My $600 Tiny House Cabin in the Woods & Some Advice for Those Considering a Build (Cost Breakdown)

This is my newest build - a tiny house cabin in the woods of Southern Ohio:

You'll notice it looks a little funky... that was by design. More accurately, I should probably say that it's because it's made almost entirely out of repurposed materials. It's made out of old 2x4s from a friend's rehab project, fence slats from a neighbor, a window and door reclaimed from old rental units, and pretty much any other materials I could get my hands on. You'd be amazed how much stuff people don't want that can be repurposed! The biggest purchases of new stuff I really made were some plywood boards for the foundation and roof and a small wood-burning stove to go inside. The entire build was around $600, including some purchasing of tools and the materials I needed.

For first-time readers of this blog, I should preface this by saying that I've built a tiny house (office) once before. It was during the pandemic when I was put on leave from work and had nothing to do. I'd wanted to build one for so long, and now I finally had the time and energy to do it! You can check out a video about that build here:

This time though I wanted something more rustic. The purpose of this tiny house wasn't to be an office. This one is to be more of a relaxing place to get away. It's also doubling as a hunting shack and deer blind. 

Don't worry, I took that lamp off the stove before I lit it!

I had a lot of help, especially from my buddy Simeon (below) - thanks to him and everyone who helped me on this build! I couldn't have done it without you.

View from the top bunk at night.

It sleeps 3 people!!! I am particularly proud of this bunk bed design. Basically the top bunk folds down and becomes the back of the couch when you add the cushions, which I've just ordered from Amazon.

 

So how did I do this? Not without lots of help. I had a group of friends (Simeon, Kevin, and Zach) come down after I scavenged most of the materials and they went to work with me. At our height we numbered four people. At times there were just one or two of us. But, we worked together and got it built in about a week! I'm particularly proud of this first episode of actually building the tiny house, partly because it was shot and edited professionally by a former student of mine. I think it turned out great!

So one of the things I've been thinking about in relation to the YouTube channel recently is considering who my target audience for this channel is. For now, I think that target audience consists of anyone who has ever thought about doing something like this on their own. I googled pictures of tiny houses and watched YouTube videos of tiny house builds for about ten years before I finally got up the nerve to try to build something on my own, and even then it wasn't until I helped a friend work on his own build. Now I've built two tiny houses (shacks, really) over the course of the pandemic. If I can do it, so can you!

For anyone considering a build, I would offer up some advice:

1. Start with a sketch or a vision of what you want to accomplish.

As you'll see if you subscribe to my YouTube channel, my plan for the cabin evolves from this sketchup quite a bit!

It's OK (and probably expected) that it will evolve over time. For me, for example, I realized the space I had in mind for my bunk beds was too small and pivoted, putting them along the left wall. The stove is roughly in the same position, and there are also more windows than I initially planned on having. I love all of the changes though! It's OK to changes your plans along the way. 

2. Do your homework

This applies to everything from knowing the permitting regulations in your area to figuring out how much in the way of materials you're going to need. It would be helpful to have a set of plans, although I can say that if you know the dimensions of what you want your house to be, a good lumber store can help you do the math on the materials side of things. 

3. If possible, enlist the help of friends

A build is a big job. I basically just built a shed in my backyard and there were parts that I needed my wife's help with, such as putting on the siding and getting the walls up. I am also really lucky that I had a few friends willing to come down with this build (thanks Simeon, Kevin, and Zach!) Getting all of those materials up the hill by myself would have been a nightmare. The real secret I've learned about many of the tiny house builds you see that say they were done for cheap means that there was probably a lot of donated labor! I am of the mind to take all that I can get. 

Thanks to Kevin, Zach, and Simeon!

4. Figure out your budget ahead of time and use reclaimed materials

I find this to be a good way to make sure I'm not overspending. By figuring out what I want to spend money on ahead of time I'm less likely to make impulse purchases and more motivated to use reclaimed materials, particularly free ones! Here's my cost breakdown below:

Bought two windows from salvage store - $48

Used door hinges - $12 (too much I know...)

Guide Gear camp stove - $157.92

Lumber (some foundation boards and plywood for roof/flooring and some other items I needed) - $173.61

Misc. expenses from hardware store (hinges, hooks for the suspended bed, etc.) - $200 (est)

Total - $591.53

5. Have fun!

I asked my buddy Mike, who has the channel A Cabin and 50 Acres, what advice he had for me, and this was it. And at the end of the day, if it's not fun, why do it? It's been the best advice I've gotten so far. Everything else I learned by watching YouTube!

If you have any questions or wish to stay at an AirBnB where you can check out this tiny house, visit my AirBnB page here!