Folding houses - would you live in one?

[butterscotch]

Saw this video of a folding house that unfolds in 10 minutes. It’s pretty cool looking. Did make me wonder if it could fold back up with people in it, although maybe they’d be ok if it did. Maybe they’d just move to the middle of the house until they got it sorted.

This video is from 2017, so the idea and technology has been around for a while. This house was going for $129,000 US at that time.

Home Unfolds Within 10 Minutes

These are 7 foldable or easily transportable container houses. This video is from 2018.

House Design Redefined: 7 Remarkable Folding Homes

More currently, there’s this article from someone who wrote about visiting a folding house company. Those houses go for $50,000 US each and have just started construction of homes in late 2021.

A company named Boxabl wants to bring down the cost of housing with a twist on the typical modular home. They’re making houses that are cheaper to ship because you unfold them once they’re on site.

We visited the company at their headquarters in Las Vegas to get a look at the Casita, which is the first model of their $50,000 foldable home.

So far, Boxabl has built three houses. Two are on site at their headquarters, which leaves a third we did not see.

Boxabl will soon start making their first order of 156 homes for the Department of Defense. If all goes well, they want to expand operations and build more homes. They have a waiting list of over 100,000 people who want to unfold their next place to live.

I visited the company that’s making $50,000 foldable homes and they even let me unfold a wall

[Mups]

No, that wouldn’t appeal to me at all.
I feel safer in something made of bricks and mortar thanks.

Apart from that, what about the investment side?
Would those fold up things appreciate in value or depreciate?
And where would you stand with House Insurance I wonder?

Nah. I’d give it a miss, thanks.

[SilverTabby]

@butterscotch

Saw this video of a folding house that unfolds in 10 minutes. It’s pretty cool looking. Did make me wonder if it could fold back up with people in it, although maybe they’d be ok if it did. Maybe they’d just move to the middle of the house until they got it sorted.

Wouldn’t appeal to me at all - but - they could serve a useful purpose in disaster areas.

[d00d]

I don’t know about a disaster areas, but I wonder what my brother might say to me doing this in a quiet corner of his farm in Gloucestershire.

[Mups]

You’ll either get Wood Worm, or be wake up in Wiltshire after the first gale, dOOd.

[d00d]

@Mups

You’ll either get Wood Worm, or be wake up in Wiltshire after the first gale, dOOd.

I’d pick a lovely spot in the valley down by the stream, check the guy (sp) ropes every night.

[Mups]

@d00d

I’d pick a lovely spot in the valley down by the stream, check the guy (sp) ropes every night.

Hah. Well don’t forget to check the weather forecast before you go to bed too, just incase.

[butterscotch]

@d00d

I don’t know about a disaster areas, but I wonder what my brother might say to me doing this in a quiet corner of his farm in Gloucestershire.

Most of these foldable houses don’t need a foundation because they’re built on hydraulics so they’re made for that kind of thing - putting down an additional structure on a piece of land.

As for the weather, I don’t know they’d be any worse than trailer houses. There are a lot of trailer houses in the US.

[Mups]

What are ‘trailer houses’ please, Butterscoth?
And are they as tall as that one in the picture?

Ah, it’s OK, I just looked it up.
Seems they are what we call Caravans, Mobile homes, or the ones without wheels are Static Homes.
They haven’t got the added height of an upstairs like the picture of that folding house though. I still wouldn’t feel safe in one in a gale though.

[butterscotch]

@Mups

Would those fold up things appreciate in value or depreciate?

Hard to say. It would depend on the demand. But there’s 100,000 on backorder with that one company in the OP, so I’m thinking the price could go up. If there are problems with it, then the price will probably go down.

@Mups

And where would you stand with House Insurance I wonder?

Probably the same as mobile home insurance. You can pretty much insure anything here. The price would vary based on the amount of risk. It might be on the same level as car insurance but slightly less if it doesn’t move around much.

Thanks for looking up trailer homes. I just saw a youtube about someone taking a Caravan holiday in the UK that they rented. Wasn’t sure what they meant. I don’t think it’s common to rent out a trailer home here.

[Psmith]

No.I’d be afraid it would start doing things when I’m inside.
Like these things in Paris.I’ve never been brave enough to go in one of them either.

Fully automatic and self cleaning public toilet in Paris France

[Artangel]

I’m afraid this folding house reminds me of this poem…

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house

[Cinderella]

Looks like a giant deck of cards.

[SilverTabby]

@Psmith

Like these things in Paris.I’ve never been brave enough to go in one of them either.

It’s not your underwear on the floor then?

[butterscotch]

@Artangel

I’m afraid this folding house reminds me of this poem…

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house

Aww, sweet poem. Mother Goose Rhyme.

This says the ‘crooked house’ might have originated from the angular houses in Lavenham. The folding house might fit right in.

It is not entirely clear where this poem came from, what it is about, or if any of the possible interpretations are the truth. The first, and one of the most commonly cited, is that the song was inspired by the irregular houses and angles of the town of Lavenham.

There Was a Crooked Man by Mother Goose - Poem Analysis

[brokenvows]

I think i would rather convert a shipping container into a home tbh.
It certainly would not blow away in bad weather.

[Maree]

I presume you’d still need planning permission etc to put one up?

Because they might be OK in big gardens as summerhouses or guest rooms

[butterscotch]

@Maree

I presume you’d still need planning permission etc to put one up?

Depends where you live, I guess. I know you’d need a permit to put any structure up here. There are strict zoning laws here.

Maybe a foldable greenhouse might be nice. Some of the examples in the video are for temporary schools or maybe temporary hospitals. You could put several together and make a community.

[Psmith]

If they haven’t got the Welsh Dragon on them,they won’t be mine.

[summer]

I think they are brilliant…yes I could live in one in the right location…I would still prefer a canal boat though