Living in a Tiny House Full Time in the UK | 4 Years Later…!

[@patkilmurray4702]

I've just found your channel, very interested in your situation as my son converted a removal van into an amazing tiny house, he's a carpenter so he's done it well however he's living on private land with permission from the owner but no planning permission. The Council are on his case so he lives in constant fear of being moved on with nowhere to put it. I do wish that the authorities would make it easier for tiny house living especially in the present housing climate. I wish you well with your future plans and hope you find the perfect plot.

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Planning permission is a nightmare, I guess for good reason to some extent but it makes living alternatively very difficult especially as conventional housing is so unaffordable and people just need somewhere to live. Is the van moveable? He could try seasonal pitches at campsites if it will drive although they’re not the cheapest. If it’s static then it might be more difficult. If he’s not causing any bother I don’t know why the council care so much.

[@jeaniesnowball6735]

Good luck

[@kitchenworker446]

I'm new to your channel and wanted to comment that I am pleasantly surprised to hear that you rent the land where you are. There are so many examples of people living in a tiny home and when you delve into the background - it turns out that their tiny home is parked on Mum ad Dads land and they have no rent to pay and need no permission to be there. Sometimes it even emerges that they are connected to mum and dads sewage, electric and gas supplies! It is refreshing to hear about someone for whom this is not the case.

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Yep, we managed to get here on our own, we did borrow some money to buy the house though. I think we got really lucky with where we’ve ended up, it’s nothing glamorous but we’re so grateful just having somewhere to stay and to be able to live this way as it’s has had such a positive impact on our lives. Looking back we took quite a big risk without really having a backup plan but fortunately it’s worked out and in about 2 years time so 6 years in total, the house will have paid for itself by costing about £700 a month less than what we used to pay in rent.

[@valgodders]

Ah lovely to see you again! I did wonder how you all were getting on ? And are still happy in the tiny house

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Hi Val, yes still going! This week has been a bit cold though, but nothing a hot water bottle can’t fix :)

[@mikeycjdean707]

Really interesting. I like how you go through the pros and cons of a tiny house.

[@bjw1965]

Great update - thanks - exciting plans for the future, look forward to future vids 😊

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Well if all goes to plan then hopefully we’ll have our own piece of land or somewhere of our own which will be exciting and we’ll have lots to do and can share the experience and process on here. At the moment though we’re just plodding along really, we don’t want to invest any real time or money into where we are if we’re going to move in a few years, so there isn’t really anything to film or share hence why I haven’t uploaded many videos recently. We keep looking at potential places we can go but we don’t have enough money yet but it’s still fun to look :)

[@markkunath8440]

I have a 4kw heat pump in my 30m2 tiny house. No underfloor heating but might upgrade to it as it sounds amazing 😍. We get down to -10 celcius and stay warm. Maybe consider Spain it Portugal for cheaper land.

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

4kw sounds expensive! 😂 I think the underfloor heating is only 150 watts per metre and we just have a 3 metre strip so about 450/500 watts and it is lovely as the floor gets so cold, it’s just a thin strip that quite literally is just rolled out underneath the floor and is plugged in through a thermostat so quite simple installation wise. I wouldn’t say it was really heating though in the same sense as a heat pump but it manages fine down to maybe 1°or 2°C. It certainly couldn’t handle -10 though, would have to leave the oven running all day at those temperatures!

[@louisecara3256]

I have a house with no heating. We have a Woodburner it’s the best thing ever. My partner has bought 7 acres in Devon but I know they get funny about you just living on your land.

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

They certainly do! Although you can live on it for 60 days a year no questions asked. We have a campervan and I pondered over if we could buy some land and just stay on it at the weekends and then stay on the road during the week. Would love to have 7 acres of land though :)

[@louiswilliamterminator2887]

Humidity management is similar for larger houses. Modern UK homes are terribly designed. Ideally, the air should be replaced constantly. Air inlets should be added to 'dry' spaces and extracted from the wettest spaces. Ideally walls, windows, roof and floor would be well insulated, and heating added as necessary. Water vapour generation should be limited. Keep showers short, then squeegee walls of shower. Keep lids on pans and use a kitchen extractor when cooking. Dry clothes and towels outside. Use a dehumidifier as a last resort

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Sounds like you know what you’re doing! :)

