Book Review: Tiny House Design & Construction Guide
Dan Louche's Tiny House Design & Construction Guide is truly one of the most important tiny house resources you can buy. From my personal experience, I can say it's the best "how to build a tiny house" book I know of, and one that I referenced a lot when building my tiny house. (I'd say my house turned out really well, thanks in part to this book!)
I'm writing this review because Dan has recently released an updated 2nd edition of the book that contains 50% more content including 38 more images and illustrations! The book was great before, and it's even more invaluable now.
This book includes information about each stage of tiny house design and construction, including:
- Preparing to live tiny & downsizing
- Design & plans
- Required tools & building materials
- Trailers
- Subfloor framing, insulation & sheathing
- Wall framing and sheathing
- Roof framing, strapping & sheathing
- Windows, doors & drying-in the house
- Exterior siding & roofing
- Insulation options
- Plumbing & electrical how to's and diagrams
- Interior trim, flooring & cabinets
You can download a preview of the book here. Below are some sample pages to show you the level of detail provided. The 2nd edition includes greatly expanded framing, plumbing and electrical sections answering many of the questions Dan has received since the 1st edition was published.
I really love how comprehensive this book is. It covers nearly every tiny house building topic there is. I particularly benefited from many little construction tips and tricks used to build correctly and safely. I never would have found out about some of these things on my own. I also got a lot of guidance from the suggested materials -- It felt great having a solid starting point so I knew what to look for when sourcing items for my build.
What's great about a book like this is that it pairs perfectly with the tiny house plans you are building from (if you don't design your own house). A set of tiny house plans will never tell you in detail how to actually build a tiny house, and that's where I guide like this comes in.
No one should start building a tiny house feeling totally lost and unprepared. That's why I highly recommend this book. Dan's many years of tiny house construction experience will leave you with the knowledge and confidence needed to start building your own tiny house.
