Have you ever heard of "tiny houses"? I found these videos yesterday, and it's pretty much the incorporation of SFF in living.
SFF:
uSFF:
And, for the uCFF crowd:
I so want a tiny house now.
[Edit] An introduction to SFF houses by @Ceros_X
SFF House: Smallest of closets
It came to light in the General Thread that just as many of us share a passion for smaller, more space efficient computers, a lot of us are also at least passingly interested in small living spaces. This is generally referred to as the 'Tiny House movement’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_house_movement, and while somewhat of a fringe movement at its conception it has lately been gaining increasing exposure and momentum.
As with computers, what exactly constitutes a 'tiny' house is up for interpretation. The general consensus seems to be a house between 100-400 square feet, with some insisting that 500 square or less qualifies. Interestingly, just as in the Intel developer spec for computer form factors, below average size houses are segmented into different groups based on size: tiny houses (400 sq feet or less) and small houses (400-1000 sq feet). For our purposes, it doesn't really matter much - much as with SFF PCs, if you consider it small, that's all that matters.
Why Tiny Houses?
There are a lot of converging interests and philosophies that converge on the tiny house movement. For some, tiny homes are seen as a way of economically owning a home. For others, it may be about minimizing their environmental impact and carbon footprint, upcycling, etc. To some, it may be more of a minimalist philosophy or about having the freedom to travel.
Tiny houses are usually split up into two categories - tiny houses built on a foundation and tiny houses that are built to be mobile (either easily moved, such as a container house , or on wheels/a trailer). This is by no means a definitive split, but much like computer systems are predominantly split among AMD and Intel camps, tiny houses are often split between mobile and non-mobile.
Tiny Homes - Mobile:
Made to be easily moved, tiny houses can often be built on wheels for reasons other than mobility. A prime example of this is that there are different regulations (zoning codes, building codes, etc) for mobile dwellings than there are for houses. For example, some areas have areas have local ordinances that dictate a house must be over 1,000 square feet - usually these regulations are created in an attempt to keep property values high.
There are many different types of vehicles in this area:
Car/Van Dwelling - Living out of your vehicle (unconverted)
Van conversions
Skoolies
Tiny House (on trailers)
Tiny House - Stationary:
Stationary Tiny houses aren't designed to be easily moved (with the possible exception of container houses, by virtue of being easily loaded as cargo). The tiny houses listed below cover some of the more popular types and build styles, although there are too many to list.
Wooden framed
Container house
Umbrella (underground housing)
Yurt
Straw -bale construction
As you can see, there is some eco/conservation crossover. While not all straw-bale housing will be tiny house, the majority of them will be pretty small. Etc.
RVs vs Tiny Houses:
Recreational Vehicles (RVs) are designed with mobility in mind. They are often built with materials that make them extremely light weight, however they are much harder to customize and do it yourself (although you do find some people refurbing old RVs).
This chart (source) sums up the Pros and Cons of each:
Main Pros/Cons of Living in a Tiny House
Pros
Cons
Pros
The key 'Con' to note for the RV is that they are often not equipped with insulation to handle snowy winters. The key Pro is much better support (RV camp grounds) makes it easy to find a place to park, and being lighter and more aerodynamic makes it easier to tow. I'm not saying RVs aren't Tiny Houses, just differentiating the two types.
Problems with Tiny Houses:
Now that we've given the run down, there are of course drawbacks to living in a tiny house. Although a tiny house can be cheap, you may often find that prebuilt tiny homes can be more expensive per square foot than a 'small' house. While there are thousands of home builders, tiny home builders are much more limited in quantity (although the numbers of builders are increasing) so there isn't as much competition. In the US it isn't uncommon to shop for tiny homes out of state if the pickings are slim in your area. Another issue can be financing - because many tiny homes are built on wheels to escape the 'house' classification, many lending institutions won't let you take out a home loan to purchase a tiny house. This is improving (through manufacture financing, peer to peer loans, etc) but you may find yourself looking at financing via credit card or being forced to take out an RV loan (which comes with taxes and higher interest rates than normal). If you go the fixed foundation route then you will find yourself needing things like sewer, passing zoning and building codes, etc in order to get a loan. There is also the price of land to consider.
Another issue can be specialized appliances. If you are running off of solar then looking for DC-based appliances can save you energy but cost a lot - most of us know the power inefficiencies of having to convert from AC to DC. You may find yourself looking at portable appliances, marine or camper appliances, etc - most of these items are more expensive than their standard AC counter parts. Solar power, while having come down in many years can still be very expensive to get started when you add in 100+ watt panels, battery banks, power inverters, etc.
Finding a place to park can be problematic as well. Some RV parks will not let you park a tiny home. Some places will not have ready access to septic hookups (and you may not want to go with a composting toilet!).
This is just a brief introduction to Tiny Houses, if you have information to add to the OP feel free to message me with it and we'll look at adding it. Thanks for reading!
SFF:
uSFF:
And, for the uCFF crowd:
I so want a tiny house now.
[Edit] An introduction to SFF houses by @Ceros_X
SFF House: Smallest of closets
It came to light in the General Thread that just as many of us share a passion for smaller, more space efficient computers, a lot of us are also at least passingly interested in small living spaces. This is generally referred to as the 'Tiny House movement’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_house_movement, and while somewhat of a fringe movement at its conception it has lately been gaining increasing exposure and momentum.
