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10 Proven Methods For Financing Your Tiny House

By:

William C.

July 22, 2023

2 minutes

So you have made the big decision to live in a tiny house: congratulations! This will end up saving you a ton of money over the years, and if you get to live in your dream tiny home in the process then it is a no-brainer decision! However paying for the tiny house itself can be a massive issue, and it can cause you to get bummed out knowing that your dream is so near and yet so far. Thankfully there are options available to you. Whilst some people refuse to get into debt for their tiny house purchase, others argue that living in a tiny house will save you (lots) of money: thus allowing you to repay that debt and save money faster.

After you have decided exactly what tiny house you want (the design, and whether it is fixed on a foundation or it is on a trailer), you can get a firm price in mind for it and then starting to look at the (plentiful) financing options. Borrowing off friends or family is one option, as are commercial loans from the bank or even the building company. RV loans, peer-to-peer lending and chattel mortgages are amongst a range of other options as well.

To help you get closer to living in your dream house, we have written up this handy free guide on how to pay for/finance your tiny house. Please note, however, that we are not financial advisers and the content is provided ‘as is’ – we do not warrant nor assume any legal liability for the information provided. With that said, we have done our best to make this guide as helpful and complete as possible and we know that many happy tiny house livers have used one or more of the financing options mentioned in this article.

So you have made the big decision to live in a tiny house: congratulations! This will end up saving you a ton of money over the years, and if you get to live in your dream tiny home in the process then it is a no-brainer decision! However paying for the tiny house itself can be a massive issue, and it can cause you to get bummed out knowing that your dream is so near and yet so far. Thankfully there are options available to you. Whilst some people refuse to get into debt for their tiny house purchase, others argue that living in a tiny house will save you (lots) of money: thus allowing you to repay that debt and save money faster.

After you have decided exactly what tiny house you want (the design, and whether it is fixed on a foundation or it is on a trailer), you can get a firm price in mind for it and then starting to look at the (plentiful) financing options. Borrowing off friends or family is one option, as are commercial loans from the bank or even the building company. RV loans, peer-to-peer lending and chattel mortgages are amongst a range of other options as well.

To help you get closer to living in your dream house, we have written up this handy free guide on how to pay for/finance your tiny house. Please note, however, that we are not financial advisers and the content is provided ‘as is’ – we do not warrant nor assume any legal liability for the information provided. With that said, we have done our best to make this guide as helpful and complete as possible and we know that many happy tiny house livers have used one or more of the financing options mentioned in this article.

So you have made the big decision to live in a tiny house: congratulations! This will end up saving you a ton of money over the years, and if you get to live in your dream tiny home in the process then it is a no-brainer decision! However paying for the tiny house itself can be a massive issue, and it can cause you to get bummed out knowing that your dream is so near and yet so far. Thankfully there are options available to you. Whilst some people refuse to get into debt for their tiny house purchase, others argue that living in a tiny house will save you (lots) of money: thus allowing you to repay that debt and save money faster.

After you have decided exactly what tiny house you want (the design, and whether it is fixed on a foundation or it is on a trailer), you can get a firm price in mind for it and then starting to look at the (plentiful) financing options. Borrowing off friends or family is one option, as are commercial loans from the bank or even the building company. RV loans, peer-to-peer lending and chattel mortgages are amongst a range of other options as well.

To help you get closer to living in your dream house, we have written up this handy free guide on how to pay for/finance your tiny house. Please note, however, that we are not financial advisers and the content is provided ‘as is’ – we do not warrant nor assume any legal liability for the information provided. With that said, we have done our best to make this guide as helpful and complete as possible and we know that many happy tiny house livers have used one or more of the financing options mentioned in this article.

What You Need To Know When Insulating Your Backyard Office Or Tiny Home

By:

William C.

July 22, 2023

1 minute

The difference between a simple shed that you spend ten minutes in, and a tiny home or backyard office that you spend ten (or more) hours in, is often the level of comfort it provides. This level of comfort starts by having an adequate level of insulation in your tiny build, which not only keeps it warm in the winter but it also helps keep the building cool in the summer.

