After building my tiny house I learned a lot of lessons about construction. Looking back I see some of the design decisions I made could have been improved upon. I decided to build the framing of my house with reclaimed lumber which saved a good amount of money. However framing a house is a lot of work and also requires sheathing. My plan was efficient on materials cost but was heavy in labor cost.
A good alternative to framing a tiny house with wood is to make a tiny house out of a shipping container. A 40ft container can cost around $2,500. This may sound like a lot but when you are considering it provides you a shell to build off this can save money in the long run. You may need to add more reinforcements to the inside of the shipping container to make it stable to live in. The shell is 8 foot wide comes compatible to be loaded on a trailer.
My new tiny house plan
This is just a plan and I haven’t completed the construction of these yet. Given my experience building the other house this is how I would do it again. My goal with these plans is to provide the most cost efficient and easy to construct housing. I want others to build this plan to create affordable and durable housing. This new plan is higher square footage so I will use a dollar per square foot measurement to compare the plans.
So my new plan is to build something that is a little more permanent, more square footage but will still be affordable, durable, looks good and easy to build. It is a 40 foot shipping container that has been cut into a 25 foot section and a 15 foot section. The 15 foot section lays on top of the 25 foot section creating a second floor.
The other tiny house I built has 200 SqFt but this new plan has space up to 320 SqFt with space for an upstairs deck. This new 320 SqFt model can be loaded on a trailer but will exceed height regulations requiring special transportation if moved.
It would also be possible to make this tiny house plan with the option of the top 15 foot trailer being detachable. The detachable second floor could be loaded onto the trailer for easy transportation. This would require some engineering but wouldn’t be hard to pull off.
The downside to this plan is there maybe some difficulty moving the 15 foot section of the shipping container on top of the 25’ section. The upside is you will save a ton of time and material cost not having to frame and sheathe.
Tiny house plan: Foundation
Normally I would recommend building a pier and beam foundation but considering the task of placing the shipping container in place, a slab foundation may be a better idea. You don’t even need to pour a full slab you can pour runners that are the 25 foot by 8 foot. When the company delivers the shipping container they can place it down right on the slab runners.
The runners will be on the edges where the shipping container touches the ground. In the space between the runners will be compacted gravel. This will save time snd effort with laying lots of cement. Compacted gravel is strong, cheap and less labor intensive to install than pouring cement.
The cost of building a foundation can be drastically less if you decide to pour DIY. There are three options:
- You can dig the trench for the runners and pour the foundation yourself by renting concrete mixer. The cost would include the rebar, wire, bags of cement and the time to rent the mixer. $350
- You can dig the trenches and hire a concrete truck to come out to pour into the trenches for you. This will be less work and could be potentially worth it depending on cost. Sometimes it can be cheaper to pour from a concrete truck as opposed to hand mixing bags. $500
- Hire a company to come out to dig and pour foundation for you. This would be the most costly and the best option if you are unsure with building a foundation. $1000
Second floor
After dropping the shipping container in place on the runners you can cut the 15 foot section off. The biggest struggle will be lifting the 15 foot section to be placed on top of the 25 foot section. The best route is to hire someone with a backhoe or forklift. A standard 40 foot container weighs 8000 lbs so a 15 foot section will weigh about 3000lbs.
Tiny house plan: Framing layout
The shell of the shipping container will serve as the structural support and sheathing for the outside of the house. The purpose of the framing is to create space for insulation and offer structure where the drywall can be nailed in. To estimate how much framing lumber, drywall, subfloor you will need you need to build a framing schematic. The schematic should have every piece of lumber listed out in the tiny house plan. This will also allow the estimation of how much subfloor and drywall will be needed as well.
In the tiny house plan schematic above every red line represents 2×4 framing. The 2x4s will be spaced every 4 feet to accommodate nailing in 4×8 drywall sheets. From my schematic it shows this plan will require 86 2x4s to complete the internal framing.
Tiny house plan: Drywall Schematic
Above is a schematic showing the placement of 4×8 subfloor sheets in green and 4×8 drywall sheets in blue. The house is framed every 4 feet to accommodate for 4×8 dimensions. The schematic shows we will need 8 sheets of subfloor including upstairs. The patio will be made of a slanted tile to allow draining of rain. We will also need 28 sheets of drywall if we want to sheet the walls and ceilings of the tiny home.
Tiny house plan: Flooring Schematic
The area marked in orange will be where flooring 320 SqFt of flooring will be needed. Flooring material will be attached onto the wood subfloor. I would prefer installing wood or tile floors. Either engineered interlocking boards or custom wood floors. Tile can either be installed in the whole space if desired or just in bathrooms and the kitchen. Roughly 120 square feet would need to be tile to cover bathroom and kitchen needs.
