Lumber Delivery
I got three estimates on the materials list provided in my building plans, from Lowe’s and two local lumber yards. The cost was similar across all three suppliers, so I went with the most responsive and helpful of the three: our local Amish lumber yard, SK Lumber. The cost for the lumber, roofing materials, insulation, and basic fasteners came to about $7,500.
The riding ring doesn’t see much use in the winter, so my parents kindly allowed me to use it as a level and mud-free storage area for my lumber. There’s just a narrow strip of pasture between the tiny house site and the riding ring, so it is close enough to allow for staging the lumber without having to haul it too far.
Excavation and Site Preparation
Since good site preparation is key to a level house and I don’t like operating heavy machinery, I decided to leave this part of the build to the professionals. I hired a local contractor, UDA Services, to handle the excavation and site preparation work. The total cost for the work and supplies came to about $3,500.
The site we chose for the tiny house has served for years as a sort of storage area for different types of stone leftover from other building projects, including the riding ring. The contractor’s first job was clearing all of the piles stones so they could begin excavating the area.
Next, the contractors dug out an 8-inch deep, 20×22-foot rectangle with pressure-treated 4x4s lining the four sides. That’s large enough to provide a foundation for the 10×20-foot house and front porch as well as decks on the north and south sides of the house.
Finally, they laid down and compacted two layers of different sized stones to fill in the 8″ deep excavated area and form the foundation pad. They were able to use leftover stone from the riding ring to form the first layer of the foundation and they brought in additional clean 2B crushed stone (the same stone used in gravel driveways, etc.) to serve as the top layer.
