OT Guy lives in 89 square foot "house"

[Otto]

I can live and have lived in pretty cramped quarters, and would be quite content spending the rest of my days in a pretty small cabin, but this is just ridiculous:
http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second- ... r-20910192

I may be too suspicious, but I get the feeling these two might be very happy together in such confined quarters.

[TedH]

I wouldn't mind having one of those to pull out in the woods for a huntin shack, but there's no way I'd call one home.

[AJMD429]

So far, I'm young enough at heart that I can honestly say I'd rather have one of those to call my house, on a $150,000 chunk of land, than the more common scenario of a $150,000 house on a quarter-acre. . .

We wound up more or less following that practice; for the first five years I was in practice, this was our $15,000 house:

[Ysabel Kid]

That's about the perfect size... for a good gun safe!

[Malamute]

I guess my 240 sq ft place I want to sell would be luxurious.

My own home place is about 250 sq ft.

[Otto]

So far, I'm young enough at heart that I can honestly say I'd rather have one of those to call my house, on a $150,000 chunk of land, than the more common scenario of a $150,000 house on a quarter-acre. . .

We wound up more or less following that practice; for the first five years I was in practice, this was our $15,000 house:

That is considerably larger than the construct in the video. I could live like a king in a place such as that.

I guess my 240 sq ft place I want to sell would be luxurious.

My own home place is about 250 sq ft.

That is about as small as I would willingly go. Somewhere in the 350-400 size would be ideal for me, but I would also be very comfortable in 240-250, depending on the configuration. You wouldn't be interested in posting pictures or a floorplan, would you?

[RIHMFIRE]

I watched that show....a while back
The guy was a typical tree hugger...hippy type....


great for a hunting retreat....or something like that....
But i would not consider that a home.....

[Malamute]

I don't really have a floor plan picture, but you can get the idea from these pics.

http://s612.photobucket.com/albums/tt20 ... ainCabins/


My own little home place was suppose to be temporary, and was going to be a shop, or guest place later when I built my "real house". My Adventure in Matrimony! has set my time frame back a bit. The little cabin will get an addition when funds allow tho.

The portable cabin in the link can be built on to also. Using the window in the long wall as a doorway, a bedroom could be added relatively simply.

[Otto]

I don't really have a floor plan picture, but you can get the idea from these pics.

http://s612.photobucket.com/albums/tt20 ... ainCabins/

Well, duh, that is the cabin from the other thread. I's a little slow.

[Malamute]

I don't really have a floor plan picture, but you can get the idea from these pics.

http://s612.photobucket.com/albums/tt20 ... ainCabins/

Well, duh, that is the cabin from the other thread. I's a little slow.

I was trying not to be too commercially exploitive in the other thread, but since you asked for pics,.....

I agree with you tho, I'd like a little more space, or a good crawl space for storage of seasonal stuff. Outbuildings are handy also. The bedroom addition I'll do on my cabin will make a big difference tho, and get me around 400 or so sq ft total. It will have a crawl space, or maybe even a basement.

[Rusty]

I told the wife while we were building this house, I could live in an Airstream... if I had a 5,000 sq. ft. barn to go with it.

[adirondakjack]

In the right climate, it could be just fine. MANY families in the Caribbean live in plywood shacks of around 100 sq ft. His even has a loft for sleeping.

My workshop/office is only 150 sq ft and houses an immense amount of stuff, wood-fired heat, reloading gear, workbench, hand and power tools, drill press, hobby milling machine, etc. The "office" consisting of a bench for shipping orders and a stand with a laptop on it.....

The wife and I do just fine in our "Hillbilly Airstream", 60 sq ft of travel trailer made out of a cargo trailer. Sleeps two in a full-sized (futon) bed, table, refrigerator, propane range, gravity water, regular sink, LED lights, storage for food, drawers for dishes and such.... Entertainment means a DVD played on the laptop if we get stuck inside because of rain..... Inverter to power that off an RV deep cycle battery, 1000W inverter generator weighs 29 lbs and charges the battery now and again (ya only need that once a week). I could LIVE in it IF I had a space for all my toys as well.
If we ever do a year of CAS shoots, the van would have to be the reloading/gun shack/tool room, and the "Hillbilly Airstream" be the "house".





