Jim McElwain is a regular at his local hardware store.
The tech salesman started building a tiny home ten years ago as a DIY hobby on the weekends, and has put it together alone, piece by piece. Each time he needs more wood or drywall, he returns to the store. And if he doesn’t know how to do something — like assemble roof panels or put up drywall— he searches for a YouTube tutorial.
As of this spring, his 400-square-foot space in rural Ohio is fully furnished with a working kitchen, shower, and air conditioner. McElwain plans to list it on Airbnb for $250 a night.
“I don’t have an architecture plan or drawings, and I just make it all up in my head,” he said. “All week long, I think about what I’m going to do that weekend. Sometimes I’m up there screaming and yelling and cussing and cutting my finger and throwing stuff. But, at the end of the day, I smile and take a picture because I accomplished something.”
Photo Courtesy Jim McElwain
Tiny homes are becoming one of America’s hottest housing solutions. They’re affordable, relatively easy to build, and full of whimsical decor potential. Business Insider has heard from seniors who retired in small spaces, parents who raised their kids in tiny home villages, and homeowners who listed their units as lucrative vacation rentals. The cost of living may be rising in most cities, but tiny homes offer highly customized spaces on a budget.
Photo Courtesy of Jim McElwain
McElwain built his tiny home as a DIY project
McElwain didn’t set out to build a fully-furnished Airbnb. A decade ago, he began by cleaning up a property he owns in rural Ohio — about an hour drive from the Columbus-area neighborhood where he lives with his family. In his free time, he visited the property to mow the lawn, clean up weeds, and throw away the remnants of the prior owner’s abandoned mobile homes. It slowly started to seem like the perfect place for a tiny home getaway.
Over the next several years, McElwain chipped away at construction. When the pandemic hit, building became his quarantine hobby. He did the framing, flooring, window installation, roof assembly, wiring, and piping himself, only hiring a professional electrician and plumber at the end of the process to ensure the lights and sinks worked properly.
Photo Courtesy Jim McElwain
All totaled, McElwain estimates that he spent $45,000 to build the tiny home over ten years — a few hundred dollars here, a couple thousand there. Because there were previously mobile homes on the property, he didn’t need to buy a new septic system, but he did need to buy all the materials and hire specialists for some of the more high-stakes labor. The electrician charged $1,468, according to documents viewed by Business Insider, and the plumber was $1,070. McElwain said the time period was so spread out that it didn’t feel expensive.
“If you take it over time, you don’t have to borrow any money,” he said. Most Friday nights, he would visit Menard’s, a home improvement store, and “spend 300 bucks. When I ran out of wood, I’d go home and come back the next weekend with 200 more dollars’ worth of wood.”
Photo Courtesy of Jim McElwain
As he prepares to list the tiny home as a vacation rental, McElwain said he has added a small patio, an outdoor bar, a lofted bed, and a rustic-looking wood stove. Mirrors, rugs, and a wall clock make the space feel cozy. McElwain plans to keep a few weekends each year free of Airbnb bookings so he can stay in the tiny home by himself or invite family and friends to bring their campers and join for a group bonfire.
McElwain sees the space as a long-term investment. Between the new tiny home and development on neighboring lots, he said his property value has already increased. He may choose to sell for a profit someday.
Photo Courtesy Jim McElwain
In the meantime, listing the tiny home on Airbnb will be a solid second income. He expects that it will be an attractive rental for traveling nurses, tourists visiting nearby wineries and breweries, or parents visiting their kids at college. As he approaches retirement, McElwain said he’s excited by the prospect of earning an extra $10,000 or $15,000 a year from rentals.
“There’s nothing else on the property except the tiny house and then seven acres of woods and field. It’s a great place to relax,” he said, adding, “it’s just cute as a button.”
