Long story short - my sister in law had a stroke this year and looking more and more likely that she is not able to work and will need someone to care for her the rest of her life (she's young 50s). She's currently living with my in laws which are approaching 80 and live 3 hours from us. We've decided we aren't super comfortable and started talking about moving them all closer to us in NW Houston.

Looking at home prices, it does not seem realistic to find them something close to us that they could afford and actually be ok in.

We thought about possibly building a small 2 bedroom apartment, probably a simple kitchen and 1-2 bathrooms, with maybe a 2nd unfinished story for storage. We have an acre but the way out house sits on it would be perfect to add this at the end of our driveway.

Has anyone done this or have any traps I need to look into before getting an estimate?

I'm interested in doing this exact same project, curious to see what people think

I think my first questions would be -

Utility easement issues in the construction area
Electrical service capacity - wire through same box or new utility drop
Sewer or septic and if septic does the field have capacity

From a cost standpoint...I'd say 250 / sqft with midrange finishes

Depends on how much space you have but you could consider a container home. They can be finished out nice and be very affordable.

Sims said:

---

I think my first questions would be -

Utility easement issues in the construction area
Electrical service capacity - wire through same box or new utility drop
Sewer or septic and if septic does the field have capacity

From a cost standpoint...I'd say 250 / sqft with midrange finishes

---

Thanks for the questions. Those all make sense.



Utilities shouldn't be a problem as we back up to a utility easement so I know where they are. Would have to have a new electrical service as this would be on the other side of the house from our current box, and I am pretty sure it is maxed out anyway. My neighbors electrical drop is right next to where we would put this but doubt that does us any good.

We have a septic system on our home so that is definitely a concern. Not sure how that would be handled.

Thanks for the help! Was thinking 150-225ish, so may have been a little low. But I think we would do something like a 30x30 or so, so not off by a ton.

$149.40 TotalSF

$188.14 LivSF

2021-today average of many designed in Aggieland

Others choose RVs that have no DRs
or
https://lpratthomes.com/tiny-houses/raven/

Blessings to all caretakers, regrets for your sister .....

Just priced something similar out on a rural build, $190/sqft turnkey with lower end finishes. Was considering doing the finishes myself and just having slab, shell, mep done. Would save me easily 50-75/sqft

I was going to say those pre-fab tiny homes too. Dont be afraid to look at mobile homes too. I've seen since way nicer on the inside than you would expect.

My daughter is doing this now in Austin. She's building a 1 bedroom, ~650 sf house in her backyard. The price is about $130,000.

It depends. I'm a custom home builder. When talking about price range, do you want a Kia or do you want a Ferrari?

Shoot me a message if you want.

I don't work in Houston so I don't know what their prices are going for.

Boxabl. The things are awesome.

https://www.boxabl.com/

If it's good enough for Elon, it's good enough for anyone.

NM

That thing is pretty cool! I don't know if I could talk the MIL into that but my FIL, despite being 6'4", loves the idea of a tiny home. Boxabl doesn't appear to ship to tx yet though.

Thanks everyone for the input!

My daughter went with a stick built house, but she did get a quote from Studio Shed for a modular building. It was a little more expensive.

www.studio-shed.com

Ive been in a boxabl. You could be Yao ming and feel like you've still got plenty of space

Edit: got a new phone and can longer type apparently

Mobile home these days also = RV and AGREE
just got the new Open House from SIL and WOW
once the pop-outs open and sitting in a luxury movie seat in corner, the other kitchen corner was more distant than in my 80's house!

No wonder all through tis 1ac neighborhood, Moms & Dads are betting better nursing care than Medicare knows how to do "at home". Not as many 911 calls, either!

AGREE

I never could type and reflect on BAD BAD decision not to take that HS type course full of the HOT gals

Thanks for the novel NEW ideal that I have spread to others enthusiastic but not for everyone WOW

Today
Amazon getting into tiny houses w/o care for quality

Yesterday
Sears catlogue
https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/a20859/sears-sold-70000-homes-from-their-catalog-are-you-living-in-one/

What a llife
IF one remembers history ....

Curious if anyone has seen these in person.

SkyLoft


Looks similar to Boxabl but maybe more pleasing to the eye

WOW
No Foundation Required?
Ships ladder to loft?
No EZ to get explanations?

Am staying tuned to learn more .....

It all depends on what the deed restrictions are if any? How much room you have for a foundation? Keep it one story for the elderly, Handicap accessible. Size of existing septic and can you even tie into it? There are a lot of say 24x 36 plans out there. Stay with multiples of standard lumber so there's not much waste. Mini-splits/Heat pump for AC and heat. Lots of factors and a good point earlier, base model or custom? Probably want to match your existing style of your house but don't have to do that. Again lots of factors? Do you want to do some work yourself? Hire it all out. Permits, etc. GLWB