Tesla’s New Tiny House for Sustainable Living

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Lerner, Jan 3, 2022.

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  1. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

     
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  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Where do you put the pool and the guest cabana?
     
  3. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Is this going to turn into the equivalent of the Vegas loop? He'll buy a handful of motorhomes, slap TESLA on them, and say it's what he meant all along.
     
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  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    "Tiny Houses" are not a new thing. In a lot of places you can't set 'em down and live in them. Local (and Provincial) authorities won't issue permits under a certain square footage. I don't believe there's ANYWHERE in Ontario (the Province I live in) where you can legally build and occupy a 400-square foot house. I read a long-running saga of a search throughout the Province. NOTHING!

    Yes, I've heard of "Granny flats" etc. but I have never EVER seen one here. I think it's at least partly because Fire departments don't like extra dwellings in the backyard - difficult to reach in case of fire. I've seen houses that have another dwelling in the backyard - some occupied - but those I've seen were built mostly from 1910-1930. They let the old ones live. Some of the brick ones are still around - many built of wood etc. have eventually deteriorated - or been destroyed (predictably, I guess) by fire - and have been pulled down.

    I think this is all VERY tawdry marketing - a cheap consolation to people who can't buy the kind of homes municipalities etc. allow. I have seen them - on wheels and permanently parked by the owners who live in them as long-term tenants of trailer parks - in some other Provinces. What I saw (on TV news) was pretty horrible. It was about 20-25 years ago and the mobile palace cost around $40K then, to buy. The big feature of the kitchen was a tiny 9-inch toaster oven - the kind you pay $29 for at the discount store. Nothing else to cook with. That "oven" fit over the fridge and I think only "Hubby" was tall enough to use it. The weirdest (and probably most disgusting) thing I saw in another of these places was a table that pulled apart to reveal the composting toilet underneath! Or maybe it was a bed, not a table, that pulled apart. I can't remember - and it's bets forgotten.

    It's kind of like those 3 or 4-wheel motorcycle-like thingies from Asia that have been marketed by creating a false impression they are somehow cheap "cars." They aren't. They are consolation pieces for people who can't buy real cars. And these um... dwellings (?) I believe serve that same purpose, for people who can't afford to buy homes. I don't think these are suitable for the developed world.

    Not the answer to a housing crisis - unless the rules change drastically - and there's NO sign of that hereabouts.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2022
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  5. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    Not even watching the video but the notion of Musk and tiny homes always cracks me up. I have a bridge to sell if anyone really believes his statements about living in that tiny prefab…
     
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  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    These are also called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and in a lot of places there has been a liberalization on restrictions on them, including California, which makes sense considering its housing crisis.

    https://accessorydwellings.org/adu-regulations-by-city/

    I've been tempted to put one of these in my back yard, actually.
     
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  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I haven't - but then I don't own a back yard right now - although I might, again - It could happen.

    Seriously, I understand how these COULD work to alleviate current housing problems. But here? Maybe in a hundred years. There has been some experimentation with "laneway" housing in places where the real estate price situation is so dire that it's beyond dire - meta-dire, I guess, e.g. Vancouver. But not with these mini-thingies. Folks in the main houses pay big taxes - and vote. They want their standards upheld by newcomers in the laneways, to keep property values up. And nothing that has affected Ontario's rigid stance -- yet.

    MY main objection is: I don't think the products I've seen and read about are basically any good. Many don't have basic living amenities like bathrooms! I read of cases where people have managed to park one of these "homes" long-term in a friend's backyard or driveway. That's not advisable anywhere near where I live - specific statutes against ANY living in trailers etc. (i.e. anything that isn't the main home) on the site of the main residence.

    The upshot is: any time these folks parked with friends / relatives need a bathroom -- they have to knock on the main house door. Awkward, especially at 3 a.m., or in November, when all the bushes have lost their leaves! And of course they have to siphon off other services, e.g. electricity, from the main house. Around here, they can't get utility hookups for an illegal residence. This is NOT living. These things (and the legislation, both) have to be a LOT better. Maybe then, they might be legal around these parts. And yes, that will make them WAY more expensive. You get what you pay for - or in the housing market these days -- much less, perhaps.

    "Katrina cottages" were a way better solution. Great-looking, too, some of them. Real design. And there are still some houses around, built from kits immediately after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. They still look really great compared to Musk's tin cans and the others. I hear they go for good money, too - historical value. We need a better solution than bathroom-less mini boxes.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2022
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  8. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Some of my friends in SCal, placed similar units in their back yard.
    On one occasion this helped their son to move in there during some years of financial hardships.
    Other friend had his younger daughter move in to such unit after her divorce.
    When she moved out, he used it as guest house and even rented it to a couple for sometime.
    Will it qualify as RB&B?
     
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    A nice thing to do. I'm sure quite a few ex-husbands could use such a generous gesture! :)

    Back in the day, I might have welcomed it --- but not with MY parents - Noooo!
    But it was OK. Nice bachelor apt. - building with a pool & sauna. $180 a month. (Well over 40 yrs ago.)
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2022
  10. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    I'm a big fan of Mr. Musk. Saving all my coins for Starlink and Tesla Phone. I have no desire to leave this planet but, I daydream of speculating in Martian real estate.
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Who will you buy it from? Vladimir Putin?
     
  12. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    I've been wondering how it will work on the Mars Colony or will it be colonies? You know, the Soviets had probes on Venus before the U.S. landed Viking on Mars I don't know if the Ruskies have any claim on Mars. It will be fascinating to see what happens. I to expect to see Elon Musk's infrastructure for a colony well underway before any nation state's.
    Have e seen mockups of his Spaceship? As a Star Trek afflicted Christian, it appears to me that he's employing Vulcan technology.
     
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  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I'm not saying Musk isn't an energetic fellow, but I'll believe a Mars colony when I see it.
     
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  14. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    If they don't, I'm sure the present Russian administration can quickly make one up.

    Interesting thought. And I'm equally sure the present Russian administration is unafflicted by Christianity - or has religious scruples of any faith at all. I'm an avowed Godless Heathen myself and I can recognize my own kind instantly.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2022
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    My guess is that terraforming Mars--or even establishing a human-friendly eco-system (artificial or otherwise) large enough to sustain a colony--would be a lot harder than just fixing up the old place.
     
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  16. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    I know: a whole separate conversation. Are you familiar with Our Lady of Fatima? She asked for Russia to be Consecrated. I think Saint John Paul The Great achieved this. It was done before pool but, he did it publicly. The Cold War is behind us. Forever, I pray. From what I can gather. I have a high opinion of the Russian Patriarch. I love Pope Francis. I've been enamored with B16 since he was Joe Ratzinger.
    Religion,a huge part of our culture, in space will also be fascinating.
    Joe Strazynski briefly considers an order of administrative Christian monks in his Babylon Five.So fun to think about.
     
  17. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    The establishment of a priestly class, with administrative functions, goes back to the beginnings of human civilization. In fact, it's one of the distinct marks of an emerging civilization. In early times, e.g. Egypt, they ran distribution from the granaries. And I'm sure, for better or worse, their class will be here to the end, even if there are no granaries to be run. Haven't really thought of them since I learned this in history class, in the 1950s.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2022
  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Except, possibly, when I hear of priests doing very bad things. That has been quite often and I knew one of those.
     
  19. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    Interesting. I never thought of Strazynski's (fictional) monks as a priestly ruling class type. I wonder if they will appear in the new Babylon 5 episodes.
     
  20. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Neither Brother Theo's order nor the monks in the season four finale are such.

    It will be interesting to see which old favorites and which new ideas make it into the reimagining.
     
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