Micro-homes (under 1,000sf) (vacation home, water heater, to buy)

[Quark]

This seems to a new trend, a house just big enough for one or two people. I just sold my 2,000sf house because I only lived in half of it and heating costs have tripled. Here are some pics of one of these houses, factory-built by Breckenridge who make vacation trailers. The cost of this is supposed to be around $50K. Seems to be about 600sf.


http://home.earthlink.net/~jerry1784/micro/FP01.jpg (broken link)

http://home.earthlink.net/~jerry1784/micro/trailer1.jpg (broken link)

http://home.earthlink.net/~jerry1784/micro/trailer2.jpg (broken link)

http://home.earthlink.net/~jerry1784/micro/trailer3.jpg (broken link)

http://home.earthlink.net/~jerry1784/micro/c_deam_modern_trailer_4.jpg (broken link)

I'd would worry about solar gain in this, but they do have a screening system. Plus, you'd want to be careful to face these windows south or east, or have lots of trees. Also, there is no place for a washer and dryer. I wrote Breckenridge about putting them in the bathroom and getting rid of the media cabinet and they said it would be no problem.

Here's the architect's site, horrid flash, of course. Go to "show menu" then click on the square marked "Breckenridge".

http://www.cdeam.com/cdeam.htm

Here's the Breckenridge site:

http://breckenridgefinerliving.com/



This is a house I designed myself. I really like it a lot better:

http://home.earthlink.net/~jconrad607/squarehouse.jpg (broken link)

Living Size: 28'x24', 672sf

Living Rm 16-0x11-4 w 2-sided wood stove
Dining Rm 11-0x11-4 w corner hutch
Bedroom 11-0x11-4 w 2'x8' closet
Kit/laundry 8-0x11-4, w broom closet
Bath 5-0x8-0 w skylight
3'x5' utility area for water heater and furnace

Construction details:

Concrete slab floor, extending 4' outside (w thermal break)
2x6 stud exterior walls, 2x4 stud interior walls
Open-web custom-taper roof trusses, rigid insulation on top
Panel ceiling (removable for access to wiring, A/C, etc)

South glazing: three 8' sliding units, 4' roof overhang
East glazing: one 8' slider in BR, two 4' awnings in LR
West glazing: One awning window over sink
Vertical siding, wood or metal

4'x4' firewood storage area
4'x4' planter
Optional carport with 8'x8' storage shed

[rheaburris]

I think if it was just me, I would own one.Solar panels on the roof and it would be set! But, with Kevin and our 5 cats...... Nah, I don't see it happening. The cat's only share my recliner with me on occasion, and try to fight them all for a spot on the bed? Nope, wouldn't work! But,I still think it's a great place,Perfect for a single or a couple that is on the go a lot.

[momof2dfw]

Lowe's also has the Katrina Cottages that you can use. Another idea is to pick up the magazines of floorplans for cabins, lakehouses, vacation homes, etc and they will have numerous floorplans of various styles to get an idea from. They can still have some "flair" and be your own w/o all having to look alike.

[mrote]

I think they'd be great. My wife and I enjoy small homes with floor plans that are well thought out. Our present house is about 2500 sf but the way it's laid out, it's mostly wasted. Sure, it's spacious, but we don't actually use most of it. Not to mention, we are pretty minimalistic when it comes to furniture and stuff so the big front room looks mostly empty.
We are apparently the only people who would prefer a smaller bungalow sized home as in our area all of the newer homes (5-6 years) are at least 2200 sf. New houses are cheap around here (compared to most areas) and people just keep wanting bigger and bigger.

[SpeedyAZ]

Those actually look pretty neat! I think it'd be nice to buy some lakefront vacation property somewhere and put on of those on it, cheap alternative to building a normal home. You have basically a wall of windows to view the lake and it'd pretty much be a turn-key vacation home. Dang....I think I have an idea.

[Quark]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

Those actually look pretty neat! I think it'd be nice to buy some lakefront vacation property somewhere and put on of those on it, cheap alternative to building a normal home. You have basically a wall of windows to view the lake and it'd pretty much be a turn-key vacation home. Dang....I think I have an idea.

They claim it's in production. Be the first to buy one and post a review. They are assembled in southern Indian, I think.

BTW, I still haven't figured out where they put the furnace.

Here's a pic of one on a lake:

http://breckenridgefinerliving.com/NewFiles/02.jpg (broken link)

I can't afford lake-front property so I'd rather use my own design where I can face the window-wall to the south (protected by a 4' overhang) and face the bedroom to the east for morning sun. Also, it has a real kitchen, a real bedroom, a wood stove and a full-sized bathtub. And the water heater ain't in the master closet...lol. The square shape is easier to heat and cool as well.

[Quark]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Lowe's also has the Katrina Cottages that you can use. Another idea is to pick up the magazines of floorplans for cabins, lakehouses, vacation homes, etc and they will have numerous floorplans of various styles to get an idea from. They can still have some "flair" and be your own w/o all having to look alike.

I've seen the Katrina Cottages.

http://www.cusatocottages.com/index_content.html (broken link)

A bit too cutesy for me . But some are OK. They come as a kit but only in Louisiana and Mississippi. $50/sf unassembled.

http://home.europa.com/~maevsec/magpie/katrina_cottage_bigone.jpg (broken link)

You might like these from Tumbleweed:

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/images/1016frontgable.jpg (broken link)

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses.htm

And yes, the micro-home and vacation home basically overlap. But a lot of vacation homes are pretty expensive per sq foot do to their extravagant architecture. If I built a micro I'd try to locate it in an area where it could be sold as a vacation home.

There are a lot of architects who have small, factory-built designs, but that's been going on for a hundred years. They usually end up being pretty expensive. This site keeps track of them:

http://www.fabprefab.com/

One of the most successful is the WeeHouse, but they ain't cheap.



http://alchemyarch.com/new%20pdfs/weeHouse%20Brochure%209-06.pdf (broken link)

[Need_affordable_home]

It would be cheaper to just buy a trailor as a second house, a guest home or vacation home. They are too small as a primary house, I pefer a good 2000 living square feet

[plaidmom]

Quark,
Thanks for the pics/links.
A sub-1000sf home in the mountains/woods is a ~someday~ dream for me.

[recycled]

Originally Posted by Quark

And yes, the micro-home and vacation home basically overlap. But a lot of vacation homes are pretty expensive per sq foot do to their extravagant architecture. If I built a micro I'd try to locate it in an area where it could be sold as a vacation home.

There are a lot of architects who have small, factory-built designs, but that's been going on for a hundred years. They usually end up being pretty expensive. [/url]

Quark, thanks for the info posted here. I have looked into this same topic myself, the main challenge being to first find a few acres of land in a good location to build a small simple home. It's surprising how many places have restrictions about minimum square footage or design review boards that would turn down anything other than a "conventional" spacious house.

Here's a site I have looked through that sells small, simple house plans for a self build project, or to have someone else build for you. These are not cutsey type cottages, they are meant to be functional and not too complex to build. That translates into fairly reasonable building costs.

www.countryplans.com

Site also has it's own moderated discussion forum where many people that have built or are building small country homes can toss around ideas.

Good luck and let us know what you might decide to do for this kind of a project.