General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Anyone on DU live in a 'tiny house' . . . [View all]kentauros
(29,414 posts)My 2/2 apartment is about 950 sq.ft. and I could easily live in a house of the same size (assuming garage sq-footage isn't counted.) Tiny houses are just too small for me and all of my stuff, beyond the books and other media. Honestly, I like to spread out
I used to read TreeHugger.com and tiny houses are the rage there as well as other cool modular houses (including shipping containers.) However, they are based out of Toronto, and it seems like most of their stories on such houses are for Canada, or don't tell us what the local codes were for the places in the US for those houses featured. Some cities/counties here simply do not accept tiny houses or modular designs.
It would be great if we could just submit our plans to the local authorities and the only thing they looked at were engineering and hygiene safety. But, the developers and building contractors also get a say in what goes into the local codes, often to protect their business over us 'uppity' independents.
There are some great house designs out there for small and efficient living. First though, we need to update the local codes to the 21st century