Friday, November 6, 2015

Building Advice for the Tiny Home Enthusiast

Tiny homes are one of the trending, minimalist movements of the year. If you're thinking about jumping on the trailer and have considered all the reasons tiny homes may or may not suit your lifestyle, you're ready to talk to the pros.

Here are some building insights from professional tiny home builders regarding, size, timeline, complexity, maintenance — you name it.

How long does it take a professional builder to construct a tiny home?

A professional builder can typically build a tiny house in around two to four months, depending on the size and complexity of the project. There are some builders adopting manufacturing processes into tiny house construction which is greatly speeding up the build process. In those situations, a tiny home can be built in about three weeks. - Gabriella & Andrew Morrison of Tiny House Build

What should people know before building a tiny home?

If you are doing it yourself, estimate how long you think it will take you. Multiply that times four and you’ll have a more accurate timeline. - Greg Parham of Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses

What are the most common complications of building a tiny home?

Building a tiny house is not really any different than building a regular house (save for the connection between the house itself and the trailer if it's on wheels). So, the complications in a tiny house build are in line with those on a standard build. That said, a mistake in the design process in a tiny house can have major implications: it could mean an entire cabinet unit not being able to fit a designated spot. - Gabriella & Andrew Morrison of Tiny House Build

What are the easiest and most challenging parts of building a tiny home?

Easiest parts: working with a low volume of material (and the flexibility to choose extremely high quality since the quantities are small), not needing a huge construction space, and flexibility to be creative. Challenging parts: working in a tight space, customers being extremely particular about wants/needs, making things flow and function well in a tight space, having room to have multiple builders in the space doing different tasks at the same time and delving tiny homes to tight spaces. - Andra Williams of Shelter Wise

What is the ideal size for a tiny home?

The ideal size of a tiny house is truly personal. What works perfectly for one person may not work for the next. It all depends on individual need and how a home offers a long-term and comfortable solution for living. Questions that one must ask themselves before they begin their design process are: do I work from home or away, how much time do I spend at home, how many people live with me, how many animals, how many materials possessions do I own, how many people do I want to have over on a regular basis, and how much cooking do I do. I don’t think that it’s possible to build too small. - Gabriella & Andrew Morrison of Tiny House Build

If you were building a tiny home for yourself, which features would be must-haves?

Must-haves include a comfortable sleeping area, skylight(s), good ventilation, energy efficiency, lots of windows and easy access to outdoor spaces. - Andra Williams of Shelter Wise

What's the most unique feature you've ever built in a tiny home?

I would say the most unique feature we built into our home design is a set of fully functional stairs to get into the master loft. We didn’t want to struggle with getting into our bedroom each day, so comfortable stairs were essential. Underneath the stairs is loads of storage (25 extra square feet) for shoes, jackets, clothes and even space for a washer/dryer combo unit. - Gabriella & Andrew Morrison of Tiny House Build

What kind of home maintenance can owners of tiny homes expect?

The maintenance of a tiny house is very similar to a conventional house. One thing that might require more attention is the siding. Many tiny houses have stained siding that requires re-staining every couple years, whereas not as many conventional houses have this style siding. - Dan Louche of Tiny Home Builders

Very little! The systems are usually very simple and easy to maintain and there is not a lot of square footage to keep clean. We guide customers in proper care of their tiny home and keeping the systems running well but it’s not a long list, which is nice. - Andra Williams of Shelter Wise

Are there classes people can attend to learn more about how to build tiny homes?

A few companies out there that offer classes (workshops) around tiny houses. We (Tiny Home Builders) are the only one that I know of that offers hands-on classes where we actually build something and use power tools. We offer our workshops four times a year and they sell out every time. - Dan Louche of Tiny Home Builders

Absolutely! Our friends at Portland Alternative Dwellings put on fantastic workshops and classes that we highly recommend. There are many great online resources as well. - Andra Williams of Shelter Wise

Several companies across the country offer 1- to 3-day workshops covering everything from design, to trailer prep, to framing, to finish out. - Greg Parham of Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses

Related:



from Zillow Blog - Real Estate Market Stats, Celebrity Real Estate, and Zillow News http://www.zillow.com/blog/building-a-tiny-home-185530/
via Reveeo

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