Forgot to add, the 1400CC motorcycle fits inside, nested in in a removeable chock that mounts to sockets in the floor. Astrovan tows it nicely.

[FF1063]

I lived in boathouses on the Mississippi river when I was single, my last one was under 200 square feet. That's how you know your woman loves you, if she stays in a 12 x 16 square foot shack with no running water, you know it's not your money she's after.
When she worked up the courage to drive on the ice in the winter to visit me, I knew it was love.

[Blaine]

In the right climate, it could be just fine. MANY families in the Caribbean live in plywood shacks of around 100 sq ft. His even has a loft for sleeping.

My workshop/office is only 150 sq ft and houses an immense amount of stuff, wood-fired heat, reloading gear, workbench, hand and power tools, drill press, hobby milling machine, etc. The "office" consisting of a bench for shipping orders and a stand with a laptop on it.....

The wife and I do just fine in our "Hillbilly Airstream", 60 sq ft of travel trailer made out of a cargo trailer. Sleeps two in a full-sized (futon) bed, table, refrigerator, propane range, gravity water, regular sink, LED lights, storage for food, drawers for dishes and such.... Entertainment means a DVD played on the laptop if we get stuck inside because of rain..... Inverter to power that off an RV deep cycle battery, 1000W inverter generator weighs 29 lbs and charges the battery now and again (ya only need that once a week). I could LIVE in it IF I had a space for all my toys as well.
If we ever do a year of CAS shoots, the van would have to be the reloading/gun shack/tool room, and the "Hillbilly Airstream" be the "house".





Forgot to add, the 1400CC motorcycle fits inside, nested in in a removeable chock that mounts to sockets in the floor. Astrovan tows it nicely.

Ok, that's WAY cool and a good idea for the scoot, as well.....

[Doc Hudson]

I wouldn't mind having one of those to pull out in the woods for a huntin shack, but there's no way I'd call one home.

Same here!

[MrMurphy]

He still wasted a lot of space.

I'd have had fold-up/down tables and chairs that are the $7 Walmart beach chair type (compact, yet comfortable) to save space.

[Ysabel Kid]

He still wasted a lot of space.

I'd have had fold-up/down tables and chairs that are the $7 Walmart beach chair type (compact, yet comfortable) to save space.

That actually brings up an interesting question. How small could one go? I guess we'd all have to agree on what had to be included to be considered a house, otherwise a tent would qualify. For me, to be a house, it would need the ability to sleep a person inside, have something to cook on/in, be able to hook up to running water (sink/shower), and a commode and then some "living space". Am I missing any requirements?

[Warhawk]

I was in the Air Force, and like to stretch out when I sleep.

That thing must have been built for a Navy Submariner.

[HEAD0001]

I built a really nice fishing camper out of a 16'X8' cargo box trailer. More room inside than what I need. I am going to build another one, but this time I am going with a 6'X12' box trailer.

The place I am living at now I downsized drastically. It is about 950 sq. ft. And that is with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. One bedroom I have closed off, and only heat with a propane space heater to about 55 degrees in the winter. Then I heat the rest of the place with one large propane heater in the living room.

I just got tired of paying all the extra to live in a larger house. My yearly heating bill is about $500. And my monthly electric bill runs about$35-$40. Heck my cable bill is more than all my other bills combined. Not to mention the money I save on property taxes. I just got fed up with paying those big bills.

However I will admit that my garage is twice the size of where I live. But there are no real additional costs to a large garage. And I do have a large covered front porch. Tom.

[adirondakjack]

Our Hillbilly Airstream does not have "facilities" or a shower. It is 6X10. So yes, on a 6X12 I coulda encorporated those amenities easily enough. AAMOF I have one of those cariers meant to plug into a class III hitch as a cargo deck. I plan on mounting it on the back of the trailer as a "back porch", add sidewalls to the rear awning and ya got a place for a porta potty and a solar shower.


