THIS college class will teach you how to build a tiny house for just $5,000.
Students at Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York are learning how to construct tiny houses from scratch.
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As part of a unique course, a small group of students spends three months going through every step of the building process, from planning and purchasing materials to assembling and even making furniture for their finished 8-by-10 tiny house.
Alex Elderbroom, who recently graduated, took the class in his final semester while also studying labor law and environmental impact assessment.
Already renting a tiny cabin, he saw the course as a great to develop useful skills.
He said: “It seems like a good set of skills to have.”
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Not all students had prior experience, some had never even used a hammer.
Associate professor Deb Naybor, who runs the course, starts with the basics, including safety training and construction techniques.
Senior Derek Grant, who studies natural resources management, believes these skills are invaluable.
Paul Smith’s isn’t the only college teaching tiny house construction.
Laney College in California has a similar program, but Naybor wants to take things further.
She’s working on a future version of the course where students can buy materials and build their own tiny house on wheels, one they can take with them after graduation.
Naybor said: “I always joke with parents that if things don’t work out and (the students) don’t get a job right away, they can move the tiny house into their parents’ driveway and live there until they find a good job.”
Even in the college’s remote Adirondack Mountains locations, rent can be tough for students to afford.
Nationally, nearly half of all renters struggle to pay for housing, according to a recent Harvard report.
For recent graduates who may not land high-paying jobs straight away, an affordable home is a huge advantage.
The tiny house built last semester cost just $2,800 in materials, though it lacked a kitchen and bathroom.
Naybor estimates that a fully functional version could be built for between $5,000 and $6,000 if students do the labour themselves.
Costs vary, a luxury tiny home in an expensive city can set buyers back as much as $300,000.
However, challengers arise, zoning laws and land availability can make it difficult to find a place to live in a tiny house.
Some areas support tiny homes as accessory dwelling units (ADUSs), while others do not.
Only a few cities currently allow tiny houses on wheels, limiting options for graduates hoping to live in their new creations.
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