Tiny House Big Island Hawaii
Tiny House Big Island Hawaii – A small house gave this Hawaiian family a fresh start after the eruption of Kilauea. After Kilauea’s lava destroyed their home of 18 years last year, John and Nancy Theismann decided to downsize.
John is a special education teacher at a public charter school, Nancy has just retired from being a physical therapist, shortly before her 30th birthday.
Tiny House Big Island Hawaii

Wedding anniversary. They were among the last people to leave their neighborhood, and they never thought that the explosion would take their home. “We were out at 1 in the morning when the police came to our door and said, ‘You have to get out of here, the lava is coming,'” John said. “We lost our house, we lost our land, we lost all our belongings.” Nancy shook her head as she recalled, “There was a long tsunami.”
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See also: Lava Dwellers, Big Island, Hawaii: These people live on one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
Both are over 60 now. “By the time Lava arrived, we were debt free and ready to retire,” says John. Their home – a 1960s plantation-style family retreat near Kapoho Bay that shook when the storm hit – is gone.
At first, they lived with their family in Hawaiian Paradise Park, 20 minutes from the garage of their son’s, daughter-in-law’s and grandson’s house. When the Theismans received $34,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they thought about options. They wanted to stay in Puna, even though they knew the volcano might erupt again, but they didn’t want a new loan. His son donated half an acre of land behind his house. So, John and Nancy turned to David Sands, co-founder and chief architect of Bamboo Living Hawaii, for help designing a bamboo cabin. “We thought we could use the children’s land as affordable, affordable housing so they could get out of the way if the lava erupted again,” said John.
“Basically, for 34K, we got a house shell on a trailer that can be lived in. Now we’re finishing the job with water and a small solar system,” said John. The system was built in one day. The house is 220 square meters including the loft, which is accessed by stairs. It is bamboo inside and out, with 11 windows letting in light. They used a height above the wheelhouse to fit the California king size bed. “We can look outside and see the stars from bed. It’s a unique little house,” John said.
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The Theismanns said they were touched. A local store offered a discount on construction materials, relatives from the St. Louis Police Department. Louis, Missouri, organized a fundraiser and sent the money to him. And the principal of John’s school let him use a house in Kalapana for a long time and rent-free. The house needed repair, which they are doing while repairing the bamboo house. Bamboo Living Hawaii has built nearly 400 bamboo homes since 1995, about 90 percent of them in Hawaii, as well as projects in Vietnam and the South Pacific. The sand is like stability, because the bamboo is quickly replaced by new growth. Since 2002, his company has a factory in Vietnam that builds houses to order, then dismantles them to be shipped to the owner’s location, where they are reassembled.
Sands’ office is now in Pahoa, where the kit house gave Theismann and others nearby a cheap option for rebuilding after the lava flow.
Sands said tiny houses can play a big role in Hawaii’s tight housing market but many people aren’t choosing them. She says some people think of them as quaint childhood memories of log cabins and forts made of quilts and sofa cushions. “The cottage is really nice. They really bring out the kid in you,” Sands said. Tiny homes have grown in popularity due to the rising cost of living and the transition to smaller, more efficient and lower impact lifestyles. The financial benefits of a tiny house are many, making it ideal for those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle. And now Hawaii is poised to ride this wave as the best place to legally live in a tiny house.
Simply put, a tiny house is a smaller dwelling than a regular house. A small house usually has an area of 110 to 190 square meters, usually has one floor for sleeping, and is placed on a trailer with wheels. Although tiny houses have the same quality and strength as standard buildings, they do not meet the minimum requirements of building codes in most states.
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Investigating the legality of Tiny Houses required consulting with several local government agencies, including the Maui Department of Public Works, which only pointed to laws that require minimum plan dimensions that are much larger than the average Tiny House. But the small house is built on a trailer with wheels, and it is like a recreational vehicle. The building’s planning reviewer said he would have no authority over people living in recreational vehicles; The DMV will have jurisdiction because it will be registered with them.
A customized travel trailer will be classified as a “trailer” according to the Maui DMV Operations Supervisor. This is a point of clarification primarily because the Tiny House does not meet the International Building Code (IBC) for traditional home construction, and Tiny Houses are built to a higher standard than a typical RV. So, with the help of a legal researcher, I was able to find Hawaii State Traffic Code §291C.
(1) Trailers or semitrailers designed, constructed and used as residential, residential, or sleeping quarters (whether permanent or temporary) and used as vehicles on streets and highways Used equipment.
§291C-112 Prohibits use of parked vehicle between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00; Description; Exception. (a) No person shall use a vehicle for the purpose of human habitation, or intended for that purpose, if it is on a street, street, street, or public property. other cars stop between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. or when a vehicle is parked on private property without the permission of the owner or occupant, authorizing the vehicle to be parked there and used for residential purposes the human being.
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(b) “Purpose of human habitation” as used in this section includes use as a dwelling, place of residence or place of sleeping.
(c) This section does not apply to the parking and residential use of vehicles in public parks, campgrounds, and other recreational facilities pursuant to law and ordinance. applicable laws or in emergency situations for the safety of the vehicle. ,
In short, house trailers are legal in Hawaii. Of these, it is legal to live on private property without a permit. You must have a legal trailer that is registered and licensed by the Hawaii DMV to meet the requirements of 291C-1 (definition) and 291C-112, and you must park on your own property or obtain permission from the landowner. a lot. , It’s very simple.
Hawaii has a perfect climate for tiny houses, small farms, and generally enjoying the outdoors. Because tiny houses have less impact on the environment, they are certainly more attractive than large developments in Hawaii.
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Local municipalities across the country oppose Tiny Houses for fear of creating an affordable alternative to owning or renting a home. The tiny house movement has come to save the day for frugal people who don’t care about small spaces. Tiny Houses have grown in popularity everywhere on the mainland over the past 5 years, and especially on social media. They appear almost everywhere where the law allows them.
In addition, zoning requirements for traditional buildings do not apply. In Hawaii, you might want to start an ecovillage, a small town with several small houses close together. You don’t even need to buy land. Depending on your situation and your ability to negotiate a deal, you may be able to negotiate to build a home and put it up for sale at a lower price than buying or renting it.
There are always barriers to innovation in Hawaii. Here’s a great example sent in by a fan.
All residential buildings shall comply with the county building code (chapter 5 of this code), and the public health housing code (chapter 5 of this code). Chapter 2 of the Public Health Regulations), except:
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(2) If a place is occupied for the purpose of lodging or sleeping outside the licensed premises for less than thirty days.
2. How can the Municipality prove that the house has been occupied for more than 30 consecutive days? One night hotel stay every 29 days.
3. If you move a house 10 meters every 30 days, you can live there forever. The Phoenix House is located in Kalapana, near the base of the Mauna Loa volcano, on the island of Hawaii.
The Phoenix House is located in Kalapana, near the island of Hawaii
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