Young YouTuber David Rule was always interested in building his own tiny home.
His other YouTube videos focus mostly on his travels, but this video shows him building his own tiny home for $8,000.
“It’s been a dream of mine for years to build my own tiny home, but how would someone like me make that happen?” Rule said. He shared that he was not good at using power tools, but this time he decided to go for it and start building his home.
He found an old car hauler on Facebook Marketplace that he would turn into his trailer. The trailer was old and rusty but Rule saw that it had potential.
After purchasing the trailer, he went ahead and started building his own tiny home.
First, he removed all the attached sidings of the trailer. He installed reclaimed boards to provide cross support and for the trailer to have a level base to build on.
Once he installed the boards, he sealed the bottom with particle board and spray foam to ensure any bugs and insects, or other unwanted things, couldn’t get into the trailer.
He also installed thick foam and another particle board for extra support before covering it with plyboard.
Next, he designed his walls and built them on his driveway.
Although Rule had no construction experience, he played it by ear, slowly designing and putting his trailer together, or what he called “an organized disaster.”
“Thanks to YouTube, I went from being a bad carpenter to being a fairly bad carpenter,” he laughingly shared.
Rule also carved out pieces of wood for the trailer’s ceiling. To add structural support, he wrapped plumber’s tape around all the corners to ensure they stick together when the trailer was out on the road.
He also screwed in metal braces on each corner to give added support to the trailer.
He noted that he used 1/4 plywood for the walls because it’s cheaper and lighter. Installing the walls took him about three days to complete. Inside the trailer, he used 1-inch plywood to make his loft.
Aside from the loft, he also built a roof with a skylight. “It was right about this time that I started gaining some self-confidence,” Rule said.
He shared that he didn’t think he was going to make it that far because he wasn’t good with power tools, but happily, he proved himself wrong.
For the roof, Rule put in an ice-and-rain shield that will help protect it from the outside elements.
His next step was the house wrap, which waterproofs and protects the whole structure.
Rule shared that most people staple on house wrap, but he decided to nail it on so the trailer wouldn’t have staple holes.
After wrapping the house, it was time to put in windows. He installed the windows using a special tape that sealed it and kept it watertight. He followed the same process with the floor.
Rule used tempered glass for all his windows because they needed to be strong, especially when the trailer is on the road.
Again, he turned to reliable YouTube to watch tutorials on how to install a roof.
He drove to Idaho to purchase roofing materials because they didn’t have a lot of materials in Wyoming, where he lives.
The tutorials worked and he was able to install the roof. Next, he attached metal sidings to the trailer. “I feel like the siding is what’s going to give this home a unique feel and make it come alive,” Rule said.
The challenging process involved installing metal brackets in the trailer’s perimeter and sliding metal sheeting into the, “The process was tedious but really fun. It kind of feels like building Legos,” he said.
Rule also said that the time he spent building was calming and therapeutic.
“The process of building a tiny home could have a huge positive impact on anyone,” he declared.
At this point, he was almost done with the build. He sanded off all the remaining rust and rubbed everything with de-natured alcohol.
The next step was to paint all the metal sidings and roofs with anti-rust paint. Fortunately, his friend came over and after doing everything by himself, Rule was happy to have a helping hand when he was painting his trailer.
He also painted and stained cedar boards to put as sidings on the trailer. Rule said that this process was slow and tedious but it brought him closer to being the proud owner of a tiny home.
“After a long summer of work, not even knowing if it would be worth it, I was done,” Rule finally said.
Based on the video, all the hard work was definitely worth it! It turned out even better than he imagined, but he wanted to know if his new tiny home would survive the road. And it did!
Rule is now a proud homeowner, even if the home is just 150 feet. He is now among the 10,000 happy owners of tiny homes across the country.
It’s amazing what you can do with hard work, a positive mindset, and resilience. We’re happy that Rule made his tiny home dream come true.
Watch the video of Rule building his tiny home below!
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