Can you legally turn a commercial shed into a house?

[oil pan 4]

I thought the point of a small trailer was to be nomadic

[Fat Charlie]

It's to get around building codes.

[Xist]

In this case it is because Mom said that I could, but couldn't build a shed-type building. Should I talk to her again because there is a high chance she would say something different?

I really do not want to pay $300 for a trailer that I will not actually use. I would rather just build on top of concrete blocks instead of putting down concrete blocks, assembling a $300 trailer on top of it, and then building.

Then again, if I just build a tiny office with trailer wheels and a coupler, the old lady across the fence calls the police on me because she doesn't like the new building, I tell them "Hey! It is a trailer!' and they say "No it's not," I could be in trouble.

[Fat Charlie]

Your mom sounds irrational enough that you'll get a different answer if you ask the question on a different day and slightly reword it.

Given your neighbors, using the trailer to get around building codes will probably be worth your while. And if you build the shed right, you can take it with you. If you build it so that you can jack it up off the trailer, you may find that a trailer can be useful in the meantime.

[oil pan 4]

Oh yes circumventing building codes, always a good idea.

[Xist]

Separate inspections are required for footings, stem wall, reinforcement, under-floor framing, roof sheating/nail, framing, insulation, [...] drywall nail, rough framing/electrical, electrical service, and final.

https://www.showlowaz.gov/DocumentCe...-Packet?bidId=

It shall be the duty of the person doing the work autorized by a permit (or the owner) to notify the building safety department that such work is ready for inspection.
The building safety department request that all inspection be called 24 hours in advance (Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8am and 5pm) prior to the needed inspection. [...] No footing or foundation will be approved without clearly-delineated, accurate property lines and property yard setbacks.

Do I want to pour concrete for 32 square feet or just use concrete blocks? So, set up six concrete blocks and set down pressure-treated lumber, call in the inspector, wait over 24 hours, nail down two pieces of plywood, 2x4s (or whatever around the perimeter), 5 more 2xs 16" on-center (or whatever), call and wait at least another 24 hours...

Shouldn't I be able to build this on a Saturday? If I complete each step in an hour or two, but need to wait at least 24 hours for a government official to spend seconds inspecting my handiwork, this could take weeks!

"Looks good, sir."
"When can you come back?"
"Call me when you complete it."
"Can you wait fifteen minutes?!"
"Call me when you complete it."
"Talk to you in fifteen minutes!"

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Oh yes circumventing building codes, always a good idea.

I'm sure circumventing building codes is a must if one wants to do some things that are quite common here in Brazil, but would not be deemed acceptable in the U.S. and Canada or Europe.

[Xist]

"For example, since most tiny houses are built on steel trailers, they are required to be grounded to the trailer frames" https://www.ecmag.com/section/your-b...ic-service-too

Business Insider has a couple of articles about how horrible tiny houses actually are. They are behind a paywall, but one thing that stood out [and was relevant to a mere office] was this:

They need to be strapped down in areas prone to strong winds.

Would a city inspector allow me to mount a surge protector and run an extension cable, like the friend suggested [and Mom thought was a good idea?]

How much would it cost to run electricity from the house? I would have the privilege of digging a trench?

I hate digging in Arizona!

Apparently this is the correct way to run power to a tiny house:
NOCO GCP1 15 Amp 125V AC Port Plug Power Inlet with 16-Inch Integrated Extension Cord

Or you could pay the same amount for this and run wires:
ParkPower 150BBIW.RV 15 Amp Power Inlet

[oil pan 4]

The correct way would be to land the wire in a small main panel that can be hard wired to something and run standard 120/240v 4 wire power.

[Xist]

I do not know what happened, but I lost my message, and I felt that I was nearly finished.

Another day, another answer.

Mom said that I could not build an office. She did not mention a fifth wheel [or a tiny house], but wait until she talks to her friend.

She told me to use her shed. I told her that it was full. She denied it and angrily marched out to prove it.

It was full, but mostly empty boxes that we do not need anymore, and stuff that I can put in storage. There are a many things that I cannot necessarily relocate, but I am willing to share if they are.

