Christchurch man Bevan Thomas built his own “tiny house” from scratch last year and had seen “hundreds” through it over the past few months.
He believed the tiny house movement was becoming increasingly popular in New Zealand as people looked for ways to live with less impact on the planet, or to avoid being “tied to a half a million dollar mortgage”.
“There’s been phenomenal interest in it. It’s surprising actually how well the concept is taking off.”
Thomas built his moveable house after returning to Christchurch to look after family and finding himself at a loose end.
via Interest growing for tiny homes | Stuff.co.nz.
2 replies on “Interest growing for tiny homes”
I am a 27yr old qualified and registered draftsman working as a new homes sales consultant/designer and doing the occasional set of working drawings to keep in touch with that side. As a young person looking to break into the impossible task of obtaining land and building I am now looking for alternative solutions.
I have previously thought about building the home on a trailer just like these people have, and it is great to read these articles and confirm my thoughts of not needing a permit if you built this way are true.
However, what dictates the “transportable” rule? Must it be road legal? Or can I simply do away with the trailer and build it on skids? A building that can be dragged around is also “transportable”.
The other question is how do you deal with the plumbing of a build? Can you have your drainage going to an onsite septic tank? Or the council system? Or must it be contained within the building?
Would be great to do this myself up here in the B.O.P.
I would be interested in discussing with any architect familiar with the monocoque style of construction, the possibility of developing designs for tiny houses which maximise internal space while maintaining modern aesthetics, in lightweight materials. bevanandjulie@hotmail.com