OK, I agree that small is relative.
But take a look at these homes.
They’re so small you can’t take a picture except from above.
And these folks aren’t living that way to make a point about sustainability.
The photographs were commissioned by the Society for Community Organization, as a means of drawing attention to the housing crisis in the Hong Kong, a city with rents that average 35% higher than New York City and housing prices that average a staggering $1,300 a square foot.
Our home will be built from the ground up — all ours, hand-crafted!
But some people like to take a few shortcuts — like using shipping containers to build houses.
Here’s my pick:
I like the roof — of course!
Hands up everyone who had a vacation cabin on a lake!
Anyone? When I was a kid it was no big deal for a family to have a cabin on Christina Lake. (Yes, I was one of the luckiest kids on earth. I still am.)
Our handy-man Dad built two cabins, an a-frame, then we sold that and he built one with a flat roof. They were built on land leased from the government, on the west side of the lake — that is, the side with no road. Every board, every nail, the wood stove and every stick of furniture had to be loaded onto the boat or made into a raft that could be towed. A lot of the materials were salvaged from shacks that the railway was tearing down. We spent every weekend away from the heat of our BC interior house, in the beautiful cool woods and warm water of Christina Lake.
Those cabins have been passed on to other families to enjoy, and I hope they love the memories of those halcyon days as much as I do. But I’ve always thought a cabin retreat, far from one’s daily life, is a wonderful thing. It doesn’t have to be large, and the less fuss required to keep it up the better. Just something the whole family can enjoy.
Four Texas families had the same idea, and built their vacation homes close together.
The woods are a little sparser than those of my childhood, and the river is nothing like that beautiful pristine lake. But they have the rustic charm I remember (although we did without electricity. And running water.)
And they are small. To me, a real get-away does not include extensive housekeeping. A quick sweep-out, an occasional dusting. Cabins are for relaxing.
A new organization called the EGB — Emerging Green Builders of Metro Vancouver are inviting the general public to an information session on laneway homes on March 20.
Hi folks,
The new hedge location.
It’s me, DD (dear daughter, of “Main House”). I’ve been enjoying reading my mom’s posts about her purging and planning and prepping. We’ve been busy at the main house too, so I thought I’d contribute a little about what’s been happening on our property as we prepare for the new structure.
We’re actually very fortunate that the majority of our backyard is a concrete parking pad. The excavator will take care of that. On the other hand, having an excavator arrive on our back doorstep will have quite an impact. We do have some yard, and it’s populated by some great plants: boxwoods, rhododendrons, heathers, a firebush, a wisteria, a fig … we have a lot of creepers.
Mapoleon in his new spot. The first question DH asked was “won’t their branches get all tangled up?” Yes. Probably. Fine.
Our first plan was to simply transplant everything to the front yard and create an amazing garden up there. We hit a couple of roadblocks. First, the city won’t let the laneway house pull water service from the back alley – so our contractors are going to have to chop up our front lawn. They'[re going to run a bobcat up there and dig, dig, dig. Second, we are planning to re-do the front of the house in the next few years (including weeping tile) so we can’t really create permanent gardens of awesomeness. Anything not touched this round will be squished during that phase of renovations.
So for now, a compromise. First we moved Mapoleon, our miniature Japanese maple, from his spot directly in the path of the new water line. Yes, we moved him under another tree, and yes, there will be some branch negotiations. It’s really the only spot that was free.
We’re going to re-home some of the boxwoods to a new sidewalk hedge (leaving a 40″ space for the bobcat), and put the rest in pots on our deck and nooks and crannies out front. The contractors are going to lay weeping tile (drain tile) along the water line trench they dig on the West and South sides of the house. (The front and East sides will be covered by a future project). And we will have to get used to moving our plants to and fro until all the projects are complete.
Easy peasy? Not exactly. The goal with the Main House is to do as much ourselves as possible. But over the last weekend we learned we’re not landscapers. Here are some challenges we experienced:
Only one person can work at a time, because we have a toddler.
Root balls are massive. And heavy. We’re strong but. Really, they’re heavy.
Stripping sod is hard work, especially as you have to haul away the heavy sod somewhere else.
A wheelbarrow will not work if the tire is flat. (Did I mention we’re not professionals? We’re not even really amateurs.)
It rains a lot in Vancouver. So far we have timed every move to the rainiest possible moment. The bonus is the plants need moisture for successful transplantation. I guess there’s that.
We’re wet, sore, tired and we’ve barely begun. That said, it’s worth it to save our (sentimental and expensive) plants. We’d just caution other homeowners undertaking a secondary dwelling to budget for a landscaper to transplant for them … or budget a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen.
The Courier ran this story about information sessions on laneway regulations.
And the City of Vancouver’s website confirms the Information Session on March 7.
That linked page says:
Come to an information session to learn more about proposed changes to the City’s laneway housing program, which allows for smaller, detached homes built on a single-family lot near the lane. They provide more housing choices in single-family neighbourhoods, adding rental options for a diverse range of people including seniors who want to downsize or renters who want to live in detached housing in established neighbourhoods.
Currently, laneway houses are permitted in certain single-family zones (RS-1 and RS-5) in the city. We’re looking at amending the program to improve the fit of these homes in neighbourhoods and create more livable units. The program would also be expanded to include the remaining single-family home zoning districts (RS-1A, RS-1B, RS-2, RS-3/3A, RS-4, RS-6, RS-7).
