Interested in building a small home?

[ericlp]

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/workshops/honolulu/?awt_l=86vYg&awt_m=1ZDLMlITkquEBy

This guy started the small (tiny house) movement. I'm not affiliated in anyway with this. And this isn't even on the big island and it's NOT even free!!! Tho, I think it would be valuable information for someone wanting to build a house of that size.

You'd have to fly to honolulu and spend 99 bucks. Just an FYI --- for anyone interested ...

[John S. Rabi]

Check your CC&Rs before doing anything! (Some subdivisions have a minimum sq.ft. and other requirements/restrictions.)

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,PB,ABR,CRB,CM,FHS
888.819.9669
johnrabi@johnrabi.com
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"
(This is what I think of the Kona Board of Realtors http://KonaBoardOfRealtors.info)

[ericlp]

well, an advantage would be just hook up to back of pickup and pull out when the lava comes!

As for CCR's & realitors yes you... love to scare people with CCR BS. That's what it is BS. Don't believe me?

Take a look at this...

http://www.leilaniestates.org/Covenants.htm

3. GARAGE: Every residence shall have a minimum of a 2-car garage or a 2-car carport, which shall be considered as part of the residence.

4. MINIMUM SIZE: No residence shall be constructed which contains less than 800 square feet of livable ground floor space, exclusive of porches, lanai, and garage.

Now go to your google/bing maps of your choice. Check out the sat views. Half don't have 2 car garage's or carports. It's obvious that some are not 800 sq ft. I even see yurts there as well. Google Street view is available though out the entire area.

Reality check is, as long as your not an ass hole, Example broken down cars in your yard, school bus's chickens and pigs, you get the point, I'm pretty sure you can build whatever you wanted on your lot.

Just because you got a permit with an 800 sqft home and a garage... No where does it say you can't live in your garage for 5 years while constructing your home. Maybe the permits would not be valid anymore but people do what they are going to do ccr's or not. That's the reality of hawaii is seems.

I'm not just picking on leilaniestates but go to all most any subdivision with CCR's in puna and do a sat view and you will find the same thing. So... No one cares it seems. I mean, I'm all for CCR's I think they are a good thing... But where do you really draw the line?

Here's John's new neighbor...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmR3kx660gw


LOL!

[csgray]

With all respect to Jay Shafer he did not "start" the tiny house movement by a good 45 years, longer if you go back to the gypsy caravans. He is a good designer and excellent craftsman, but did not originate this movement by a long shot. He just dusted of an old idea and repopularized it with a more clean cut face than the hippies who first put these rigs on the road in North America. And judging from all those workshops he's making a pretty penny on it too, although I noticed that nowhere in the website did it actually say he would be the speaker at these workshops.

If you want a good history on movable houses "Rolling Homes: Handmade Houses on Wheels" is available through amazon.com. It was first published in 1979 and most of the homes were a good 10 to 15 years old already. There are several other books available on beautiful house trucks and converted buses as well. Many "Travelers", as they call themselves, in England and Ireland still live in caravans, and there is an active house truck lifestyle in New Zealand, of all places, that goes back to the 60s. I lived in a cozy log cabin in Southern Indiana in the 70s that was over 100 years old and had at most 120 sq. feet plus a loft and "sitting porch", the original builder raised a family of 7 in that cabin for 10 years until they built the main house. Vernacular architecture all over the word has always been on the small side, the McMansion for the masses is a recent invention.

Carol

[ericlp]

Well, it wasn't really my intent to argue who started what, but... just a little FYI. Personally, I think I'd need a bit more space. But I do like the concept of the "tiny house". There is a LOT of information on small homes that could be made next to nothing as well. Here some free stuff online

http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2008/07/1...it-houses/

And...

http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2010/06/2...es-on-npr/

oops dunno who that link snuck in there...

http://smalllivingjournal.com/page/2/

that was suppose to be the other link.

So many people are jumping on the bandwagon.

[YurtGirl]

Those are some exPENsive tiny houses! I like the concept, but the cost is a tiny bit ridiculous. It seems like he must be making some major bucks on the 'workshops'. I wonder what is included in this 'workshop', help on how to design your favorite of their designs so that you can place your order? Are they showing us how to put their kit together? It's great for marketing...

[Seeb]

I think the tiny house thing is more social statement than practical housing

[YurtGirl]

Hmm... I finally found the description of the workshop and am changing my tune a bit. http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/workshop...-workshop/

I'm a born skeptic like lots of punawebbers. But it actually sounds like a pretty cool workshop and I can certainly see why he'd charge for it. I still think the houses don't have a tiny enough price tag, but it's a cool idea. I see no reason this can't be practical if a person chooses to lead a lifestyle that is extremely pared down, which is not what most Americans are used to. It might be impractical if you're far from amenities and need to store bulk items, certainly not ideal in every circumstance, but not many types of housing are ideal in every situation.

[csgray]

I know when I retire we will have to DRASTICALLY downsize in order to afford to stay in Hawaii, so these are very appealing plans, most of the 500-850 sq. ft. plans are based on the Craftsman and other Vernacular housing from before World War II. They would need enough adaptation to not be worth buying since you would need to get them redrawn and stamped in state anyway, but are a very good starting point.

I think the idea of a small house on the inside with wraparound covered lanais on the outside makes a lot of sense for Hawaii. Particularly for a single person or couple with grown children. Raising it up a story and enclosing one area for storage of bulk items would help. Most guests from the mainland would be perfectly comfortable sleeping on a screened in porch so who needs a guest room?

There is a woman in Waimea who was selling a Hawaii equivalent of the rolling houses for much, much, less money. I stumbled across her stuff during an internet search not long ago. Building on a trailer will of course cost more and require a little different engineering than building on a foundation. There are many companies in the Pacific Northwest selling "park model" RVs that are very attractive cabins on wheels for much less than the Tumbleweed homes. www.richsportablecabins.com is one example, but I don't know how hard it would be to get it into Hawaii.

Carol

[Bullwinkle]

another link to the tiny home movement

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_tiny_houses