Posted on 07/21/2010 8:30:00 AM PDT by combat_boots
(I have no connection to this company). My name is Jay Shafer and since 1997 I have been living in houses smaller than some people’s closets. I call the first of my little hand built houses Tumbleweed. My decision to inhabit just 89 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. My houses have met all of my domestic needs without demanding much in return. The simple, slower lifestyle my homes have afforded is a luxury for which I am continually grateful.
(Excerpt) Read more at tumbleweedhouses.com ...
I bet this guy is a chick magnet!
Doesn’t everyone want to live in a closet? Closets all around!
Why not just buy an RV?
I’m not sure if all of my wifes shoes could fit in that house, let alone everything else...
Or build one?
I don't know about that.
What kinda straight guy names his house...Tumbleweed?
I could live in a small house on a large piece of land.
But only if I had a large barn/garage/workshop.
I questioned this also. His tiny house looks like a tiny house for a vacation getaway. Can you imagine living in this place full-time?
Some of us think tiny houses are really neat.
No need to belittle personal preferences.
See http://tinyhouseblog.com/ among many others.
More power to him. . .as long as he doesn’t start demanding that everyone live in a house that small.
Jay Shafer...come out of the closet.
Cute, but could you afford the rent?
Omly those living alternative lifestyles......;-)
. . . but we built an architect-designed passive solar house with a little over 800 s.f. heated and cooled. It had a full basement and an unheated solarium with a solar mass (huge concrete cube buried in the ground) on the south side, but the actual living space was just 800 s.f. + or -.
Nice spacious master b.r., big living room, galley kitchen, good sized bath with dressing room. Plenty of closet space on the north side (doubles as insulation).
It was perfect for a couple, plenty of room, but a bit crowded for 3, and when we had our 2nd child we had to sell. Now that our last kid is out of the house I'd happily build another, although I'd probably bump up to around 900 s.f. to get a bigger kitchen.
He is an environmentalist, and as such is deeply concerned that the world has already reached a point of “peak space”, and soon we will all run out of space.
So unless we stop using all fossil fuels, limit families to only one child by forced abortion, pay international taxes to the UN, redistribute wealth from the wealthy nations to the poorer nations, and have one world government, we will all run out of space.
As such, all living areas must be restricted to a 6’ x 2’ x 2’ box for all humans, toilets must be limited to 1 gallon cans, the only artificial light will be provided by one LED for one hour after dark, food must be restricted to 1200 calories a day with all protein coming from tofu, and all clothing must be made out of recycled paper, including shoes.
Or we’ll run out of space!!!
This is a great house if you are on the road 364 days of the year...
Will the kick about, “small to save the world” ever be applied to government?
Maybe that’s the solution - the entire Federal government has to fit into an 80 square foot building.
That was my thought when I saw this on Yahoo a few days ago. He was crowing that you can build one of these contraptions yourself for 20K (materials) and be on the forefront of some great social trend. Well you could get a really nice late model Airstream for less than that with 2x the room, better ergonomics and waaaaay better lighting. And save on your labor. Guess that wouldn't impress the granola eaters.
I want to sing.
Sometimes I fantasize about having a small studio apartment, where I can escape from accumulated stuff and other people’s messes and demands.
But small means, oh, about 250 square feet.
These tiny house people are most of them “child-free”. And “partner-free.” Sometimes you do read about a family with one or two children living in 400 square feet and doing it rather ingeniously. More power to them - that’s how our forebears lived, only with a whole lot more children than that.
Now go play outside.
“No need to belittle personal preferences.”
But it seems he is trying to make himself out to be special. We have more than enough space for everyone. I am not impressed.
$38,997 for 65 square feet!!! Get real!
That kind of house really appeals to me. Can you tell us more? Where it was, how well the passive heating cooling worked, architect’s name, pictures?
I've got a 2K sq/ft house and it's twice as much as I need. (I live alone.)
If the housing market ever comes back I'm selling my place and either building something like the Tumbleweed (over a large underground bunker) or something like the below pic:
Since his tiny house is on wheels, and not a permanent structure, I assume he doesn’t pay homeowner’s property taxes on it. Do property taxes work that way in California?
If you click on his picture to see the inside at the end of the video you learn he is recently married and is expecting a child. The have built another tiny home next to his existing one.
That thing is gorgeous!
in the closet in more than one way perhaps?
There is a guy in Luling, TX that builds these using mostly recycled materials. A little too small and pricey if you ask me. But if you had a small piece of property in the country, it might be doable for a weekend place.
http://www.tinytexashouses.com/index.html
Watched a special last winter about people that live in caves...it was amazing...
83 square feet is barely enough for a decent gunsafe.
