Tiny House - Build (Houston: apartment, loft, houses)

[detachable arm]

Originally Posted by nana053

What Is The Tiny House Movement? – The Tiny Life

Trendy white stuff.

A tiny house seems like a Great place to listen to obsolete rap music while eating a hummus & pita bread snack with your equally sterile friends.

Seems to be about as good of an investment as a Smart for two car.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

What about Magnolia?

If you are in a regular subdivision - most have size requirements.

Magnolia would be perfect. If I was going to have a tiny house I would at least want to have a great outdoor space to spend most of my time so I wouldn't feel cramped in my tiny house all day.

Originally Posted by lhafer

Tiny house build does not equal cheaply made. They can be just as sturdy, or even more so than a traditional house. For example...a shipping container type of house is very solidly built. Same style of home as a mobile home, yet we all know how those fair in a bad storm. Shipping container type of house doesn't have shingles that would fly off, etc. we depend on shipping containers to get our goods, furniture, automobiles, etc across oceans every day. They hold up to bad weather.

And if you really stop and think about tiny houses and cabins, they have been around forever in harsh climates...mountain getaways that have lots of snow and ice, beach get aways that have sand and wind and tropic storms.

Not everyone wants to live in "more space".

ETA: There are all types of tiny house construction. Shipping containers was just an example I used.

I have no issues with people wanting to live in small spaces. I just wouldn't feel safe in one. When it floods I can see a tiny house being the last place I would want to be in. Also in an intense storm I just wouldn't feel safe at all. It may be just as sturdy as a normal size house but that's now what I would be thinking during the storm. When the next Hurricane Ike hits would you really want to ride out the storm in a tiny house?

Originally Posted by DJboutit

Small on a house on small trailer like you see on tv shows is a bad idea here when you get the first 80mhp wind gust from a tornado or a hurricane your tiny house will be rubble

Exactly. The National Weather Service always advises people take shelter in an interior room in your home during a tornado warning. Where exactly do you go in a tiny house to survive a tornado. Thankfully many of those in the Dallas area who got hit by the tornado took the precautions and got into an interior room or closet and were able to survive the destruction of their home. In a tiny house that's just not possible. Your exposed to everything including all the windows.

[lhafer]

Originally Posted by westhou

Magnolia would be perfect. If I was going to have a tiny house I would at least want to have a great outdoor space to spend most of my time so I wouldn't feel cramped in my tiny house all day.



I have no issues with people wanting to live in small spaces. I just wouldn't feel safe in one. When it floods I can see a tiny house being the last place I would want to be in. Also in an intense storm I just wouldn't feel safe at all. It may be just as sturdy as a normal size house but that's now what I would be thinking during the storm. When the next Hurricane Ike hits would you really want to ride out the storm in a tiny house?



Exactly. The National Weather Service always advises people take shelter in an interior room in your home during a tornado warning. Where exactly do you go in a tiny house to survive a tornado. Thankfully many of those in the Dallas area who got hit by the tornado took the precautions and got into an interior room or closet and were able to survive the destruction of their home. In a tiny house that's just not possible. Your exposed to everything including all the windows.

Well, during hurricane Ike, I was a nurse at Texas children's. Also a nurse during Hurricane Rita. During hurricane Rita they evacuated all the patients to the lower floors and the nurses slept in the hallways of the higher floors of the hospital. So I was 5 months pregnant and sleeping in the 15th floor of a hospital because it wasn't safe enough for the patients on that floor. During Ike, I was home with my toddler. We didn't evacuate. High winds and lost power for 2 weeks. Yes, I could have weathered both of those those in a much smaller house.

I grew up in a house that used to be the chicken coop on my family's ranch. We added in to it of course, amd made it an actual home...but the size was quite small. That was near San Antonio, so extreme weather could be had in the area. It was never any more scary than a regular house.

I think people who dont understand or appreciate smaller houses never will. And that's okay. They aren't for you. That doesn't mean those people who do want to live in less space are worse off or are stupid for their choices.

Tornadoes aren't the norm here. Flooding doesn't happen everywhere in Houston. Hurricane type winds become less the more north you go. Magnolia or the tomball area would probably be an ideal place for the OP because these factors that I listed are very unlikely there. You talk about tornadoes in Dallas....that's Dallas. Having grown in up the DFW area...they get some crazy scary weather there. Been ther done that. Having lived in the hill country...they also get a rare tornado and lots of rain and severe thunderstorms there. Here in the southern part of Houston comes the gulf weather and hurricanes. I live in the Ne area and all we ever got was bad rain, some high winds and some flooding.

Choose where to put a tiny home wisely, amd I just don't think there are the issues that are put forth in this thread. There are some safe areas around the Houston area that would work just fine.

