy that, by denying us anything, they get everything.

Rich like a shipwreck victim who finds a chest of gold on his island, is rich.

But, until there's a determined revolt movement underway, each of us individually has to find a way to make it through this. And no, renting a bunk in a converted shipping container in the midst of an urban hellhole, is not gonna do it.

Much as I deplore the Malthusians, all this Died Suddenly has the potential to open up a lot of land to buy homesteads with. And even as the Jab push has disappeared (for the time) the Unexpected Death rate seems continuing upward.

The 2-5-year window seems exactly correct, now. So much for **TRUST THE SCIENCE** and silencing "Medical Misinformation."
 
Casey Jones said:
Absolutely true. Or, to clarify, Davos Man wants us reduced to penury...because of their own ignorant fantasy that, by denying us anything, they get everything.

Rich like a shipwreck victim who finds a chest of gold on his island, is rich.

But, until there's a determined revolt movement underway, each of us individually has to find a way to make it through this. And no, renting a bunk in a converted shipping container in the midst of an urban hellhole, is not gonna do it.

Much as I deplore the Malthusians, all this Died Suddenly has the potential to open up a lot of land to buy homesteads with. And even as the Jab push has disappeared (for the time) the Unexpected Death rate seems continuing upward.

The 2-5-year window seems exactly correct, now. So much for **TRUST THE SCIENCE** and silencing "Medical Misinformation."
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By design. The first wave were the strokes and heart attacks. The second wave will be the "turbo cancers".
 

Adventurous Woman’s Remote Off-Grid Tiny House In Australia​

Aug 11, 2023

17:34

Have you ever dreamed of building a beautiful off-off-grid tiny home and moving to a rural community to be part of a growing permaculture farm? If the answer is yes, then this is a video you need to watch!
Janelle is an inspiring woman who craved a big change and a new adventure in life. A series of events lead to her making the decision to build an incredible tiny house, where she lives and also works form home as a naturopath.
Completely off-the-grid, this tiny house is set up with everything Janelle needs. She has a large deck out the front of her home which extends her living space and even has an ice bath!
The interior of the home is cleverly designed to be ultra functional, and the space is nothing short of beautiful, with gorgeous warm timber throughout the space.
Her tiny home is parked up on an amazing biodynamic / permaculture farm. Here Janelle is surrounded by nature and her fantastic community.
We hope you enjoy the full tour of this special off-grid tiny house. To find out more about Janelle, you can visit her website here: https://www.seedsofhealth.com.au/
 
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