Texas Couple Renovates Previous Shed, Turns It Right into a Tiny Residence: Photographs

Katy Krebs and her husband, Michael, have been in search of a spot to name their very own when an outdated shed that used to belong to Michael’s grandparents caught their eye.

The Krebs had been renting for about seven years. When the pandemic hit, they determined it was time to discover a place they might name their very own, particularly since they have been getting older and have two daughters: Carolina, 7, and Harper, 3.

They did not should look far to seek out the answer.

The couple had inherited 70 acres of land in Fayetteville, Texas, from Michael’s grandparents. The property consists of agricultural land — and a small, rundown shed.

“We thought the shed was the proper factor to repair up and make right into a tiny house, the place we may dwell whereas saving up some cash so we are able to have cash for the ceaselessly home,” Krebs, a stay-at-home mother, instructed Insider.

They plan to dwell within the tiny house till they’ve sufficient financial savings to renovate and transfer into the primary home, which had been his grandparents’ house.

With a good price range, the couple took on many of the renovation work themselves, together with putting in partition partitions, including new home windows, and restoring the roof.

After cleansing up the leftover gadgets within the shed, they began dismantling the unique inner partitions.

“We took the plywood partitions and the plywood ceiling off, and it nonetheless had insulation that was in nice form,” Krebs stated. “We have been in a position to retain the unique flooring too as they have been in glorious situation.”

There have been initially three home windows within the shed. The couple determined so as to add two extra to enhance air flow and let in additional pure mild.

“They have been outdated aluminum home windows, so we simply popped them out and put in new vinyl ones,” Krebs stated.

In addition they vaulted the ceilings in what would turn out to be the lounge and kitchen space.

On the surface, the couple gave the roof a brand new coat of galvanized paint to guard it from rust and corrosion.

The shed’s exterior partitions have been repainted as effectively.

“You possibly can inform the shed was undoubtedly outdated and the paint was dry-rotting, so we needed to scrape all of that off,” Krebs stated.

To avoid wasting prices, they tried to reuse outdated materials that was already sitting on the property, together with lumber.

“We put in a beam that we present in an outdated barn out within the pasture on the property. We additionally took all of the wooden off of that and used it as our ceiling,” Krebs stated.

They even repurposed an outdated barn door because the entrance door of their new house.

“The door was in such nice form once we discovered it, so I simply sanded it down and put a window in it. I did not even paint it,” Krebs stated. “I believed that may be good for the tiny home.”

The doorway to the shed was initially on the again facet, however they needed to alter the orientation of the constructing.

“What we did was we lined that outdated entrance up and minimize a gap out on the entrance facet of the constructing to place the brand new door,” she added. 

One of many largest challenges the couple confronted throughout renovation was creating new partitions to partition the house into separate rooms.

Krebs and her husband first wanted to agree on a ground plan. The place there had initially been one open house, the couple sectioned off two rooms from the mixed kitchen and residing space to create one bed room and one lavatory.

After they bought that out of the best way, it was time for the soiled work. 

“We appeared on YouTube quite a bit to determine how to do that and the way to try this. We did all of the framing ourselves — it was simply us, me and Michael, with our two women by our facet,” Krebs stated. “It is a good factor my husband knew what he was doing.”

Family and friends members chipped in to assist each time they might.

The entire renovation course of took round 9 months, Krebs stated. 

“We began in September of 2020 and we completed in Might of 2021. Our members of the family and pals helped us with completely different features of the renovation, so it was a enjoyable mission with all people concerned,” she added.

Though the couple did get {an electrical} firm to hyperlink the home as much as the primary electrical energy supply, they did the remainder of the wiring work themselves.

Krebs has been documenting her tiny-home expertise on her TikTok account, which at present has round 9,500 followers.

Krebs estimates they spent about $16,000 in all, which was inside their unique price range.

“We knew we needed to be beneath $20,000, so fortunately we managed to finish it earlier than the value of all the pieces bought dearer,” she stated.

Though they renovated throughout the pandemic, the couple didn’t run into any main supply-chain points.

“Constructing the house throughout the pandemic actually wasn’t that unhealthy, most likely as a result of we reused a whole lot of the outdated lumber and different supplies that we already had mendacity round,” she stated.”We now have a neighborhood house enchancment retailer too and fortunately they weren’t actually backed up on the provides both.”

The finished tiny house has three rooms and is stuffed with rustic furnishings.

“Proper whenever you stroll by way of the primary door, the open kitchen is on the left and the lounge is on the suitable,” Krebs stated. “Then we’ve got a doorway that walks into the bed room, which is 70 sq. ft, after which to the left is the lavatory.”

The toilet has a bathe, a rest room, a conceit, and a closet hidden behind a curtain.

“My husband’s cousin tiled the bathe in a couple of week, whereas my husband constructed the closet space by putting in cabinets into the wall,” Krebs stated.

An exterior vendor put in and related the tiny house’s new septic system to the primary home on the property.

“We now have one full-sized mattress and a sofa that folds out right into a mattress, so we do not actually have a set place someplace the place all people sleeps,” Krebs stated.

On some nights, it might be her and her daughters in the primary bed room, and different occasions they’re going to be out on the sofa, she added.

Whereas this versatile sleeping association works for her and her household, it has drawn criticism from different social-media customers on TikTok.

“I’ve gotten a number of hate feedback about the place my youngsters sleep and I am like, ‘It is okay. I do know they’re secure. They’ve a secure home, they’ve a mattress,'” she stated. “However I inform individuals it isn’t ceaselessly, they’ll have their very own room within the large home sooner or later, that is simply momentary.”

After designing her tiny house from scratch, Krebs has some recommendation for anybody seeking to do the identical: Draw out all ground plans earlier than beginning.

That features particulars like the placement {of electrical} retailers and the sunshine fixtures.

“We needed our AC within the bed room, but it surely ended up being in the lounge. That set our plans again as a result of now we’ve got this large galvanized piping within the entrance the place the porch is,” she stated. “At first I did not actually prefer it however now I do not discover it as a lot, but it surely’s undoubtedly a reminder to have all the pieces drawn out earlier than you start.”

The household has now been residing in the home for nearly a yr. Krebs thinks it has been a rewarding expertise for all of them, particularly her daughters.

“They downsized on a whole lot of toys they usually do not stay cooped up indoors each single day. They will go outdoors and experience, and we’ve got our personal chickens, cows, a pig, and canines, so it is good for them to be outdoors to discover,” she added.