/diy/ - Do It Yourself

I will monitoring this thread. Very relevant to my interests

This looks like something out of Animal Crossing. I like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDcVrVA4bSQ
watch that OP.

great doco on small affordable living.

>>280651

Actually OP that house you posted there ain't that cheap since it's a floating house.

sucks that ladder is right out in the middle like that. Get bad luck every time you want to go in that corner... fuck!

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

Try this OP. Honestly unless you have truly excellent carpentry skills you're better off buying a used campervan - if you paid someone to build one of these from lumber / a kit I don't think you'd get much change from $15,000 plus land, the cost of connecting utilities etc

Also living in such a tiny space sucks ass. It sounds romantic at first, but having to tidy all the time / not having pets / being unable to entertain friends etc gets old really fast

>>280662
We all float down here.

I've heard stories of people living in containers. Don't know if there's any truth to that though.

Shit OP you've made me realise that is what i'm wanting.

I daydream about making my fortunes and having a huge home but hell, for now an eco home and a small income is what I want.

Shit man, one of them and being in the wild.

>>280705
You must be new here. /diy/ has a hardon for shipping containers. They're not a very good way to go about it though.

OP, do you want to live in town or the country?

Since you're on /diy/ it's probably the country; if so look at the 100 other off the grid threads.

If you're looking in the city, you best bet is to find an empty lot, tax forfeit lot, very run down/condemned house.

Tiny houses are expensive as fuck and illegal in most cities. They also suck.

Once you buy cheap land, dig a basement, this will be your living area so make sure it is big enough to fit your needs. Now on top of it, build a cheap garage. Steel pole will work. Stairwell down to basement in the corner. You now have a garage to store shit in, work in, do shit in, and you have a basement with your necessities in.

By building it this way, it is a garage and not a house. You can submit plans to the city this way and it just looks like you have an intricate garage. Never build a house.

If you want to be even more simplistic, just build a garage with a loft in it and live there. Hell you could even just put a "lawn shed" there and live in it.

I knew a guy who built a pole building on a lot and a half. He lived in an old RV, just backed in into the building and closed the garage. The RV didn't even run, it was an old like early 80's model, Just towed it there. Everything inside still worked. Hooked it into mains power, city water, and city sewage.

Someone should just sticky something for small homes since there's a new thread for it every 20 minutes.

Anyways there's already a plentiful source for small/economical house. They're called motorhomes/5th wheels/trailers. Lots of people live in them. Not just weirdos but hard working people that make actual money do, some for the same reasons people on here want a small home. Condos also work. Just install really good windows, fill in all the cracks, buy super efficient or smaller utilities, don't touch the thermostat, BAM you're living super green AND you're recycling a living space that doesn't release any more carbon when you acquired it.

There's a few problems with building a small home. If you're out in the country you're fine but in populated areas where people want to live land is quite expensive. Some might be affordable like 30k which is still a lot of money,enough for a motorhome or 1/3 the price of a cheap condo. Resale is minimal, there's demand for smaller home but extremely small not so much so they'll probably just buy it for the land.

>>280731

>Tiny houses are expensive as fuck and illegal in most cities

Forgot to bring this up in my post but yeah. The city has a say in what you're building and can give tiny homes a big thumbs down for any number of reasons. In some neighborhoods neighbors would have a say in what you're building and if it's something that can drive down the property value then yeah expect to have some trouble.

As for "expensive as fuck" I think more accurate is "expensive on a price per foot basis" compared to an average sized home.

In the end, doing this on rural land makes the most sense. I envy rural folk but also can't bring myself to live out in the boonies.

>>280747
>Tiny houses are expensive as fuck and illegal in most cities

This is the reason that Tumbleweed builds many of their models on wheeled trailers. That way they arent houses, they are Trailers and they dont count as housing, making them legal.

How about quonset huts/warehouses? A lot of people where I live have those, then build a living space inside it.

>>280774
very good idea is you can find them.

I came up with an idea that would fit very nicely with urban living and having a small living space. Find an old warehouse or garage used for business. Imagine the sort of place you see in light industrial districts where they idk weld trailer hitches and stuff. Big high roof garage with 2 huge garage doors. Next place a trailer/smallhome inside. Trailer would be more ideal for me because of how cheap they are.

