In my quest for housing, I’ve been looking at all sorts of ways to get something built on the farm. There is a locally run outfit just up the road that does fine work and I’ve gotten a solid quote from them for a move-in ready house that would be about 600 square feet. That’s all I’ve ever really used to actually live despite being in homes four times the size. And if I need more storage for booze or books or llamas or redheads, it doesn’t really need to be inside my main house. That’s what really cool sheds are for after all.
To be clear, I’ve watched the ‘tiny house’ movement with great interest. I think living within your means both fiscally and geographically is a terrific idea. I even rented a 225 square foot tiny home on the coast for a weekend just to see how minimalist I could bear. The reality is that I can happily live without huge – or even biggish, extra-medium, or roomy. Especially if I’m surrounded most of the year by outdoor patio kitchens, lush gardens, and a weather proof couch perfect for wine nights by the bonfire on the twenty-five acres of farm I searched so long to find in a reasonable climate at a decent price. But really tiny? Under 500 square feet? That’s just too far towards the other extreme for my life I suspect. I’m aiming for small and manageable where space isn’t so constrained that I need folding forks and have to sleep above my stove next to the cat’s litter box.
While my local builders are very nice people and seem by all accounts to do great work, their price tag is a little steep. Not outrageous at $70K mind you but I’d have to staple on the major extras like a water well, septic system, and shiny new appliances which lands me pretty near $100K by the time the bill comes due. For a livable house that’s not bad in this day and age but I hope I can do better with a little personal effort tossed into the mix.
I’ve found an outfit barely across the border in Vermont that might have just the thing. They’re called the Jamaica Cottage Shop and they seem to be a good match for my own personal construction tolerance and skill set. They do all the hard work by building the main structure at their yard and then disassemble it, pack it, and send me a ready-to-erect kit. Sounds easy, right? I think it might be but I’m also not fooling myself into thinking this is going to be a simple flat-pack table from IKEA that can go together in three hours. Can you see me with a four page booklet of Swedish cartoon characters speaking in bubbles trying to sort out the international symbol for “use included crappy screwdriver and install roof (see diagram C2)”.
Jamaica Cottage covers the trucking and border hassle costs – even to Canada – which could be a black hole of trouble for an individual like me doing a one-time import. Love that. When it shows up I get to draft a herd of locals into helping me get it put back together here on site in an old fashioned barn raising sort of affair. They say a couple of burly guys could do it in a few weekends but I say it’s a great excuse for a party and the more the merrier. After that I’d have to contract the plumbing and electrical to meet codes but the kitchen cabinets, windows, and other modest finish work I can easily do at my own pace as I’ve done before in my other homes.
I’m looking at their 20 x 30 cabin which of course gives me 600 square feet of living space but a huge perk is that since it’s timber frame, I could add a second floor to as much as double that area later if needed. Here’s a link to the specific model where you can see more photos and even grab a spec sheet if you’re curious or think being a volunteer house builder in the near future would be a really good idea. Hard hats provided, bring your own steel toed boots.
While you’re there, poke around their whole site and let me know if you see any other shapes and sizes worth considering. I’m all about group input here. You can see they do everything from chicken coops to sugar shacks out of timber. Real craftsman approach it seems. For that matter, buy something for yourself and tell them I sent you. I’m sure they’d give me some referral credit. They seem like those sorts of nice people.
I figure the kit to my door will be about $20K because I’d source my exterior sheathing locally. Perhaps even other major ingredients depending on their price breakdown and of course the rapidly dwindling Canadian exchange rate. Yesterday was an eight-year low of seventy-seven US cents against the dollar. I can’t take a 23% hit and pay local Canadian tax without feeling that pain dearly. At least mortgage interest rates are at a similarly impressive low these days.
The land, driveway, and septic approval are already in my pocket, bought and paid as they say. Add the foundation for $5K, a septic tank & field for $9K, a nice deep drilled well and pressure tank for another $8K, and then finish the interior contractor work, materials for projects I do myself, major appliances, fixtures, heating and cooling for another $18K. All in let’s call it $60K more to get me into a house. Whatever beer and burgers I have to buy to feed the barn raising recruits will just be a tangential expense. I should probably ask for a tractor and a greenhouse while I’m at the bank, eh?
The main thing is that these guys are willing to make me a small timber frame and I can finish it out however works best. Apart from what I’d guess is a pretty satisfying feeling from being so involved in the construction, that’s a whopping $40K cheaper than letting the locals do the work. Is that worth the sweat? Is the safe bet to put the work on someone else’s shoulders at a cost? Can I even find my tool belt? These are the questions that haunt me.
