I built a tiny home on wheels for £1.5k, at 13 years old, it has a kitchen, bed & enough space to host family dinners

The Irish Sun

a day ago

LUKE Thill, now 20, is on a mission to build incredible homes.
When he was 12 years old, he took on his first challenge: building a tiny home on wheels.
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Luke showing off his tiny home on his YouTube channel
Credit: @lukethill
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Luke and his dad built the tiny home together
Credit: @lukethill
In a video watched by 13 million people on his YouTube channel @LukeThill, he takes viewers around the finished build.
Inspired by other DIY renovations on YouTube, Luke set about saving up.
Over several months, Luke, from Iowa, raised £1,100 ($1,500) to pay for the materials needed for the build.
Luke's local community chipped in by donating materials, and he swapped services for help with building.
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His dad helped him draw up plans and construct the house, while his mum assisted with the interior design.
The tiny home is connected to electricity, and inside, Luke has fit a working stove, mini-fridge, a sofa with a drop-down table, and a loft bed.
He even built a deck at the front using reclaimed materials.
In total, the tiny home took the teenager a year and a half to complete.
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Luke, now a paramedic, said: 'The tiny house was always meant to be a space to have friends over and to entertain people.'
And that's exactly what he did one Thanksgiving when he hosted his family in the space.
We bought 2 shipping containers for $5,500 each and built our 'dream' tiny home - a key method helped us save even more
Luke said: 'We had everything a normal Thanksgiving dinner would have. My family of five plus our dog all fit."
Luke's build was such a success that at 14 years old, his twin brother, Cole asked him to build a 36-square-foot mini camper to go along with the tiny house.
The camper is less than half the size of the tiny house and portable, so it was built in a different way to withstand high speeds in transportation.
Since building it, the camper has been on more than 50 trips across the country, mainly used in the summer when the weather is fine.
Inside, there is an L shape banquette seating which doubles into a sleeping area and a small table.
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Luke's tiny home has a living area and kitchen
Credit: @lukethill
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And upstairs there is a single bed for sleeping
Credit: @lukethill
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Luke's tiny home (right) next to his second build, the camper (left)
Credit: @lukethill
But the main attraction is outside as the camper has a huge pull-out drawer which houses all their camping cooking equipment, and then doubles into a worktop to prep food.
'It houses everything you need to cook - we even have a gas propane stove," Luke explained in another video. "It's obviously not a full kitchen but it has everything you need in this sliding drawer under the camper.
But Luke admitted: 'The tiny house will always be my favourite.'
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Luke in front of his tiny home
Credit: YOUTUBE
Tiny Homes FAQs
The tiny house movement began in the USA before gaining popularity in the UK.
What is a tiny home?
Tiny houses are small, fully-equipped living spaces designed to lead a more sustainable, off-grid lifestyle. Although they vary in size and shape, tiny homes tend to be between 15 and 50 square metres in capacity, made of sustainable materials and are easier — and cheaper — to maintain than traditional brick homes.
Are tiny homes legal in the UK?
As long as the tiny house doesn't exceed 19.8m x 6.7m in size, it is defined as a caravan in UK law. Therefore, tiny houses are classed as legal additional living space.
Can you get a mortgage for a tiny home?
The small size and relatively low cost of tiny houses means they're not generally considered eligible for a mortgage. However, there are plenty of options to take out a loan to fund your dreams of the perfect, moveable home.