Seriously, I have sometimes thought if ya get down to it, most of us are owed BY our "stuff", not the other way around. I spent some time around live-aboard sailors, and found that although the boat itself ends up owning em (maintenance cost and time, etc) their "stuff" certainly doesn't. Ya ever see how little room there really is inside a 35-40 foot sailboat? By the time ya subtract the "boat" stuff like engine room, mast, etc, and take into account the odd shapes, not a lot. yet folks live happily, and squirrel away amazing amounts of "stuff" in a well-designed boat.

I admire people who have freed themselves from a lot of "consumerism" and live more simply.

Saw a couple in their 70s driving a beautifully-restored 1950ish Chevy pickup with a really nice handmade camper shell attached. It reminded me of the old Ford trimotor planes, all corrogated aluminum, small but functionall plexiglass windows, etc. They'd travelled all over the eastern US in it as witnessed by the many state stickers on the back.

Once ya get past the basics, what do we really NEED? A couple of changes of clothes, a levergun stashed under the bed, a library book or two, and the spirit that says yer not defined by yer "stuff".

[Catshooter]

Adirondakjack,

That is a very cool set up. Built it yourself, correct?

My (new) work shop is about the same size as your's, any chance you could show us some pics of that? Thanks.


Cat

[adirondakjack]

I almost begged off, as my shop is a mess, but then I relaized I'd done that before, always promised myself one of these days it will all be in order, all spiffy, and I'd take pics. I know me, that ain't gonna EVER happen, so here goes.

When we moved here 3 years ago, there was a really bad old shed that had been built in stages out of scrap lumber on this spot. One condition of the move was I got to tear that down and replace it. Pressed for time I bought a 12X16 framed shed and parked it on the spot. Part of it is supported by an ancient concrete slab, the rest is on sonotube concrete piers and gravel was used to fill a hole where the front of the shop is now..... If ya look through the wife's "weeds", you can see I landscaped the front with terraced timbers to give her some flowerbeds.


Note the ramp and chained off "loading dock/deck" facilitates use of a handcart and ramps to load and unload heavy boxes from my truck..... I insulated and sheetrocked the place, wired it for power, etc.
The woodshed at left was added last year after I built a wood burning masonary heater to replace a gas hog propane unit. I put in some ceiling joists and made the ceiling 7' inside, leaving an insulated space above to keep warm/cool, etc.


I didn't get to use ALL the 12X16' space for my stuff. An "L" shaped wall was built, dividing off an area for the mower, snowblower, etc. That left me with an "L" shaped space roughly 11 X7 1/2 on one side, and 7 1/2 X 5 on the other (net after walls were built).


the mower shed portion has no ceiling and is open to the world via an always open window. The dividing wall is insulated, etc, so effectively the mower shed is a "side porch" where gasoline-filled stuff is safe from the rest of the structure. Never any fumes, no fire hazard from the wood stove, etc.

a peek inside the "mower shed" portion


Back inside the "shop"

view from just inside the door. Cluttered workbench, drill press, hobby mill, pegbaord on wall, etc. Brick "woodstove" on left makes heat and is safe with close clearance.

to the left of the doorway is the "shipping department"

vacuum sealing machine is to package bullets, limiting shipping damage. Scale on the wall-mounted shelf counts brass or bullets. Small parts are stored in the antique medicine cabinet on the wall.

around the corner to the right is the reloading "room"

brown cabinet at left houses a Lee Turret press, bunches of ammo and powder, etc.

There is one window (not enough) with a fan drawing cool air from the back side which is shaded from the sun....

As my little bullet project takes off, the "mower shed" will be appropriated as bullet casting/lubing area, and a lean-to built on the back of our other "dead storage" shed for the mower, etc.

It ain't big, nor fancy, but it suits my needs and hasn't effected our tax assessment like a bigger, new garage would have.....

PS, yes, I built the Hillbillly Airstream, gutting the fridge, stove, awning, etc out of a rotted 1976 travel trailer I later sold to somebody for the chassis, and of course using a 6X10 cargo trailer I already had.

The over-arching theme is "no darned payments"

[bdhold]

that's pretty small.
I know of people who have lived in sailboats and kept an additional storage shed, but that's living pretty lean.
When I was in west Africa, though, I was amazed at the large families living in houses that small.

