I was thinking about my time spent living in two tiny sheds recently. I realized It was a story I briefly mentioned on a podcast once. Today I’m going to go into it a bit more. I think there are a lot of lessons from the tiny house experience. It was from summertime to winter that I lived in 2 10×8 sheds. From both a construction viewpoint to a tiny house living one I learned so much. The reason I got to thinking about it was a conversation with my buddy Dave from TnGun.  It was about me not freezing to death this winter. I laughed at the idea. The Survivalpunk will not be freezing and I have the history to prove it. So let’s get into the story.

 

Going Tiny

About seven years ago I had to get out of Nashville. Things went south with a roommate there. Things at my work were just as bad. I packed up and headed for the country. My best friend and podcast co host Mike invited me to come stay with him. I took up the offer but had a plan for not having my own space. At this time my stuff was all in a storage unit too. I wanted it out. I had a stroke of luck finally. A friend I hadn’t seen in a long time showed up with some money he owned me.

With the money I was able to buy two 8×10 shed kits from Lowes. One was deeply discounted for some rain damage. Mike and I had no building experience at the time. We bumbled our way through the build. At one point he comically smashed his thumb roofing. The obscenities would make a sailor blush. We got both sheds built in less than a week. I ran extension cords to them for power. Spray foamed all the holes in it. Put down some underlayment to cover the rotted out floor one had. Used scrap carpet. At the end I had two sheds furnished with all my belongings. I had a roof over my head and owned these tiny house.

 

Tiny House

I never got around to finishing out the sheds. I didn’t insulate them. It was exposed boards inside with some paint. No loft just a bed taking up most of a whole shed. I found some milk crates and made shelving out of them. One shed I used brackets and covered the walls with bookshelves. I had my own library.

Even without insulation I kept the bedroom shed warm with one tiny heater. I like it frigid when I sleep so with some blankets I was fine. In the Summer months it got pretty hot. I had a big fan point directly on me while I slept. Insulation and a small A/C would be great though. I never bothered to install windows which would have been nice. On pretty days I just opened up the doors. Like all good things though My shed life ended. Like any good story a girl is involved.

 

Built To Last

How did our bumbling construction work out? Well now seven years later they still stand. That is amazing being that they have been basically abandoned to the elements. On top of that we didn’t know better than to build directly on the ground. Some of the floor beams touching the ground have begun to rot. Just now after all this time. When I decided I wanted to build a tiny house I started watching Youtube videos on building them. I was thinking If I could build one? After watching many of the videos and seeing who was building them I decided I was fine. Mike and I built two in a few days that has lasted this long. Now I’m more knowledgeable and skilled. I have more tools. I have cold weather gear to sustain me well below zero. I’m ready.

 

 

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