The next stage of our project is moving along smoothly! In the last couple of weeks, we have managed to source all of our joinery, which we achieved for $1800 total (although this doesn’t include the cost of respraying 2 of the windows, which I have still yet to do). Most of this was brand new, and all bar one window double glazed (the smaller, slim window for our bedroom is only single glazed, but the surface area of this will hopefully be too small to make a difference). Now that we have this, Tom is able to work out all of our wall plans in detail. Tom has also purchased a container to store our stuff and be used as a workshop base. After trawling through TradeMe and various container stores, he managed to pick up a 20ft container for $2000. We have also aquired a caravan to stay in while we are working on the project over our weekends – Tom’s Mum and her partner, Colin brought this down for us last weekend, a huge trip for them from the North Island. We went and looked at some tiny house open homes while they were here for the weekend too. The third large event this week was the arrival of our trailer – our contact, Shane has done a great job on this and it’s very exciting having it in place on our site!

We managed to source some brand-new joinery from Colin at Eco Cottages – a business dedicated to building tiny homes. Colin is able to build the whole thing, the trailer, or the shell of the house, or customize designs depending on what people are after. He is also a very knowledgeable man, and knows lots about how to get around councils that are against the tiny house as a concept. He is happy to help out anyone building a Tiny Home, and gave us joinery at a price we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else, along with lots of invaluable free advice. The Eco Cottages would be an ideal solution for people looking for a beach or holiday house, and those who aren’t so fond of the “loft” design of tiny houses – Colin’s concept is basically a cottage shrunken down to fit on a trailer he designed and produces himself. Check out the Eco Cottages here: http://ecocottages.co.nz/

The other tiny homes we went to view over the weekend were from Tiny Home CreatioNZ. This is a business run by a husband and wife, who are also able to provide tiny homes for people at every stage of the process, from the shell to the fully completed project. These ones included a design with a loft, and it was nice to see this in action – it’s something I wasn’t sure if I would like, but it was surpringly light and roomy up there. In fact, I was surprised about how much I liked both the two houses we saw – I wasn’t sure whether seeing the concept in action would put me off. However, despite the houses looking tiny from the outside, they were surprisingly spacious inside, and seemed to be more than enough for Tom and I to happily inhabit. None of the deign concepts were new to us, but it was nice to see some of the things we were planning in action.

Then on Monday, we got an exciting confirmation – our trailer was ready for collection! Shane, the engineer, had managed to pull a blinder and get this done in a record-breaking two weeks for us! It came with feet which we are able to pull down instead of having to rely on having the house on the wheels, and was ready to go with a warrant of fitness included. It was a very exciting moment for us being able to park it up at our site!

Knowing where to begin when designing a tiny house can be a challenge! We have the advantage that Tom has previously done a few building projects, so knows all of the ins and outs of building a stable structure. For those who do not have this luxury, that’s okay, you end up at the same starting point as us anyway – YouTube. We watched many videos of people that have undertaken tiny house projects, and learned that it’s a diverse community, everyone from practicing engineers to those who have absolutely no idea how to build. It keeps costs down significantly the more of your own labor you can do of course – but it is not an impossible project for those less DIY-minded! My personal favorite YouTube channel is Living Big in a Tiny House – many of the projects are from New Zealand, and there is a wide range of great ideas on there (many of which we shamelessly copied in our own design). https://www.youtube.com/user/livingbigtinyhouse

We also had many discussions about what was important to us in a living space. I wanted a kitchen with plenty of bench space – having spent a few years in a tiny flat while studying with a less-than-adequate kitchen, this is something I wasn’t keen to compromise on again. I also wanted decent storage, which is something we found entirely doable after watching a few cleverly done projects. Tom wanted a large shower, without the clear plastic surrounds that he hates to clean! He also wanted enough space in the sleeping loft to not feel claustrophobic. I think it is important to discuss these aspects right at the start of the design process, as the entire dimensions of the house will depend upon them. We also discussed a few essential design features at this point, like our climbing walls up to both of our loft spaces. We drew many draft plans before settling on our current plan, which may still change when we start building if things don’t go to plan! I have attached a drawing of our current plan for those interested – as you can see, these do not have to be super technical!

