Avrame Tips

Yes, you can build a house in winter. A modern frame goes up in days, gets closed with house wrap and is heated from inside, so work carries on in cold weather. Modern foundations don't need to settle over winter either, a family house doesn't need 150 m², and a pre-designed kit home often needs no new architect.

How big should your house be? Start with the bare minimum your household needs, then add a little for comfort. In my experience, a family of three needs roughly 60 to 100 m² (about 650 to 1,075 sq ft): two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. Add some space on top. Not double, not triple.

Avrame CEO Indrek lived in a 140 sq ft tiny house for 2.5 years, then turned it into Solo+ A-frame tiny house plans. Here is what it taught him.

Affordable housing isn't free of cost, just free of the usual price. Here are the three trade-offs it actually asks of you.

You get affordable housing by controlling the variables that drive up cost: buying land instead of relying on listings or builders, choosing a cheaper location, going off-grid where it makes sense, right-sizing the house, separating needs from wants, and building with a pre-engineered kit system instead of conventional construction.

Affordable housing is not a house type, a price tag, or a subsidy program. It is any home where housing costs stay at or below roughly a third of the household's income. A $2,000 payment is affordable on a $6,000 income and unaffordable on a $4,000 one. The house never changes. The math does.