Tiny houses!

[maulotaur]

$997 to $695. I'm sure he heard a lot of bitching about the $1000 price point.

One might expect that economical cost should be one of the attractive features to a tiny house.  So I imagine that the luxury versions (like $500 per sq ft) probably does not give them a huge customer base.  This is probably ok though since they only make and sell a very small number of these (?)  Anyway, I am certainly not paying that much for something smaller than tool shed in a backyard!

-Paul in VA

[Pat McCotter]

The Rumor: Wedderburn, "Midgetville," Vienna, Virginia

Spend time in Northern Virginia and you'll eventually hear of a community of little people in little houses...but no one ever knows how to get there. Given Fairfax County is a clown car of suburban landscaping — between two main drags three blocks apart, the tract housing seems to go on for miles — it's entirely believable.

Wedderburn was built in the 1930s, in a wood along the W&OD Railroad. These cottages –some the size of small sheds — could be seen from the train, leading many to wonder if they were home to retired circus performers. That neighboring town Bailey's Crossroads is connected to the Ringling Brothers collaborator made it believable.

Over the years, the rumors tended toward the sensationalistic. People said the "midgets" would attack your car if you drove near it. In 2004, after deciding to sell to a land developer, Wedderburn's true identity was revealed. George Wedderburn's relatives, who lived in some of the cottages and rented the others, said they were sick of teenage "midget hunters" vandalizing their property. See Nathan Rustlethwaite's Flickr set for more. Sadly, it was torn down in March of 2008.

[Brandon]

Tiny houses are nice, but I prefer Monolithic Domes.

[maulotaur]

Tiny houses are nice, but I prefer Monolithic Domes.

ok then start a thread for monolithic domes (?)

[Brandon]

Tiny houses are nice, but I prefer Monolithic Domes.

ok then start a thread for monolithic domes (?)

That probably would have been a good idea.

[Russell Kanning]

or build a tiny monolithic dome

[Free libertarian]

 A tiny monolithic dome?  Wouldn't that be a "nonolithic" dome?   

[Russell Kanning]

actually I have seen them ... they made some tiny apartments out of cement domes in Italy (itlee) Texas.

[shiva888]

I just bought a Yurt from pacific Yurts! It came out to $18000 (including shipping and deck being built by a carpenter) for 452 square feet so that's about $40 a square foot. This is for a loaded yurt (extra windows, water cachment, full insulation, etc), but doesn't include electric (extension cord from local house), plumbing (water cachment and carry-in), composting toilet or woodstove. The best thing about the yurt is that when I move in a couple years I'll be able to take it all down (including the deck!) and move it. If anyone is interested I will post about my experiences with living in it once it is setup next month.

~shiva

[Luck]

I want a place for under $200.

[Raineyrocks]

I want a place for under $200.

Don't we all!

[John Edward Mercier]

Tent.

It is possible to build rather cheaply... depends more on the 'wants' associated with the structure.

Many of today's modern structures are the results of early needs.
Privies were brought indoors during innovation when cow manure was pushed into a pit section of a barn.
The farmers decided taking a crap into a privy in the barn above the manure pile was warmer than the outhouses.
Basements were originally called cellars in NE. They were first designed as root cellars that could be entered from the kitchen area of the farmhouse rather than trudge through snowdrifts and dig out the one in the yard.

So a good cheap design simply takes into account the minimal needs of the occupants.

[jaqeboy]

I got my hands on the books Jay Shafer (of Tumbleweed) publishes - tiny books for tiny houses.

They are chock full of good info though. Available on the site: tumbleweedhouses.com.

[Peacemaker]

Hey Jaqeboy!  You are the self sufficient man!  You introduced those Tumbleweeds to me months ago!  go go go brother!!

[ColdSoul]

I just bought a Yurt from pacific Yurts! It came out to $18000 (including shipping and deck being built by a carpenter) for 452 square feet so that's about $40 a square foot. This is for a loaded yurt (extra windows, water cachment, full insulation, etc), but doesn't include electric (extension cord from local house), plumbing (water cachment and carry-in), composting toilet or woodstove. The best thing about the yurt is that when I move in a couple years I'll be able to take it all down (including the deck!) and move it. If anyone is interested I will post about my experiences with living in it once it is setup next month.

~shiva

Thats really cool Shiva, I would be interested to know how it works out for you, and if it does I might be interested in something like this, Though I think I would prefer a more basic cabin type setup, a yurt is a interesting choice.