[fatoldfool]

Back in the 70's when I was bootlegging coal out of Wyoming county I sold 3 tons to an old man living in a 10x12 metal Sears building on the Ramp Road out of Sandstone, WV. He had a coal stove with a pipe stuck through a hole in the wall. The elbow sat right on top of the stove and he had one joint of pipe. It sat in a wide place on the side of the road. There was no outhouse, and the steep bank behind was littered with hundreds of tin cans. Also no water close, so I don't know how he drank, but I do know how he stank. I went by the place about a year later and all was gone. I am pretty sure it sat on state owned land.

[jnyork]

Our summer "cabin", 26' fifth wheel on some acres we have at the base of the Wind River mountains, we get along fine and dont lack for space.

[Streetstar]

Anytime i see something like this, it is usually some Birkenstock wearing weirdo. As far as living in a cramped cabin, thats fine if thats what life throws your way, but i could never envision doing that for longer than a week or two ---- heck, my hotel room recently in Baltimore was 450 sf and that got to feeling cramped after 3 months

But to be fair, i likely fit the stereoptype of "ugly wasteful American" pretty well

[Old Ironsights]

FWIW, any single guy could live adequately in a 100sf hut/trailer/tipi/yurt/Fried out Combi/whatever - especially if he kept his hobbies offsite (my library alone takes up 120sf of wall...)

No real trick there.

Now, Add a sig-o/kid &/or dog(s) and there's bound to be problems.

OTOH, I DO like the "Small House" concept, and have not a few energy efficient (like 80+% efficient sub 1500sf) designs to that effect, including one that won an award from the Reagan Era DOE that I would build for myself in a heartbeat if I could, and have been trying to sell as a Stock Plan to a Double-wide Manufactured Home company for a while...

[adirondakjack]

One of the biggest barriers to development of this kind of technology is zoning ordinances and property tax schemes. Many jurisdictions specifically forbid dwellings of less than 600 sq. ft.m out of fear of "tarpaper shacks" that ruin the real estate values and thus the property tax base. I remember 40 or so years ago a couple of shanty towns nearby thay had grown up duiring the depression, and the old timers on the zoning board do too. I am sure the same is true all over.

The trouble is, when we NEED to quickly provide workable, durable shelter, all our mainstreanm consitruction indiustry seems to have on tap is the off the shelf "cul-de-sac heaven" at OH MY GOD cost and use of resources.

I said with regard to Haiti, when we consider what they had as a standard of living before, many in terrible junk, corrigated tin and scrap plywood, recycled 4" block and mud mortar, etc, the powers that be could bulldoze off sites, grid em out into streets, and set up pre-fabbed "mini-homes" that could be shipped as flats and screwed together, resettling neighborhoods in very short order..... As it is they're still in tents, interest in pledged donations is waning, and it will be a decade like that.....

Same thing with hurricane-ravaged places. Far better a real, little stick and nails "house" with drywall and so forth than a FEMA trailer that is not permanenet by any standard, nor meant for long-term use. The Amish build and sell oodles of the sheds like my shop, and they are built to withstand snow load, etc. Strap em down to anchors in the ground, such a structure would withstand a hurricane better than a big house....... But NO, we gotta elevate even the poorest to some "goobermint-gauranteed" no income mortgage so the building trades and property tax folks are happy, even if we can only provide a fraction of the numbers we need.... Looks better on TV to give em a big chipboard, vinyl and panelling "ranch" (aka doublewide) than a small plywood (screwed together) and stud framed house that is really well made, even if they can't afford to buy that new house, nor heat or cool it (HUD gonna do that too? Sure, gives elected officials some alms they can dole out and be important, while feeding the maw of the energy monster......


