5 Mistakes We Made While Building Our Tiny Home (& How to Avoid Them)
In today's video, I'm going to share five mistakes we made while building our tiny home. If you're new here, we’re in the process of building a tiny home on our property for my mom to live in.
We’ve designed it to match the Cape Cod style of our main house, so it feels cohesive with our home. If you haven’t seen the earlier videos in this series, we’ve already posted a few, and now that we’re deep into the DIY phase, there’s even more to come.
Whether you’re building a tiny home or a house, I hope our mistakes help you learn from our experience and avoid some of the pitfalls we encountered along the way. Without further ado, let’s dive into mistake number one!
Table of contents
Mistake 1: Hiring an Engineer
Our first mistake was hiring an engineer when we didn’t actually need one. In our area, anything over 400 square feet requires a permit, and since our tiny home is just above that limit, we needed to get one. The waitlist for permits at the time was crazy—anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks, which eventually stretched to 20 weeks.
When we finally got our permit, we were told that our design was so simple we didn’t even need an engineer. They could have made a few tweaks right there and issued the permit. So, we spent $26,000 on an engineer unnecessarily, which was frustrating. This leads us to our next mistake…
Mistake 2: Rushing to Hire an Engineer
This mistake ties in closely with the first. We should have been more patient when it came to hiring an engineer, especially since we didn’t end up needing one! Even though we’ve been through building projects before, it had been several years, and we made the mistake of rushing.
We called multiple engineers, but many didn’t respond, some were retired, and others were booked up for months. We ended up hiring someone whose reviews, unfortunately, weren’t accurate. Our plan ended up being over-engineered, costing us more in materials and labor. Lesson learned—patience is key!
Mistake 3: Venting Pipes in the Wrong Spot
Here’s a mistake that really bothered me because I’m someone who cares about aesthetics, especially when it comes to our tiny home.
We placed the bathroom at the front left of the house, accessible only through the master bedroom.
While we debated making it accessible from the living room, we decided to stick with this layout. So far, we’re happy with it, but we’ll see how my mom feels once she moves in.
The real mistake here was not considering where the venting pipes would go. I was horrified when I realized they were sticking out of the roof at the cutest part of the house! They looked like antennas, completely ruining the look.
After researching alternatives and finding no good solutions, we rerouted the pipes through the master bedroom.
Unfortunately, this meant we had to cover a beautiful natural beam, and now we’re replacing it with a faux one. It’s not ideal, but at least the piping is hidden!
Mistake 4: Shipping and Returning Materials
This next mistake is something I didn’t anticipate, and it has to do with returning materials. We over-purchased lumber and other supplies to make sure we had enough on hand, thinking we could easily return what we didn’t use. But here’s where it got tricky—many stores charge restocking fees, and if you’re getting materials delivered, there can be loading fees too.
On our first delivery, we were missing several items, which made things even more complicated. My advice? Go to the lumber store yourself, count the pieces, and bring them back to the site. It’s a hassle, but it’ll save you from missing items and extra charges down the line.
Mistake 5: Elevating the Tiny Home Too Much
Our final mistake happened right at the beginning of the build. We didn’t dig deep enough when laying the foundation, which ended up elevating the tiny home much higher than anticipated. While it looks cute and matches the height of our main house, the downside is that it’s now higher than the fence, reducing privacy.
The silver lining? From the street, the tiny home blends in with our house and forms an L-shape with a view of the mountains, which I love. So, while it’s not perfect, it’s still a win in my book!
I’m so excited to continue this tiny home journey with you guys, especially as we get into some really cool DIYs and accent wall projects.
If you’ve built a tiny home or have any home-building experience, I’d love to hear about your mistakes and successes in the comments below. Let’s help each other out and share what we’ve learned!
Thanks for watching, and I hope you all have a fabulous day! Bye!
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