Texas

[ShadowsFIAL]

You know, we live in a fixer-upper. It was what we could afford. Our mobile home in another town was nicer than this house. But I would rather live in my fixer-upper where I can have my animals than a fancy house in the city where I'm told I can't have barking dogs, crowing roosters, or a garden. It's all about perception and making the most of what you have. Contentment is a state of mind.

Exactly! I wouldn't mind having a fixer upper. Like my and my husband say, we can handle the weather stuff. Hook up a lil space heater and ac in our room, and fix the rest of the house. We just need to fix up the bedroom first to where it is our comfy place, then the rest of the house can be fixed a little at a time. =) As long as it is our house, i will be happy. Then Weiss can come inside whenever we want him too(which would be all the time) and I can bring my chickens in is DH lets me when I ask nicely

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

I need to have Kilsharion's DH build me a little house!

I would love to live in it <3 He is so good at building. he makes me jealous. =)

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

There is an incubator on craigslist I want =_= darn you empty bank account.

Oh well. Maybe I will find another one eventually, or make one. I still want to make one, but I am so, so worried about doing something wrong.

 

[Kilsharion]

I need to have Kilsharion's DH build me a little house!

I would love to live in it <3 He is so good at building. he makes me jealous. =)

He did build quite a few small cabins and has remodeled several homes in the past.

A little, 400 sq ft home would not be impossible to build, and you can actually get a lot of your framing lumber and such from free posts on CL. Believe it or not. All the lumber we used for the coop (2x6 treated lumber), the shiplap, the boardwalk, etc was all free from CL. The only thing we had to buy was the hardware cloth and the tin for the roof. Oh, and nails and a new motor for his table saw...

But, you know what I mean.

The biggest fly in the ointment of building your own small home is the stupid state requirements. Getting the plumbing, electrical, etc all signed off. There are a lot of small home plans that are very easy to follow and give you a very cute, very comfortable small home. They are small. But, considering it's just you two, it should be more than enough room. Mike and I manage in a 32' sailboat for quite some time and were very comfortable. It's just a matter of learning to work with the space you have - which is sounds like you already do if you are living with roommates.

Here are some of the plans Mike and I were looking at before we found and fell in love with the house we now live in:
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/ (these guys are great - they even give you the estimated cost to build one of their designs)
http://www.ideabox.us/models/cubes/
http://www.kithaus.com/ (very small - most would not find them enjoyable for homes; but, we loved the idea of them. And, you can expand them over time as you can afford them. You need to consider composte toilets and induction heating units or something for cooking...but, yeah)
http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2011/07/15/introducing-the-pioneers-cabin-16x20-tiny-house-plans/ This was one we really liked. You'd have to build it yourself; but, the plans are easy to follow.

But, anyway - It's possible to build a fairly small house on a tiny budget. The problem is, having the land to build it on. And, just so you know, especially here in TX....you can build one of these small houses in a short period of time. If you start construction in April, you could finish by the end of July. Which means, you can live in a tent while you are doing it. A friend of mine did exactly that in Denver. Yes, she lived in a tent while building her Tiny House....different months; but, same idea. Not a lot of fun, and you're more than happy to see the tent wadded up when you're done; but...


Oh, and you can build it using nominal electrical, so you could use solar if you wanted. It helps to supplement it with wind as well (you can get wind generators that are meant for boats and put them on your roofline to get great results). People get rid of their old panels fairly cheaply as they upgrade. If you do the entire house DC, you don't need inverters, either - just connect direct to the battery bank - it's what we do on the boat. You can get all DC/propane appliances, as well. And, if you use a composting toilet, you can avoid needing a septic tank and just go gray water lines. Much easier on the pocketbook.

Not that I've given it any thought or anything...

 

[Cockle-Dood]

i know the feeling! i got off early yesterday and was like "what a great day to run by the feed store and just see whats in stock" then had to decide against it cause i know they would have something i needed and would depress myself more by not being able to get it! lol!

but this weekend, found another feed store thats closer that supposedly has chicks stocked year round from ideal that is pretty close to me, so i will definatly be checking that out with a $20 in my pocket!

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

He did build quite a few small cabins and has remodeled several homes in the past.

A little, 400 sq ft home would not be impossible to build, and you can actually get a lot of your framing lumber and such from free posts on CL. Believe it or not. All the lumber we used for the coop (2x6 treated lumber), the shiplap, the boardwalk, etc was all free from CL. The only thing we had to buy was the hardware cloth and the tin for the roof. Oh, and nails and a new motor for his table saw...

But, you know what I mean.

The biggest fly in the ointment of building your own small home is the stupid state requirements. Getting the plumbing, electrical, etc all signed off. There are a lot of small home plans that are very easy to follow and give you a very cute, very comfortable small home. They are small. But, considering it's just you two, it should be more than enough room. Mike and I manage in a 32' sailboat for quite some time and were very comfortable. It's just a matter of learning to work with the space you have - which is sounds like you already do if you are living with roommates.

Here are some of the plans Mike and I were looking at before we found and fell in love with the house we now live in:
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/ (these guys are great - they even give you the estimated cost to build one of their designs)
http://www.ideabox.us/models/cubes/
http://www.kithaus.com/ (very small - most would not find them enjoyable for homes; but, we loved the idea of them. And, you can expand them over time as you can afford them. You need to consider composte toilets and induction heating units or something for cooking...but, yeah)
http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2011/07/15/introducing-the-pioneers-cabin-16x20-tiny-house-plans/ This was one we really liked. You'd have to build it yourself; but, the plans are easy to follow.

But, anyway - It's possible to build a fairly small house on a tiny budget. The problem is, having the land to build it on. And, just so you know, especially here in TX....you can build one of these small houses in a short period of time. If you start construction in April, you could finish by the end of July. Which means, you can live in a tent while you are doing it. A friend of mine did exactly that in Denver. Yes, she lived in a tent while building her Tiny House....different months; but, same idea. Not a lot of fun, and you're more than happy to see the tent wadded up when you're done; but...

Wow!I am going to have to show these to DH when he gets home! I love the idea, thank you so much, as it is, we practically live in a 12'x12'(might be a 10'x10' never really measured) room. All of our stuff is in this room, our 8'x3' shed, or our cars. We have a few shelves in the fridge, and a few cabinets in the kitchen, so I think we could make due. =)

 

[Cockle-Dood]

i was reading last nite about pasture pigs!! Kunekune i think they were called? does anyone have any experience with this kinda thing?

 

[Cockle-Dood]

great news guys!! my boss just gave me permission to take 2 huge plywood server shipment crates!

breeding pens here i come!! these two crates are easily 6' by 4' and pretty sturdy! slap a run and a pop door on those and im good to go! i will attempt to sneak into the warehouse later and snap a pic for any ideas that you all may have!!

 

[Fentressfarmer]

Didn't mean to complain about our little house but we just want something that didn't come in on wheels 20 years ago. We have fixed the old girl quite a bit actually! Just want a slab so I don't keep having scorpions, am just so scared of the day my little girl gets stung. And I do spray about once a month to keep them gone but we still get them time to time, even though I have noticed less of them as time goes on with chickens!!!

 

[Fentressfarmer]

great news guys!! my boss just gave me permission to take 2 huge plywood server shipment crates! breeding pens here i come!! these two crates are easily 6' by 4' and pretty sturdy! slap a run and a pop door on those and im good to go! i will attempt to sneak into the warehouse later and snap a pic for any ideas that you all may have!!

Congrats!