Reader Request: Yurts and Other Structures for Residential Land?

  |  June 21, 2012

A reader wrote in to ask us about prefab houses to plop atop her residential land. Of course, she’ll need to figure out her electric and sewer (unless she’s planning to live off the grid), but here are a few interesting structures she might consider. Please add your own!

 

Modern, Modular Prefab
There are so many good looking models that it’s hard to choose, but we like the designs from Sustain, a Canadian company that aims to reinvent trailer parks as hubs of tiny modern prefab homes. These are green houses, with low-flow plumbing, living roofs, formaldehyde-free cabinetry and such. They can be anchored to concrete piers.

 

Pre-Assembled Tiny Houses
The most famous of this genre is the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, which started with one guy building (and living in) 100 square feet on wheels (to get along zoning codes that required minimum house sizes). Now it’s an empire, and you can choose a kit, plans or an assembled home, like the Zinn, above. It’s $13,999, assembled.

Storage Containers for Residential Use
A wonderful example of repurposed shipping containers is Container City, which aims to build entire communities out of them. They are, of course, bare bones building blocks. They require that windows be cut out, they need wiring and insulation and plumbing. But they get your walls, floor and ceiling up fast, and are definitely modular. Here’s a primer on shipping and storage containers for residential use.

 

Read On, Reader...