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The FHB Podcast crew takes a closer look at an interesting roof.
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"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
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"An unexpected Error has occurred."
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
My alpology .
Thats what happen to me the first time and I retried and it went through.
Tim
Pretty sure it had nothing to do with you. Thanks for mentioning it. Worked for me the second time.
I'm always interested, partly because I'm in contact with a number of people who believe in minimalism. And clearly have a lot less stuff than I do.
We moved from a large rental to this space, which is huge by that article's standards. DW complained a lot in the beginning. I'm pretty sure there's a rule of nature that you'll fill whatever space you have, only a function of time.
When it's filled you make choices. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Are you talking about these.
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses.htm
You could about 20 of these on that vacant lot of yours.
somebody here build a small house for I think, hunting camp or lake house. I remember it was a two story with, I think stairs folded down. It was small. but great
There where a great many post WWII homes constructed under 1,000 sq feet
into the mid fifties. I currently live in one built in 1954 that was 830 sq feet. An addition added 360 sq feet later on. It is comfortable, but would the DW like a larger home? Yes. My brothers and I last year renovated and sold our Mom's house of 942 sq. feet. It sold for 779,000
in a So. Calif. beach community.
just got out the tape measure ...
down stairs 24x 15 ... times two for the second floor
single story kitchen bump out ... 9x 12
828.
We must live in the same box.
not counting full basement fulla crap.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Wow my house towers over yours. 1,020 square feet. That's measuring the outside.
Single story, no basement. We stuff, stuff everywhere. Wife hates it but I don't mind. I guess I'm a submariner a heart.
Tipi fest 06. I'm Packing.
Edited 7/10/2006 9:25 pm ET by Gunner
mine were inside measurements ... but we got the basement ...
so I win the submarine games!
ok .. how about "lot size" ...
mine includes a front porch ... off the front ... with a sidewalk running parallel.
and one side of the house walk ... tight ... maybe 24" between the house and the neighbors fence.
off the back of the house ... the kitchen bump out takes up half the space ... and we have an elevated deck the same size as the kitchen filling up that half of the cube.
grass? what grass!
got plenty of weeds though ...
I always tell Cath I'm buying a riding mower with a comfy seat and a cup holder. It'll fit on the porch and make for a nice drinking chair ....
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I have a big lot. Maybe 2/3 of an acre total. Nice yard. And a car and a half garage/shop. (Cars don't park in there.)
I've got a riding lawnmower that would make a nice drinking chair. It died on me the second time I cut grass this year. I've been too lazy to dig into the problem. I've got an alright self propeeld that I don't mind using. It leaves a better looking yard.
You got a bump out????? You rich folks got it all. One of these days I'm gonna pour a huge slab and put in the ultimate party patio and cut my grass cuttin way down.
Tipi fest 06. The island is gonna bounce, Ese.
yer place sounds perfect for the next Fest!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
No the next fest should be in a place that's a little cozier, with a basement and a bump out. I'll bring the beer drinking chair.
Tipi fest 06. The island is gonna bounce, Ese.
No the next fest should be in a place that's a little cozier, with a basement and a bump out. I'll bring the beer drinking chair.
Mike slickly called me out on this subject again tonight . I just asked him the same question. Whose up for the next fest ?
Ive got Texas up , but Washington and Canada mentioned for this current year.
Did Pete say somthing ?
Then there was Jeff and was it you?
I would just like to know whose next .
Tim
You guys have got it made in the shade.
I've got 1200 square feet plus an unfinished attic and a basement right now.
But the wife just committed to student family housing (her phd program), it'll be 796 square feet, including a small outdoor storage closet. We're moving in the first week of august. I've got to start packing pretty soon here, methinks. 800 square feet will probably be about the maximum we'll get for the next 6 years.
periscope down, captain, dive, dive.
zak
"so it goes"
Edited 7/11/2006 1:49 am by zak
Damn. I feel for ya. I'd actualy like my next house to be the same size or smaller with a bigger garage.
Tipi fest 06. The island is gonna bounce, Ese.
Every square foot is a square foot you have to maintain, and heat.
Yadda yadda yadda
hell ...
I'd just like a garage!
or at least the space to build one on ... not that I'd ever get around to that ... but I could go out and look at "where my garage wil be" ...
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Yea my ultimate party patio is like that. The space is there, for the last fifteen odd years I've been looking at where it will be and how it will look.
