Building the Fencl

Over the spring of 2009 we built our largest home on wheels, the Fencl. This little house is 130 square feet and features a kitchen, bathroom, sleeping loft, fireplace and much more.

How long did it take to build?

Jay Shafer, the designer, and a crew of 4 others built this house over 10 weeks.
We spent 825 hours to purchase materials and build the house.

How much did it cost to build?

When all was said and done we spent $19,148.
Jay shopped around and shaved almost $2,000 from the cost when he found a trailer 100 miles away at a much lower cost.

Build one myself?

Depending on your skill level and determination it is possible to build one for a fraction of the cost of buying on already built. We do recommend hiring licensed contractors for the plumbing and electric work. When we build a house we hire specialist for those tasks. Typically, the electrician and plumber are the highest paid people per hour, so we keep the amount of their work limited to just those two areas. We spent less than $2000 to have that work completed on the Fencl.

When we build a house we usually hire a finish carpenter as the job foreman. We keep the number of workers at any given time to 2 or 3. Aside from the finish carpenter and electrician and plumber, the other crew doesn’t need as much experience.

Buy this house from Tumbleweed?

This house can be purchased for $53,997 plus shipping and applicable tax.

Is the price negotiable?
We price our homes with a very low markup. We do not leave room in our pricing for a discount. Our expenses are subsidized by selling ad space on our website and by the sale of our books. We are proud of the fact that we pay our crew a fair US wage with insurance.

Inside Ben and Sabrina’s Enesti

In 2008, Ben and Sabrina built a modified version of the Enesti. Take a look inside.

Year in Review: 2009

I thought it would be fun to have an annual journal of the tiny house business. I’ve chosen to write about the business side because that is my focus at Tumbleweed. Our little company has 2 employees: Jay the founder and designer, and myself, Steve, the business and tech guy. At the onset of 2009 my plan was to focus the majority of my attention on Tumbleweed. Ever since turning 30, I’ve been a serial entrepreneur. Before joining Tumbleweed, I was a restaurateur and real estate investor. [Read more]