Homestead question [land]

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

Is there anyone one the forum who has built a very small temporary shelter to live in until they built their main house. I am talking about something along the lines of a microhouse. Less than 300 sq. ft. If so how did this work for you? Is there anything you would have done differently? How long did it take to get the structure built? What kind of foundation did you use? Please let me know as this is important for us.

Little Bit farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), August 29, 2000

Answers

I suspect a lot will depend on the zoning where you eventually build. Locally, you can have a temporary structure (manufactured home) while you built if within city zoning areas. I suspect in some you can't. My attorney is having a small log-kit cabin built for her on a lake. A friend of hers agreed to put their camper there and stay until the house is closed in to prevent theft.

There was a post on the same basic subject within the past two weeks. Concensus seemed to be to building something which would later serve a purpose, such as a shop or guest house. If the slab is in, one of those companies specializing in garage buildings can have the outsides up for you within a day or so. It might share the same utilities to be used for the house.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 29, 2000.


I did just exactly as you describe, only I intended to live in the small house permanently, however I didn't.

I purchased a storage building from quality builders, but had some special modifications made from their standard models. I had 2" X 6" studding used so that I could have extra insulation. I also had full 8' studs used in order to gain ceiling height so that I could use a ceiling fan and also give the illusion of spaciousness. For ventilation, I had a skylight that opens added before the roofing was added. I also had rough framing added for a second exterior door.

The building was 12' X 20' and had a loft.

Since I didn't own property at the time, I placed the unit in a mobile home park, on blocks, and used tie downs over the skids underneath the building. I skirted the building with the same siding as the building had. Electrical, water, gas, and sewer hook ups were made in similar fashion to mobile homes.

For heat I used a natural gas wall furnace that was a direct vent model, i.e. used exterior air for combustion, and vented through the sidewall instead of the roof.

I used fiberglass insulation for the 6" wall and roof cavities. I used quality Pella windows that swung out to catch summer breezes. I used a standard sized stove, and an over stove microwave, small standard fridge, and room sized air-conditioner that I installed through the wall over the fridge. This allow me to turn the fins to blow air into the loft area.

I could go on. The building worked for me at the time. I was single, and believe that it would take a special couple to live in one together since it was small.

Little Bit Farm, I will plan on scanning and sending you an email photo of it after I get home from work, which will be 10 p.m.ish.

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), August 29, 2000.


I bought a camper and lived in it four years while building my house. I believe this is by far the cheapest way to go. If you choose to build a small structure, consider what it will cost you to include plumbing, wiring, and refrigeration if you want those things. How will you heat the structure? Will you need A/C? Campers are self-contained and come equipped with all I mentioned. You can run one with a small generator and a couple of batteries. You can haul your own water in five gallon jugs. I bought a well- used one that needed a little work and sold it at the end of the four years to hunters. It didn't cost me anything for shelter those four years.

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), August 29, 2000.

LBF! Jim's right. I've known people who have gone the "camper" route. In fact one young couple stayed in a tent camper and had it parked in a "one side open" garage. Backed it in and just left it up-all winter. Heated with the little furnace and done very well. Didn't cost'm very much at all. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 29, 2000.

There was a good artical [ in western horseman I think]on a couple who built one of thoughs barn kits and instead of a tack room added a 2 bedroom house off the side, saved them lots of money, I will look for the artical.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), August 29, 2000.


wasn't there an article a little while back in countryside about a guy in washington that built a tiny little house in two weeks for around a $1000. once your permanent house was built you could use it for an outbuilding. i got the issue from the library so i can't remember what issue it was.

-- Amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), August 29, 2000.

Like Ken said, be sure to check with planning and zoning. Here in KY you can't just live in whatever you want, they are very picky. A camping trailer would seem the best, those 5th Wheeler trailers are very cheap used, probably $1500.00 maybe less. And they are big. I used to live in one and you could just pay someone to bring it out for you and sell it when you are thru. Used mobile homes here are about $5000.00 and they are junk with very old wiring. We had the electric co. set us a temporary pole for 5 months for the tools and lights and such. It was so fun! Like we were camping all summer! And we used the gas BBQ grill for everything, even showers, just pour the hot water over your head (after dark of course)!

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), August 30, 2000.

I built a 12X16 with a loft, (just for one), insulated, had a little box stove & apartment size kitchen range, 1 window and a door, a 4X8' porch on blocks. I used rolled roofing, T&G plywoof for flooring, 5/8 plywood siding,I carried water and used an outhouse. It took me 3 days to get it dried in with the help of some friends. A couple of years later I just added on to it and used that for the kitchen.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), August 30, 2000.

