- Posted by: Nicole Maccarone
- Category: Architecture
Why is it so Hard to Build a Small a House?
(Image courtesy of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company)
With the economy on the verge of a recession and the urgency to lessen environmental impact at an all-time high, it’s no wonder many people are turning to smaller homes. Marty Pieroni, a developer from Kuna, Idaho, has dealt with consumers that are seeking smaller spaces due to financial restrictions or just a need to simplify their lives. Although he signed a contract for 1,400 square foot houses with the City of Kuna, he recently requested to build 20 houses that were 1,250 square feet, 150 square feet less than his minimum. The City Council turned down the request, saying that they want to increase the value of housing in the area and attract buyers. Their fear is that Kuna would soon be known as a city with inexpensive starter homes that would deflate values of surrounding, established properties. However, Pieroni told them this wasn’t the case. He emphasized that with the help of sound material choices, a smaller house can appear aesthetically similar to a more traditional larger house, but with 695 square feet less space than the average house last year. And in using better quality and long-lasting materials, less maintenance would be required on the part of the owner, and ultimately environmental impact would decrease – even more so, with the integration of on-site solar, wind, and/or geothermal power.
What are the actual benefits of a smaller house, anyway? Quite simply, it is better for the environment and more economical at the same time, counter to the reflexive notion that all things green building-oriented are more expensive. Furthermore, a small house encourages simplified living, which results in less waste, less clutter, less use of electricity, and less water consumption. The less space that’s available for habitation, the less power is consumed for heating and cooling, therefore removing fewer overall resources from our ever depleting supply.
City of Kuna
Small House Society
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
Nicole Maccarone is an Ecolect Super Intern based in the East Coast office in Providence, RI.
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on June 25th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I agree that smaller homes are what the consumer should be looking at, but I’ve also seen developers in this town that start a subdivision with one thing in mind, then changed course and allowed smaller, cheaper homes to be built. Makes it very hard to sell the more expensive home when you use comparative market values. If this developer can guarantee the same quality and style of home with maybe more green and energy efficient features in a smaller home then I think the neighbors would be OK with that. But unfortunately that has not been the case in the past in Kuna.