Tiny Houses

[Freedom55]

I am curious to learn more about this recent phenomenon and how such a set-up would work. Specifically I want to know about house placement and service connections.

Do they put these units on Dad's driveway or buddy's back yard or in a trailer park? Or what?

Where does the sewage go and who supplies the utilities? If I were referring to park model mobile homes or 5th wheel living in the banana belt then I would have my answers, but I am not. I mean the little houses springing up in some neighborhoods as permanent "mother-in-law" suites and the most recent adaptation, an undercarriage with wheels.

Can anyone enlighten me?

[Dewey Cox]

I'm working on one right now (just the plumbing)
It has no holding tanks for water or sewer. It needs to be connected to services just like a mobile home would. It also has its own breaker panel, so it takes power just like any other house.
I'm told that in more "enlightened" jurisdictions than ours (bc?) they have subdivisions in which you can buy a tiny lot for your tiny house. (Sounds like a developer's dream come true. They can sell twice or three times as many lots in a sub division!)

[JB_AOL]

I think it really depends on the buyer.

Yes, some people do put them on the driveways of parents/friends. Some buy a lot, and place it on there. I know here in calgary you can not leave an RV on the driveway (legally), and there was someone who was living in a tiny house on their parents driveways. Not sure how they got around it. But if it's in the backyard, anything's game.

utilities.. Depends on the builder. Some want complete independance so they have composting toilets, collect rain water for usage, some use tanks, some tie-into civil services.

My understanding is that anything with wheels does not require building permits, etc. but as soon as you remove wheels or make a permanent foundation you must follow bylaws/building codes.

[javlin101]

Check with Crunchiespg on this site as he is in the middle of a build of a Tiny house.

[mich]

They are a glorified park model RV. Run power water and sewer lines and you are set. As long as they have wheels and are built for personal use there is not much in the way of regs to deal with

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

I am curious to learn more about this recent phenomenon and how such a set-up would work. Specifically I want to know about house placement and service connections.

Do they put these units on Dad's driveway or buddy's back yard or in a trailer park? Or what?

Where does the sewage go and who supplies the utilities? If I were referring to park model mobile homes or 5th wheel living in the banana belt then I would have my answers, but I am not. I mean the little houses springing up in some neighborhoods as permanent "mother-in-law" suites and the most recent adaptation, an undercarriage with wheels.

Can anyone enlighten me?

Many jurisdictions apparently have a min house size restriction for building. In the US they get around it by putting the house on wheels. Up here it won't work as pipes need protecting from freeze. In the instance you have land you can build on then you just need to take into account winters in you services.

Some people build tiny houses out of shipping crates. Some with standard building techniques but smaller scale.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by mich

They are a glorified park model RV. Run power water and sewer lines and you are set. As long as they have wheels and are built for personal use there is not much in the way of regs to deal with

Cities were pushing these as alternative accommodation for Seniors at one time. Mom and Pop live in the backyard instead of a Home. Seems to have gone by the way.

Grizz

[mich]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Cities were pushing these as alternative accommodation for Seniors at one time. Mom and Pop live in the backyard instead of a Home. Seems to have gone by the way.

Grizz

I liked the ideal of sticking the inlaws in a shed in the back 40

[crunchiespg]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Many jurisdictions apparently have a min house size restriction for building. In the US they get around it by putting the house on wheels. Up here it won't work as pipes need protecting from freeze. In the instance you have land you can build on then you just need to take into account winters in you services.

Some people build tiny houses out of shipping crates. Some with standard building techniques but smaller scale.

It works just fine up here. I just ordered my custom trailer to start the build. The trailer company is selling a couple of trailers a week right now for people to build tiny homes on.
In my house the only external pipes will be the grey water outlet, which isn't a freeze risk. I'll have a internal water tank to cover situations where I can't hook up direct for risk of freezing. But once I'm in a permanent place it'll be no different to hooking up a park model type home. Just have the water going underneath and insulated.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by crunchiespg

It works just fine up here. I just ordered my custom trailer to start the build. The trailer company is selling a couple of trailers a week right now for people to build tiny homes on.
In my house the only external pipes will be the grey water outlet, which isn't a freeze risk. I'll have a internal water tank to cover situations where I can't hook up direct for risk of freezing. But once I'm in a permanent place it'll be no different to hooking up a park model type home. Just have the water going underneath and insulated.

Your right. Make sense. I wasn't thinking like a trailerhome scenario.

[Freedom55]

The City of Calgary, in 2009, charged $23,000 for water and sanitary sewer connections from the property line to the mains. I don't see anyone with a wheeled home paying that kind of money to tear up someone's driveway or back yard. Prices in other jurisdictions may vary.

The Canmore guy is building a mobile home if he is including wheels. No different from a park model or my first mobile home. I purchased an 8'x 28' mobile home in a trailer park in BC back when American boys were dying in Viet Nam. I had to go outside to change my mind. But there was connections to the sewer and water, albeit heat-taped to prevent freezing (and I still had problems.)

Squatting in Dad's yard and running temporary water vis-à-vis a garden hose, dumping your grey water on someone else's property and installing a $2000.00 toilet (so you can dump that waste on someone else's land) seems so 'gypsy' in nature.

Building a tiny living space on your own lot is only the reverse of building a mansion on a bigger lot and not a part this discussion. Pay the 23K and deal with the cramped quarters in a subdivision made for a specific purpose.

Am I wrong?