Tipi fest 06. The island is gonna bounce, Ese.
I'm convinced the best house should be traditionally "yours"...no matter how large or small.It has to have what I call my "curve appeal". Centered 100% around what you and yours "absofrigginlutly love"...40x40 shop....big kitchen...skip the living room...cozy family room....extrodionary bathroom with wall to wall book cases....then a way happenin' media room...thats it...and big river in the "front yard"...
Next time around...you'll see : )
oh yeh...and every room has a fireplace...
oh yeh...a bedroom too I spose'If Blodgett and Gunner say, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!
TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]
Skip the fireplace in every room and I'll buy it. I don't want to chop that much wood.
Tipi fest 06. A nice place to get away with the family and enjoy the lush estate of Cliffordland.
Maybe I just haven't been aiming high enough....
My wife, smelly dog, and myself live in a 382 sq.ft. cabin that I built last fall. No basement. No toilet. And I think we love it. Makes you realize that you can probably live without it. The dog insists on licking himself to sleep right below us every night. How romantic.
Geez. I sound like a mad trapper.
cheers,
Brock
Timbersmith Woodworks
Well , some truckers live in a 40 x 72 inch cubicle with out any running water.
The lucky ones are in an 8x6 ft but it isnt the norm.
Tim
comes with 20 yds splitIf Blodgett and Gunner say, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!
TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]
And distributed to each fireplace?
Tipi fest 06. A nice place to get away with the family and enjoy the lush estates of Cliffordland. And hang out with the amazing shirtless camper dude from the great white North. Eh
by a pole dancerIf Blodgett and Gunner say, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!
TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]
I'm in.
Tipi fest 06. A nice place to get away with the family and enjoy the lush estates of Cliffordland. And hang out with the amazing shirtless camper dude from the great white North. Eh
"800 square feet will probably be about the maximum we'll get for the next 6 years"
6 years - that's a pretty serious phd program. 'Course, you'll be in Bezerkeley and right down the road from Oaktown - who needs inside space when you're in the Bay Area! Oh yea - bring the Mtn Bike - the opportunities are limitless (saved my sanity when I was living in a condo).
Yeah, well we're shooting for 5 or 5 1/2 years to finish the program. Everyone says 6 is a pretty quick PhD in this program though. I guess that's because of the chances for field work to go wrong, and the necessity to get a few seasons worth of good data. She's doing an ecology/entomology program.
I keep going back and forth between mt. bike and road bike, or both. Maybe I bring both and sell what I don't need later. I just hate moving more stuff than I need to. I'll let you know when I'm down there, maybe we can meet for a beer.zak
"so it goes"
Call me a wimp, but the drivers around hare are too clueless; bikes are pretty much invisible to them. Offroad it's just the roots or rocks to nail you.
The beer options are outstanding :-)
Offroad it's just the roots or rocks to nail you.tell that to Dubya, he keep falling off the bike
Our house....
950 square + basement + 3 kids under 6 + wife + dog = Daddy sipping beer while sitting in bed using laptop to type proposals.
But I own it (not the bank)!
Matt
Jeff, I read through this thread yesterday, and have been feeling claustrophobic ever since. Do you rent (or own) separate space for your business? If not, how do you stay organized? Tools, inventory, office space? Kids?
I've been trying to imagine your setting. My wife's sister and brother-in-law live in a small house on Avenue E in Pittsburgh, but your house is about HALF that size!
Now, I grew up in a 490-square-foot home (family of six), so I have some sense of what it's like. Three boys in a 9 x 7 bedroom. No basement. No garage.
I have a much larger house now (2,000 sq ft), but still my work and home repair tools and supplies have settled into three or four areas of the house, PLUS much of the 20 x 24 carriage house and the 30 x 62 barn.
Allen
our house fronts an alley.
we're actually the oldest house around ... ours was built in 1902.
All the surrounding were build in the 30s ...
so ... I'm thinking ours was an outbuilding of a much larger house up on the hill ... that larger house was torn down and ours survived.
anyhow ... we rent a garage across the alley from us ... across and down ... as we face the wooded hillside ... the front street houses back yard. At the moment ... that garage is filled with my crap. It started out as my wifes garage ... then I slowly took it over. She parks her car on that garage apron.
I park my Jeep up the alley one garage ... one our buddy Ralph's garage apron. He uses his garage for storage ... and rarely has to get into it. So that works just fine.
