Author: Faheem Rafique

Thinking about a tiny house? Smart move. Less space. Less stress. But what about the loan? That’s where a tiny house mortgage calculator helps.

Ever thought about living in a hobbit house? You’re not alone. Round doors. Warm wood. A home that feels calm the moment you step inside.

Think of a tiny house floor plan like choosing the right diamond cut. The shape changes everything. One story keeps life simple. Two stories add privacy. More bedrooms mean more comfort for families or guests. Your lifestyle sets the rules, not the square footage. Keep reading to see how the right floor plan can turn a tiny home into a place that truly works for you. This tool acts as a “Virtual Architect Consultation.” Instead of browsing hundreds of plans, the user answers 4 key questions about their life (Family size, Mobility, Travel habits, and Style), and the tool recommends…

Siding gets all the glory, but Trim does the heavy lifting. Corner boards, window surrounds, and fascia are the first line of defense against water intrusion. They also take the brunt of the sun and rain. For decades, wood (Cedar or Pine) was the king. But in the modern tiny house movement, Cellular PVC (plastic) has become a top contender. This guide breaks down the pros and cons of each material to help you choose the right frame for your tiny home. The Contender: Cellular PVC (Azek, Veranda) Cellular PVC is an extruded plastic that looks and cuts exactly like…

A 6-foot sliding glass door is the dream feature for many tiny house owners. It opens up the space, floods the room with light, and creates that coveted indoor-outdoor flow. But putting a 150-pound sheet of glass on rollers and subjecting it to a 60 MPH earthquake (towing) is a recipe for disaster if you aren’t prepared. Standard residential sliders are designed to sit still. On the road, the heavy sliding sash acts like a battering ram, and the frame can twist, causing the glass to shatter. This guide covers the mandatory upgrades and travel protocols needed to keep your…

In a standard 2,500-square-foot home, a Dutch door (or “stable door”) is a cute farmhouse accent. In a Tiny House, it is often a strategic functional choice. When your floor plan is only 200 square feet, every door swing and ventilation source matters. A door that splits horizontally, allowing the top to open while the bottom stays shut, solves unique problems that standard doors cannot. This guide explores the pros, cons, and waterproofing realities of installing a Dutch door on a house that moves. The Pros: Why Tiny House Owners Love Them 1. Ventilation Without Sacrifice In a tiny house,…

There is no feature more whimsical or “Hobbit-like” than a living green roof. It turns a boxy tiny house into a piece of the landscape. It provides incredible sound insulation against rain and keeps the house cool in summer. But in the world of Tiny Houses on Wheels (THOWs), a green roof is arguably the most dangerous feature to add if you don’t understand the physics. Why? Because dirt is heavy. This guide breaks down the structural reinforcement and specialized waterproofing needed to safely haul a garden down the highway. The Math: Calculating the “Dead Load” Standard residential roofs are…

For many tiny house dwellers, “Water Independence” is the ultimate goal. You want to park off-grid and live off the sky. While buying a tank and a pump is easy, designing your roof for optimal collection is often overlooked. The Pitch (Slope) and Shape of your roof dictate not just how much water you catch, but how clean that water is. This guide explores the physics of roof angles for rainwater harvesting on a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW). The Golden Rule: Metal is King Before debating angles, we must settle the material. For rainwater harvesting, Metal Roofing (Standing Seam…

Corrugated metal (and its cousin, “Box Rib”) is the darling of the modern tiny house movement. It’s lightweight, durable, fire-resistant, and relatively affordable. But once you buy the panels, you face a major design decision: Which way do the ribs run? Orienting your panels vertically or horizontally isn’t just an aesthetic choice—it fundamentally changes how your house handles water and how you frame your walls. Option A: Vertical Orientation (The Classic Barn Look) This is the most common installation method for agricultural and commercial buildings, and for good reason. 1. Water Shedding: Superior 2. Aesthetic Impact 3. Installation & Framing…

In the world of tiny houses, no exterior finish captures the “storybook cottage” or “rugged cabin” vibe quite like Cedar Shakes (shingles). They add incredible texture, smell amazing, and silver-out beautifully over time. But before you order a pallet of Eastern White or Western Red Cedar shakes, you need to ask yourself one question: Can my trailer handle the weight? This guide breaks down the aesthetic value versus the structural reality of installing shakes on a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW). The Aesthetic Value: Why We Love Them Cedar shakes offer a depth that lap siding simply cannot match. The…

One of the most iconic looks for a tiny house is natural Western Red Cedar siding. It looks warm, inviting, and organic. However, keeping wood looking like wood is a battle against the sun. When choosing a finish for your tiny house exterior, you are really choosing your future maintenance schedule. Do you want to re-coat every year, or every 7 years? Do you want to scrub a surface, or scrape peeling flakes? This guide breaks down the three main contenders: Clear Coats, Stains, and Paints. 1. The “Natural Look” Trap: Clear Sealers Many first-time builders want to keep that…