I mean really, government and big business should fear such an idea. Imagine of you will a city that has lost it's industrial (tax) base. What if instead of feeding and attempting to keep up with the forecloisures and endless power shut offs and such in neighborhoods that are nothing but a sea of 1500 sq ft post-war ranches sprinkled with post CIVIL WAR duplexes, folks got together and simply "collectively abandoned" all that. Burn em all down and bulldoze the rubble (thinking of vast areas of suburban Detriot here), replace em with super efficient say 300 sq ft homes on the same sized lots (nice little yard for everybody) The living expenses plummet (heat em with a match..) and therefore spendable income shoot way up, even for pensioners, etc. Energy needs plummet. The forclosures and power shut offs, and need for "rescue" services by goobermint decline severely... Now all ya gotta have is clean, efficient public transportation to get folks to shopping and work, (not abandoning the "mall" and corprate park model) which could easily be done for less than subsidizing heat for the existing homes like they do now) and ya got a win.

there is nothing writ in stone that says ya gotta have a living room ya could play volleyball in, and a family room twice that size to be a "success".

[L_Kilkenny]

My dad went out of his way to call me when he saw the video on Saturday morning. He musta thought the theme kinda paralleled the mini, teardrop style campers I was building a couple years ago. I checked it out and while some things intrigue me it left me shaking my head for he most part. Lot's of questions....... He talked about not having rent but where does he park it at? He talked about $100/yr in utilities but how do things hook up? Climate and avoiding freezing? Many more...........

My take: While I believe many of us could do with less room why go so far? My home is 1400 sq. ft. If I was single I could very easily take to living in a fifth wheel or travel trailer. Bring along the wife and three daughters and our current home is on the small side. Limited space does have some advantages. Limited space = limited clutter and even if it's a complete mess it takes less time to clean the entire thing. I think his storage and organizational skills must be first rate and I'd like to see some more of his ideas but to live in 89 sq. ft. is taking it a bit far. I'm happy he's happy but I think he's a little nuts. My grandparents first home was nothing more than a plywood shack Grandpa built on the land he bought. His brother lived for decades in a bus body parked on the land too. It wasn't out of some far flung desire to live without excess it's because they didn't have excess. Basically the only reason I can see doing this is to say "Hey, look at me" and too thumb his nose all of us weenies living in excess.

LK

[HEAD0001]

I remember in the old movies seeing the bunk beds, and in the old Three Stooges movies you saw alot of fold away beds. Why?? Because they did not waste space or money back then. We have become a society with so much money that utility or saving money is not needed. There is no reason other than vanity that two or even three kids can not share a room. Sure they would complain, but we let them complain.

I really like my life style. And never want to give it up. But you have to admit. We as Americans waste aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalot.

We get mad at our politicians for doing this. But most of us are guilty as well. Including me!!

We all complain about energy costs. And maybe-rightfuly so. But just look at all the energy we waste. Drive through a big city at 4:00 in the monring and look at all the lights that are on. And the way we heat houses that are substantialy larger than what we really need. But then the guy with the biggest house wins?? Wins what?? More expense and more taxes!! And AC?? Lordy 50 years ago who had AC?? There was no AC in the house when I was growing up. Only a couple of fans, and they were used sparingly.

I realize how much I save since I moved into a much smaler place. And sure it is a little cramped(not really). But with where energy prices are headed. All of us are going to start cutting. Tom.

[adirondakjack]

When I was little, we lived in a two-bedroom apt with a small kitchen and a small living room (one chair, couch and TV filled it). There were 3 boys in a 9X12 BR.

My parents divorced, dad remarried, and soon there were 8 of us living in a (then new) 1968 65X12 mobile home. Two kids each in bedrooms that would be illegal today for jail cells...... Kids didn't GET TO sit on the couch and watch TV unless ya were up early on a Saturday morning. Mom and Dad used the couch, we lined up like sardines, propped on our elbows on the floor to watch a movie..... Eight people and one bath meant ya learned what "hold yer water" meant.

But we lived OK. My wife is one of 7 kids. They grew up in a former creamery ice house converted to a house (on the spot where my shop is today) that dated to before the Civil War, and was a whopping 14X20 with a "half story" of two bedrooms above. Two tiny bedrooms housed 7 kids, a third barely held a full-sized bed for mom and dad. their dresser was in the living room, beside the coal stove, because it wouldn't fit upstairs..... They didn't have indoor plumbing (aside from a transfer pump that sucked water out of the cellar holding tank to the kitchen sink, one kind, 50 degrees) until 1978 when the back porch was converted into a 1/2 bath. They never had a bath tub except the copper one mom would fill with kettles of water heated on the wood stove in the kitchen and shuttle kids through on saturday night, so they could be fresh for Sunday Church. But to hear her or my FIL tell it, "good times" meant ya had steady work and plenty to eat, period! He owned exactly one Rifle (a Marlin in 35 Remington bought new in the 50s or 60s when he had lots of overtime) and a SXS he got for THREE DOLLARS used at a local hardware in the 1940s. The most he ever paid for a car was $300, even into the 1990s.......