[@louiswilliamterminator2887]

@@LivingTheTinyLife It's relatively simple when you look at the physics. Modern lifestyles put a lot of water into our living spaces. Modern buildings have been designed to be much more air tight than they used to be. The water added to the air needs to be removed, otherwise it will condense as it hits the 'dew point'. Hot air can carry much more water than cold air. Air circulates in a building through convection currents. At cold spots in the building, humid air will cool and fall below the dew point and dump condensation. If that continues, you get permanently damp spots and mould will grow. Best solution: let sufficient cold, relatively dry air enter dry spaces. In heating season, the cool air is warmed and it can evaporate excess moisture. A pressure gradient then draws the air from dry spaces to wet ones as it gathers heat and water carrying capacity. It is used to dry the wettest of spaces before being expelled outside. The water is thus removed, and not recirculated to cold surfaces inside the building which would generate condensation. Air should be circulated continuously, even when the building is empty

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

I think creating a sufficient level of fresh air flow to eliminate condensation would be quite difficult to do and I’d also be worried about the house getting cold in the process. We used to live in a place that had quite bad damp issues and we tried opening the windows and leaving them on the latch to minimise it as much as possible but all it did was make the house freezing cold and our heating bill was really high without helping the issue much. A dehumidifier prevents the air from reaching the dew point and thus condensation without the house getting cold and has been very effective. We do try to encourage air flow where can but we couldn’t drill holes or install vents and fans everywhere as it wouldn’t be practical.

[@louiswilliamterminator2887]

@@LivingTheTinyLife The air needs to be swept through the building and then extracted. Opening the odd window doesn't help much unless the wind blows through the building in the correct direction. FWIW, heating moist air requires much more energy than dryer air

[@lonniewebb8525]

Thanks for the video. I'm currently selling my house to go tiny. Would you think having a log fire would be more beneficial when it comes to mould?

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

That’s awesome! Tiny is the way! Log fires are a dry heat so probably. We looked into it when our underfloor heating broke but decided against it because of the space it would take up and having to keep it going all night etc. I have always wanted one though :)

[@GayleVentures1]

Great video thanks I am based in Kent and looking to do a similar pathway for my retirement…….am so pleased to see u in a eco tiny house which is like the one I want also… Please stay in touch!

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Ah, we’re in Surrey so not far away. If you can find somewhere to keep it I couldn’t recommend it enough, I can clean the whole house top to bottom in about an hour :)

[@nikkion2140]

Please fill me in as I am new. How much to buy this? Is is powered via main electric? Is it possible to park it in a rear garden to treat like an annex? What is the minimum size of land for this?

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Hey! We bought it in 2020 for £50k, it’s connected to mains power and water and yes you can have it in a garden or driveway but there are covenants such as it needs to be within the “curtilage” and remain somewhat connected to the existing house so it can’t be an independent dwelling if that makes sense. This is what we have in mind when looking to buy somewhere to move to, a derelict house is cheap and we’d just have it next to it and not require planning permission.

[@MattWhailing]

Hi love your content, I'm also in the same mindset looking for derelict house with land would love to swap ideas 😁

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Haha amazing! The only way to be able to afford a house is if it’s a complete wreck 😂 to be honest we don’t even care about the house we just want the residential land. I’ve found “propertywithpotential” the most useful site to look on, what’s your story?

[@catgladwell5684]

Anyone not interested in tea is clearly tired of life🤣. And, yes, Clipper tea is excellent.

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Haha, I’ve never had clipper tea before. I used to think M&S Gold was the best and then I transitioned to TeaPigs everyday tea and was convinced that was the best and then I realised that if I’m drinking tea just with tap water then there’s no point in paying the premium for TeaPigs so thought about getting separate water for my tea but thought that was just silly so ended up trying clipper and now I think clipper could be the best 😂

[@sheridanjay]

@@LivingTheTinyLife Love clipper tea

[@GayleVentures1]

Thanks for replying to me… I would love to come meet u sometime to chat…..

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Well if you have any questions we’re happy to answer them :)

[@PKWeaver74]

So how long ago is it since the house was delivered? 😂

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

Haha, I think it was 4 years ago… 😂

[@pamw6558]

Where are you please

[@LivingTheTinyLife]

We are currently in Surrey, not too far from London.