When you park your tiny house in a new location—whether it’s a friend’s backyard or a remote BLM campsite—darkness can be unnerving. Security lighting is your first line of defense. It deters prowlers and keeps you from tripping over your trailer tongue at night. But unlike a standard home where you just wire a floodlight to 120V AC, a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW) has specific constraints: Power Availability and Road Aerodynamics. This guide compares the two main strategies: Stick-on Solar vs. Integrated 12V Systems. Option A: Solar Motion Lights (The Quick Fix) These are the all-in-one units you see…

In a standard 2,000-square-foot home, if it starts raining, you just close the windows and let the HVAC handle the air. In a Tiny House, you don’t have that luxury. With such a small volume of air, moisture from cooking, showering, and breathing builds up incredibly fast. If you seal your house up tight every time it drizzles, you will quickly develop condensation issues and mold. You need to be able to ventilate even when the weather is bad. This brings us to the great window debate: Awning vs. Sliding. The Contender: Sliding Windows Sliding windows (gliders) are the default…

A rooftop deck is the ultimate space-saving hack for a tiny house. It doubles your outdoor living area without increasing your footprint. But to get up there, you need a hole in your roof that doesn’t leak. Installing a Roof Hatch (or egress skylight) is a high-stakes project. If a window leaks, you ruin some drywall. If a roof hatch leaks, you ruin your ceiling, insulation, and potentially your subfloor. This guide covers how to select, frame, and flash a roof hatch specifically for a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW). The Height Restriction Challenge Before you cut a hole in…

A tiny house can feel twice as big with a good deck. But hauling a separate trailer for your porch is a logistical nightmare. The solution? The Folding Deck. By attaching the deck permanently to the house and hinging it upwards (like a medieval drawbridge) for travel, you carry your outdoor living space with you. However, this is a complex structural feature that requires careful engineering to ensure it doesn’t rip off your wall or exceed legal road width. The Width Restriction Challenge Before you buy a single hinge, do the math. Mechanism 1: The Manual Fold-Up (Small Decks) For…

The “A-frame” or tongue of your tiny house trailer is prime real estate. It is the perfect spot to house the ugly, heavy, and potentially dangerous systems that you don’t want inside your living space: Propane Tanks and Batteries. However, you cannot simply throw a plywood box together and call it a day. Propane and batteries have very specific—and conflicting—safety requirements. This guide covers how to design and build a custom tongue box that adds curb appeal while keeping your tiny house safe and legal. The Golden Rule: Separation of Church and State If you plan to store Propane and…

When you build a stationary home, windows just need to sit there and look pretty. When you build a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW), your windows are essentially subjected to a continuous 60 MPH earthquake every time you move. Many DIY builders try to save money by buying standard residential vinyl windows off the shelf at a big-box store. This can be a dangerous mistake. This guide explains why Tempered Glass is non-negotiable for THOWs and what features you need to look for to ensure your windows survive the highway. The #1 Rule: Use Tempered Glass If you take nothing…

Once your tiny house is framed, you face a critical decision: How do you keep the water out and the air in? For decades, the standard answer was House Wrap (Tyvek). But in recent years, the ZIP System (green boards) has taken over the custom home building world. For a stationary house, it’s often a matter of preference. For a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW) traveling down the highway at 60 MPH, the stakes are different. Let’s compare the two systems. The Traditional Choice: House Wrap (Tyvek) This system involves installing standard plywood or OSB sheathing first, and then stapling…

When it comes to siding a tiny house, you are usually choosing between two giants: Fiber Cement (dominated by James Hardie) and Engineered Wood (dominated by LP SmartSide). For a standard foundation home, the debate usually centers on price and aesthetics. But for a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW), the conversation changes completely. We have to talk about Weight and Vibration. This guide breaks down the pros and cons of each material specifically for the mobile tiny house builder. The Contender: James Hardie (Fiber Cement) James Hardie “HardiePlank” is the gold standard for residential siding in North America. It is…

The most common “rookie mistake” in tiny house design isn’t the floor plan—it’s the roofline. You want deep, beautiful eaves to shade your windows and keep rain off your siding. But here is the hard reality: The legal road limit in most places is 8 feet, 6 inches. If you build a standard 8-foot wide tiny house and add 12-inch eaves on both sides, you are now 10 feet wide. That requires expensive “Wide Load” permits, pilot cars, and restricted travel times every time you move. The solution? Detachable or Fold-Down Eaves. This guide explores how to design roof overhangs…

If there is one silent killer of tiny houses, it isn’t the wind or the highway vibration—it’s trapped moisture. Many first-time builders assume that siding is waterproof. It is not. Siding is a “water shedder,” meaning it deflects most rain, but some moisture will inevitably get behind it (via condensation, wind-driven rain, or capillary action). If you nail your siding directly to your house wrap and sheathing, that trapped water has nowhere to go. It soaks into the wood, breeds mold, and rots your tiny house from the outside in. The solution? A Rain Screen. This guide covers the essential…

