Posted on 09/01/2011 7:17:13 AM PDT by SanFranDan
For those who are too broke to get on the housing ladder, an American firm is here to help.
Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed Tiny House Company makes cute little homes that start from the bargain price of $99.
The cheapest home is a flat-pack to be built by the owner but, if you're not very handy, there are ready-made versions for $38,997.
The teeny homes, which start at just 65 square feet are kitted out with fully functioning kitchens, bathrooms complete with composting toilets and sleeping areas.
Some models even come on wheels.
As well as being environmentally friendly the homes are affordable for people on meagre incomes.
As the debt problem in the U.S. reaches tipping point Mr Shafer, who lives in one of his houses in Sebastapol, California, says that less can be more.
'People are starting to get a clue I think,' he said.
'People are starting to understand that excess is not necessarily a luxury. It can be a burden, a liability. People are living in 4,000 and 6,000 square foot debtors prisons.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
“Batteries” is the word you’re looking for.
Misleading headlines. It costs more like 20 thousand to build or 38 thousand to buy, and $99 for the plans.LOL
Misleading headlines. It costs more like 20 thousand to build or 38 thousand to buy, and $99 for the plans.LOL
You can most likely build it cheaper than $20,000 yourself, too. I took one of their floor plans and planned it on a longer trailer, modified the floor plan to scale, added a half-loft and found less expensive parts such as wall heater, stainless steel bowls in the kitchen and bath instead of installed sinks, a camping solar shower in the bath stall, composting toilet, etc. If you build it with supplies that you’ve bought on clearance or on sale you can reduce the price by a few thousand, I would think, even with finishing the inside which they don’t include in the DIY price. With such a small space you can finish the floors with clearance tile, cabinets in the kitchen, etc and make it a decent looking space to live in.
Baby gets his own shack.
I have no idea the answer to your question. I suppose it would depend a lot on HOW cloudy and for how long. However, I have observed that those little solar lights you push into the ground to light pathways seem to charge up as well on cloudy days as sunny ones. We have some at our cabin which is in the woods, and I’ve been surprised how brightly those little lights shine all night long, which means that even in shaded areas they get sufficient light to charge them.
After I posted, I googled it to see what was there, and it pretty much said what I thought.
They will come in anywheres between 20-50% of normal efficiency.
Which is way better than nothing, I mean I live in Western Washington where the sun can be pretty shy for a long time!
I’ll pass on the compost toilet. I already have a bedside commode that I used when taking care of my Dad. Been there and done that. Rather not mess with it.
I could live in 400 to 500 sq. feet easy. We lived in a 2 bedroom trailer 10 feet x 45 feet for 10 years. It was fine.
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