New Age
The Project
The New Age Model is a 8.5m x 3.1m tiny house providing 26.4m2 of living space. It’s priced at around $74,000 (depending on a few variables) with ‘all the bells and whistles’. The base price of this home is $57,000 for those that don’t need the extras. This still includes all fixtures and fittings, plumbing, and electrical work. Other extras included in the upper price tag are a fridge, washing machine, gas hot water, gas range and hood, panel heaters, and a deck.
The construction is steel framing with an SIP (structurally insulated panels) wall system that provides both insulation and structural support. The SIP panels are insulated with EPS (expanded polystyrene) and are fixed atop a steel chassis with a triple axel (basically a strong trailer with wheels). The gabled roof is iron and also rests on steel framing. All joinery is double glazed (but doesn’t have to be).
If a customer likes the design but needs more space or requires something similar but different, Eco Cottages have a range of options including just the shells of the buildings that a person can fit out for themselves.
Low Cost
There are a few reasons that the New Age Model is low cost, most of which cause the construction to be efficient and allow the savings on labour costs to be passed onto the customer. The first is that it is small. Smaller buildings cost less because fewer materials are required to build them and there is less labour involved.
The second is that it is made using a fairly simple and fast construction method. The steel framing is all pre cut to size which saves a lot of time and also makes assembly on site fast compared to other methods of construction. Building with SIPs also makes construction faster as almost everything a wall needs is packaged into one element which is fixed into place without the need for detailed building work.
Thirdly, these are modular units that are pre-fabricated in a building yard where the same thing is made again and again. Over time this has made the construction process more efficient, since refining the process has taken place and the fabricators become proficient with their specific tasks.
About the Company
Eco Cottages was born in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes to provide a fast, flexible, durable, and earthquake proof solution to the growing housing need that the founder, Colin Wightman, could perceive in the region.
Wightman had several reasons for founding the company beyond trying to fill an immediate need in his community, a couple of which we will mention. For one, he had lived in both small houses/spaces as well as large homes and always found that he preferred life when he occupied smaller and simpler spaces. That being said, his experience of living in small spaces had caused him to develop a taste of what sort of space he felt was too small and what helps small spaces feel more comfortable (this is one of the reasons that all the Eco Cottages have either gabled or hipped roofs allowing for higher ceilings).
Another key reason was that Wightman recognized that Aotearia has a housing crisis and feels that Tiny Homes are a viable solution, if only we would embrace it. He notes that 5-6% of the American population live in trailer/tiny homes and with our own growing homeless population, Tiny Homes could provide a solution. “Tiny Houses are a logical solution when we can supply a 1 bedroom turn-key Tiny House at $66,000 or a 2 bedroom at $98,000. Earthquake proof as well with it’s triple axle & wheels.”
Contact
To get in contact or for more information about any Eco Cottages, such as the other models available, get in contact with them visit at Ecocottages.co.nz
