# Cheapest, easiest, fastest homes?



## EscapingToronto (Jun 27, 2011)

Just brainstorming here... husband doesn't think we could build (or have built) an entire home that we could live in... so I'm kind of tempted to go behind his back and just build it myself just to prove my point! lol
(we have separate bank accounts so no one needs to be concerned about me embezzling money from a joint account :happy2 
Anyone have any suggestions for something quick and dirty?
(Keeping in mind it CAN get to -30C in winter here)


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## John_Canada (Aug 17, 2013)

Escape, the biggest problem is the foundation cost as we have to go 4 feet and some cases 5 feet down. Look into something called "frost protected shallow foundation" or check out http://www.legalett.ca/ You can use in floor heat and this 50 year old foundation method now in Canada to save more.

My blog lists some ideas for cheap but beautiful house design and is based on houses from the 1940s to 1970s. http://usoniandreams.info/

I have priced a cheap 3 bedroom over and over and over and the cheapest to build in ontario imo is $80K in materials and probably $80K in labour depending on area.

There are a few more ways to save on the foundation and structure but the costs are still around $100/sqft and up with labour. Other thing to consider is hookups, permits, septic, blah blah that can add up to 1/4 the cost of the house.

Just some info I have found myself. Good luck.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Look into Shipping Container homes..


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## John_Canada (Aug 17, 2013)

Simi, in most municipalities in Ontario, you cannot put anything else on a property until you build a 1,000 sqft minimum house. This includes not being able to put a mobile home on a property not zoned as a mobile home park. The devil is in the details (more accurately, the codes and zoning laws) in Ontario.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

simi-steading said:


> Look into Shipping Container homes..



And once the laughter subsides, keep on looking.


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## EscapingToronto (Jun 27, 2011)

John_Canada said:


> Simi, in most municipalities in Ontario, you cannot put anything else on a property until you build a 1,000 sqft minimum house. This includes not being able to put a mobile home on a property not zoned as a mobile home park. The devil is in the details (more accurately, the codes and zoning laws) in Ontario.


Not that I'm suggesting or condoning breaking the law... but what happens if you do? lol
Are there by-laws against "storing" a mobile home on the property? 

(We're talking about a property with no neighbours, just fields), and the property itself is mostly wooded so no one would really notice... 

Another reason I ask is that my snowbird parents were thinking of just coming to live on our property in the summers so a mobile home would be perfect for them.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Well.. I didn't know in Canada they were so particular.. In the US, they can be done, and are fast, and cheaper to use than having to do it properly.. I've seen some pretty nice looking container homes..


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## EscapingToronto (Jun 27, 2011)

simi-steading said:


> Well.. I didn't know in Canada they were so particular.. In the US, they can be done, and are fast, and cheaper to use than having to do it properly.. I've seen some pretty nice looking container homes..


As have I! 

I've always been interested in shipping container homes but we also have a young-ish child so I'd have to walk a very fine line between looking creative and insane if I'm ever being questioned by child protective services lol


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## Pinetop Hunting (Aug 1, 2013)

Amish built pre fab and finish the inside by yourself?


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## dirtman (Sep 15, 2011)

I once built a shop out a a 32 ft diameter geodesic dome. It came as triangular panels that you bolted together. After the foundation was in it took me and a helper two days to assemble it. We just shingled the whole thing which wouldn't be the best look for a house I guess and had the interior sprayed with foam. I believe the worst part would be trying to do a decent drywall job on it. Still it was really easy to heat, went up completely in a week and the most expensive part was the foam. There was no hassle from the building codes people because the company that sold the kit had documentation for dead and live loads.


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

TnAndy said:


> And once the laughter subsides, keep on looking.



Right...Can you imagine living in a metal container in -30 degrees...lol dont touch the outside walls..lol


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## John_Canada (Aug 17, 2013)

EscapingToronto said:


> Not that I'm suggesting or condoning breaking the law... but what happens if you do? lol
> Are there by-laws against "storing" a mobile home on the property?
> 
> (We're talking about a property with no neighbours, just fields), and the property itself is mostly wooded so no one would really notice...
> ...


I think it depends on the municipality and neighbors. At the very least a mobile home can be moved or sold if the issue does arise. I have seen people in our current area buy 50 acres and put a container in the wooded section and a gravel drive to it and never have an issue. And, I have seen properties being sold with a mobile home in place so there must be some areas that allow it. This is long ago from architecture class but we were told the officials use a plane to photograph and look for changes to see if something was built. In fact, our teacher at the time was fined $2000 for building a deck without a permit. Long ago tho and I have heard stories in Ontario of people building small houses no problem and some that have. To me, I would not go to the municipality at all to ask them and do it but have a plan to remove it if something is said.

Our plan is to build the 900 sq/ft garage/shop first which will act as a temp 3 bedroom house initially and then live in it while building the real house. Sometimes I wish we lived in the US in a non-building codes area! Would make it so much easier and cheaper.


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## John_Canada (Aug 17, 2013)

Sorry, missed the storing RV part. Yes there is bylaws in most semi-populated areas that prevent this long term. The usual is 6 weeks you can park an RV not in a zoned area but again I am sure it depends on the inspectors and your neighbors what would be done (our neighbor down the street stores theirs 24/7/365 no prob). If you know the municipality, you can look up their by-laws. These are not criminal codes but municipal bylaws that usually come with fines only and hey, they may even be cheaper to pay than the permits (not that I condone that!) It is like the fact it is sometimes cheaper to pay a parking ticket in Toronto than the parking fees!

These are just things I have come across. The other things have to deal with energy star ratings and so forth that Canada has passed into law.


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## Maxiem 1530 (Sep 11, 2013)

Here in Regional District of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, we are not allowed to build a garage first, we have to build a residence first. We looked at the mobile homes, cheapest we could find was $90K for a single wide x 50ft long. Construction was very poor quality. Used mobiles all we found were rotted out and here they require to have a CSA sticker. Also prices of a 20 year old mobile they often wanted more than a new mobile. No value for money here in this area. Next we looked at buying a wellsite (Atco type industrial building used at remote oilfield locations). We can get a used one at the Richie Bros auctions for under $20K and they are very well built and fully equipped for the coldest winter. But these prefab structures are not allowed here in RDN.


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## Maxiem 1530 (Sep 11, 2013)

Here in Regional District of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, we are not allowed to build a garage first, we have to build a residence first. We looked at the mobile homes, cheapest we could find was $90K for a single wide x 50ft long. Construction was very poor quality. Used mobiles all we found were rotted out and here they require to have a CSA sticker. Also prices of a 20 year old mobile they often wanted more than a new mobile. No value for money here in this area. Next we looked at buying a wellsite (Atco type industrial building used at remote oilfield locations). We can get a used one at the Richie Bros auctions for under $20K and they are very well built and fully equipped for the coldest winter. But these prefab structures are not allowed here in RDN.


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