Building a Tiny House on a MoCo lot - possible? implications?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, perhaps you should look into buying land with some like minded people and establishing several tiny homes. A tiny home community. http://boneyardstudios.com/

FYI, these are not built to code. They are trailers. They must be registered as trailers (meaning they must meet height and width requirements) and then they are subject to local parking rules (e.g., in most suburbs you can't park something in one place for more than 30 days). They also can't have permanent connections to the electrical and water systems.

If you want to build a permitted structure with electrical and water hookups, to get those permits you are going to need to build to code, which specifies things like ceiling heights, bathroom openings, egress size and location, etc.

If you're going to build a 600 sq. ft. code-compliant house, you might as well just buy an 800- or 900-sq ft bungalow or ranch and call it a day.

http://www.fourlightshouses.com/pages/the-napoleon-complex

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: So, to the poster that said their child is always comparing their home to other homes, I will say that I frankly would have to teach my children about the realities of the world and how unbelievably lucky they are to have food, security, a warm place to sleep, healthcare, and parents that care about them. Period. I care not whether their friends have “nicer” clothes, “better” cars, “bigger” rooms, or whatever. And, I will teach them (to the extent possible) to realize the premium that those kids’ parents are paying for those things and that space. While their parents are checking their iPhones for work mail on a Sat., we will be gardening with them or catching lightning bugs. We were not born into a class that allows us to buy much more without compromising time with each other significantly or quality of life, at least in the way we conceptualize quality of life.

You seem awfully judgmental about the lifestyles of people who aren't like you. The fact of the matter is that you know nothing about what their parents pay for "those things and that space." You don't know what their parents do on Saturday mornings. You just made that story up to make yourself look better. Which - if you were truly the "I'm OK, you're OK" mold you're trying to project - you wouldn't feel the need to do. Filing your kids' heads with stereotypes about what "other" people do with their time is not cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding one bathroom vs. 2 bathrooms: I'm guessing that OP and her partner are women and don't spend nearly as much time pooping as my husband does. Husband's poop time/poop stink is the reason to have at least 2 toilets in the house.

In general, I admire OP's spunk and I think the tiny houses are darling. I am, however, slightly suspicious of a parent of two kids under the age 4 thinking she has a firm grasp on the type of space she'll want/need as the kids grow. But hey, follow your dream, OP, and see how it goes for you. If it were me, I'd try to keep just enough of a next egg to allow myself flexibility if needed.

My husband and I never shared a bathroom, ever, except in hotels, and our marriage is 100% better for it. In general, I find that freedom from chores is good for your relationship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, perhaps you should look into buying land with some like minded people and establishing several tiny homes. A tiny home community. http://boneyardstudios.com/

FYI, these are not built to code. They are trailers. They must be registered as trailers (meaning they must meet height and width requirements) and then they are subject to local parking rules (e.g., in most suburbs you can't park something in one place for more than 30 days). They also can't have permanent connections to the electrical and water systems.

If you want to build a permitted structure with electrical and water hookups, to get those permits you are going to need to build to code, which specifies things like ceiling heights, bathroom openings, egress size and location, etc.

If you're going to build a 600 sq. ft. code-compliant house, you might as well just buy an 800- or 900-sq ft bungalow or ranch and call it a day.

http://www.fourlightshouses.com/pages/the-napoleon-complex

Agreed, if you are intending a tiny house as a permanent residence (versus weekend getaway), they work better in communities where you can share amenities--laundry, storage, indoor recreation space, etc. This proposed development is a great idea and would be wonderful for infill in a SFH neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

http://tinyhousetalk.com/townsend-park-model-cottage/

[Anonymous]

http://tinyhousetalk.com/woman-downsizes-to-tiny-cottage/

[Anonymous]

Love this thread! My husband and I have been looking into this for our family of 4 as well, although we are looking at going even smaller and on a trailer (like the boneyard studios folks or the tumbleweed homes). Ideally in a few years as kids get older we would build a 2nd home to give us more space and act as a rec room/2nd bathroom/additional sleeping quarters. We are researching how to do this in DC like boneyard studios, though in many cities out west people park in someone's yard or driveway and pay them a small fee. I too would prefer my own land so that I could install an edible garden, etc. I'm so happy to see more people interested in this!

[Anonymous]

I think tiny houses are adorable and could see having one as a personal getaway somewhere lovely (though I personally would not want to live in one with anyone else). But you should definitely talk with an architect about Montgomery County building codes. There are so many regulations, and they are constantly adding to them. I'm not sure how "bedroom" is defined in a tiny house, but MC requires 70 sq feet for the first occupant of a bedroom, 50 sq ft for each other occupant of same room. http://www3.montgomerycountymd.gov/311/(X(1)S(0vwryu3skmgsqt45nfva0t2y))/SolutionView.aspx?SolutionId=1-3FREKW

Then overall you need 150 sq ft for first occupant of house, 100 per every other occupant. http://www3.montgomerycountymd.gov/311/(X(1)S(0vwryu3skmgsqt45nfva0t2y))/SolutionView.aspx?SolutionId=1-3FREKT. 800 sq ft would be fine, then, for your family of four, but still -- There are all sorts of regulations that you'd never think of. Not saying it won't be possible, but you need to know what you might be getting into.

I do think the resale is something you should keep in mind. You say you'd eventually like to move back west, but you might find yourself stuck with a property that has a very limited market. Would that limit your ability to move?

Also, do you never plan to have people over for dinner? Even if you think you could just do it outdoors, that limits to you certain seasons and to the mercy of the weather. Same goes for playdates, and your kids will most certainly want to have their friends over.

Anyway, I live in Silver Spring and wouldn't mind at all having a tiny house in the neighborhood (of course we have many tiny houses around here, just no "tiny house"!). But I would wonder quite a bit about a family of 4 living in one that was smaller than about 700 sq ft. I say this as someone who grew up in a family of 10 in a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house and don't have any romantic notions of living in such close quarters. Also, my family of 4 used to live in a 900 sq ft house with attic space and basement, and I was constantly stressed out by it. You do need to know yourself and your partner well (are you and your partner extremely neat, for example), as well as have a good sense of what your children's personalities are like.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Sorry, those links don't work.

But if you cut and paste you'll get to MC 311 web page, and just search for occupancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, those links don't work.

But if you cut and paste you'll get to MC 311 web page, and just search for occupancy.

thanks--this is helpful