Posted on 02/26/2014 5:23:49 PM PST by lowbridge
While tiny houses have been attractive for those wanting to downsize or simplify their lives for financial or environmental reasons, there's another population benefiting from the small-dwelling movement: the homeless.
There's a growing effort across the nation from advocates and religious groups to build these compact buildings because they are cheaper than a traditional large-scale shelter, help the recipients socially because they are built in communal settings and are environmentally friendly due to their size.
"You're out of the elements, you've got your own bed, you've got your own place to call your own," said Harold "Hap" Morgan, who is without a permanent home in Madison. "It gives you a little bit of self-pride: This is my own house."
He's in line for a 99-square-foot house built through the nonprofit Occupy Madison Build, or OM Build, run by former organizers with the Occupy movement. The group hopes to create a cluster of tiny houses like those in Olympia, Wash., and Eugene and Portland, Ore.
Many have been built with donated materials and volunteer labor, sometimes from the people who will live in them. Most require residents to behave appropriately, avoid drugs and alcohol and help maintain the properties.
Still, sometimes neighbors have not been receptive. Linda Brown, who can see the proposed site for Madison's tiny houses from her living room window, said she worries about noise and what her neighbors would be like.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Jim Walter is no longer in the house business though the company still is in other fields. I think it was four or five years ago when they closed it.
I LOVE the Sears Homekits. Not to far from where I live there is a Sears Magnolia...a HUGE two story...grand looking facade; huge rooms; kinda smooshed into a suburban lot. It was “on” the market a few years ago, and I would have loved to take a look. About 20 years ago I would have tried to bid on it.
We also have a few MontgomeryWard homes in my neck of the woods. Like Sears, nicely planned and thought out...and was in a MW house that was virtually untouched since it was built. It had a built in Hoosier cabinets (w/flour bin and glass “keepware”). There was a tiny alcove in the living room wall (specific for those new fangled telephones) and a writing desk that folded out of the wall in the LR and and ironing board that was built into the kitchen wall. Closets were tiny.
Then, they’ll hire a hundred Democrats to keep the place up and in 10 years they will be shocked to find that the Democrats ran off with 2/3 of the funds. It’s all part of THE BIG DEMOCRAT MONEY MACHINE!!!
Note the high pitched roofs. No doubt the bunk area is up there.
Here is your government approved shanty.
I have heard of Walters (but being in the RustBelt have never seen them). I have seen Lustron Home in person. It was small; very turquoise and much like the Jetsons cartoon. Lustron was a painted/coated steel panel kit home. Really cool to see (a couple of those around here too!)
You can already buy children’s playhouses built out of high impact plastic from Costco that would work for this.
My Grandchildren have a play house in the back yard which is about the same size as these houses.
I am glad that someone else appreciates them.
For year I have wondered why they don't make semi permanent camp shells, just like they do those kids play toy houses, for many uses, they would be better than tents.
Really need a CBS in a hurricane zone though.
squeeze into your tenements comrades!
bookmark...thanks!
> a 99-square-foot house built through the nonprofit Occupy Madison Build
Thanks lowbridge.
No doubt this is rude, but would it be too much to ask them to GET A JOB?
“Most require residents to behave appropriately, avoid drugs and alcohol and help maintain the properties...”
Maintenance? Ha, ha! Those classes of people are poor in brains, talent and motivation, as well as money. They don’t value anything given to them.
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