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The tiny house movement is an architectural and social trend promoting living more simply in a smaller space.

The movement redefines what a house is, how much room it needs, and what things are necessary to achieve happiness. In that sense, it is a social movement. People are choosing to downsize their living space, simplify their lives, and live with less.

Although you will find an extensive range of building sizes described as tiny houses on various YouTube videos, the standard definition of a tiny house is one with a square footage of 400 square feet or less, excluding lofts. Of course, there are no enforceable rules for joining the tiny house movement, so you will find structures substantially larger than 400 square feet promoted as tiny houses. Some states consider any home with less than 1,000 square feet of floor space to be a tiny home.

We aren't the self-appointed arbiters of semantics regarding the tiny house movement, however. Websites purporting to represent any aspect of tiny houses or the tiny house movement are appropriate here regardless of the actual square footage of the structures.

In the early days of the tiny house movement, most tiny houses were built on wheels or at least on a portable platform, in large part, to circumvent building codes that prohibited most tiny houses. In most jurisdictions, if they were mobile, they weren't considered structures subject to building code regulation. Today, many jurisdictions have relaxed their codes to accommodate the tiny house movement, so you will find tiny houses on foundations.

Nevertheless, there are other reasons to place your tiny house on wheels, so many people will choose that option.

A tiny house on wheels is a hybrid structure, combining a travel trailer's mobility with the structural techniques of a traditional home. Usually, tiny homes on wheels are taller, heavier, and less agile on the road than recreational vehicles, but they are more suitable for year-round living than most RVs.

Nothwithstanding, a tiny home on wheels can include a traditional RV, a school bus conversion, or a van conversion.

When set on a foundation, the options in style, shape, and structure are greatly expanded. Whatever type of tiny house you choose, it doesn't have to be overly minimalist. The idea is to have everything you need to live comfortably and use space wisely. They come in all shapes, sizes, and forms; the one thing they have in common is that they all enable simpler living in a smaller, more efficient space.

The costs for a tiny house will vary according to what you are looking for and how much of the work you can do yourself. A no-frills, do-it-yourself tiny home will cost an average of $20,000 in materials, although some claim to have spent no more than a couple of thousand. Those built by professional builders cost an average of $60,000. However, I've seen some with price tags as low as $25,000 and as high as $300,000.

Another option is to purchase a pre-built shed or another outbuilding and fit it a tiny home, although some jurisdictions won't approve these as living spaces. Cabin or shed kits are also options, which could cut the costs to just a few thousand.

Remember that these costs don't include land or associated expenses, such as permit fees and transportation costs. If the tiny home is to be mobile, a chassis or trailer will also be necessary.

Nevertheless, unless you opt for one on the upper end of the scale, you'll spend much less than you would on a full-size home. Heating costs can be expected to be considerably lower in a tiny house, too. Overall, living in a tiny house can drastically reduce the annual cost of utilities, maintenance, and repairs.

While the tiny house movement is relatively new as a social experiment, the concept of living in small, affordable spaces has been around for a long time. The square footage of the Ingalls family's "Little House on the Prairie" is not explicitly stated in the book or television series, but a replica of the structure, based on what is known, is 300 square feet, not counting the loft. If accurate, it would easily qualify as a tiny house. Consider also, that this was an upgrade for them from a dug-out sod house.

Credited as an early adapter, if not the founder of the modern tiny house movement, Jay Shafer built his first tiny house on wheels in 1999. Not long after, he established the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, which remains in business. Shafer left the company in 2012 to found Four Lights Tiny House Company, now known as Tiny Home Builders.

Many who join the movement do so to reduce consumption and pursue a simpler way of life. Others are attracted to a lower carbon footprint and the idea that they are doing something for the environment. Depending on the nature of the building, a tiny house is likely to be more easily moved than a larger structure, if not entirely mobile.

 

 

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