Now you have something that would do great in any weather since the garage acts as a buffer. The trailer will never get rained on. You can buy one or two of those yard sheds to put inside the garage for storage space. Essentially you placed your home inside your garage which for the manly part of me thinks is REALLY awesome.

>>280803
dunno where you live where there are huge abandoned warehouses all over the place that are unclaimed.

That's the biggest problem with the idea of 'cheap living.' At the end of the day you still need somewhere to call home and in most cases you're going to need to actually buy vacant land (which isn't cheap, at least ~$10k/acre and usually have to buy more than an acre) or find someone willing to rent you their land, or squat somewhere and risk getting evicted by the property owners/authorities.

Fantasy of living off the grid for no money and having everything work out in your favor is pretty slim.

>>280812
never once said abandoned. of course you'd need to purchase it.

Honestly your best bet would be to buy a crummy used trailer home. It might be 'trashy,' but it's also VERY CHEAP. There's a reason that poor folks live in them. I bought one for $1500 dollars, fixed it up a little, and I've been living in it for almost 3 years now. If I ever decide to move out, I can either sell it for a profit or keep it as a nice little second home. Since it's on wheels I can move it wherever, whenever. The perfect starter home imo.

Building something like a tumbleweed home sounds nice, but ultimately it's just more expensive and more difficult than buying something that's mass-produced.

>>280762
>That way they arent houses, they are Trailers and they dont count as housing, making them legal.
A lot of cities also have ordinances about having trailers in town, or outside a trailer park. It's a stupid system designed to keep property values up but you can be sure most places will come after you.

As for living in a warehouse, this too is illegal most places. You can't live somewhere unless it is zoned for residential use; not that they would know.

>>280860
This.
Or a boat. You can find a good used hull for cheap (sometimes free) from somebody who doesn't use it and doesn't want to pay the slip fees/taxes anymore. May need some work inside and perhaps some motor work, but that's the /diy/.

>>280869
> It's a stupid system designed to keep property values up but you can be sure most places will come after you.

It's a smart system to keep the crime/garbage/sewage problem down. There are certain areas in industrial parks in San Francisco where they are allowed to park for a while until the locals start complaining about break-ins then the cops come and run them off.

>>280872
>It's a smart system to keep the crime/garbage/sewage problem down.
>Generalizations

>>280875
>Generalizations
It only takes one guy to fuck it up for everybody and that one guy always shows up eventually.

I live in a house roughly like op's pick, I will dump some pics, the guy who built my house also built 3 more on his property.

OP here, just felt i should probably mention I'm a resident of the UK not the US, sdo a lot of the laws and solutions you have been going on about don't really apply. but you are right to assume country, as i live in Cornwall, one of the most rural parts of england, mainly i just want a small home closer to my college so i don't have to drive 30 miles everyday.

>>280881
you'll find the planning and zoning laws in the UK are a LOT more restrictive.

>>280885
especially in the 'natural beauty' spot that is Cornwall. despite the local council being corrupt as hell and letting developers tear up the land for all it's worth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4yJGTPUR_0

Might not be built from the greenest materials since it's an apartment, but it's got the smartest space planning I've ever seen in a house. That might very well be the future we're seeing there.

I have a hardon for concrete canvas stuff. Sexy bunkers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBHVKFCoYFc

>>280892

I'm wondering how he got permission to do that. He completely redid the windows, and definitely had to cut into the walls and ceiling.

But still, it's a pretty badass idea. I hope someone is willing to take the risk and build a whole building where all the apartments are like that. As good of an idea as it is, it would work best in an area specifically designed to make use of it.

>>280926
Thats pretty cool, but the ominous music in the video makes it seem like viral marketing for a zombie movie or something.

http://www.dwelle.co.uk/

>>280651

OP your pic looks like my cottage only a little smaller

plus here is some small spaces for you

>>280985
although this is just a loft and not a house... still relevant?

>>280986

>>280881
Perhaps you can live on a boat (sometimes you can boatsit or rent), or convince a farmer to let you live in a shed/room in exchange for labor.

I got the idea of taking one of these RVs and removing high maintenance engine and drive train and replacing it with an electric motor driving one wheel. It only needs to be powerful enough to move the vehicle a few miles around city streets to a new location at 25 mph or so. I would add a generator and batteries to provide electricity for appliances, computers etc. or switched over to power the motor.

