Ten years ago, small residential homes were a novelty. Today, they're a movement.
Thanks to economic forces and downsizing trends born of the Great Recession, micro-housing has grown from a niche once featured quizzically on "Oprah" and NPR to a wide market with varied and robust segments. Cable network FYI offers "Tiny House Nation," a reality series devoted to the topic.
At a small manufacturing facility recently opened in west downtown Salt Lake City, a company called Wheelhaus makes premium, mobile models. These homes span roughly 400 square feet of interior floor space — about a quarter the size of the average house selling in Salt Lake County nowadays.
But as micro-housing goes, these are the BMWs. They are sort of luxury cabins on wheels.
Ceilings can reach 17 feet high. Showers are tiled, and other rooms boast hardwood floors. Cabinets, fixtures and windows are all high-quality, rustic brands you might find in a top-flight Park City home.
Skilled homebuilders carefully toiled in a chilly warehouse one December weekday, hammering, painting and detailing a slow-moving pipeline of four or five custom Wheelhaus dwellings. Cabins take about 3½ weeks, from custom order to delivery.
"Every one is like a little piece of art," shop foreman Jeremy Horejs said during a recent tour of the factory at 647 S. 600 West.
In Utah, where residential downsizing usually means moving to a one- or two-bedroom house, condominium or apartment, truly small homes account for barely a sliver of overall housing inventories.
Nationally, average home floor plans have grown from 1,525 square feet in 1973 to 2,598 square feet in 2013. At the same, the average number of people per household has plunged, from 3.67 just after World War II to 2.56 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Beneath those trends, micro-homes are playing to emerging generational needs among baby boomers, millennials and others: mobility, little or no debt, a reduced carbon footprint, lower taxes and, in many cases, a sense of living closer to the natural environment.
Along with other ownership patterns, home needs are evolving as space-eating possessions such as books, CDs, movies, photo albums and personal papers all go digital.
"The world is moving toward where people can have a less-cluttered life," said Gregory Johnson, co-founder of the Small House Society, a national organization. "A lot of people are unconsciously realizing their needs for physical storage are not that great."
Johnson moved into a tiny, off-the-grid loft home plopped on rural land outside Iowa City in 2003. At less than 140 square feet and with no water or electricity, his "mobile hermitage," as he called it, became home for six years.
"I saw it as just a funny thing to do," said Johnson, a writer, technical consultant and advocate for smaller residential options. "And then I pretty much fell in love with living so simply."
Interest in small dwellings has surged in the years since, he said, especially coming out of the economic downturn and so-called jobless recovery.
Customer tastes for downsizing and spending less have combined with increasing numbers of homebuyers driven by a desire for sustainability, he said. Smaller houses require fewer building materials, take less land, consume less fuel and electricity, and emit fewer pollutants.
"Now there's this new wave of tiny homes that actually have bathrooms, running water and electricity," Johnson said. "That's really helping this movement take off."
While increasingly a choice as primary residences, compact homes also can be accessories to existing single-family houses, for in-laws or returning adult children.
Serial builders of smaller dwellings are finding a foothold in U.S. housing markets as never before, particularly in more densely populated states such as Texas and California. Market demand is found among young professionals and families but a majority of customers nationally are older than age 50.
The Wheelhaus approach offers an upscale, one-story structure on a custom metal chassis and foam pad. Company founder and owner Jamie Mackay said about half his customers eventually park their homes in recreational settings. The rest live closer to population centers or within city limits.
With names such as Silo, Rail Car, Wedge and Caboose, the Wheelhaus cabins blur the line between RVs and stick-built houses. They tap higher-quality materials and architectural design standards than typically seen in mobile homes. They also enjoy an impressive energy-efficiency rating.
Mackay created the company in Jackson Hole, Wyo., after being turned down by city officials for a project to build affordable housing in an old KOA campground, partly for lack of quality mobile units. At $82,000 to $96,500 per unit, the company aims for customers drawn to top-notch materials and attention to detail. Workers use recovered barn wood, snow fencing and other recycled building materials, giving the exteriors an elegant feel.
"It has a story and character to it," Mackay said. "It's not swanky or hip. It feels warmer."
Based in Wyoming, Wheelhaus located manufacturing facilities in Salt Lake City's Depot District about a year ago to lower costs. The site offered shipping advantages, Mackay said, and access to skilled homebuilding labor outside of Jackson Hole's resort-inflated wage market.
The company shares warehouse space with American Steel Processing, which now makes Wheelhaus' cabin trailers.
Wheelhaus' urban Utah factory employs about seven of the company's roughly 25-strong workforce. It recently built its 80th cabin and is on track to sell a record 50 units in 2014.
tsemerad@sltrib.com
Twitter: @Tony_Semerad
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Jeremy Horejs of Wheelhaus walks through one of three tiny houses being currently constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. The tiny houses are mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. The company is using recycled Douglas fir that used to be snow fences in Wyoming in the construction in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Jeremy Horejs of Wheelhaus checks on a steal frame for a house being currently constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. The tiny houses are mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Jeremy Horejs of Wheelhaus walks up a ramp of one of three tiny houses being currently constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. The tiny houses are mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Wheelhaus makes tiny houses mounted on wheels that are more like rolling cabins. The company started in Jackson Hole but recently moved production to Salt Lake City. Here three new houses are being constructed in their Salt Lake City facility Monday, December 15, 2014. Wheelhaus is selling about 50 units yearly to customers who haul them to recreation areas and partly to those exploring low-impact housing.
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