Tiny house plan: Door schematic
The best spot to put the bathroom is next to the staircase so under the stairs can be the closet for the bathroom. There will also be a front door to enter the house and a patio door to to enter the rooftop patio. More doors can be added if desired.
At minimum going to need at least 3 door frames, 3 doors and 3 sets of knobs, hinges and needed hardware. Also going to need 10 more 2x4s for the partition wall and 5 more sheets of drywall for interior and exterior of bathroom.
Reclaimed doors
The price of doors can vary drastically if you decide to buy new or used. Fancy new french doors can push $1000+. If you are going to buy used at any point during the build, windows and doors are a good place to start.
For my other tiny house I was able to buy 3 used windows for $50, a used exterior door for $75, used french doors for $75 and another exterior door was free because I found it on the side of the road and fixed it up.
Windows are one of the most customizable parts of this house plan. In this picture I put 6 potential windows. You can customize where you want the windows, what size and how many based on preference.
It is easy to add a window as the wall does not need to be reframed. A hole will need to be cut out of the metal sheeting off the shipping container. I would recommend having at least 8 windows for a space of this size. Used windows can run $30 per window if you buy a set. If you decide to buy new windows will be at least $100 each.
Insulation plan
For insulation I will use mineral wood batts in the wall, ceiling and floor cavities. This will provide R-15 of insulation. In addition I will install foam board insulation externally on the roof of the shipping container. Adding external insulation to the roof will add needed R value to keep things comfortable in the house.
The floor space is 8 foot by 25 foot so that is 200 square feet. The walls are 528 square feet in the bottom floor and 184 square feet on the top floor. The roof is 200 square feet. This adds up to 1112 square feet of coverage needed for the mineral wool bats to cover the walls, floor and ceiling. For foamboard on the roof we will need 200 square feet of coverage.
Mineral Wool Batts
Each bag of mineral wool batts covers about 34 square feet. This breaks down to needing roughly 32 bags of mineral wool. Each foam board piece is 4’x8’ and covers 32 square feet. To cover 200 square feet we will need 7 sheets of foamboard to cover the roof.
HVAC plan
The best way to heat or cool a tiny home is with a mini split system. The compressor can even be mounted to the house to be more mobile. In this case we would want to have a system that has 2 heads that attach to one compressor. This would deliver enough BTUs of heating and cooling to keep the bottom floor and top floor comfortable.
The cheapest way to install this is to buy a mrcool DIY kit and install it yourself. If you decide to hire someone to install they will charge between $300 and $750 to install the units.
Tiny house plan: Kitchen
The kitchen is another area in the tiny home plan where the cost can vary depending on how its finished. Cabinet and countertop configuration house. This means the cabinets run flat against the wall. This will allow the 8 foot width of the house to be easily walkable and spacey feeling.
Rolley Kitchen Island
Another option is to have a moveable island that can be stashed away when its not being used. In the other tiny house I built I was able to build the kitchen at next to no cost as I found free cabinets on facebook and painted them.
The Lower Cabinets
I made the lower cabinets out of plywood. My counter top was made of epoxy resin. The epoxy resin counter top was the most expensive part of my kitchen but still relatively cheap to alternate materials.
If you buy flat pack cabinets they can cost $1000-$2000 depending how many cabinets you order and quality.
Light fixtures
Depending on the quality and number of desired light fixtures the cost can vary. For a house this size I would recommend having 1 light fixture in the entrance of house, 1 light fixture in sitting lounge area, 2 light fixtures in kitchen, 2 light fixtures in bathroom, 3 light fixtures on exterior of house, 1 light fixture in the bedroom with a switch at door for outlet. One of the exterior lights will be on the patio.
Lights in my previous tiny house plan
On my other tiny house plan I spent around $105 on light fixtures for a 200 square foot space. Many of the light fixtures I got were free from facebook give away groups. I bought the rest of my lights new from home depot. Light fixture prices can vary widely depending on how fancy they are. For this 320 square foot tiny home I would estimate costs to be between $150 and $750.
Other materials
Other estimates for materials cover the smaller priced items. I am estimating the stair case will require four 2x10s to build the supports and steps. The plan will also require roughly 270 linear feet of 1×4 boards to trim out the walls, doors and windows. At 10 foot per board this breaks down to 27 boards needed.
Rough in plumbing will be covered in the cost to hire a plumber. The finishing plumbing will require 2 sinks, 1 tub shower, 2 sets of faucets, 2 P traps, sink connections, 1 toilet.
Estimates for other supplies
I am estimating 2 boxes of nails for the nail gun, 5 boxes of screws, 2 containers of joint compound, 1 roll drywall tape, two 5 gallon drums of paint, paint for exterior, 4 paint brushes, 4 rollers, 3 saw blades, 8 foot wood dowel, outlet covers and that will cover most of what is needed for the basics.