Whilst you might think that adding some simple batts (fibreglass) insulation to the walls is all that is required, the amount of heat you will lose from your roof and floor will almost make your wall insulation pointless. A well insulated tiny house and office shed will have an overall ‘insulation plan’, with insulated floors, walls and roof (along with doors and windows which do not let draught in!).

This does not have to be difficult to achieve however, and we advise that you do not rush this step and skimp on the insulation in any part of the building. It is almost a case of “Do it right, or don’t do it” at all, and ideally you will consider insulation throughout each of the building stages. Having said that, if your build is already finished (and you are concerned that it contains little – or no – insulation), do not worry: our section “Insulating Already Built Tiny Homes And Office Sheds” covers how you can retrospectively apply insulation to turn your property into a nice, warm space.

The difference between a simple shed that you spend ten minutes in, and a tiny home or backyard office that you spend ten (or more) hours in, is often the level of comfort it provides. This level of comfort starts by having an adequate level of insulation in your tiny build, which not only keeps it warm in the winter but it also helps keep the building cool in the summer.

Whilst you might think that adding some simple batts (fibreglass) insulation to the walls is all that is required, the amount of heat you will lose from your roof and floor will almost make your wall insulation pointless. A well insulated tiny house and office shed will have an overall ‘insulation plan’, with insulated floors, walls and roof (along with doors and windows which do not let draught in!).

This does not have to be difficult to achieve however, and we advise that you do not rush this step and skimp on the insulation in any part of the building. It is almost a case of “Do it right, or don’t do it” at all, and ideally you will consider insulation throughout each of the building stages. Having said that, if your build is already finished (and you are concerned that it contains little – or no – insulation), do not worry: our section “Insulating Already Built Tiny Homes And Office Sheds” covers how you can retrospectively apply insulation to turn your property into a nice, warm space.

The difference between a simple shed that you spend ten minutes in, and a tiny home or backyard office that you spend ten (or more) hours in, is often the level of comfort it provides. This level of comfort starts by having an adequate level of insulation in your tiny build, which not only keeps it warm in the winter but it also helps keep the building cool in the summer.

Whilst you might think that adding some simple batts (fibreglass) insulation to the walls is all that is required, the amount of heat you will lose from your roof and floor will almost make your wall insulation pointless. A well insulated tiny house and office shed will have an overall ‘insulation plan’, with insulated floors, walls and roof (along with doors and windows which do not let draught in!).

This does not have to be difficult to achieve however, and we advise that you do not rush this step and skimp on the insulation in any part of the building. It is almost a case of “Do it right, or don’t do it” at all, and ideally you will consider insulation throughout each of the building stages. Having said that, if your build is already finished (and you are concerned that it contains little – or no – insulation), do not worry: our section “Insulating Already Built Tiny Homes And Office Sheds” covers how you can retrospectively apply insulation to turn your property into a nice, warm space.

How Thick Are The Walls In A Typical Tiny House?

By:

William C.

July 22, 2023

1 minute

When building a tiny home which is no bigger than 400 square foot (37 square meters), space is obviously at a premium. However for simple (permit free) movement of a tiny house on wheels on the roads, many people stick to the ‘8.5 by 40’ rule: i.e. no more than 8.5 foot wide and 40 foot long. This leads to a floor space of 320 square foot (30 square meters) or less. When you really think about this, 8.5 foot is not all that much: only a foot or so more than some NBA players! So the thickness of the walls is really important. If you go with thick timbers (to accommodate thick insulation), you might find that your external walls are almost 7” (18 cm): meaning 14”+ overall for both sides, which is almost 14% of your 8.5-foot width! So you really need to think about wall thickness in a tiny house.

In general, when using standard 2×4 inch wood, external walls will be a little over 5” thick (or more if you use fairly bulky exterior siding) and interior walls will have a thickness of around 4½” (due to the drywall on both sides).

This article explores this in more detail below, including how to represent it accurately on a floor plan, as well as whether you can reduce the thickness of your walls to eke out every bit of extra usable space!