She gave me permission to build a small lean-to shed for the tools. I have a bunch of lumber in there, but may use some of it!

It is 8’ tall and a little over 8x14, actually, much like the shed in the second video, but 2’ narrower. It is also 10” off the ground, which is more than I like. This page says that you should be 4” off of the ground. The shed is on cinder blocks, so I could order 4” concrete blocks, and lower it 4”.

I also do not have any idea how level it is, so I should look into that.

The two barn doors aren’t exciting, but I would need to install door handles!

So, I need to insulate the heck out of it, and run wiring . How do I insulate the floor?!

You can read the results of my research below, but I have read that fiberglass and Roxul work as long as they stay dry. Foam board is great if you do not have pests [that may take advantage of fiberglass, too], and spray foam is the best because it seals [although pests could still tunnel into it].

Nobody mentioned one what guy did in a video that I watched last week. He cut foam board a little small, attached it with construction adhesive, and sealed the edges with Great Stuff.

Curiously, he only used 1” of board.

How about I empty the shed, remove the floorboards, jack up the shed, install treated plywood, asphalt felt, and polyethylene, and pour aircrete?

I do not have any idea how well it insulates, but there was that video where he torched a brick that he held in his hand.

I need to see how big the joists are. The studs are 2x4s, seemingly 24” on-center.

Reinstall the floor boards, glue two 2” iso boards, and spray the seams?

I cannot think of anything else to figure out. It is after 01! I need to go to bed!

Floor insulation research:

This lady shoved Roxul between the floorboards and said that she was going to install chicken wire over it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8efWEZlSMI

This lady jacked up her shed, installed foam boards with construction adhesive and a nailgun, and complained constantly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PzmPyGCzSs

This guy said to just use foil-faced bubble wrap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPTJD9nuWvQ

This guy said to not to: Stay Away from Foil-Faced Bubble Wrap https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com...ed-bubble-wrap

So did this gentleman: The Foil-Faced Bubble Wrap Sham - Understanding Radiant Barriers https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/...diant-Barriers

This guy just put bubble wrap on the walls! He said you can take it to the next level by stapling foil-faced bubble wrap and then plywood [no flooring, though]:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqz6TkZYrtc

This guy used chicken wire and styrofoam, but mice ran around the chicken wire, and ate the styrofoam. He ripped it out and poured concrete. He said that he should have used waterproof membrane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebRplTsn8Xc

Random forum post:

Making a foam sandwich seems hard.
Why not put batts in the joists bays, put osb/plywood/etc as a critter guard on the bottom (tape the seams), and call it done?
It is pretty easy to insulate inside the 2x8 joist to R-30 using Roxul mineral wool batts. In the USA, you'll need to order this material from a big box pro desk as 2x8 isn't stocked. You could also, with slightly more effort, use 2 R-15 2x4 batts. In the USA, you may find 2x4 thickness stocked at very competitive prices at big box stores. Obviously you could use fiberglass batts for lower cost but might not be able to get to R-30 fill with fiberglass.
Be sure to follow a standard 16" or 24" o.c. layout (except for the 1 odd bay you'll likely have) or you'll have a high waste factor with fiberglass or mineral wool.
Bear in mind you will likely need a hard layer of material to protect the insulation batts from critters (plywood etc) and a plan to air seal the joists as well (a building tape on the plywood joints is probably adequate). Otherwise, your batts will get destroyed by animals eventually.
Your overall performance will be significantly lower than R-30 because the joists themselves will be closer to R-9. You could mitigate this with rigid foam under the joists but you might struggle to break the thermal bridge to the structural lumber sitting on the blocks or piers. I suspect you would find filling the joists to R-30 performance pretty good without worrying too much about thermal bridging.

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com...#comment-54250

This page suggests pulling out the subfloor if at all possible, but it sounds like you would want to put OSB or something underneath. If you cannot remove the subfloor, jack up the shed: https://plasticinehouse.com/how-to-insulate-shed-floor/