• Bigfoot
  January 9, 2021, 9:15 am

  It would be helpful if there were a few more pertinent questions and answers. Also, the video was of no help to anybody that is interested in a similar undertaking. What is the property zoned as? Were they required to get any permits? Was there another permitted structure already on the property? Was there an existing well? What were the costs involved? Some areas allow structures to be built if the land is zoned straight agricultural with no permits. Was this the case here? I only mention this because I think this might be a viable option for many people rather than a THOW.
  While driving around my area recently looking for property for a relative, I saw a shed setup on an acre lot that had to have been fully permitted. I live in Levy county Florida which is a large, mostly rural county. You absolutely cannot get power on any property here without a permitted structure and you have to submit engineered plans for that. I can only assume that the homeowner of the shed/home had submitted engineered plans for the shed-structure and then had the electrical, plumbing, well, and septic installed and inspected as there is a new well and power at this site. Bottom line, they set up a shed as living quarters and it is all done legally. This place is maybe a mile or so from me and I will try to find out more specifics. You can get an acre of land in Levy county for $6-8K. Add in a well and septic ($10k) Add in $15K for an engineered shed, add another $5-6K for interior, plumbing, etc. and you could be set up with a permanent, legal home for under $40K. I believe my ballpark numbers are on the high side and this could be done much cheaper. You could also have an engineered set of plans drawn to your specs and build the ‘shed’ yourself, saving quite a bit of money and giving you ultimate control of style, function, and quality of your little shed house. I have went by this shed/house to try to meet with the owners but have been unsuccessful so far. Although I’m pretty sure of the process they went through to get set up as I’ve built permitted structures in Florida before and have been around the construction industry most of my adult life (I’m 62), I’ll try to find out some more exacting info on this as it seems to be one of the most affordable solutions for housing and the process is probably going to be applicable to many other states.

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  • Natalie C. McKee
    January 11, 2021, 5:01 pm

    I would love to hear what you find out!

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• Donna Rae
  January 15, 2021, 7:07 am

  A small cabinet with a small sink cannot be called a kitchen. An outdoor grill is nice but it is no substitute for an indoor kitchen with a stove and refrigerator, especially in bad weather. I’m all for economizing but that is ridiculous. The curved shower may seem a fancier design but why not just put a rectangular shower/tub across that wall? Instead you have that little space that is awkward to clean and serves literally no purpose. Ok, maybe they got a good deal on the shower so again economizing might be understandable but the shower/tub would be so much better, especially if you have a kid but even if there are adults that enjoy a good soak. A stairway with storage underneath would have been a better choice than a fancy but rather flimsy spiral stairs. Sorry but I have to say this is the most lacking tiny house posted in a long time…maybe ever. As I always state, however, this is based on my personal preferences though I do think my comments are worth considering if someone is thinking of doing something similar. Who knows, maybe there is someone who doesn’t need a kitchen and who thinks the spiral stairs are wonderful.

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  • James D.
    January 15, 2021, 2:03 pm

    Well, what’s ridiculous is a matter of opinion… Kitchens can be small, even smaller than this one, and that’s actually normal in quite a few other countries around the world. There are even professional chefs who can prefer small kitchens for their personal use but that varies upon personal preference, which it really comes down to… Kitchens can even be small enough to be portable, as it’s really anything that you can use to cook with and means it can be extremely minimal and can still be called a kitchen.

    The words cook and kitchen even originated from the same source and can both be traced to the Latin verb coquere, meaning “to cook.” Trends in countries like the USA has just been towards residential kitchens having gradually evolved into expanded spaces that serve social functions as well as food preparation but that trend has started to reverse in recent years and average size kitchens are starting to be smaller.

    This has varied throughout history, like before 1900 the average home size was about 850 square feet, and the kitchen, on average, occupied about 70 square feet. The kitchen was largely a hidden space, not used for dining or socializing, except for some rare exceptions like rural farm kitchens that did serve meals in the same space, just to get an idea of how much things have changed and can continue to change.

    Mind, modern technology allows a lot more functionality in a smaller footprint and that reduces size as a factor for what you can do with the kitchen and some people really don’t need much to have their needs met.

    While there are always trade offs, the curved stairs take up less floor space, especially with the alternating steps, letting it fit into spaces you either couldn’t or would have much greater difficulty fitting a regular staircase, like would be the case in this shed conversion, but it still has the benefit of stairs over a ladder, and as the structure is made of metal it’s actually pretty strong. Regular stairs, like walls, can also block light, make the space feel smaller, block some airflow, and reduce what you can put around it as, like a door, you can’t block the space needed for its usage.

    So, it should be remembered, there’s always other ways a space can be utilized, and the same solution won’t always work as well in every possible layout. Different people have different needs and can have different priorities, along with dealing with different situations, like a space too small for traditional stairs, that can require different solutions…

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