When he got a SS disability settlement after the Reagan-era denials lasted nearly a decade, he went "whole hog" and bought a 3BR, 2BA, 960 sq ft modular on a frost wall foundation and to him it's a wasteful taj Mahal by comparison. (after my MIL died, the old man needed help, so we moved in with him. Four of us and a dog live in the place, with four flat screen TVs, plenty of room for our toys, and believe it or not, we don't trip over each other, ever. But I admit that we all like our "space", and that means GO OUTSIDE. the wiffe sits on the back deck in the evening, watching the critters and birds, the old man likes the front porch, watching the cars go by and woring on his cryptograms. The 16 yr old is on his silly video games, and I am likely as not in the shop working or on the "puter". So like the folks in Africa or the Caribbean, you SLEEP and maybe cook inside, but you LIVE outside when weather permits.

the notion that we can live like they do in hollywood, 9800 sq ft of house ona 12,000 sq ft lot is NOT sustainable for the masses, nor is any attempt to come close. The McMansion phase of American life has gone "POOF" with the equity and re-fi bubble. See ya!

But 90 sq ft is more the extreme 'what can be done" project than realistic for most. In the US, AVERAGE is about 1900 sq ft. In the UK it's half that. But could the "standard, working clas house end up to be around 400-500 sq ft? SURE, when ya consider that unlike earlier times, ya don't need to eat up half the house with stoves, nor does the water heater need to be a big tank in the kitchen (if ya had one). Even a TV is now a wall hanging, not a box it takes two big men to tote around....

The question is not do we NEED to, (we will, or many of us will), the question is at what cost in terms of hours worked do we allow a big home to own US (especially since the notion of equity as savings might not hold). Live in a house at 1/4 the cost of yer current digs, ya maybe don't NEED to work as much, or at least ya have money enough to do things ya enjoy besides paying mortgages and heat bills.....

That's what our "compromise" has bought us. I WILL NOT borrow money for cars or pay a mortgage payment EVER. If I can reduce energy costs I will do that. it leaves me more money to "play" (creates happiness), which near as I can figure it, is what this ride on the big rock is supposed to be about.

[2X22]

The place I am living at now I downsized drastically. It is about 950 sq. ft. And that is with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. One bedroom I have closed off, and only heat with a propane space heater to about 55 degrees in the winter. Then I heat the rest of the place with one large propane heater in the living room.

We're 'bout the same. 964 sq ft. We turned a pole building garage into the nicest little cabin! Run everything 'lectric on a little Honda generator, propane everything ese. We also have a VERY large covered front porch, 14'x36'... That makes a big difference as 75% of our food is cooked on the BBQ and eaten on the picnic table

[/quote]However I will admit that my garage is twice the size of where I live. But there are no real additional costs to a large garage. [/quote]
We are hoping to get our garage built in the next couple months, the same size as our cabin.

Its just the wife and I, both of us in our 50's. Our wants and needs are much less than a younger couple with a few children. Life is good!

2x22

[Old Time Hunter]

I may be too suspicious, but I get the feeling these two might be very happy together in such confined quarters.

[jcw]

I like my 13' Scamp trailer better.

[Catshooter]

adirondakjack,

Thank you very much for the photos of your shop.

You like your Sherline mill? I love mine. I also have one of their lathes. What is the tool just to the right of the mill?

I'm setting up my new shop here in Florida and it's about that size. Of course I stuggle with cooling the place here, not heating it. My ceiling was insulated but I added a layer of 2 inch stryrofoam that really helps. When I get it just a bit further along I'll post pics.


