1. Phase Two: Preparing/Following Through Do-It-Yourselfers: In this phase, probably while you’re saving money, you’ll need to take the time to do your research, collect tools and materials, practice, and more!  Keeping Track of Your Money: I suggest starting a new Excel spreadsheet to track your purchases. While your budget spreadsheet(s) will tell you how much you spent on screws altogether, your purchase spreadsheet will show you how many different trips to the store you made and on what days. No one says you have to do this step, but many tiny housers do it and I’m the type of person who likes to know these things.  Spending (even more) Hours Online: scour the internet for all the tiny house info you can find, not just the Pinterest-worthy pictures. The more you learn ahead of time, the less issues you’ll have to deal with later. Follow blogs, bookmark useful pages, and contact other tiny housers with questions. Reading about something you don’t understand? Google it. You are going to be building this house; you need to be aware of and understand all of the steps.

2. Learning, Sharing, & Workshops  Reading and Watching: buy books about tiny houses, read Tiny House Magazine, and find how-to videos from tiny housers who’ve built their own. Every bit of info, every detail, and every inspirational story and picture will bring you closer to building your dream. You can find a lot for free online, but some resources are worth spending the money.  Blogging: an optional step for those that want to share their story and progress. Not good at writing? Try videos instead. And always take lots of pictures, whether you blog or not! You’ll want them later to look back on, and to show your family and friends.  Going to a Workshop: I include this step hesitantly. With the growing tiny house movement, more and more workshops are popping up with guest speakers and weekend tiny house builds! But beware the ones that might not have what you want. The workshop I went to, put on by Tumbleweed, was little more than a PowerPoint of things to consider, all of which I had already read about online and considered. Look for a workshop with variety and an on-site tiny house.

3. Choosing or Creating Your House  Buying Plans: any tiny house do-it-yourself can use any instructions they can get their hands on. There are so many sets of plans available now for purchase that many people can find something they want. Tiny house companies work with designers and engineers to create a variety of plans and lay-outs, but they can be expensive. Some individual tiny housers that created unique plans sell them on their websites or blogs, but those haven’t necessarily been looked at by an engineer. If you find a set of plans you like from a company like Tumbleweed and have the $750+ to spend, awesome. If you found a tiny houser that designed a house you really like and they sell plans, cool. Get an engineer to double- check everything. If you have your own plan in your head, either draw up your own plans and get them approved, or get them drawn up for you and get them approved. Tiny houses might not be required to meet code, but you’ll at least want a professional to make sure the structure is strong and safe.

4. Ask, Borrow, & Practice  Asking For Help: building a house is not a one-person job. Accept help wherever you can. Tell your family and friends your plans and what you hope they’ll help with. Some will be skeptical, but some will be excited!  Filling Your Toolbox: not everyone has a fully stocked toolbox ready to go, especially first time builders. Buy or borrow all the tools you think you’ll need, from a hammer to a table saw.  Practicing: first time builders, and even those with some experience: find some way to practice the skills you’ll need to build your house. The first time you pick up a hammer or a drill shouldn’t be when you’re building the walls of your future house. Ask the handyman of the family to give you some tips, consider a smaller building project like a shed, and look for opportunities to get on real build sites. Work with a contractor. Join the local wood hobby club. Even something as simple as putting up some shelves is a good place to start.

5. Plan It Out  Planning: an important, time-consuming step. Before you hammer the first nail or even make the first big purchase, you should have a written plan with a timeline. Having a steps list or something similar will keep you organized and help you stay on track. Consider outdoor building time (summer), how much time you expect each step to take, money restraints, lead times on materials, how often you’ll be able to build, how long you have on the property you’re building on, and how much time until you want to be able to move in. Be warned: building projects, big or small, always take longer than you plan. They usually cost more too.

6. The Pieces of a Home  Collecting: if you have the money, and/or you’re using salvaged materials, start collecting your materials ahead of time. Reclaimed windows will affect your framing, so you’ll need those as soon as possible, but finding everything you want can take time. Make sure you have a place to put your materials that is protected from the weather. Learn which items will take time to come in, like the trailer and custom orders. Look for sales! And even if you don’t have the cash to order your washer/dryer combo unit before your trailer, you can collect inspiration items. Tiny houses have been constructed around the love of a beautiful window or an antique door knob. Keep an eye out for the unique items that will make the house your home.

7. Knowing Ahead of Time  Deciding: this is one of the most important steps. Before you spend money on your trailer and materials, you need to know how the big, expensive pieces are going to fit together. Research, research, research! Be able to picture in your head everything coming together and which steps follow each other. For example, you need to know several things before you order your trailer: how you’re constructing your floor, how you’re attaching your framing to your floor, how you’re going to attach the house to the trailer, how thick your walls are going to be, what insulation you’re going to use, how heavy your house will be, and if the house will weigh more on one side than the other. Plus I’m sure there are more considerations I haven’t thought of yet. As you get farther into the build and into the more superficial things, you can afford to make decisions as you go. But when you’re starting, decisions beforehand are crucial to avoiding mistakes later on. Metal, framing, and insulation problems are really hard to fix.

8. Phase Two Steps  Keeping Track of Your Money  Spending Hours Online  Reading and Watching  Blogging  Going to a Workshop  Buying Plans  Asking For Help  Filling Your Toolbox  Practicing  Planning  Collecting  Deciding