My shop ... is my van. Which I just upgraded from a standard van to a 10ft box.
That is parked right out front the house ... half on the sidewalk.
My "office" ... is the closet here in the LR which I converted to a fold up computer desk. Have the printers and file cabs along the wall next to me ... we can push in the keyboard tray then close the bifold closet doors to hide the mess. Have a coupla shelves on the wall inside the closet.
I have a little Rubbermaid shed on the porch for loose items ... some more valuable stuff in the basement ... and like I said ... a garage full crap.
But the main tools ride around in the van.
Other side of our converted dining room is the kids toy storage. I built an L shaped set of shelves there for all his crap ... and his toy pile usually overflows on to the floor.
The house is so small, one thing outta place and it's a mess ... so usually it's a mess. We can however ... clean the snot outta it and make it presentable in about a good hour ... so there are pros and cons to small.
Our house is too small ... but ... we bought it when looking at even smaller apartments when I decided 10 yrs ago to go back to school. We were renting a place up on Grandview Ave in Pgh ... the big fancy street that overlooks the city .... we found this house with a mortgage and insurance for half of what our rent was!
So ... we jumped.
We took a 15 yr mortgage ... the house has grown a bit in value ... so when we sell we'll make out. We are currently looking ... but haven't been able to steal a good deal yet.
it's a 2 br 1 bath. When this baby comes ... it's really gonna get tight.
Might be time to finally clean out that basement for more usable space
"If not, how do you stay organized? "
When I find out ... I'll let ya know!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Now I'm REALLY feeling claustrophobic. Thanks for the details! I remember how every bit of space was put to use in my childhood home (through age 22). It got a little "bigger" as the kids grew up and moved out (I was number 3). But I could never go back to those tight quarters.
I read about your new van. I'm considering that route, too.
Next time I'm in Pittsburgh, I'll have to do a drive-by. Makes me really appreciate my country "estate" -- which is probably only worth about the same $$ as your place in the city.
Good luck looking for the next house. Staying in Pittsburgh? Three bedroom, two bath this time?
Allen
staying around Pittsburgh.
moving out to some subburb.
have a big list of where we'd live ... just looking for the right deal. Never wanna be "house poor" ... where the house takes all the money ... we still wanna get out when ever we feel the need. Hopefully somewhere close to the kid's daycare.
as much as we want something bigger ... the wife keep reminding me we'll have a ton of dept paid off completely in 2 shot years ... and at that point ... I'd be able to pay off the house with the profit from one or two decent small jobs ... we only owe around $10K as it is. House is only worth around $45-48K now ... but that's all potentially money down on the next one .... not a bad investment after all.
we're definitely looking at a 3br/2ba as a minimum ... plus ... either garage ... or space to build one ... space for two is the ideal ... plus ... my ever present demand ... room for the hottub.
we're still in the running for a private sale which is getting screwed up by an outside-relative "investor" ... sellers were all set to jump at our lowball price till a nephew heard the deal and offered cash to sprice the place up and sell for big time money ...
problem is ... nice area ... but not anywhere near their supposed "flip" price.
so ... I'm still thinking ... after reality slaps them down ... we're still in thr running.
but that area has such high taxes we're pretty much talked ourselves outta living there ... only one we'd buy is this particular one ... and only at a rock bottom price.
time will tell ...
If U can ever get to the PA/Ohio border ... I'll show ya the place I bought my truck.
http://www.gmcperformance.com
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I wish you were here so I could help ya look.
Fine nephew ya got there Jeff. <G>
Tim
When I moved to my small town 30 years ago there were about 6 small homes -- about 16x24, I'd guess. A couple were apparently built from a sort of Lincoln Log kit (only the "logs" were more like car siding).I think there are two or three left, but they've all been added on to and modified extensively now.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Rocio Romero has been featured in a number of magazines. The pre-fab homes she does are great designs, but they're still pricey (don't include interior finishes, fixtures, appliances, etc., and most of the people who get these want the top-of-the-line stuff). Kind of negates the biggest advantage of prefab. If you want to see photos of one going up there's a testimonials portion of the website:
http://www.rocioromero.com/LVSeries/testimonials/JenniferBarry.htm
I am currently starting a prolect in S.F. that has 385 sq. ft. studio condo's.
I could actually see myself living in one if I was single, less mess to deal with.
Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.