As with computers, what exactly constitutes a 'tiny' house is up for interpretation. The general consensus seems to be a house between 100-400 square feet, with some insisting that 500 square or less qualifies. Interestingly, just as in the Intel developer spec for computer form factors, below average size houses are segmented into different groups based on size: tiny houses (400 sq feet or less) and small houses (400-1000 sq feet). For our purposes, it doesn't really matter much - much as with SFF PCs, if you consider it small, that's all that matters.
Why Tiny Houses?
There are a lot of converging interests and philosophies that converge on the tiny house movement. For some, tiny homes are seen as a way of economically owning a home. For others, it may be about minimizing their environmental impact and carbon footprint, upcycling, etc. To some, it may be more of a minimalist philosophy or about having the freedom to travel.
Tiny houses are usually split up into two categories - tiny houses built on a foundation and tiny houses that are built to be mobile (either easily moved, such as a container house , or on wheels/a trailer). This is by no means a definitive split, but much like computer systems are predominantly split among AMD and Intel camps, tiny houses are often split between mobile and non-mobile.
Tiny Homes - Mobile:
Made to be easily moved, tiny houses can often be built on wheels for reasons other than mobility. A prime example of this is that there are different regulations (zoning codes, building codes, etc) for mobile dwellings than there are for houses. For example, some areas have areas have local ordinances that dictate a house must be over 1,000 square feet - usually these regulations are created in an attempt to keep property values high.
There are many different types of vehicles in this area:
Car/Van Dwelling - Living out of your vehicle (unconverted)
Van conversions
Skoolies
Tiny House (on trailers)
Tiny House - Stationary:
Stationary Tiny houses aren't designed to be easily moved (with the possible exception of container houses, by virtue of being easily loaded as cargo). The tiny houses listed below cover some of the more popular types and build styles, although there are too many to list.
Wooden framed
Container house
Umbrella (underground housing)
Yurt
Straw -bale construction
As you can see, there is some eco/conservation crossover. While not all straw-bale housing will be tiny house, the majority of them will be pretty small. Etc.
RVs vs Tiny Houses:
Recreational Vehicles (RVs) are designed with mobility in mind. They are often built with materials that make them extremely light weight, however they are much harder to customize and do it yourself (although you do find some people refurbing old RVs).
This chart (source) sums up the Pros and Cons of each:
Main Pros/Cons of Living in a Tiny House
Pros
- Stick-built “homey” feeling and look.
- Feels a lot better than living in a travel trailer or other kind of RV.
- You can still pretty easily (in most cases) move it to another location when you want to move.
- You can build it exactly how you want it.
- If you’re into living healthy you can design/build it free of toxic materials.
Cons
- Weights a lot more than most RVs so it’s not really fun (or cheap) to tow.
- They’re also not very aerodynamic so not the best for you if you want to travel a lot with it.
- They’re pretty challenging to find a place to park and live in (but it’s possible).
- Tiny homes attract a lot of attention on the road.
Pros
- Aerodynamic and lightweight compared to tiny houses.
- Easier to get around in so great if you want to travel.
- Blends in with other travelers so doesn’t attract too much attention compared to a stick built house on wheels.
- Doesn’t look and feel like “home” as much.
- Not as great for full time living (needs more insulation, etc.)
- Materials inside many times contain toxic materials and off gassing.
The key 'Con' to note for the RV is that they are often not equipped with insulation to handle snowy winters. The key Pro is much better support (RV camp grounds) makes it easy to find a place to park, and being lighter and more aerodynamic makes it easier to tow. I'm not saying RVs aren't Tiny Houses, just differentiating the two types.
Problems with Tiny Houses:
Now that we've given the run down, there are of course drawbacks to living in a tiny house. Although a tiny house can be cheap, you may often find that prebuilt tiny homes can be more expensive per square foot than a 'small' house. While there are thousands of home builders, tiny home builders are much more limited in quantity (although the numbers of builders are increasing) so there isn't as much competition. In the US it isn't uncommon to shop for tiny homes out of state if the pickings are slim in your area. Another issue can be financing - because many tiny homes are built on wheels to escape the 'house' classification, many lending institutions won't let you take out a home loan to purchase a tiny house. This is improving (through manufacture financing, peer to peer loans, etc) but you may find yourself looking at financing via credit card or being forced to take out an RV loan (which comes with taxes and higher interest rates than normal). If you go the fixed foundation route then you will find yourself needing things like sewer, passing zoning and building codes, etc in order to get a loan. There is also the price of land to consider.
Another issue can be specialized appliances. If you are running off of solar then looking for DC-based appliances can save you energy but cost a lot - most of us know the power inefficiencies of having to convert from AC to DC. You may find yourself looking at portable appliances, marine or camper appliances, etc - most of these items are more expensive than their standard AC counter parts. Solar power, while having come down in many years can still be very expensive to get started when you add in 100+ watt panels, battery banks, power inverters, etc.
Finding a place to park can be problematic as well. Some RV parks will not let you park a tiny home. Some places will not have ready access to septic hookups (and you may not want to go with a composting toilet!).
This is just a brief introduction to Tiny Houses, if you have information to add to the OP feel free to message me with it and we'll look at adding it. Thanks for reading!
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