>>281004
Why not just get a proper trailer? Or tow the RV? Doesn't seem like it'd do well in bad weather though.

Travel trailer. It's economical, but not sexy or exciting or enviable.
I've lived in one for the last 8 months.

It's about 260sqft and lots of that is taken up by fixtures such as bath/kitchen stuff, closets, the bed, etc.

It can get cramped quickly if you like to accumulate possessions for hobbies. Efficient use of empty space is needed.

>>281004
>>281004
It would so drive like crap. Would pull to one side like a mofo. Also cover that shit in solar cells and itty bitty wind turbines if in a windy area.

>>281016
I live in a city where my sole means of transportation is a motorcycle and public transportation. The idea behind this vehicle is to remain sufficiently mobile to avoid problems with the law and to be able to do things like empty the holding tank regularly. Requiring an otherwise superfluous separate vehicle capable of towing the it defeats the purpose of deleting the drive train.

>>281024
well you save money on registration and such, but it's kind of retarded to do that in the first place.

>>281028
By retarded I assume you mean smart and efficient.

>>280651
Look, I don't know why everyone is telling you to go out of your way to engineer some complicated micro-house, but you should really look into yurt living and the lifestyle in general.

Yurts are very cheap, usually anywhere between $2000-$10,000 and can be packed up and relocated in a short amount of time while still living in a beautiful, unique home.

>>280985

That is my dream home. God damnit man you're gonna tell me where this is!!!

>>281038
I never got /diy/s hardon for yurts and shipping containers.

OP, it sounds to me like you're shit out of luck.

>>281112
Yurts got some style, but I'd rather go shanty out of corrugated steel. Better yet, semi-underground. Wood is for punks.

>>281112
Whats to get? They're

>affordable
>portable
>all-weather
>low-utility costs
>low-tax rate

Plus, to have one, all you have to do is buy an acre or less of land. Which, if you are going rural, is usually under $10,000.

If I had some friends out in Washington or Oregon, I'd make plans to set up a yurt within the next six months and never look back.

>>281120
Depends on how heavy you're going to go on the yurting. Some of them are for reals buildings quality, usually they're craptents that are only all-weather if you have really low standards.

Have you ever noticed that a lot of buildings are made of cement blocks?

Do you know why they use that so much?

>>281128
Cause they aint got concentric concrete cloth structures.

>>281131
You know those blocks can be re-used, right? Tap the mortar seam with chisel and remove top row of blocks.

>>281128
simplicity and tradition. There is massive amounts of knowledge on how to handle the material, meaning it is easy to get plans approved and work done. It is fairly economical, being a standardized product that is pushed to the very edge of possible pricing by competition.

It is not the worst thing ever. In fact, you can use some/many of those methods yourself to create durable and affordable spaces. Sure, it gets boring just like the classic suburban stick&plywood housing gets boring, but such is life.

In short, there is no one "correct" way.
>well, ok. the "correct" way is the one that you can build mostly on budget, mostly on time and entirely secure.

I've been looking at cheap housing as well; preferably underground but would still have water lines and electricity run to it until I could add solar lines over time.

One of the best ideas i've seen for cheapness is just buy a lot of land and put a cheap camper/mobile home up and fix the place up yourself.

Land can be cheap depending on where you're at.

>>281153
Yeah, but I'd basically take anything over a camper/mobile home. Wood is pretty piss poor too. Needs a lot of lumber, love, and sealant. Cinderblocks are great cause built in insulation and mobile. Great cheapo foundation, none of that 'materials' math. Still, only a secondary option.

>>281166

Can you get enough cinder blocks to create a home with plumbing and electrical wiring depending on climates for a better price than a cheap mobile one that needs some fixing up?

My favorite is old shipping containers fixed up but it's not the cheapest idea depending on location and actual effectiveness.

>>281178
Shipping containers are almost universally trash at everything except shipping stuff. I don't personally know any cinderblock wholesalers, but it's possible? I also don't know what you'd expect to put on as a roof. Plumbing..... not going to be cheap to install ever. Probably cheaper to buy 2-3 mobile homes and an outhouse than to get plumbing and/or a well+septic tank.

>>281180

Unless you're in a pretty rural area I doubt you'll have much luck with outhouses.

