My humble quest to build La Petite Maison!

Monday, May 12, 2014

How Much Did I Spend? (It's An Adventure for All of Us)

For some people, a setback to building a tiny house is the money aspect. There is a range for expenses when building or buying a tiny house. There are high-end tiny houses that can go for upwards of $150,000. There are also homes like mine that are self made with help of donation that cost less than $10,000. My building process took 7 months. I bought many of my materials. If you are looking to keep costs down using reclaimed and donated materials would do the trick; the problem being that the building process would take much longer and any plans or blueprints would have to be loose and able to adapt to materials you gather.


 Before I break my budget down, I am going to explain how I, a 13-year-old without a full time job, could save $10,000. The majority of my expenses were paid by my tuition. When the project started I was attending a project-based school run by my mother, so I didn’t need to pay tuition. My mum took what would be my tuition (approx. $7,000) and bought the majority of my materials. The second source of money was my Indiegogo campaign. I raised 1,660. I also worked odds and ends jobs to raise about $500. This is about $9,160, the rest 700 or so dollars were a gift from my excellent mother.


As I was going through receipts I realized that this would be a very short blog if I only told you what my house cost and didn’t break it down (beat boxing in the background). Probably the most expensive category (that is definable; we’ll get to that later) was wood. In total, wood cost $2,783.96. This does not include trim because as the wonderful planners my mother and I are, we never got enough trim, so as I was going through receipts there was a piece of trim on every. Single. Receipt.




The trailer: a vital part of my house yet such a pain in the a$$. We got a donated, homemade farm trailer which was amazing when I first got it, but I came to realize that this trailer was very difficult to find parts and wheels for. So in total finding and buying new tires, new brake pads, welding on scissor jacks and a new hitch, and wiring electric brakes and lights cost $1,948.79. However, I think if the cost of gas was added it would add an extra $6 million. We searched far and wide for these parts, so I definitely recommend buying a new trailer.


The interior cost $1,029.83. This included the appliances, silverware, decorations, etc. This was my favorite part. What can I say? I’m a teenaged girl.


The least expensive category is plumbing. Plumbing cost $659.64, this included pipes, fixings, two RV hookup inlets (we cut some things wrong, okay?), and a water heater.  
 
The last and most expensive category was the unclassified. We spent $3,629 on random things, things that include a toilet seat, a bucket, staples, etc. $1,000 was probably caulk. (Just a tip to any new builders: budget $1,000 for caulk. You are going to use a lot.)
 
In total we spent $9,838.69. There may be a few small things that didn’t make it into the receipt bag. I also didn’t add labor or donated items. This is just the moo-lah I’ve spent. In the next blog I am going to do a master post of all the people that have donated knowledge, time, and/or money because they have been a vital part of my house.

What was (or is) your budget for your house? How are you going to raise money?

18 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing, this is very inspiring.

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  2. Any details on your stove/oven and refrigerator?

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    1. The oven is a Camp Chef, technically an outdoor propane-fueled contraption. My mom doesn't love using it too much inside, but we do have carbon monoxide detectors and open all the windows when we use it.

      The refrigerator is from Amazon.com; I can't remember the name, but it is ____ Nostalgics. It is a little bigger than a dorm fridge and has a separate freezer, which is good. It works well and is quiet!

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  3. I am so hopeful when I see more and more young people gaining knowledge of simple living and tiny houses. As for you mother, you are a very knowledgeable woman and smart to pass it on to your child! love the pictures too!

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    1. Sicily's mama here..

      Thank you for your kind words. It was an incredible experience for both of us, and I can see a huge difference in Sicily after completing the house.

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  4. I saw your article in the Reader's Digest! It thought it was a very cool story how the house reminds you of all the people that put something into it– especially your dad. I thought it very inspiring. I have been looking at tiny house blogs for a couple of years now and have been seriously considering building my own. Thank you for sharing your story as you go. You may have just convinced me to go for it.

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    1. Go for it! It was definitely difficult but definitely worth it!

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  5. hey I've been wanting to build my own tiny house for two years but parents and British building regulations/planning permission has stopped me :( but I still look at tiny houses for inspiration (I'll build my own one day!) and I can't believe I've only just come across your blog! Finally I'm not the only mad teenage girl who wants to build a tiny house or in your case has built a tiny house!! Congratulations, gonna have a look through your blog now maybe I'll be able to persuade parents - got any tips? :)

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    1. Hi Liberty!

      I think planing and research are the most important parts of the build, so keep doing that!! And you can also start saving money towards the build so that when you are ready you will at least have money to get started.

      Good luck!!

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  6. Congratulations! "You have accomplished more in Your young life than most people do in a lifetime! It is a wonderful thow.

    You need to delete some of the other comments on this post as they are inappropriate spam.

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  7. Kodus! I saving for my own home too.. Very inspiring!


    xoxo Khloe@Ramonage 4 Saisons

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  8. I just found your blog. You are so inspirational! I have a three year old, who I hope is as cool as you in ten years!

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  10. Lovely. Glad to see your dream home coming true. Hope mine will soon enough..Personally, I recently joined the Tiny House Movement and am enjoying every bit of it.

    p:s: You can share all your Tiny house living pics from your building process to plans used, for the benefit of others just joining our movement

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