Cat

[adirondakjack]

If I was gonna do a shop like mine in FL, I would make sure to put in LOTS of ceiling insulation, then mount the window type AC through the wall as close to the ceiling as possible, then make a bit of ductwork (aluminum flashing would be suitable to make channel out of) along the ceiling to distribute cool air, letting it "fall down" in strategic spots most likely to be occupied. Probably get away with one of those little room sized AC units that run on 110 and don't eat much.

I love the Sherline Mill. I have about every gadget they make for it, including a rotary table. I used to have a JET lathe, but sold it as one place we lived wouldn't accomodate it. I've made stuff from simple to very complex and exacting on the sherline. Even made a working mini supercharger for a 4 stroke RC engine (it would fit in the bottom of a tea cup) Great stuff.

The tool to the right of it is a MEC JR shotshell reloader.

[madman4570]

Thats nuts! Think its just some guy doing a stunt for publicity

The absolute minimum(and thats if living by myself would be the A frame dormer w/porch one on bottom link.
Its the middle left white one(in big photos) only would be a 14X30(but also I would have a full basement underneath with the front being a frostwall with windows and walkout)
They already quoted me roughly $5000 for one delivered and set on foundation.(then I would sheetrock both basement sidewalls and the backwall in basement(frostwall would be already it only would need paint)
Daughter wants one for a cabin???????
That would come to 840sqft (about 1/4 what I live in now??)
http://www.dutchhomestead.com/sheds-aframe.php

[madman4570]

Anytime i see something like this, it is usually some Birkenstock wearing weirdo.

Hey, I love the Birkenstock Betulas. But the wife thinks I am somtimes a little weird so??

[Old Time Hunter]

That 89 sq. ft. is nuts...maybe for a portable hunting cabin, but then you would be better off with a travel trailer. He must not be married to a woman, cause no woman in her right mind would stand for that on a day to day basis. Why do you think we do not live in caves anymore? How many women do you know would like to spend the rest of their lives without constant access to indoor plumbing? Me thinks that this guy is the wife...if you catch my drift.

That being said, I do have a friend of mine that went the frugal route due to the last downturn in the economy (early 2001 to summer 2002) and he lost his 20+ year job. Like Adirondakjack, he swore never to owe anything to anyone again. Lucky for him he got out of his home at the time with enough equity that gave him a grub stake for a new leaf to be turned in his life. He purchased a five acre parcel of forest nestled up against 700k acres of national forest. With the help of his two teenage sons, they cleared half an acre with a rented front-end loader with backhoe attachment, dug out a portion of a small hill, then built an exposed wall basement out of reclaimed cinder block (10 cents a block, they did have to chip them clean though), then capped it with regular 2 X 10 floor joists and plywood flooring. That is where the whole family lived the first winter, all huddled around a franklin stove, sleeping on cots. The following spring, he bought a 28' X 32' GARAGE kit from Menards, minus the two garage doors, but adding a regular door and a few windows. The whole shebang, including the land, equipment rental, building supplies, etc, cost him less than $30k by the time it was completely finished. Now, he does have electricity from the local co-op and an LP tank for secondary furnace/cooking, but his main source of heat is the wood burning furnace along side the house. He spends less than a grand a year for energy costs and now that one of the boys is a lifer in the regular army and the other is in his last year of college in Minnesota, he and his wife have plenty of room. I am telling you that the GARAGE KIT might be the way to go if you are handy and 840 sq. ft. is plenty big for two people and a couple of occasional visitors, but any smaller I would be hard pressed to consider as a "year round" residence.

[jkbrea]

Saw these on line a few days ago. Be a cool guest house or house for one but I get the feeling they ain't that cheap.

http://katrinacottagehousing.org/location.html

[BwanaDave]

Your right about those two guys!!!! From the looks of it they seem to have a lot of experience living in the closet. I don't think I'll ever look at grocery store baggers the same. I hope they wash their hands before handling my produce!!!! Lords knows where those hands have been or what they have been doing.

Small houses are cool. I have lived in several from sailboats to houseboats. The cabin at my fortified compound in NM started out at 120 sqft. Recently I built a teardrop trailer complete with a wood burning stove. I had to weld up the stove myself to get the size I wanted. There is a lot to be said for living simply. Yes the teardrop has a gun rack too.

dave