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Dawn and Scott Hines of North Carolina were looking for a certain kind of tiny house: something portable, cozy, a temporary home away from home. They bought tiny house building plans, but needed to make some adjustments in order for them to work.
But with no construction or architectural experience between them, what was to be done? They started with Tumbleweed Tiny Houses Weebee plans and attended one of their building seminars. They found the rest of their answers in Chuck Peterson of C&E Construction. He helped them build their tiny house on wheels, using the building plans as a guide, changing parts of it and inserting certain things to make it their own.
In their finished house, there’s a main floor and a loft, a kitchen and a bathroom and a living room. With the help of their contractor, Chuck, they raised the ceiling a little, upgraded the shower, and chose a composting toilet. Since they use their house primarily in Illinois each year, they also made sure the house plans were adapted to keep them warm in below freezing weather.
Is it perfect? No, not quite. There are few parts of their design they would change if they were to do it again – adding a light switch in the loft, moving an electrical box around – but overall the tiny house is exactly what they wanted. It’s a hideaway on wheels, a retreat on the go, and a perfect spot to cozy up and get away from it all.
What makes the Hines story unique? They took building a tiny house a step further. When Chuck went to work sawing and nailing, they turned on their video camera and kept up with his progress. A year after their house’s completion, they have a finished DVD for sale detailing every step of the construction process. In the video, we follow Chuck around as he measures and plans, narrating to the camera what he is doing and how each step is unique to building a small scale house.
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Today, the Hines can hook up their tiny house on wheels to a truck and move it wherever they may need but they keep it in a campground in Illinois just twenty minutes away from their son. They feel totally comfortable and at home in the small space, loving the atmosphere it provides. Chuck did a spectacular job and the final product feels sturdy and solid when inside.
Below are a couple samples of their construction video, more of them are available at their website.
Floor Framing:
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Newt Stremple
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