Tiny houses, laws, permits, safety etc.. British Columbia

Don't forget a wood burning hot tub or sauna

Building without a permit is limited to 10' x 10' which is about the size of Bubble's toolshed, not 10 meters by 10 meters. My friend built a 100 square foot cabin and lived in it for a few years and while it was okay in the summer when he was outside alot, in the middle of winter it got a bit cramped.

Shipping containers seem like a cool idea but they cost 3-4 times what the same size stick framed structure would cost to build from wood plus you are still framing and insulating the interior walls because a steel box is damn cold in the winter and damn hot in the summer.

I lived in a yurt for a while and it was kinda cool at first but I got tired of it after a few months. Think about living in a giant tent - when it's hot it's sweltering, when it rains you can barely sleep because the rain is so loud on the "roof" and even with the insulation "kit" you need more firewood than a 4000 sq ft house would use to keep the place warm. Even though yurts originated in cold climates the original inhabitants were likely hard as fuck and could put up with long winters and cold temps better than we can. It's really not a comfortable place to live in the middle of winter around here IMO.

Edit: forgot to say that living in a yurt seems to attract flaky hippie girls and repel the type of woman you'd actually like to get to know so keep that in mind if things don't work out with your wife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXqvZO6M2a8

http://northword.ca/features/long-journey-to-a-small-space-reflections-on-building-a-very-t

small house built by a smitehrs local

Just get a used trailer. They've already figured out how to squeeze everything into a tight space. Used, the prices are pretty good. You can sell it later at not much of a loss. It's also portable - you could hook it up to a vehicle and go travel around.

This looks like what you need. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/for/3786029088.html

This looks like what you need. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/for/3786029088.html

$725/sq. ft with an unfinished kitchen and no land or hookups?

hells no

Top of the ad says $189,000
Bottom says $18,900

If it's really 19K that's a pretty good deal, but it would be simple to build yourself. Shipping it anywhere is going to cost in the thousands, I would think.

^ I like it. But yes I would prefer to build something myself. Can be even cheaper if one checks salvage yards for things like doors, windows, sinks, toilets, pipes etc…

Story on CBC this AM about a builder in Nelson making sub 10m2 houses:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/05/09/bc-nelson-tiny-homes.html

http://www.nelsontinyhouses.com/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDcVrVA4bSQ

So if you buy a few acres in rural BC how often does big brother come poking around? Do they make regular visits? If there's a small structure far from the road does anyone actually take the time to go snooping through your property notice?

Does it depend where the property is? Does distance from urban centers relate in any way to how much land is regulated?

they're around more than you think..

http://www.bcassessment.ca/Pages/AssessmentRollInformation.aspx

I'm not an expert at all at this, but I do live in the regional district you are wondering about, and I know folks who have built stuff without permits. From what I've heard, is yes, people get frustrated in the permit process so they say screw it, yes, the authorities occasionally drive around, but a lot of the time if you get burned, it is because your neighbour gave you up. (I'm sure that goes for all regional districts pretty much)

edit: maybe I'll add, the driving around part was in an area that a lot of subdividing of was going on…an obvious place to look for illegal structures…

a sorta related side note, I do remember listening to the radio in WA about some level of government using Google Earth to prove people had additions, out buildings, etc in order to go after back taxes and fines and what not.