[cheryjohns]

If you look at homes built in the 40's and 50's here (Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, West University, etc.) - it was common for a family of 4-6 people to live in a 2 or 3 bedroom/1 bath 900-1200 square foot house. We have just gotten used to big.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by lhafer

Well, during hurricane Ike, I was a nurse at Texas children's. Also a nurse during Hurricane Rita. During hurricane Rita they evacuated all the patients to the lower floors and the nurses slept in the hallways of the higher floors of the hospital. So I was 5 months pregnant and sleeping in the 15th floor of a hospital because it wasn't safe enough for the patients on that floor. During Ike, I was home with my toddler. We didn't evacuate. High winds and lost power for 2 weeks. Yes, I could have weathered both of those those in a much smaller house.

I grew up in a house that used to be the chicken coop on my family's ranch. We added in to it of course, amd made it an actual home...but the size was quite small. That was near San Antonio, so extreme weather could be had in the area. It was never any more scary than a regular house.

I think people who dont understand or appreciate smaller houses never will. And that's okay. They aren't for you. That doesn't mean those people who do want to live in less space are worse off or are stupid for their choices.

Tornadoes aren't the norm here. Flooding doesn't happen everywhere in Houston. Hurricane type winds become less the more north you go. Magnolia or the tomball area would probably be an ideal place for the OP because these factors that I listed are very unlikely there. You talk about tornadoes in Dallas....that's Dallas. Having grown in up the DFW area...they get some crazy scary weather there. Been ther done that. Having lived in the hill country...they also get a rare tornado and lots of rain and severe thunderstorms there. Here in the southern part of Houston comes the gulf weather and hurricanes. I live in the Ne area and all we ever got was bad rain, some high winds and some flooding.

Choose where to put a tiny home wisely, amd I just don't think there are the issues that are put forth in this thread. There are some safe areas around the Houston area that would work just fine.

I think you misunderstood the tone of my post. I don't think people who buy tiny homes are stupid. I think they are great. I just wouldn't want one in Southeast Texas. Much rather have one in a part of the country where the cost of living is very high and the weather is ideal. Maybe like Southern California or the Pacific Northwest. They get lots of rain up there but I don't think the storms are violent. When I was describing my experience during Ike I was only speaking for myself. If you weren't scared then that's great and I think your very brave. I tend to get more scared during storms since I've been through 2 tornadoes here in Houston. Yeah they actually do happen here and not just Dallas. Remember the big tornado that hit Channelview back in the 90s? Yeah I was living here then and not only did that tornado hit Channelview that day but another one hit Northwest Harris County that same day and that's where I lived at the time. So personally speaking I wouldn't want to be in a tiny house in this part of the country because there just isn't enough safety during a violent storm when news advisories are warning us to take shelter in an interior room of your home with no windows. Where do you go when that happens? As for flooding it can happen anywhere in Southeast Texas. Sure there are typical areas that flood but all it takes is a storm to sit over your area or train over your area and suddenly your home is being hit with 6-12 inches of rain. Personally I'd rather be in a normal size home during such an event rather than a tiny house. Also when the next hurricane hits I can't imagine a tiny house south of 610. Also when I say tiny homes I'm not just talking about a small house. a 200-400 sq ft home like the ones you see on Tiny House Hunters would scare the heck out of me during a storm like Ike. Even north of I-10. Also this year a tornado hit the Friendswood area.

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by lhafer

Well, during hurricane Ike, I was a nurse at Texas children's. Also a nurse during Hurricane Rita. During hurricane Rita they evacuated all the patients to the lower floors and the nurses slept in the hallways of the higher floors of the hospital. So I was 5 months pregnant and sleeping in the 15th floor of a hospital because it wasn't safe enough for the patients on that floor. During Ike, I was home with my toddler. We didn't evacuate. High winds and lost power for 2 weeks. Yes, I could have weathered both of those those in a much smaller house.

I don't think you can compare being in a hospital hallway (and away from all windows) during a hurricane to being in a shed on wheels in a hurricane or tornado. If you were going to take a direct hit by either storm, are you saying you would choose the tiny house over the hospital?

[Meyerland]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

There are older houses inside the Loop that are very small. It might be cheaper to find one and update it.

Yes, this. You can find some 800-1200 sf homes in the loop.

Edit: there are even some 300 sf homes for sale. Do a search on her.com. There is a 366 sf home right now in independence heights for $65,000,

[montiff]

Wow the haters really come out for questions like this. See my post history for a similar Tiny House question!

I'm attracted to owning a tiny house because: the maintenance would likely be easier and cheaper, the lower carbon footprint, and most importantly to me, no 30 year mortgage keeping me a slave to corporate 9/5.

And yes buying a small fixer-upper would be cool too, but OP didn't ask that question!

[Mandres]

I also think the Houston/Gulf Coast area is fundamentally incompatible with the tiny house mindset. I think it makes some sense to have a small, simple place to sleep and eat and spend your time away from it, but only if you live in a climate that's amenable to being outdoors most of the time. The climate here is ... not.

The reason that housing down here has evolved into large, comfortable, climate-controlled palaces is mostly because land is cheap and plentiful and here it's unpleasant to be outside 10 months of the year.

[detachable arm]

Carbon footprint?

The lowest carbon footprint is buying something pre existing.