Total Cost: $16558.52

Welcome to the Tiny House Cost Guesstimator

This is meant to be a cost guesstimator for a Tiny House. Please fill in the text boxes below and I'll do napkin math as we go along.

Note! I'm NOT being precise here! This is napkin math! I am making some fairly gross assumptions here. Still, it'll get you in the right ballpark.

I am providing links to Home Depot to get costs for stuff. Don't take this as an endorsement of Home Depot. I just picked a big box store. (Also, !@#$ them all for not providing a nice clean API for people to easily get current prices with. If anyone knows of a good place to get these prices, please please please let me know.) I highly recommend you go to someplace with properly dried lumber. Big Box Store stuff is generally wet and will warp on you during your build, which is really frustrating.

Basic Stuff

Length:

Width:

Cost Inputs

These costs are vaguely accurate as of the middle of 2024.

Cost of your trailer:

Cost of a 2x4:

Cost of sheathing ply:

Cost of 9' by 150' housewrap:

Cost of 225sqft roll of Grace Ice and Water Shield, or equivalent:

number of windows:

Cost of a window:

Cost of 10' by 3' metal roofing panel:

Cost of a door:

Cost of a siding panel:

Cost of a square foot of insulation:

Cost of a drywall panel:

Cost of 1sqft of laminate flooring:

Cost of a small electrical panel:

Cost of roll of 12g wire:

Cost of a small kitchen sink:

Cost of a one piece shower:

Cost of a propane on demand water heater:

Cost of a cabinet set:

Rough Math Explanations/assumptions

I'm assuming your walls are 8' tall for easy math. They'll be taller. You'll need more studs and more sheathing than I'm calculating for.

I'm assuming a stud every 16", and I'm not calculating for extra studs around windows/doors.

I'm assuming a 2x6 costs about 6/4 of a 2x4.

For 20' by 8', assuming 8' tall walls and 16" OC studs, you need about 46 2x4 studs at about $171.58, 16 2x6 floor joists, and 18 2x6 roof joists at about $190.23.

You'll need about 14 wall sheathing plywood pieces and about 10 number of roof and floor sheathing plywood pieces, which will be about $600.00. Honestly, you should buy thicker plywood for your floor, I'm just being lazy here.

A 150' roll of Tyvek should do it? Maybe two. $225.00

A 225sqft roll of Grace Ice and Water Shield should do it? Maybe two. $246.00

Your roof is about 160sqft, a roofing panel is about 30sqft, so you need about 5.3 of them at $490.67.

Door and window math is basic, at $2165.00

I'm assuming T1-11 siding. I hate T1-11, but it's basic and gets the job done and I had to pick something. You need about 14.0 pieces at $630.00.

You'll need 768 square feet of insulation. $906.24

You need about 14.0 pieces of drywall at $252.00.

You need about 160sqft of flooring, at $160.00.

I got lazy on the electrical costs and just did a small panel and a 250' roll of 12g wire, with a box and outlet every 4'. $242.00

For plumbing, I just did a one piece shower unit, an on demand propane water heater that should be able to do shower and sink at the same time, and sink. I didn't calculate for PEX or connections. $2000.00

Wow I am not good at shopping for cabinets. I assumed a galley kitchen, so we need two sets. $640.00

I'm not getting into the nitty gritty. You need drywall tape and mud, flashing around the roof, flashing around the windows and door, light fixtures, switches... This is supposed to be a ballpark figure, not an exhaustive real plan.

I didn't account for a loft either. And you'll need a thin mattress for a loft.

And then I threw 15% on top, because it's always just a little more than you think it is.

The Cost Of Labor

People always complain about the price of Tiny Houses. I'm adding a labor cost to combat that complaining. Labor deserves to get paid!

Assume 2 people, working 40 hour weeks, for 3 months. Assume we're paying them $50/hour. You want the people building your home to be worth that much, trust me. 2people*40hrs/week*$50/hr*12weeks=$48,000

And these prices are basic. Those beautiful pictures on Instagram take time and skill and nice materials. I bought cabinets from Ikea here... You get what you pay for. No, that absolutely gorgeous $100,000 Tiny House isn't outrageously priced.