Planning the build site
To start we will need enough space to build an 8 foot by 25 foot base. Its best if the space is flat to build on and clear of trees and other debris. The site needs space to bring in materials with a truck and access to utilities.
Often times tiny homes will be built behind an existing house and the tiny home can be connected to those utilities. Creating your own utilities or getting the tiny house put on separate meters will drastically increase the cost.
Acquiring the materials
Before staring construction you want to acquire all the necessary materials. You must make a materials list to get a running total of how much the home will cost To build. The materials list for this plan will include (1×4, 2×4, 2×10, 4×4 lumber), plywood, flooring material, subfloor, drywall, doors, door frames, insulation, joint compound, nails, screws, cement, rebar, brackets, paint, toilet and under sink pluming.
There may be more materials needed depending how you want to finish out the house. For example getting tile and tiling materials if you want tile the floors or bathroom. My tiny house plan is designed to be a shell that can be customized.
Use reclaimed materials!
Before I present the list of needed materials and prices I want to make a disclaimer. I try to use reclaimed or used materials whenever possible to cut costs. Many materials can’t be sourced by reclaiming and must be bought new. I use a mix of new and used materials. The material costs I post may seem low but they are real prices I paid when building a previous tiny house.
Total costs for building this tiny house plan
| Material | Numbers needed | Price per unit | Total price |
| Shipping container delivered | 1 | $2500 | $2500 |
| Mini split 2 zones | 1 | $2200 | $2200 |
| Flooring(engineered hardwood and tile) | 400 sq feet | $1000 | $1000 |
| Mineral wool batts | 32 | $21.87 | $700 |
| 2x4s | 86 | $7.98 | $680 |
| Kitchen | $500 | ||
| Foundation (concrete, rebar, wire) | 55 bags of concrete 10 peices rebar 1 spool wire | $500 | |
| 4×8 OSB Subfloor | 8 | $48 | $384 |
| Windows | 8 | $43.75 | $350 |
| Light fixtures | 10 | $30 | $300 |
| Paint | 3 | $100 | $300 |
| Reused Doors | 4 | $83 | $280 |
| Drywall | 27 sheets | $8.98 | $242 |
| Foamboard insulation | 7 | $34.17 | $239 |
| Sinks | 2 | $100 | $200 |
| Tub/shower | 1 | $150 | $150 |
| 1x4s | 27 | 3.97 | $107 |
| Faucets | 2 | $50 | $100 |
| Saw blades | 5 | $15 | $75 |
| Toilet | 1 | $10 | $75 |
| Silicone sealant | 10 | $7 | $70 |
| Tile adhesive | 2 | $35 | $70 |
| Screws | 4 | $15 | $60 |
| Adhesives | 5 | $10 | $50 |
| Redguard | 1 | $48 | $48 |
| Paint rollers | 4 | $10 | $40 |
| Wood dowel | 5 | $8 | $40 |
| P traps | 2 | $15 | $30 |
| Weather sealing tape rolls | 3 | $10 | $30 |
| Door hardware | 3 | $30 | $30 |
| Plumbing connections | 6 | $5 | $30 |
| Paint brushes | 6 | $4 | $30 |
| Spackle knife/trowels | 3 | $10 | $30 |
| Total Materials Cost | $11,440 |
Build a service list
There will also be a service list for what you will have to pay professionals to complete certain projects. For example hiring an electrician to wire up the house. You may be able to wire up your house but somewhere within the project it will be cheaper and easier to hire someone to help. This list can change drastically depending on your expertise with plumbing or electrical.
| Service needed | Price |
| Electrical install | $3000 |
| Plumbing install | $2000 |
| Lift second floor of tiny house | $750 |
| Rent concrete mixer | $120 |
| Total service cost | $5870 |
The projected totals cost to complete this tiny house plan DIY
The total cost to complete this tiny house plan comes to $17,310. This brakes down to a cost of $54 per square foot to build. This includes most things done DIY and using some reclaimed materials to reduce cost. The point of this plan was to present an option that wasn’t too difficult to pull off by the average DIYer. You could reduce cost more by doing more things DIY and focusing on having more reclaimed materials.
How to reduce cost in tiny house plan
For example I have the 2×4 lumber cost at what it would cost to buy 86 2x4s from home depot. In the previous tiny house I built all of the framing with free reclaimed 2x4s. Another opportunity to save cash is by getting a used AC unit and retrofitting it to the house. This may require hiring someone but can still save money. Another opportunity to save cost is using reclaimed materials for the floors instead of buying boxes of new flooring from the store.
Conclusion: Tiny house plan
A nice house can be built for not that much money! The benefits of affordable housing trickle through every aspect of our lifestyle. This tiny house plan is just an example for what can be done with infinite creativity.
More resources: https://tinyhouseblog.com/announcement/mega-tiny-home-communities-coming-austin/