Tiny House Designing, Building, & Living

by Andrew Morrison, Gabriella Morrison

Do you have what it takes to live tiny? Take the first step to achieving the dream of designing, building, and living in a tiny house (typically between 100-400 square feet). Idiot's Guides: Tiny House Designing, Building, and Living is the one-stop guide into this innovative concept of minimalist living. Dozens of helpful images and a full-color insert displaying different types of tiny houses help you visualize your dream. The book explores what it mentally takes to become a tiny house dweller and covers the best approach to designing and building a house that ideally fits your needs. The book includes an in-depth discussion on foundation types, financing and insurance, and legal standards, as well as building techniques, must-have utilities, and going off the grid, and home placement. Functional suggestions for decor, storage, and more are also featured. Bonus: three tiny house floor plans to illustrate what these homes entail.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2017

Reviews

[Autumn Nester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reading this book because I wanted to learn more about building a tiny house, and that's what I got so I can't really be mad at it. The only problem was that this book got technical, and I didn't know what the hell it was talking about. It has construction lingo in it of tools and ways that you connect things, and I didn't understand a word. I think that you need to read something about simple construction before this or come in with some prior knowledge because reading like ten chapters where I didn't understand anything wasn't fun, made reading the book feel pointless, and made me seriously want to put down the book. I got a $3.00 fine at the library from this book because I max checked it out and still went over on the return date. Even though, it sounds like I am complaining, the book overall was good. It was information and gave a lot of tips about how to downsize and build a tiny house from people who have actually done it. The only problem was my coming in with expectations of what the book would be like and that not being what it really was, and that's my fault. I REALLY enjoyed a lot of the opening chapters before it got heavy into the parts of construction that I didn't understand and opened my eyes more to how difficult it is to build a tiny house on your own and gets all the permits and be legal and etc. So overall very good, I just wasn't prepared.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very useful, if somewhat brief, walk through the process of getting from Idea to Reality. I liked their practical information about zoning laws, taxes and insurance, even though I didn't need that information personally.
Their information on construction techniques, different types of nails and lumber, and other practical considerations for building were quite interesting. I'm going to keep this one a little while longer as a reference in my travel trailer remodel.

[Rev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book, detailing how to build your own tiny home. This is something I'm seriously considering for the future, although I never really considered making it a tiny home on wheels. The book focuses much more heavily on that than it does anything else, so that is part of the reason for the non-perfect rating. However what I did find here was very informative and I think it'd be good for reference in the future.

[Kaleb Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read if you plan on building a tiny house.

[Amanda Boehm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good resource that covers all considerations in everything from downsizing, to building, to living in a tiny home.

[Amberwench · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good coverage of what to consider when building (or having it built for you) your own tiny house, both the physical and legal aspects.

[Avina · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have no background in construction, this is a great starter book to understand the pieces that need to come together to create your dream tiny home.

[Robin Truhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

So informative. I hope to someday have a tiny house built. If I do, I'm now dangerous because having read this book I know of many details to trouble the builders with. Ha! The authors are just the best. Check out their website at tinyhousebuild.com.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read. Page turner. Must read if you are planning to build or even purchase a tiny house.