A software engineer built a tiny home for his mom and now he has a full-blown business selling DIY plans

When Louche and his wife went to visit his mom at her tiny home, she was surprised by how livable it was and how it met all her needs. 

That was when he knew he could help others build their own, he said.

"We started to provide resources for people to help them build their own house," he said.

"Initially we started selling some of those to try and make up some of the money we spent on my mom's house, but it ended up growing bigger and now it's a company." 

There are five plans on offer: Tiny Living, The Element, Tiny Studio, Tiny Retirement, and Simple Living. Each comes in a range of sizes.

For people just starting out, the company also offers a design and construction guide that summarizes the process of building a tiny house.

"That gives you an introduction to the process," Louche said. "It doesn't give you the floor plan of a house, but it gives you some of the knowledge that you would need to go off and do it."

There's also a comprehensive material list with approximate prices for materials. They can range from $10,000 to $25,000, according to the company's website.

Tiny Home Builders also offers two-day intensive workshop sessions to show people how to build the homes if they are ready to build their own house but don't have the knowledge.

One of the most popular designs is the "Tiny Living" plan that costs $347. It has a big family living area, bathroom, kitchen, and a sleeping area and is offered in six sizes from 12 feet to 32 feet.

"I recommend the smallest house be 16 feet long because it can have a full bathroom, a full bedroom, kitchen, and couch. That's all a single person really needs," Louche said. "The smaller the house, the cheaper it's going to be to build."

The company says it gets about 60 emails a day from people asking questions about the construction process.

"If we get a question two or three times we're putting together resources to help everybody else," Louche said. "We try to help everybody that we can because we want everybody to be successful and have a good experience." 

The longest it's ever taken Louche to build a tiny home is a year, which was when he first started and while he was also juggling full-time job, he said.

The main customer base is people who don't have kids, or people just starting a family, Louche said. There aren't many families living in tiny houses due their size, he added. 

The cost is a big plus, but the challenge for people building tiny homes has been finding places to park them.

Louche said some places such as California are passing laws to encourage ADUs, or Accessory Dwelling Units.

"It means they can be parked in anybody's backyard. When we first started there was a lot of resistance to adoption, but we're seeing that as time goes on, that resistance is dying down," he said.

People can sell their used tiny homes or ones they have built using the plans on their site via the marketplace.  

"It's an extremely rewarding experience to help people build their own house. We want to make sure that we help people go through that process," Louche said.