Material List for Building Your Own Tiny House on Wheels

I recently received an email from a young couple who intend to build their own Tumbleweed-style tiny home. They’re just beginning to collect materials for their project and wondered if anyone in the Small House Movement had an easy-to-print list of the tools and materials they would need to complete their project.

I know that all of the Tumbleweed plans come with fairly detailed tools and materials lists, but I am not aware of anywhere currently on the internet where there exists a list for the die-hard, do-it-yourself, tiny house builders. So below is my attempt at compiling such a list.

I have assembled the list below from my notes from Jay Shafer’s workshop as well as my reading of multiple blogs out there written by people working on similar projects.

(For the readers of my blog, please feel free to make suggestions of items I have missed and I will try to maintain an updated copy of the list as an aid to aspiring tiny housers.)

Here you go, guys…

Tools and Materials for Building Your Own Tiny House on Wheels

Starting Items:

• A design/blueprint for your house

• A place to work (backyard, warehouse, large garage, ground floor unit at a storage center, etc.)

• A couple of good books on shedbuilding/basic carpentry

Tools:

• Tape measure

• Square

• Speed square (optional but nice to have)

• Manual (crosscut) saw

• Table saw (useful for ripping through boards)

• Miter saw (for cutting angles and saving you time on cutting board to appropriate length)

• Sawzall (for do-it-all cutting when you need to cut through metal and wood)

• Jig saw (optional)

• Jab saw (optional)

• Belt sander and  sand paper

• Two sawhorses (to be safe you need to cut at a comfortable height)

• Framing hammer

• Finish hammer

• Files/chisels (for finish work)

• Box cutter (for cutting felt paper)

• Hurricane clamps

• C-clamps (optional)

• Paintbrushes

• Caulk gun

• Cordless drill with the correct bits for the screws you’re using

• Even better–a pneumatic screw gun

• Finish nailer

• Level

• 8-foot ladder

• Safety goggles

• Dust mask

• Gloves

• Earplugs

• Extension cord(s)

Materials:

• Trailer (with sides removed)

• Lumber for the framing (preferably light in weight and with few knots in middle of boards) or appropriate sized SIP’s if you’re using those instead

• 3/8” CDX plywood for walls and subfloor

• ½” CDX plywood for roof

• Non-galvanized screws (preferable to nails as less likely to vibrate their way loose)

• Lag bolts with locking washers (to bolt house frame to trailer)

• Tie downs

• Tyvek vapor barrier (for outside of house under siding material)

• Foam board insulation (or whatever insulation material you prefer)

• Spray foam insulation (to seal around foam board insulation)

• 1×4 Fir tongue &  groove flooring (if desired) or other flooring material (tile, linoleum, etc.)

• Drywall and tape

• Drywall mud & a 6″ and a 9″ knife

• Drywall screws & drywall sanding paper

• Cover material over drywall (if any)

• Alternately, 1/4″ Pine tongue & groove for wall sheathing (instead of drywall)–this is reported to work better for mobile units

• Windows (or materials to build your own)

• Door(s) (or materials to build your own)

• Skylights (if any)

• Silicon caulk for flashing

• Kitchen counter material

• Ready-made cabinets (or materials to build your own)

• Ladder for sleeping loft (or materials to build)

• Redwood, cedar or treated wood for porch, facias, railings, balustrades

• Siding material (board and batten, vinyl, shake, etc.)

• Roof trusses or materials to build your own

• Metal roofing or shingles (depending on what you want to use)

• Whatever you intend to use as a ridge cap on the roof

• Felt (if necessary)

• Tar paper

• Flashing

• Mastic tape

• Turned beams for the porch (if any)

• Whatever you intend to use as your stain and sealant on the outside

• Ridge vent

• Gutters and down spouts

• Wood glue

Utilities/Appliances:

• Water heater (if any) on demand, RV, solar, etc.

• Water container for sink/shower if house is not plumbed

• Solar panels (if any) and inverter

• Washer/dryer (if any) (either AC or DC)

• Dishwasher (if any)

• Stove (electric, gas, propane)

• Microwave (if any)

• Fridge (either AC or DC)

• Kitchen sink

• Bathroom sink

• Toilet (compost or other)

• Macerator pump for toilet (if necessary)

• Sewer hose or portable sewage tank

• Shower stall

• Stove or other source for heat + necessary venting equipment

• Pex tubing and connections for water supply

• Tool to crimp Pex connections

• Heat tape

• Electrical wire

• Outlets

• Fuse box (or hire an electrician to wire your electricity)

Please note: I am by no means a safety expert when it comes to construction projects. Please adhere to all safety precautions your middle school wood shop instructor taught you.

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