In 2020, Margo Fairchild built a tiny home on her own, despite having no professional background in home construction.
To take on the project, she relied on a mix of YouTube videos and homebuilding forums. She also created an Instagram page to document her progress, where architects and builders from around the world reached out to offer advice when she had questions.
It took her 15 months to build her 240-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom tiny home. The $43,779 project cost more than she anticipated, but it has paid off. The home has been featured on tiny-home YouTube channels and local news outlets, leading to other opportunities for Fairchild, including a hosting role on HGTV’s “Worst Yard on the Block.”
“Building this tiny home has changed everything about my life,” Fairchild told Business Insider. “It completely changed my perspective on how I look at perfectionism, and taught me so much about resilience, tenacity, and pushing through.”
Here are five things she says to consider before building a tiny home.
1. Plan for unexpected costs
Tiny homes, which are typically under 400 square feet, can cost between $30,000 and $60,000 to build, according to Rocket Mortgage. But that estimate may not include expenses like permit fees, utilities, or hiring an architect or builder.
Fairchild had to dip into her savings to finance her home.
“Basically, any paycheck I had during that time went toward construction,” she said. “Almost immediately, my budget flew out the window.”
Her advice to prospective tiny-home builders is to try to list every cost before getting started, from how much wood they’ll need down to the screws and nails. They should also realize they might be missing some.
“When people are building these things by themselves, there are just all of these tiny miscellaneous costs that are going to add up that you just wouldn’t have even anticipated,” she said.
2. Decide whether a tiny home on a foundation or wheels is right for you
Tiny-home rules can vary widely by state and local jurisdiction, determining how they can be built and placed, and whether permits are required.
In some places, a tiny home on a foundation may not be allowed, while a tiny home on wheels may be. Fairchild said prospective builders should research local ordinances early and choose the type of home that best fits their needs.
“There are pros and cons to both,” she said. “With one on wheels, you can sometimes get insurance for it, and, depending on local rules, you may face fewer zoning and permitting hurdles. But then you have to consider where you’ll park it, whether you’ll be charged rent for the land, and what utilities you’ll need to retrofit so that you can be off-grid if necessary.”
3. Will your tiny home align with your lifestyle?
Fairchild designed her tiny home around a few nonnegotiables, including ceilings high enough for her to exercise comfortably.
“I like to work out,” she said. “There’s a gym down the street, but if it’s snowy or rainy and I don’t want to go, I need room to work out in my house.”
She said it’s important to design a tiny home around the way you actually live.
“How do you live? What are the things that you like to do inside your home every day that you don’t want to give up?” she said. “I would say incorporate the things you absolutely cannot live without, so you don’t feel like you’re giving up anything. You have to be happy.”
4. Be realistic about downsizing
Before moving into her tiny home, Fairchild lived in a normal-sized home and had to let go of many of her belongings, including furniture and clothes.
While her home largely fits her needs, its small size means she keeps some belongings — including winter clothes and craft supplies — in a storage unit or at her mother’s home.
“People are often downsizing from a regular-size house, and they have a lot of stuff,” she said. “Instead of just designing a tiny house and thinking, ‘Oh, this looks cute,’ set out all the things you think you’ll need in your home. I’m not kidding, measure the cubic footage of your stuff.”
5. Make sure you can comfortably share a small space
Sharing a small space with someone can bring frustrations, so it’s something to consider from the start, Fairchild said.
“If you’re building a life with someone and you’re going to be living together, make sure your relationship is rock solid, or learn tactics for being kind and patient with each other and taking space when you need it,” she said.
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