Everything looks more fun on TV. Otherwise, why would we sit through the commercials? If you’ve watched some of your favorite DIY and home improvement cable channels lately, you know that the Tiny House Movement has moved from the fringes into the spotlight.
There are many great reasons to consider joining the movement. You can save a lot of money, live an unencumbered lifestyle, make a lighter energy footprint on the planet—and the list of benefits stretches on. There are, however, a few downsides. Few, if any, should catch you totally unaware. They mostly have to do with the fact that these houses are, well, tiny.
Not Always Legal
Do your homework—thoroughly—before you buy a tiny house. Many of them are built on wheels – which can be great! From a zoning standpoint, this means it’s not a permanent structure. It’s likely to be seen more as something along the lines of an RV. Your local zoning regulations may not allow for a permanent installment of this—even if you own the property.
While a municipality might consider your tiny home to be an RV, the RV parks aren’t necessarily welcoming these structures with open arms.
They’re tiny and charming, but not universally loved by the folks who make the rules about zoning.
Fast Messes
There’s not much space in a tiny house. On the plus side of things, it means you’ll spend considerably less time cleaning it. But the yang to this yin is that all you need is just a little bit of disorganization can make your tiny house look a mess.
People who find resonance with the Tiny House Movement say they appreciate the concept of making a lighter footprint on the environment. While it’s true that a tiny house may consume less energy, you don’t have much space to store things. That means you can’t take advantage cost savings you get by buying things in bulk. The result is that you might end up increasing the amount of unsustainable packaging you consume in order to buy smaller portions of everything.
Sometimes, smaller isn’t better for the environment.
Living In A Puzzle
Everything about a tiny house is planned and designed to economize space. When something’s not in use, it’s likely a storage space. The process of getting to things that are stored, or rearranging the living room furniture so you can use the retractable desk, can be a big consumer of your time. These actions are seldom shown on those cable shows.
These are challenges, but for many who have chosen to live in a tiny house, they are welcome challenges. It’s part of the trade-off. Nevertheless, it’s a very different perspective to adopt if you’re used to the living space of a standard size house.
What’s The Alternative?
We make tiny house kits. We have great respect for the movement, and the clear span design of our DIY building kits make them perfect solutions.
The advantage, though, to a Miracle Truss® tiny house is that our metal and steel residences can help you take the uncertainty out of zoning. The plans for your tiny house are prepared based on where you live, so the process of permitting doesn’t present you with any of the zoning nightmares you could possibly hear about when you begin your tiny house homework again, just be sure to do your research.
Get in touch with us. We’ll share our experience with you. And yes, we do have some great, positive stories to tell about tiny homes.
