FREE ADVICE On Picking A GOOD tiny house BUILDER

So you’ve watched all the tiny house videos on YouTube, gone to a tiny house expo or seen an ad on social media. With 20 tabs open on your browser, you have loads of options but how do you pick the best tiny house builder to make the house of your dreams?

Häuslein has been building tiny houses since 2018 and now have customers all over Australia – two of our cofounders even live in a Grand Sojourner tiny house.

And having spoken with 10,000’s of people at various stages of their tiny house journey we know the important things you need to look for – regardless of who you choose to build your house.

Overall, it's important to do your research and choose a builder that you feel comfortable working with and your confident that you’ll get a great product at the end of the process.

1. Reputation

Does your tiny house builder have a good reputation?

Research the builder's reputation and look for reviews or testimonials from previous tiny house owners. Speak to people about the builder in question.

Viewing a tiny house at an expo is a great introduction but it can be very busy and rushed. Therefore, it can also be really helpful to visit a completed tiny house or speak with the builder's previous clients to get a better sense of their work.

2. Quality of work

What quality is the workmanship and the materials?

A tiny house is multiple times cheaper than a traditional house but it’s still a significant investment, so you want to make sure that it is built to last. Look for a tiny house builder who takes pride in their work, selects high quality materials to use, has thought through design implications of layouts and pays attention to detail to the final outcome.

3. Compliance

Do their tiny houses comply with code?

Tiny houses need to comply with various regulations at national, state and local levels. Electrical work needs to be done by a qualified professional. Technically our tiny houses can be classified as caravans and are road legal for transportation. It is important that your tiny house is roadworthy and can be registered as a caravan. Make sure your tiny house complies with the constraints on height, width and weight.

4. Experience

How many tiny houses have they made?

Consider the builder's level of experience and how long they have been building tiny houses. More experienced tiny house builders should have a better understanding of the unique challenges and requirements involved in building tiny houses.

5. Tiny House Costs

Can you get what you want on your budget?

Consider the all of the costs and whether it fits within your budget. For instance, Häuslein offer customers a range of models with inclusions, various layouts and then the option to add as many extras as you want to build a price to fit your budget. Hauslein customers get a full cost breakdown in the quote and contract for transparency. We can also point you in the right direction to arrange finance for your tiny house build if requested.

6. Customisation

Can you achieve what you want?

If you have specific ideas or requirements for your tiny house, look for a builder who is willing and able to meet your needs. Our design approach is to start by designing models that meet the needs of most people in the market. After picking a model, customers can pick a layout and then add as many or as few optional extras as desired. Additional customisation choices can be layered in after that. Once you receive your tiny house, you can always decorate it to your taste or make further customisations.

7. Communication

How easy will it be to go through the buying process?

Make sure you choose a tiny house builder who is easy to communicate with and willing to listen to your ideas and concerns. A good tiny house builder will be transparent and upfront about their processes, timeframes and pricing. They may say no to certain ideas you might have because of design implications. The process of ordering needs to be clearly explained.

8. Timeline

Can they build and deliver when you need?

Make sure you discuss the timeline for building your tiny house and make sure that it fits with your schedule and expectations. From our experience, during busy times build queues get extended out. At Häuslein, unless we have completed tiny houses in stock, customers may need to wait several months before building can commence. However, this is always flagged and clearly communicated early in the consultation process.

9. Warranty

How much warranty is there? And what is under warranty?

Our customers can buy with confidence and guidance on how to care for your tiny house. Häuslein offers a 1 year Craftsmanship Warranty against manufacturing defects on all structural aspects of our tiny houses. Of course, our tiny houses are built to last much longer than this, and we expect them to last well and age beautifully over time and to be worth refurbishing for generations to come. We also provide customers with the manufacturer warranties for appliances and items such as reverse cycle AC unit, gas hot water unit etc if these are part of your order.