I'd rather just buy a small plot of land and have a very small 1-2 br 1 bathroom built on it. Depending on your location the pricing could be pretty cheap as long as you don't get fancy on building plans or materials used.

All this talk about steel walls (RVs, containers) and no mention of
-poor sound proofing. Is your location near a road, store, dog, teenager's stereo, etc.
-weather resistance. Sheet metal and wood walls buckle in a strong wind. And the sun is getting hotter; what about thermal resistance?

My favorite was a house made of solid cement blocks about 3 feet wide stacked with a small forklift. They had an interlocking shape reminiscent of Lego.

The picture is a hermit's hut about 100 years old in Fairhope, AL. Small blocks coated with cement. The dome is an arc of blocks. Many strong storms have blasted through that area. In fact, there are wooden domes around here that take tornados with no damage, but I guess you're not ready to worry about that yet.

drystack site: https://www.thenaturalhome.com/drystackblock.htm
Regular blocks are stacked and bonded with a coating.

Drystacked and bonded with Quikrete Quikwall

http://cedar-ridge-farm.blogspot.com/2009/04/dry-stack-concrete-block-construction.html

I can't find the Lego block house I saw years ago. Here's the closest thing I found so far: the pegs interlock and there's a hook that isn't visible embedded in the block for lifting it.

Gypsy Junker!!!!

>>281206
I'll second this guys point about sound and heat in an RV.

In 30 degree C sunny weather the inside of an RV quickly becomes unbearably hot soon after the sun comes up. On hot days I need to run the AC all day. If you can manage it, put the whole thing under shade.

Also noise. I can hear my neighbours and nearby traffic and I don't like it.

If I could afford it I would definitely go with an all-concrete house.

I also remember rammed earth and pressed earth blocks. I may read up on these later. They were popular in Africa.

http://www.eartharchitecture.org/index.php?/plugin/tag/compressed+earth+block
http://greenvillagefoundation.com/page9/page9.html
http://sustainabledesignupdate.com/2008/02/open-source-earth-block-maker/

>ctrl+F
> don't see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-MhZkYVo8
>mvq

>>281224
I like rammed earth

the $50 and up underground house is on mediafire

>>281249
Being as you're in cornwall you will want a fan and a radon indicator, but it would probably be one of the easier things to get planning permission for. There's also the issue of attaching it to the mains, which can be horribly expensive.

>>281249
I've been reading it. It's pretty interesting, but his 'house' is just a hole in the ground. More of a rugged, off-the-grid cabin than a modern home. And the $50 bit was in 1971 dollars. Today it would likely be much more costly. Still, he's got some interesting ideas, and he shot three bears.

>>281252

Wizard

Do want cheaper housing/economical stuff.

>>280651

I constantly have RV's and trailers being parked next to my house. Usually their elevated and some have tint, which provides a nice view into my personal space and backyard.

Most of the time just phone in and report it, some have even tried moving their piece of shit trailers 6 feet. I proceeded to park my cars directly infront and inback, eventually it was ticketed and the faggot ends up paying more than it would cost to live at a trailer park or RV park.

Not only does it make the area look more trashier it lowers the housing price. People will be less inclined to buy a house if their is vagrant trailers all over.

If you don't have your own property and are considering living out of a trailer or RV don't expect to just plop anywhere and be welcomed and accepted. You will be run out even in the friendliest of city's.

>>281276

If only rent was more affordable in most cities.

>>281225
see>>280661

This is what I'm planning on doing later in life. Got about 200-ish acres of hunting land in the Midwest US, and I've just managed to get a section of it cleared for my planned usage. Permits mostly depend on local and state ordinances.

Since I've already got a small home that's livable, green, and paid off, I'm building a livable wizard tower on a corner of the property. Fortunately, the local council thinks it's an interesting idea, and working with an architect has made the whole process much easier, as he's pointed out a few of the problems. Going with a two floors + basement plan; no modern utilities or anything on the first floor, so it can be used for the other purpose I have the land for.

Just need to make some more shell buildings and a couple outposts and cleared roads for people, and I'll have a nice little bit of fantasy-style land all built up.

>>280812
>detroit

Does anyone know if it's even possible to buy one single acre of land in any areas of US/Canada?

With a little google-fu it looks like most of the time vacant land is sold in parcels of about 5-10 acres, at around $10-15k/acre (so most purchase prices are at minimum ~$50k)

Needless to say, 50k is a lot more than 10k. Is it even possible to acquire a single acre, or is that just not how things work?