Once you have settled on a floor plan, the next step is to find a site on which you can begin your project. We spent ages looking at sections, where nothing ever really felt “perfect” for both of us. I have an eventual dream of living by the beach, so in our design, we incorporated certain aspects which will make our house a bit more salt-resistant. Tom wants a bit of land on which he can do some bee-keeping. We looked around for a while, without feeling particularly inspired by anything on the market. Then, the perfect solution presented itself. A workmate of mine had bought a section about a year ago, and was sick of spending money on rent while she waited for consents and plans to be drawn up for her family home. So, she decided to buy a couple of pre-fabricated containers, convert a shed on her property into a bathroom/kitchen area, and erect a yurt for the living area. She has no idea how long the family will live like this – only that it is an improvement on spending $400 a week on rent which could be going towards their home! I asked her how she would feel about us starting our tiny house project on her section. She and her partner were very accommodating with this – they allocated us a bit of their section right next to water and power. Suddenly, we had a means to make our project a reality! Tom’s mum and her partner are donating the use of their caravan for the duration of the project, so we can go out and work on the site for the entire weekend. Tom is currently looking for a Califont so we can rig up a makeshift shower.

Once you have your site sorted, the next thing is to start gathering materials (I suppose if you are living somewhere with adequate storage then this stage could be begun way in advance – for us living in a flat with 6 others it was not especially practical). The first thing we sourced was a trailer to build on. Tom talked to a few different companies, before settling on one which could build our trailer for $8300. We are hoping this will be the biggest single expense of the project. Tom and his Dad did many calculations, and came up with a plan for the trailer.

I will note at this point that if your plan involves any metal structures, the planning and sourcing has to be a lot more meticulous as everything has to be done with the upmost precision. Since we decided to make ours a timber frame structure, we have a bit more flexibility in terms of changing the design and working around joinery if we can’t get the exact size we had planned for etc.

Our next step was sourcing timber, joinery and tools. The first thing we bought was a small trailer. Then, we began trawling joinery salvage yards. Some people source and salvage over a long period of time, collecting bits as they come across them for super cheap prices. We have 2 weeks to collect our timber and joinery before trailer delivery day. Unfortunately, most of the salvage yards were shut over the holiday period, giving us even less time.

One thing we could do over the holiday period was buy tools – the DIY shops certainly weren’t closing down! Tom was certainly not complaining about this part of the process – the words “kid” and “candy store” sprung to mind for some reason…

Meanwhile, we are continuing to research and develop our plans. Currently, we are researching lightweight solutions to tiling for the bathroom; small, lightweight fire ideas; and Tom is about to order parts for a composting toilet after the reading we’ve done around that. One of the things that makes this project so interesting is the ability to try things and do things differently throughout the whole process, without having the expense of kitting out a whole house or even full-sized room.

Around a year ago, we seriously started thinking about a tiny house project. Why be sucked into the trap of a huge mortgage when you could live small and simply? It seemed like the perfect solution. However, I was scared. Scared of the commitment to the project, scared of what others would think, scared of being able to downsize and live in such a small space. Tom was understanding. He agreed to try a holiday in Europe first, to see if I could handle traveling around living out of a backpack. It was fine. Upon returning from said holiday, the stresses and grind of daily living returned. I became caught up in the routines of work and gym and life. Doing things like tramping and camping and climbing reinforced the idea – the seed of simplicity that had been planted. Towards the end of the year, several things happened. My work situation became increasingly stressful. A workmate that had bought a section over a year ago and got sick of waiting for architects and council approval decided to try smaller living – in a combinations of containers and a yurt. Lastly, our flat decided to split up – with people moving on to new cities and challenges. Discussing our options for the next year was somewhat of a bleak topic. All options seemed to point to sharing space with others – something we had both come to enjoy – but whilst adding to someone else’s nest egg with our hard earned cash. The tiny house idea resurfaced. We discussed how we would make it happen. Tom and I have a terrible habit – we discuss things for far too long before just going ahead and making the decision we should have made a long time ago (our trip to Europe was case in point – around 2 years of discussion and planing for a 6 week holiday!). We decided we had delayed the tiny house project long enough – we simply had to go ahead and give it a go! A quick message to my workmate and we had secured a building site – she delegated us a section of her land with water and power connections for a small weekly fee. We ordered the trailer on which to put our house. Tom modified drawings and spent hours talking to people about the project, especially his dad (they have previously built many projects together and have a lot of joint expertise). We watched many YouTube videos and I trawled Pinterest.

I still have the same worries as I did a year ago. I am worried about the lack of space, about finishing the project, and about that fact that I have no experience with DIY, and my woodwork projects at school reduced everyone they were shown to into fits of laughter. Yet, I am also excited to try something different and hopefully to have somewhere to live at the end of it. I am excited to collaborate with the many friends that are enthusiastic about our project and can’t wait to help out. I am excited about the prospect of avoiding a gigantic mortgage and working in a high pressure job to pay for things we don’t really need. Most of all, I am excited to gain new skills and work on something alongside my most trusted companion – something whichever will hopefully bring us closer together. Don’t get me wrong, I am aware of the quite real possibility of getting into an argument whilst wielding power tools. However, over the four years we have been together, we have realized we make quite a good team. I believe in our ability to make this happen. We have to give it a go and put our dreams into motion.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton