What is a tiny house?
Tiny houses are a form of affordable, sustainable housing that provide more space than a typical home of the same cost with lower environmental impact. Tiny houses can be made from many different materials including cedar and timber frame construction as well as recycled or repurposed items such as cargo containers and school buses.
The average size for an American house is around 2000-3000 square feet. This is much larger than the average tiny house which averages around 160-480 sq ft with room usually only for a kitchen, sleeping quarters and storage space.
The benefits of building a tiny house
Tiny houses are appealing to many because they offer more affordable housing without sacrificing quality of life. They can be built on vacant lots or in cities as long as there is a place to park them.
Why are people choosing to live in smaller homes?
The average cost of building a tiny house is $22,000. This doesn’t include the land it sits on or any of the furnishing costs but depends largely on personal preference and desired features in one’s mobile life style. Building a tiny house will vary in price depending on how much you want to spend and what features you need. To give you an idea, here are 11 common expenses that might be forgotten when considering this project:
1. Tiny House Plans
To start building a tiny house, you’ll need to know what type of floor plan and furnishings you want. You can buy design plans online or, if you’re feeling more ambitious, create your own blueprints. Tiny house plans can be free but may cost as much as $600.
2. Site preparation
You’ll need to know how your tiny house will sit. If your tiny house is set to be permanently parked, you can plan for a foundation. If it’s a mobile home, you’ll need to plan for a trailer. Site preparation for a permanently parked tiny house will cost $1000-$2000 depending on the size of your home and what type of foundation. The price can vary greatly if your tiny house is going to be parked in an area that has specific site requirements (i.e., flood zone or earthquake-prone). Site preparation includes grading, drainage, and building a driveway. Don’t forget about water and sewer if you’re not parked at a campground with hookups.
3. Foundation or Trailer
A trailer for a mobile tiny house will cost $500-$1000. A foundation for a permanently parked tiny house can cost $1000-$2000. The cost of the foundation will be in addition to the site preparation. Site preparation will still be needed even for a mobile tiny house in some instances.
4. Costs of a contractor
If you’re not planning to build the entire thing yourself, a contractor will be an unavoidable cost. The average hourly rate for a carpenter is $45-$65 in the US. The costs of hiring a contractor will depend largely on what you want them to do, but here are some general guidelines:
- Brick-layer – $60/hr
- Carpenter – $45-$65/hr
- Electrician – $85/hr
- Flooring installer – Usually charge per sq ft. For a small job like a tiny house, expect to pay at least $2 per sq ft plus the cost of the materials.
- Roofer – $65-$75/hr
- HVAC technician – $70/hr
- Siding installer or painter – $45-$55 per hour
- General Contractor (GC) – A good rule of thumb is to expect to spend materials plus 50%. For example, if your materials are $10,000, multiply that by 1.5 and you might pay a GC $15,000 to build your tiny house. Again, this is just a good rule of thumb.
5. Cost of land
A tiny house has to sit somewhere. That ideally means land. The cost of the lot will depend on where you are, but a ballpark figure is around $20-30,000 for an average sized lot of some sort in the US.
Tiny houses can also be built on wheels and moved from place to place which can significantly lower or even eliminate this expense!
Just remember, where you park your tiny house will make a difference in how you build it, and therefore, the cost of materials as well.
6. Cost of appliances and fixtures
Tiny house appliances and fixtures are not the standard kind that you buy at a big box store. Therefore, it’s important that you know what kind of appliances and fixtures will work in your tiny house before you start purchasing them.
Some common purchases might include a mini fridge, microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker or hot plate. But not every appliance is compatible with small spaces. And some people prefer not to have any electricity running through their houses so they opt for an outdoor kitchen instead.
These details need to be discussed up front when planning out the design of your home! This will help save money down the road by making sure everything fits together nicely without wasting time and materials on things that turn out incompatible later on. In order for this plan it may require hiring someone who has experience designing a tiny house from scratch. A tiny home designer is likely to charge $40 per hour to $80 per hour or more for a consultation meeting.
A tiny home builder all in is likely going cost about $30,000-$45,000 for a very standard unit.
7. The cost to move the tiny house to its final destination
Once you’ve built your tiny home, you’ll have to move it (if it’s not on a foundation). Depending on where you live, the cost to move a tiny house can range from $500-$1,000 or more for transport. This depends if it will end up on a foundation or is already on wheels as well as the total distance to be moved.
Is there anything else I should know before trying to build my own small home?
There are many costs that go into building and living in your own custom-built home like we have talked about here, but if you do the research up front it should be easier to plan out what will work best for you! Have fun designing your new home!