Sneak Peek at the Exterior

Construction on our tiny house has finally begun!

Here are a few images of the exterior, courtesy of our builder, Molecule Tiny Homes. They’ve installed our white Marvin Integrity windows, laid the siding and window trim, installed the door, built the porch railing, constructed the utility box, and started to wire the interior.

The front of the house, with unfinished siding.

Initially, when we thought we were going to work on the house ourselves, we wanted to experiment with shou sugi ban: the ancient Japanese technique of burning wood to strengthen and make it rot, insect, weather, and fire resistant. This process can be expensive, so when we handed over the house to our builder, we ultimately decided to keep it simple — so, this siding will be stained and darkened in a way that mimics the charred effect.

A profile view, with double hung windows on first floor and awning dormers in the loft.

The utility box on the rear wall houses the electrical panel and hot water heater. Initially, we thought this box would also hold our Magnum inverter, but this will now be housed with the batteries and solar equipment in a separate structure — one that we’ll be able to pack up and move with the house whenever we decide to change locations.

Rear of house, with built-in utility box.

Construction will move quickly over the next several weeks, so we’ll have more photographs to share soon!