Folks, I'm sure Little Bit will remind you that she has several children, so a camper will not be big enough!! We lived for a few months with three small children in an eighteen-foot camp trailer and two small tents (had one of my sisters with us, too) -- the weather was warm, and everyone was outside most of the time, so it worked, but barely. When winter set in (Willamette Valley and a lot of rain) we moved into the VERY unfinished house just to have more space and that was a big mistake, as the house then stopped getting worked on! Later we lived in a 20' x 32' cabin in Alaska with our three children -- no utilities, wood stove for heat -- it worked, barely, but we needed some way to do laundry at home (I'm now getting set for utility-less laundry for our next attempt at building a home). Five people generate a lot of dirty clothes! Little Bit, think through all the necessities of daily life, and plan ahead how you are going to accomplish each chore, then make sure you have the equipment and a place to do the work set aside. In Oklahoma, I'm assuming the weather will be good enough for your family to spend a lot of time outside. You might want to build one small building, then another or add onto the first. Cousins of mine had their old family homestead. The two-bedroom house became too small for their four growing children to have any privacy so they cleaned up the original one-room tiny little house for one son, and the former chicken house for another son. Kind of a satelite-house arrangement. I'm tentatively planning, when we move, to build the honey house first and live in that while we build the house. Hubby NEEDS a honey house (can you tell I've got honey and wax and dead bees all over my kitchen right now!!!). Actually, live in the honey house while we build a barn, THEN the house. Got to keep the priorities straight! Anyway, good luck, Little Bit!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 30, 2000.

I do have 4 children, but we are considering a camping trailer. We lived in one for six weeks when we moved here. That was a nightmare, not because of the space, but because we were in a campground the whole town, and I felt like the family everyone watched and talked about. I mean we homeschool, and we were living in a trailer where everyone watched our every move all day. That totally freaked me out. I was afraid that any day CPS would be knocking on my door. That was an eighteen foot trailer with a slide out. This time we are considering something much longer. We are looking at something 38' long. The problem is that it is not what I personally really want. I would prefer to have a tiny House that would someday be my canning kitchen once the big house is built. I am looking at some plans that were recently in countryside although I would prefer the larger version. There was also a microhouse in a 1995(August I think) issue of TMEN that had two styles. One with a shed roof, and the other with a gable roof. I have considered those plans, with the idea of butting two shed roof buildings up against one another and putting some type of roof cap along the ridgeline. This means that actually two posts together would bear the weight of the roof on each end of the house. Does this make any sense? This way I could add on to the house by adding more sections until I got the size house I desired. I would like to practice first before beginning on the house by building my Canning kitchen first and living in that until we get ready to begin construction on the main house.

Little Bit farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), August 30, 2000.



I used an 8x20 ft steel shipping conatiner for 7 months. i had a 4x8 ft skylight put in the top and two windows put in on the south - and not road - side. I should have put in a "man-door" as they call them. I still have it, it'll last forever, and I figure to turn it into a goat house, though my original plan was to build a carport off of it and use the container for storage. A 20ft costs about the same as a 40ft (I suppose because there are more 40ft'ers and fewer people who want them.) Anywhere from $1400-1800. You could surround it with strawbales for insulation.

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), August 31, 2000.

Little Bit, I think your micro-house idea makes sense, but you would probably need to supplement initially with tents or that camp trailer for the extra space. Winter is coming, and four children indoors need room!!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 31, 2000.

i think it is hard to build and keep adding on espcially when you are building what i expect will be the house you plan on living in for a long time. i think that the answers suggesting a travel trailer but would suggest putting up lean-to structures maybe on both sides of the trailer for extra room and maybe for sleeping. i would suggest using the method for floors as in the $50 and up underground house which would just be to clean down to bare earth then cover with plastic sheeting then cover that with the cheapest carpet you can find.

i know that if i had it to do over i would put up lean-to sides on the pu camper that i had when i moved here and used the money i spent on my house to have a well drilled instead. because it seems that what ever i want to do now needs more water than i can reasonably provide now without a well.

if you do decide to build with add ons maybe you should check into the dome construction as i believe they are supposed to be easily added on to. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), September 01, 2000.


My cousin in Missouri built a large metal pole "building" without side walls- just a roof and poles. Then they pulled a mobile home under it, added a long porch floor (under the roof also) and lived in that until their house was done. The building was a little longer than the trailer and about twice as wide. They even screened in one end. It worked VERY well and when they didn't need it any more, they pulled it out and sold it. They were left with a BIG building that only needed sides added to it. A floor can always be poured later too. You just have to remember to leave lots of room for pulling the trailer in and out. Best of luck.

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), September 01, 2000.

Might be just as quick and cheap to buy and old used mobile home. Around here you can usually fine old used home for a couple thousand dollars. Hire a wrecker truck to move it and be done with it. When you done with it you can sell it, scrap the house and turn it into a 1000bale hay wagon, clear out the inside and use it a s 3 sided barn or storage shed.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), September 05, 2000.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