Adventurous couple build tiny home

Adventurous couple build tiny home

21 August 2019

WHEN it comes to their first home together, local couple Michael Rauch and Alex Connolly are thinking small — not big.

The 25 year-olds are embracing the global home phenomenon of living in a tiny house on wheels.

Michael and Alex are transforming a former flatbed trailer into a one-bedroom home in Lisbane that will lend itself to the simple, non-materialistic lifestyle that they favour.

With the average home in Co Down now in the region of £146,000, the young couple will get their first home at a fraction of the cost.

“I reckon that once everything is finished, our tiny home will cost up between £15,000 to £20,000,” said Michael.

“We paid around £2,000 for the second-hand trailer and it was quite difficult to get one big enough and wide enough. Then I got a local engineer to sandblast it and paint it so that is was like new and that cost another few thousand. 

“The rest of the cost will be spent on the build and the fit out inside. I reckon that even after we live in it for a while, it would still retain some value if we wanted to sell it if we decide to travel again or rent it out. I see the cost as the equivalent to three years’ rent and it’s money not wasted as we still have something at the end of it.”

The tiny home concept —normally one bed studio-style homes — has become popular for people looking for a simpler way of living in locations that they can change and without tying themselves down to massive mortgage.

Michael, who is from Whiterock, and Alex, who is from Saintfield, discovered the concept while travelling and living in a small van in New Zealand for a year. 

“I had been aware of tiny houses before we went to New Zealand and over there it is really popular,” explained Michael. “They really are everywhere. Seeing how people live in these tiny houses inspired me that it could be done here too.

“We lived in one of them during our time in New Zealand and loved it. It did simplify our lives and it was a bit more sustainable which is a big thing is for us.

“We don’t like the idea of renting for the next few years or being tied down to a mortgage and this allows us to be flexible, plus it is a bit adventurous.”

The couple, who first began to date after getting together at their leaving formal at Down High School, have designed their home with a galley kitchen with sitting area, a small shower room and loft bedroom in a building that is six metres long by 2.5 metres wide and 3.5 metres high.

The house should be finished in time for Christmas and is kept near Lisbane where the couple try to work on it every day.

Michael, a design engineer graduate, and Alex, who graduated in textile and design, are both working part-time jobs at the moment in order to devote themselves to the build.

Michael said: “We’ve done all the work ourselves in order to save money and to gain more skills. The exterior is nearly finished so we will be moving on to the interior soon.

“Regarding installing the utilities, some have pretty easy solutions and some are more difficult. As we would like some flexibility as to where we can park it, we don’t want to plug into mains electricity or the sewerage system, so the shower will be a standard shower with an instant water heater. Any grey water from the sink or shower will be probably be handled by some kind of natural filtration.”

Michael and Alex don’t yet know where they will site their home when it is finished but hope to place it on land owned by friends, or to rent out a field. 

They say that part of the reason to build their tiny home is financial, but also down to the way of life that living in such a small space brings with it. 

Michael said: “We like to  do something more meaningful with our money and prefer travel experiences. We would rather not spend loads of money on a sofa — we would prefer to go travelling.

He added: “I would love to convert a camper van and go around Europe. I really don’t see the sense of buying up stuff and would rather have experiences that I would remember more.”

The couple want to have a cosy feeling to their home but not something too modern.

Like caravans or boats, space is at a premium in a tiny house and Michael has designed stairs up to their loft bed so that extra storage can be built in.

“We don’t have that much stuff which is good. Often when people do move into these small houses they find it difficult to get rid of a lot of stuff,” he added.