Could You Build a Tiny Home? This 16-Year-Old Did
If you have a project you’re too intimidated to tackle, you owe it to yourself to watch these videos of then-16-year-old Austin Hay showing off the tiny house he built with his own two hands.
(All Photos: Faircompanies.com via YouTube)
Hay completed the adorable 130-square-foot structure back in 2013, but it keeps getting new attention on the web. The site ViralNova just posted a new piece singing Hay’s praises.
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“It began as an idea that I had,” Hay says in the short YouTube documentary about his creation. “And it was just sweet that my high school had a project where you could do anything you wanted.”
“It reminded me of a tree house that I always wanted to build.”
Hay estimates the entire thing cost about $12,000, thanks in part to lots of used and donated materials.
”I like the salvage yard very much,” he says.
The structure sits on a trailer, so it can be towed to wherever Hay’s heart takes him. It has a working composting toilet, mini-fridge, and jumbo camping stove. He can plug into an RV power line or regular outlet.
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The other big cost cutter, of course, was Hay’s eagerness to work hard and learn as he went.
“The only thing I had help with was putting the roof on,” he says. “You’d be surprised how basic this is, really.”
Hay said in 2013 that he planned to attend the Santa Rosa Junior College and then transfer to Cal Poly. He wants to study architecture and minor in construction management.
Tiny houses, of course, have become a big thing. Hay isn’t the only student who’s crafted one himself, and companies like Tumbleweed have fed the trend. Hay says his construction success is proof anyone can build a tiny home of their own.
"Oh yeah, they just have to put their mind to it, and that’s what scares people. That and it’s hard work."
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