One of the biggest oversights in tiny house design is water management. You spend months building a beautiful home, only to realize that without gutters, rain is splashing mud onto your cedar siding and pooling around your trailer foundation. But here is the catch: You cannot drive 60 MPH with standard residential gutters. Standard gutters act like wind sails on the highway. They will rip off your fascia, damage your roof edge, and potentially become a dangerous projectile on the road. The solution? A Removable Gutter System. This guide explores how to design, install, and manage gutters that work perfectly…

Nothing screams “modern tiny living” quite like a sleek, matte black standing seam metal exterior. It’s durable, lightweight, and looks incredible—until the sun hits it at a certain angle, and suddenly your expensive siding looks like a wrinkled tin foil wrapper. This phenomenon is called Oil Canning, and it is the bane of tiny house builders everywhere. In this guide, we are going to break down exactly what oil canning is, why it happens, and the specific installation techniques you need to use to keep your tiny house looking sharp, smooth, and professional. What is Oil Canning? Oil canning is…

This tool helps builders navigate the “Weight vs. Beauty” trade-off. Siding is one of the heaviest components of a tiny house shell. This calculator visualizes exactly how much of your trailer’s precious payload capacity is “eaten” by heavy materials like Fiber Cement or Cedar, versus lightweight options like Vinyl or Metal. It features a “Payload Eater” Meter and a Maintenance Clock to show the long-term cost of your choice. Siding Weight & Durability Vinyl vs. Cedar vs. Metal: Manage your payload. 1. Exterior Dimensions Total Wall Area (Sq Ft) Don’t subtract windows/doors for safety margin. 2. Select Material Vinyl Siding…

This tool visualizes the most complex part of a metal roof install: the “Water-Shedding Stack.” It specifically addresses the critical layering order (shingle fashion) required to prevent leaks. It features a “Rain Simulator” that allows users to toggle layers on and off to see exactly how water gets trapped if the Head Flashing is installed on top of the roof panels (wrong) instead of underneath them (correct). Skylight Flashing Guide The “Over-Under” Rule for Metal Roofs. Installation Steps 1 Deck & Curb 2 Membrane Wrap 3 Lower Panels 4 Bottom Apron (OVER) 5 Side & Head Flashing 6 Top Panels…

This tool teaches the ancient Japanese art of preserving wood with fire. It features a “Char Depth Simulator” that allows users to virtually burn a plank of cedar. As they increase the “Burn Intensity,” the wood transforms from raw timber to the highly durable “Gator Skin” texture. It also calculates the Maintenance Trade-off: Showing that while a light char looks modern and brown, it requires re-oiling every 2 years, whereas a deep black char can last 50+ years without maintenance. Shou Sugi Ban Simulator Learn to char wood for 50-year durability. 1. Select Char Intensity Light Toast Heavy Char Raw…

How to wire a tiny house? This tool solves the biggest headache for DIY electrical work: “Do I need 30 Amp or 50 Amp service?” It allows users to select their specific appliances (Induction cooktop? Electric tankless water heater? Mini-split?) and instantly visualizes whether a standard 30A RV plug can handle it, or if they need a 50A Split-Phase setup. It also includes a “Wire Gauge Cheat Sheet” to prevent fire hazards from undersized wires. Tiny House Electrical Planner 30 Amp vs. 50 Amp Calculator & Wire Sizing Guide. 1. Select Appliances Induction Cooktop (2 Burner) 1800W / 15A (120V)…

This tool acts as a digital foreman for installing R-Panel (PBR) roofing. It solves the two biggest mistakes DIYers make: Incorrect Layering (putting the rake trim on before the underlayment) and Wrong Screw Placement (putting screws in the ribs instead of the flats, or missing the purlins). It includes a “Screw Pattern Trainer”—an interactive SVG where users must click the correct spot on the panel profile to learn where fasteners go to prevent leaks. Metal Roofing Installer R-Panel Calculator, Layering Guide & Screw Patterns. 1. Material Calc 2. Drip Edge Logic 3. Screw Pattern Roof Dimensions Roof Length (Ridge) ft…

This is a comprehensive interactive tool that showcases 10 distinct tiny house layouts (from 16ft micro-studios to 32ft gooseneck family homes). Instead of static images, it uses a Dynamic SVG Blueprint Engine to render the floor plans in real-time. Users can toggle between models to compare layouts, see specific dimensions, and understand how different lengths affect livability. Features: Tiny House Floor Plan Explorer 10 Popular Layouts with Component Breakdowns. Select Model Zone Legend Living / Lounge Kitchen / Utilities Bath / Wet Room Sleeping Loft Select a Model — — ft Sleeps — Est. DIY Cost — Towing Weight –…

This tool transforms the abstract question “Where should I live?” into a concrete recommendation engine. It analyzes user preferences for Climate, Budget, Legality, and Lifestyle to suggest specific US regions known for being Tiny House friendly (e.g., Asheville, Austin, Colorado, etc.). It features a “Match Card System” that displays the winning location with a compatibility score and key tags (e.g., “Code Friendly,” “High Speed Internet,” “Nature Lover”). Tiny House Location Matcher Answer 5 questions to find your ideal tiny life habitat. Where should you park? Finding a place to live is harder than building the house. We’ll analyze your weather,…