>>280673
Wow. these are seriously fucking cool.

>>281383
Not knowing anything about real estate (or anything else for that matter), maybe you could find someone to sell you an acre of their parcel?

>>280731
I like that idea

Live in a box truck or step van.
Set it up with solar panels and waste water system.
Park it in the industrial area of town. Never get hassled.
Save Money, buy a house or a empty lot or acreage.

Silo house.

wood 14x14 room

http://tinyhouseblog.com/pre-fab/kanga-room-systems/

Cob = clay + sand + straw molded by hand in place.
http://tinyhouseblog.com/earthcob/little-cob-cabin/

Strawbale walls are stacked bales plastered with lime.
http://strawbale.com/store/sunset-cottage-combo-package/

Shipping containers are widely used for housing. Closed cell foam insulation works very well.
http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house-concept/daniel-sokols-container-cabins/

94 square feet
http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/swedish-student-house/

Bale and cob in progress
http://tinyhouseblog.com/earthcob/taproot-farm-cob-workshop/

Fiberglass domes, 450 square feet, used for student housing since 1972 at UC Davis.

Fiberglass domes, 450 square feet, used for student housing since 1972 at UC Davis.
http://tinyhouseblog.com/dome/baggins-end-domes/

>>281642
If it had a stove it would be perfect, that's about all the room in my house that I use

>>281725
That looks like a cook top on the right, and a microwave above the refrigerator. Ovens come in all sizes, you're not limited to the standard free-standing monolith.

>>281728
Oh you're right, it was partially cut off so I didn't notice it.

More UC Davis domes. The fiberglass is 1/8 inch thick and formed in a large mold, then sprayed inside with polyurethane foam. Lasted 40 years.

>>281728
There's lots more pictures at the links I posted. Those Kanga Studio buildings look good outside, too.

>>281728

10 bonus points to every person who sees cookie monster in the image

>>281698
I do have a huge hardon for container homes. The question here is. Where can I buy some cheap land for under 1k?

>>281787
Best bet for that is to maybe get a co-op set up or something. Buy minimum acreage and split it between yous. Craigslist has a real-estate section for this stuff.

>>281431
that seems logical of course but from what i could find on google it never seems to happen that way, i mean i guess people don't like to subdivide their land in such a way that each plot has a low value, but rather keep it together as (i assume) its worth more in "bulk" since it's more flexible that way.

That's what I'm wondering is if there are people who actually sell their land one single acre at a time for relatively cheap ($10-15k.) I'd like to think so, but I'm guessing it's very rare? Anyone have any experience with it?

>>281743
Hah, I thought i was going mad

i need something that has near clean-room capabilities

or just is hypo-allergenic...

fuck allergies,

probably a shipping container.. because it cant really wick moisture and grow mold, can it?

i'm crazy allergic to mold

>>281875
>because it cant really wick moisture and grow mold, can it?
what is condensation

'The Backyard House' 154 square foot made from salvaged materials. Looks cosy as fuck

>>281357
I- s-shut up!

>>281887
Love it.

>>281875
MANY years ago I saw a documentary on an area in Texas where people with terrible allergies lived because it was far removed from cities and pollution. Each person had to do something extreme. One grew his own cotton to make clothes devoid of chemicals. One covered all plastic with aluminum foil to contain the fumes. And one woman spent most of the day in a glass room about the size of the buildings in this thread. It looked like it was cast as one piece with rounded corners and no seams. She just sat there on a chair with nothing else in the room and spoke with her family through a screen. Sort of a bubble boy existence.

>>280731
...hardon...
>>280926
...hardon...
>>281112
...hardon...
>>281787
...hardon...

Tiresome.

>>282385
Why else would you need more than a crappy tent if you weren't trying to get laid? Still, fuck shipping containers.

>>282385
>>282390
There's a lot of people pitching tents already in this thread.

>>281887
do not want, no privacy for fapping

all these houses just have a twin bed. i guess they didn't think about the possibility of sexual intercourse occurring in them.

>>282420
I saw that documentary posted at the beginning of the thread and not a lot of those people seemed straight in the slightest, or sexually active for that matter.

I'm guessing none of these houses are thought for any kind of family.