My wife and I moved from a large five bedroom home to a 1000 sq ft condo while we prepare to move permanently to Kentucky. The place, even at a whopping 1000 sq ft, seriously cramped our lifestyle. I have no recording/rehearsal studio. No place to refinish furniture, maintain my bicycle, my car, etc. With the condo we feel like we simply “exist”.
It is like putting our life on hold. There is very little you can do in that space beyond read books and watch TV (and surf the internet).
This is a novelty and nothing more. Still, having one in the backyard would be cool for when guests come. But then, they are only visiting, and for temporary digs it would be fine.
>>I could live in a small house on a large piece of land.
But only if I had a large barn/garage/workshop.<<
Ha! You beat me to it. When your house is merely the place where you eat and sleep, you don’t need much space.
I sure understand what your saying...I moved from a 2300 sq foot home into a little over 1000 sq feet and that include washer and dryer in the living space not in the basement...had to downsize a lot, but could use more storage space....it was easier to keep the larger home neat and know where everthing was...still have too much STUFF.
I think they are very cute and have used the space efficiently.
I actually think it is pretty cool. However, people that live in tiny spaces often do not realize how it actually cramps their lifestyle. I’ve known people that live in permanently parked RV’s in RV parks. Every one I knew lived a very “limited” lifestyle or spent very little time there. They were not very self sufficient because they didn’t have the space to do anything. That about sums it up without going into detail.
If someone uses their home as pretty much just a place to eat and sleep, size isn’t that important. I tried it for a while and had a great time, but it was meant to be temporary. It’s why hotel rooms in resorts are not very big. They don’t need to be. The occupants don’t actually “live” there.
You can strap the house to a trailer and take it with you as you as you search for one of those “shovel ready” jobs....
>>This is a great house if you are on the road 364 days of the year...<<
Yeah, I’m thinking the main character in “Up In The Air”.
The home on my farm in Kentucky cost about $20k. It is a VERY nice place and over 1,000 sq ft.
This place seems expensive. Grossly so.
“He is an environmentalist, and as such is deeply concerned that the world has already reached a point of “peak space”, and soon we will all run out of space.”
You can see all the houses around him crowding him in on the website.
House is located in Atlanta, GA, in the Collier Heights area, just off I-75.
The passive solar definitely works, plus you don't have all the fiddly maintenance issues you do with solar cells, solar water heaters, etc. Conventional gas furnace/electric AC, gas water heater, electric oven and gas cooktop. Our utility bills were basically nonexistent, in the spring and fall we might pay $50/month total, and in the dead of a real cold winter or a broiling August we sometimes broke $100 and were really annoyed. :-D
The main things that make the passive solar work are:
Oriented slightly east of south. House is a trapezoid with the longest side oriented SSE.
No windows on north side, with closets, etc. against north wall. Outside doors have vestibules to keep cold or heat out (we called them the "cat locks" as they also kept the cats from escaping). Only one window on the west and one on the east. South wall is essentially glass.
The overhang is calculated for the latitude, so that the south windows are in shade after the spring equinox until the fall equinox. Summer sun stays out, winter sun comes in.
Super-insulated, framed up with 2x8s with conventional fiberglass batts and additional foam insulating board on the outside. Roof is 2x12s. All voids filled with foam. Triple pane windows. Huge attic vent fan so that you can exchange out stale air on temperate days. Big bath and kitchen fans so that moisture doesn't get trapped in the house.
Dug into the ground so that earth does some of the insulating job (well designed drainage and best available waterproofing is a must any time your house is in the ground).
Unfortunately I haven't got any pictures on line. We sold the house back in the early 90s.
Yeah, we all want to see her as she steps out of the shower and decides what to wear.
Need.
Eye.
Bleach.
>>I think they are very cute and have used the space efficiently.<<
I agree. When I say they are a novelty, what I mean is that there is a market for this sort of thing, just like there is a market for model railroads. It’s just not a big one. It is a novelty.
Anyone that has tried to live in a REALLY cramped space for an extended period knows what I am talking about. It is very much like putting your life on hold. When you are on vacation, you ARE putting your life on hold, so living out of a tiny place is completely acceptable.
Month two in this place could get “interesting” for more than one person. If I was a writer this place would be a great “getaway” though. But most people have more than that going on.
>>Our utility bills were basically nonexistent, in the spring and fall we might pay $50/month total, and in the dead of a real cold winter or a broiling August we sometimes broke $100 and were really annoyed.<<
Those two sentences contradict each other. I consider $100 a month for a small place, even in the dead of winter, to be a lot. My condo is over 1000 sq ft and the bill is around $60 in the dead of winter.
You got that right! I need that much space just for my ammo stash and a few basic SHTF supplies.
What a great barn.
I really like the raised center. Having just replaced my gutters, I realized I hate being up higher than about 10 feet, but I think I could go up on that place and repair the roof without too much trouble.
I need to find a barn that incorporates a greenhouse for my wife - then we’d both be happy.
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