Drop by a session to find out more.City staff will be on hand to answer questions.
Good news, everyone! Vancouver civic government recognizes that the laneway house movement is a great way to add density to our city without sacrificing the character of neighbourhoods.
Yesterday the story appeared in Business in Vancouver, The Vancouver Sun, and on Global News on how the city is planning to increase the number of laneway homes.The Business in Vancouver says
The city has announced that, later this spring, city staff will report to city council with proposed amendments to the program and guidelines to expand the program to other single-family zoned areas.
According to the city’s guide,
Laneway houses are allowed on lots
in RS-1 and RS-5 single family zones
They want to expand the program into more zones. Plus they are planning to streamline the process and encourage more single-storey buildings.
I hope we will have laneway neighbours up and down our street, and the city will embrace this “new” way of housing that truly reflects our society and our culture.
I love Vancouver. I was born here (yes! native-born Vancouverites do exist) but I was also lucky enough to live in a small town, and I choose Vancouver because I love it.
But there is a heavy price for living in this city — literally. That price is the cost of housing. Housing is expensive here. If they put up thousands of rental units and hundreds of low-cost condos the housing price may even out — temporarily. Because more and more people are going to move here, and those houses and condos and rentals are going to be filled up and it’s just going to be on a giant roller coaster of prices — it’s never going to be cheap to live here. It’s like when they build more freeways to bring people into town from the suburbs. Guess what! That means more people will move to the suburbs and those freeways will be filled up again in a few years and you go back to the beginning, world without end.
But the cost of housing here is not reflected in our wages and salaries. So most of us are caught in a real squeeze, especially if you are raising children. Affordable private housing for families of 3 or 4 usually starts at about $650,000 (if you are lucky enough to find it).
So it’s always nice to see someone trying to do something for those families.
In this story in BC Business, a proposal for co-housing has been brought to Vancouver City Hall for approval. The idea is a hybrid of private ownership and co-op housing.
As opposed to a co-operative housing complex, wherein a corporation or association owns units and residents own shares in that corporation, co-housing allows each individual to own some living space outright, and share other areas with fellow residents.
I lived in a co-op with my children for over 12 years, and for me, it was great. There was always someone for the kids to play with, space for them to play in, people watched out for each other, and we made a community. But you always knew that you weren’t living in your “very own” space. It was just like having a nosy landlord — except all your neighbours were your landlords.
So I welcome the idea of co-housing. And the price will be more reasonable than detached houses. But it won’t be cheap.
the complex estimates the price of a 875 sq. ft. unit to be $480,000.
Hot on the heels of my previous post about ownership of our laneway comes this article on the Senior Living website.
The “canny senior” , Ann Eynon has built a laneway on her daughter’s property (such a clever idea!). She says
“It’s lovely to free up the cash rather than sitting on it,” she says while pouring over travel brochures. Where to go next?
Exactly! Plus there’s some info on how different families are handling the ownership “situation”.
Some families enter into joint ownership; others agree to forgivable loans. Put everything in writing, especially when adult children are involved……… amortizing …payback over 25 years and clarifying a payout schedule if, or when, the unit changes hands.
Or, if no payback is expected, as in Ann Eynon’s case,
she made sure everybody understood her situation before she broke ground. Ann will have her laneway house appraised and then assign percentages of its value to each of her two children.
I was showing a friend the plans for the souped-up kitchen in the laneway house (more on that in a future post) and even dragged out the little square of wood veneer to show how the cupboards will be finished. She oohed and aahed, I kvelled, it was a pleasant time. Then she said “It just makes sense to spend money on the kitchen, because of the resale value.”
And just like a needle being dragged across a record, the conversation veered off from cozy decor to cold hard facts.
We are paying for the laneway home to be built. And we’ll be spending a little more than absolutely necessary to get exactly what we want in the way of finishes, appliances and building materials. And we will live in it. But we won’t own it. The owners of the main home on the property own the laneway house as well. That’s the rule.
All our money is buying us is the right to live in the house until…..we don’t want to live there anymore.
Oh, we’ll get our money out of it. Eventually the property owners (DD and DSIL) will eventually start making payments to us for the amount we paid to build the home — but no more, no matter how much the property may have appreciated in value.
It works out very well for us all. They get a free babysitting at hand, we can share shopping trips, it’s a nice convivial living situation for everyone involved.
But we are stepping off the real estate merry-go-round forever. And that’s the way we want it.
We cannot have our cake and eat it, too. We can stay in this condo and watch it go up in value every year, but we can’t take that money and use it. Yes we are sitting on the proverbial gold mine, but that’s just it, we’re sitting on it, not mining it.
Building the laneway home gives us a chance to live mortgage-free in a lovely neighbourhood in our favourite city in the world. Next to the nicest neighbours we could imagine.
What more could we want?
Come walk with me, Down My Dark & Stormy Journey BUSINESS INQUIRIES & CONTACT EMAIL : GODSCHILD4048@GMAIL.COM
Artist and Desert Dweller with Big City Style.
Domenic Garisto / LIFE IS NOT A REHERSAL,SO LIVE IT..if you can't be the poet, be the poem..havau22.com
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Lane Way Housing for the Nervous Novice
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