Building a Tiny House in the Rain

How do you build a tiny house in the rain? What about in the intense sun, or wind that is so strong it feels like its going though you? Building in the elements can be very challenging. Fortunately with building mobile and tiny there are options to combat the weather. As we see it there are three options to consider:

Build your Tiny House Exposed to the Elements

Building in the rain might be fun the first time it happens but it will soon drive you crazy. The work you can do on any given day is affected by the weather, for example installing a roof in the wind is not going to be a smart idea. Some materials are not well suited to sit in the rain for periods of time and can degrade, discolour and even become unusable. This situation can also affect your morale for the build and it can be hard to draw enthusiasm when everything is soaked and cold. The benefit of choosing this method is its cheap and is sometimes the only option. A temporary trap could be used to protect while sitting. We thought about this option ourselves but realised a lot of trap or traps would be needed to cover the house. We also didn't love the idea of pulling wet cold traps off the structure everyday to work for it to start raining shortly after.

Build a Temporary Structure Over Tiny House

Building a temporary structure can protect you and your house build from the elements. This method does involve time initially designing and sourcing the materials for the structure. The time spent at the start of the build to get this right though should be able to be made up by being able to work on your house wind, rain or shine. Sourcing materials is going to cost unless you use the free variety or re purpose the materials for the tiny house or another project. For example we used and old PVC advertising hoarding that was cheap which we used to protect materials after we had finished with the temporary structure. This method also has the added benefit of keeping your tools dry which they will love. Just remember your temporary structure needs to stand up to wind, rain, sun and maybe even snow so design it well and design it for your specific environment and weather conditions. We used this method by attaching the temporary structure to and existing shed. Check out our video:

Build Tiny House in shed or workshop

This is the supreme option and if you have a choice you should do this every time. We are talking about building your tiny house in a shed or workshop environment. The benefit here is you and your tiny house are always protected from the weather elements. Having a solid level floor would be great and wheeling tables, pushing ladders around and working on the ground would be much easier on an even dry surface. Access to power and even air lines would added bonus for power and pneumatic tools. Being able to secure your new house and tools while you are offsite is excellent. Also being able to come and go and leave tools where they are half way though a job can be a time saver too. There are not many negatives with this option apart from finding a premises and maybe having to pay for it. Make sure you do your maths regarding door height and width, otherwise you may be living in a tiny house within a workshop!