Frequently Asked Questions FAQ’s

A. Typically £40-60k at TIny House Scotland.  Build time is 4-7 months but there is a build queue - book your slot here. ALso think about the following vital questions -

• Which type of Tiny House do you want? -

1. a NestPod™.
2. a NestHouse™.

• Where will you put it? - do you own land or are you buying a site? NB. for a NestHouse the site will have to be suitable for delivery access for a 20 meter Low Loader and crane.

• What will you use it for and will that use require Planning Permission? - NB. if it is to be your permanent residence you will need Planning Permission.

• Services? For permanent living, where will your water, electricity, gas etc. come from and where will your waste water and sewage go? (eg. do you really want to poo in a bucket!!).

• What is your budget? It's not just the cost of the house but land, services, planning, delivery etc.

These are complicated and fundamental factors to consider before even thinking about design, floor plans, colour, size etc.

Do your research FIRST!

A. Check out what Wiki says here.

Sorry - I do not do assisted builds - if you want to self-build your tiny or small house then there is plenty of help material on the internet to get you through. However I can offer consultations if you visit.

Partial build is slightly different!  I will build to shell finish - that's a complete fully built house inside and out supplied at a point where furniture or energy systems of your choice can then be added under your own steam or as time or funds allow.  So I can provide anything from shell scheme to totally fitted out with custom made furniture from end to end...the choice is yours. Shell build typically costs 15-20% less than a Complete Build

A: Sorry No. If you want to self build, I do offer tiny house trailers.

A. Yes I do have a range of road towable trailers for UK self builders wanting to construct tiny houses on wheels - see the product page.

A. The two out of three rule - a note about Building Costs

You may hear people saying that it's possible to build a TIny House for under eg. £5000 and whilst I am sure you could build something for that amount, it will not be a NestHouse or NestPod™!  Whilst everyone wants affordable buildings there are three basic factors involved and it’s a great truism that you can only have two of the three factors - quick, cheap and good in one build: The two out of Three Rule! - QUICK?  CHEAP?  GOOD?

* you can spend a lot of money on labour and materials and quickly end up with a really good building - but it's not cheap.

*or you can spend a long time sourcing reclaimed materials and self building and you may end up with a good building if you have the skills, but it won’t be quick.

*or you can build quickly and cheaply, but not end up with the best quality - !

A cheap building is possible, but it will cost you time - this is the 'sweat equity' of self build. The caveat being that you must acquire sufficient skills to provide a functioning, long term, sustainable solution.

Most people, quite understandably, have no idea of the proper cost of building materials - one of my favourite illustrations is to point out that the NestHouse has over £2000 of insulation alone (at trade cost)!  As a general rule materials are often around 50% of the budget with the balance covering the time input. So you can save money with sweat equity by self building, but do you have the hundreds of hours necessary to accomplish a craftsman-like result?

The NestHouse weighs between 6 and 10 tons depending on size and is VERY solidly built and stable; it will not blow away like a caravan etc.  If the site does have an extreme exposure rating and this issue arose via Planning or Building Control then ground screw anchors could easily be used or the feet could be bolted to a slab as belt and braces protection etc. but this would all depend on local site ground conditions.

A. The NestHouse is delivered by our specialist hauliers as a finished house using a low-loader and lifted into place by crane.  We do not build from components on-site, so you must have an accessible site!

A. Yes if you engage me to build for you; but ultimately you will need to be responsible for complying with your local planning regulations.

A. - There is no magic solution here - building a house is hard whether its normal or tiny and for the same reason - finding and affording a plot.  I can only advise lateral thinking by talking to farmers or estates to find a possible situation.  There is the start of a groundswell which may result in communal opportunities but it is early days.  The Scottish Hutting movement is also gaining some traction.  It’s a hot topic though - sustainability - what we or the planet can afford and what best serves people’s needs.