When building a tiny home which is no bigger than 400 square foot (37 square meters), space is obviously at a premium. However for simple (permit free) movement of a tiny house on wheels on the roads, many people stick to the ‘8.5 by 40’ rule: i.e. no more than 8.5 foot wide and 40 foot long. This leads to a floor space of 320 square foot (30 square meters) or less. When you really think about this, 8.5 foot is not all that much: only a foot or so more than some NBA players! So the thickness of the walls is really important. If you go with thick timbers (to accommodate thick insulation), you might find that your external walls are almost 7” (18 cm): meaning 14”+ overall for both sides, which is almost 14% of your 8.5-foot width! So you really need to think about wall thickness in a tiny house.

In general, when using standard 2×4 inch wood, external walls will be a little over 5” thick (or more if you use fairly bulky exterior siding) and interior walls will have a thickness of around 4½” (due to the drywall on both sides).

This article explores this in more detail below, including how to represent it accurately on a floor plan, as well as whether you can reduce the thickness of your walls to eke out every bit of extra usable space!

When building a tiny home which is no bigger than 400 square foot (37 square meters), space is obviously at a premium. However for simple (permit free) movement of a tiny house on wheels on the roads, many people stick to the ‘8.5 by 40’ rule: i.e. no more than 8.5 foot wide and 40 foot long. This leads to a floor space of 320 square foot (30 square meters) or less. When you really think about this, 8.5 foot is not all that much: only a foot or so more than some NBA players! So the thickness of the walls is really important. If you go with thick timbers (to accommodate thick insulation), you might find that your external walls are almost 7” (18 cm): meaning 14”+ overall for both sides, which is almost 14% of your 8.5-foot width! So you really need to think about wall thickness in a tiny house.

In general, when using standard 2×4 inch wood, external walls will be a little over 5” thick (or more if you use fairly bulky exterior siding) and interior walls will have a thickness of around 4½” (due to the drywall on both sides).

This article explores this in more detail below, including how to represent it accurately on a floor plan, as well as whether you can reduce the thickness of your walls to eke out every bit of extra usable space!

Tiny House Water And Sewerage Guide: All You Need To Know

By:

William C.

July 22, 2023

1 minute

Building a fully sized house on fixed foundations will usually mean digging trenches and running various pipes for water and drainage, but what about tiny houses? Many are built on a trailer and are designed to be portable, so digging trenches and running loads of expensive pipes everywhere you go is not practical. Having said that, obviously this does not mean that your tiny house will never have water pipes nor drainage, so what are the options available to you?

If your tiny house is on foundations, you can hook up to the city’s water and sewer lines. In all other cases, using an RV-style hose to fill up your water tanks (or faucets on-demand) is one of the main approaches. There are various approaches for drainage, although black water drainage needs to be handled carefully.

Since there are various options for bringing water into your property, along with how to properly drain the waste water, we have written this guide to explore the various approaches.

Building a fully sized house on fixed foundations will usually mean digging trenches and running various pipes for water and drainage, but what about tiny houses? Many are built on a trailer and are designed to be portable, so digging trenches and running loads of expensive pipes everywhere you go is not practical. Having said that, obviously this does not mean that your tiny house will never have water pipes nor drainage, so what are the options available to you?

If your tiny house is on foundations, you can hook up to the city’s water and sewer lines. In all other cases, using an RV-style hose to fill up your water tanks (or faucets on-demand) is one of the main approaches. There are various approaches for drainage, although black water drainage needs to be handled carefully.

Since there are various options for bringing water into your property, along with how to properly drain the waste water, we have written this guide to explore the various approaches.

Building a fully sized house on fixed foundations will usually mean digging trenches and running various pipes for water and drainage, but what about tiny houses? Many are built on a trailer and are designed to be portable, so digging trenches and running loads of expensive pipes everywhere you go is not practical. Having said that, obviously this does not mean that your tiny house will never have water pipes nor drainage, so what are the options available to you?

If your tiny house is on foundations, you can hook up to the city’s water and sewer lines. In all other cases, using an RV-style hose to fill up your water tanks (or faucets on-demand) is one of the main approaches. There are various approaches for drainage, although black water drainage needs to be handled carefully.

Since there are various options for bringing water into your property, along with how to properly drain the waste water, we have written this guide to explore the various approaches.