>>281368
>/diy/nosaurs of Detroit

We could just move into a whole abandoned neighborhood, gentrify the shit out of it by doing some basic repairs and turning everything green. Then we network most of the structures with overhangs, passages and raised bridges, set up rooftop gardens, cultivate a massive community garden and have communal workspaces.

>>281276
>look more trashier
Something tells me you're not exactly bringing up housing values, either.

>>282420
>>282423
You just have sex outside. Your significant other has their own tiny house, the kids get their own tiny house, you live a strange and modular existence.

Hey /diy/ what does a house need for its electricity hookup? Where does the wire connect to, and what all is required for the utility to actually do it?

Let's say you've got your house built, and you want to call the utility and have electricity hooked up. Wat buy, wat do? Never seen this addressed.

>>282668

Generally (assuming you have above ground powerlines) a place to anchor a support cable to, a weatherhead and attached conduit leading to a breaker box. The exact specifications for these items will vary according to code in your area. They'll provide and charge you for an electric meter, though in some areas not since the meter is still city property.

Everything you can provide on your own you should since the electric company will generally charge a premium for stuff. Especially weatherheads; it may be wise to keep a couple on hand for after a storm or something so that you can pay $10 for one instead of $60 or $70.

In some areas you don't have to provide anything; they'll come out and put in everything up to the breaker box for you, but generally it will be much more expensive to have them do it.

It seems like building a place would be the easy part. The hard part is getting it hooked up with water, electricity, sewage, and the ability to build it in a place where you're actually allowed to.

If you have the money and resource to get all that done... might as well just get an apartment somewhere.

>>282665
So basically everyone gets their own room with bathroom, we put the kitchen in a common area to save space, a hallway to connect everything and call the whole thing a house, right?

Right.

>>280880
mini lofts are the shit

>>281249
here i just made a new link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?z2c785uxc3sq5p5

>>281678
dreamhome.jpg

>>280651
good luck havin sex on ur "bed"

>>283123
Seems pretty possible to me, unless you're 350 lbs.

Here's our small house in the country. 12x32 shed w/ loft. Wired, plumbed, insulated & sheathed inside w/ cedar. 4 beds, full bathroom & kitchen complete with dishwasher. Sets on 5 acres.
Total out of pocket for the land, barn and cabin was ~$4,500. Land is $240/mo & I owe $129/mo on the shed for two years.

Here's another. The lumber is for a house we are building. But honestly, the cabin has been comfortable enough that I wish I hadn't started building a house.
I figure I spent $2k finishing the inside of the cabin. The land was $500 down, so that's the bare minimum investment up front.

>>281717
I used to smoke pot with those guys! They're so cool! They have community dinners every thursday, for free, using stuff they grew in their garden(s). :D

The actual domes are relatively spacious inside, believe it or not. Some of them have like 3+ people living inside.

I have a bid on a tax sale lot in an area where the code enforcement don't seem to bother you much. I am hoping to get it for under 1k. It also seems to be a low crime place, at least if you are not rich and don't own much.

My goal is to build a hexayurt with a rocket mass heater for winter and a tipi for summer. I will build a composting toilet (humanure style). I will set up some ways to collect rainwater using tarps or ??? and I will use my backpacking filter to filter all water for drinking. There is also a creek that crosses the road near the property for watering plants. I will grow some fruit trees and a veggie garden, maybe chickens and rabbits too.

The lot is near a bike trail and there are food stores less than 5 miles so I might not need a car, although that is difficult in the country. I will wash my clothes in a pail, dry them on a line. I use mainly synthetic fiber clothes (soccer shorts and tees) because they wash easily and dry quickly. I already have a simple marine battery/solar charge controller/30W solar panel with some homemade led lamps, so I think I have lighting, cell phone charging, laptop charging, boombox and minor power tools needs (inverter) taken care of. For cooking and heating water I will use a propane camping stove. I will use a washbasin for cleaning up dishes and myself, but it is very easy to make a mini shower using a small pesticide sprayer with a pump on it.

I have already been married and don't need a full time girlfriend so I don't care if the wimmins are scared off. However I would say that there are some hot women in my Transition Town group and in permaculture groups and they are into this kind of stuff and they are the type that will stay the night to get the full experience.

>>280881
Dude I'm from Cornwall too and wanting to do exactly the same thing. Are you near Falmouth?
Anyway, if you're looking for someone like-minded to give you a hand with stuff, count me in

>>283670
cool story bro

permaculture girls are very hot and very fertile

>>280651

>>283629
That is a very nice living space. Did you pour a cement slab floor?

bampu

Teardrop trailer if you want to travel or do workamping. Full size van made into a camper, short bus made into rv. Schoolbus made into an rv.

Anybody notice that he horizon in OP's image doesn't line up?

>>283629
Teach me master.

>>281717
>>swag
>>281887
>>swag
>>281774
>>swag

I love shit like this really wish I could get land

The bare shed was bought from Derksen Portable Buildings. their website will list a retailer close to you. They are mainly midwest to east USA. Rent-to-own portable buildings are all the rage all over the US though, so should be easy to find one.

I found the land by searching all the classifieds, papers, craigslist... even Ebay. Search for (land,acres) & (finance,financing). The smallest in most of the US is 5 acres as that is the minimum for a septic system. Mine is 5 acres, well, septic for $27k. $500 down, $240ish per month on a contract for deed.

It cost me about $2k to finish the shed. I used several books from Amazon to make sure I was wiring and plumbing properly. (No codes or inspectors out here in the county).
I bought the tub, sink etc off Craigslist. I found the cedar for inside on Craigslist.
I caulked every crack seam and joint before I insulated it. Use rolls of insulation instead of batts... less waste.
There's a lot of factors that helped me: I have a truck and 16' trailer. I have lots of tools. Tools are priceless. If you plan on being somewhat independent, you need LOTS of tools. Generator, air compressor, nailers, axes, saws, etc. Search Craigslist for contractors dumping their used tools. You can get a better deal if you buy a lot instead of single items. CASH is king.

If you want to DIY a tiny house, you have be be willing to just get in there and do it. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Plan well ahead of time. I have a dozen notebooks full of notes and sketches. Ask lots of questions. Avoid HomeDepot and Lowes... find the local wholesale suppliers instead. The guys behind the counter are usually willing to help a noob if they aren't too busy. Half the battle is knowing the right materials and parts for the job.

Land: a well and septic are HUGE pluses. Living off-grid is romantic at first. There's a reason that very few people do it, it just plain sucks. Look to mobile home resources for tying in your tiny home to the grid. My electric bill is ~$100 per month with 5 people in an all electric house: Electric stove, water heater, AC. I use electric space heaters in the winter (set on low).

What kind of floor/foundation did you use?

I think more and more people are realizing that the paradigm has changed. Hoping to continually increase your income and accumulate stuff is no longer a wise plan.
I wasted the first 20 years after college chasing the American dream. Up to my eyeballs in debt. I finally realized that the approach I was taught was not designed to benefit me, but rather the banks and the government. I was spending more than half my income on interest to banks. I may as well have burned that money.
It's all about cash flow. Keep your cost of living low and you can live the dream now on a very modest
income. Avoid debt if at all possible. Never use debt for anything that will not appreciate in value. That pretty much leaves real estate. All other debt is bad.

It may be hard to imagine for you young people, but just 40 years ago, homes and cars did not have air conditioning. Most homes had one small TV and one landline. We survived & even thrived without all the luxuries of today. And so can you.
I have two storage units full of all my crap from when i lived in a McMansion. Tens of thousands of dollars of stuff. I haven't even opened it in 4 months. I can't remember 90% of what is in there. What a waste of money. (What a waste of my time spent earning that money).
As you get older, you realize that time is the most precious commodity in existence. You only get so much of it. Don't be in a hurry to sell it in exchange for cheap trinkets from China (or a great huge house & car).

The shed is stand alone. It is built on 4x6 treated beams, treated floor and siding. It was delivered on a flatbed and rolled off. Leveled with treated blocks. I went one step further and bought two mobile home tiedowns. Sank them 4' in the ground and strapped the shed down. The engineering specs only called for one for up to a 100mph wind, but I did each end to be safe.

I cut pressure treated plywood to make skirting for the winter. (to keep the plumbing from freezing). I open the ends during the summer. Everything is treated, so moisture underneath isn't a concern.

I'm in a very warm climate, so plumbing only needs to be buried 18" to avoid freezing.

Forgot to mention... when living in a tinyhouse, plan on cooking outside as much as possible.
To be energy efficient, the house needs to be airtight. When it is that small, humidity is a big problem indoors. You have to be conscious of things that put moisture into the air like cooking and showering.
A conventional home has lots of ventilation and exhaust. In a tinyhome, just running the exhaust over the stove in winter can cause a huge drop in indoor temp.
In the summer, using the oven can cause the indoor temp to be unbearable until late at night. We plan our meals around the weather forecast. Lots of grilling in the summer. Lots of baking in the winter.

Hephaestus

Do you think you can pdf all the materials you have and upload to mediafire?

Or at least all the tools and things you need on ms word and post it on google docs?

/k/ and /diy/ seem to be very interested in living off the grid scenarios. It would be great help if you can make sort info sheet on how to do it.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9899817.Eviction_threat_hangs_over_man_living_in_box/

Cute hippy chick makes nice little gypsy pad for less than $3500 in a friends driveway. Self taught carpentry, DIY salvage construction goodness. There is hope OP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-MhZkYVo8

>>284981

this makes sense in a specific way
a tinyhome is basically a sort of living space-cell, a habitat
obviously the space and energy necessary for a human individual or small group to live comfortably is limited, but the maintaining of cooking and hygienic habits taken from the former way of life is not compatible
humans live as populations, and populations can satisfy their alimentary needs collectively

so a cluster of tinyhomes could be aggregated around a larger communal area where cooking and socializing could happen, eliminating these problems

it makes perfect sense

Live on own, need a roomie
Live in a messy area though
Best bet is take up construction and just learn

>>285030
>“I think it’s a very sad situation if we allow people to live in a shipping container.”

>>286003

I desperately want to build one of these, but the original design isn't practical for sleeping in. It was just an art piece :(

>>282651

>Detroit

have fun with that. you'd die within a day. some random crack head needs his fix and he needs your money to do it. or if you do start living there. your copper will be gone when you start doing any wiring

>>286009
It's not practical for cycling around either. Just sayin.

This design of a boat, but larger and with more energy-based designs... Over the past few months I have designed almost 30 new types of new energy forms or designs to gather energy. Ill start a thread once I get drawings right.

Just keep an eye out for them

>>286021
forgot the picture... this design but about 2x larger is what I plan to use. Float to any place in the world and pretty much be self sufficient.

>>286022

i feel like that would absolutely die in a storm. does it just have more weight at the bottom so it doesn't tip?

>>286031
in the designs I drew up somewhere, yea. The engines and ballasts would be at the base, making it hard to roll. In addition, I designed a form of glass that is acrylic based and contains a large amount of solar cells, making it hard to really break but still obtains energy.

Besides, it would be able to float/pilot to any place of choice, mainly to escape storms in the distance. The idea would be able to go from Florida or Texas to South America with enough supplies to fish, store stuff, and be safe.

This influenced my idea, but this is not my original work. If I can scan my works onto here, I can show original designs and energy ideas that could help /diy/

>>286046
>Besides, it would be able to float/pilot to any place of choice, mainly to escape storms in the distance
>escape storms

You'd be lucky to escape a storm in a plane, it's impossible in a boat. Have fun dying.

That being said, it seems interesting and if built well and kept near shore, it would probably be pretty cool.

>>286057
good point. Yes, it would not be a deep-sea thing. My original design would allow it to hug the coastline and dock just about anywhere that a doc is present to tie it to. That's the primary idea, being able to travel and still be in sight of land.

can't be the only one

>>280705
Damn straight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyDoyR4hB74

plan to do one under ground.

>>286198
the thing is, they suck
Also,
>only structurally sound when stacked on themselves
>enjoy being crushed to death
FFS WE NEED AN ANTI SHIPPING CONTAINER FAQ STICKY
They look kind of cool, but have huge drawbacks. Most notably, by the time you attach/fabricate\insulate them together, there isn't much room. Thus, you need at least two.
Solarcabins and (http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/)) are much more feasible.
Much like shipping containers, underground homes lack sunlight, and have risks of gasses building up, and flooding/humidity problems. Hell, even problems with gasses building up. Check out the dreamgreen designs that are similar to earthships, in that one side is exposed to the surface.
Hephaestus, good job actually doing something. It seems /diy/ has devolved all to frequently into
>trade photos from tumblr and do nothing