CHAPTER
16

Tools, Glorious Tools

In This Chapter

• Staying safe on the jobsite
• Saving money by buying only the tools you need
• Getting creative in your search for tools

Though tiny houses are small, they require many of the same tools found on conventional jobsites, which can add significant cost to a tight budget. If you need to build your tool arsenal, knowing which ones are necessary and which ones you can live without will save you a lot of money on your tiny house build.

In this chapter, we cover important strategies for staying safe on the jobsite, what tools you’ll need to have on hand to get the job done, and the most cost effective ways of obtaining them. With creativity, you can gather up nearly every tool you’ll need for a very low financial investment.

Safety on the Tiny House Jobsite

Staying safe on the jobsite is of paramount priority. After all, nothing slows down a construction site more than a visit to the emergency room, especially when you’re the only builder! If you don’t have experience with the tools you’ll be using on your construction site, take time before you start building to learn how to use them properly.

There can be a false sense of security when working on a tiny house, so it’s important to keep the risks in mind and to be careful when building. Just because the scale of the structure is small doesn’t mean your risks are. It’s still a construction site and you can still get hurt (or worse) if you’re not using caution throughout the build.

TINY WARNING

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that falls are the most common cause of death and injury on a jobsite. Twenty-seven percent of those incidents occur on ladders just 10 feet tall or shorter. Because a Tiny House On Wheels (THOWs) is typically 13'6" in height, you’ll be spending quite a bit of time on ladders, so please be careful.

The tools you’ll be using can be dangerous as well. We highly recommend you learn how to use them properly before you start your build. A great way to do this is by hiring a professional builder for a few hours on a weekend and asking them to give you a safety course. Another option is to contact a local trade school to see if you can hire one of the construction-tech teachers. They are typically pros at imparting safety guidelines to beginner builders.

Be sure to wear safety glasses, hearing protection, gloves, a respirator or dust mask (depending on the task), and any other pertinent protective gear. Protecting yourself is the first step in staying safe.

Basic Hand Tools Required

Let’s start with the most important one of all: your tool belt. Get one that’s comfortable with an abundance of pockets to fit hand tools, nails, and other construction must-haves. We recommend suspenders for comfort and less wear and tear on your hips.

Levels and measuring devices ensure a square, level, and plumb build. A high-quality measuring tape is as necessary as a set of levels. We recommend a torpedo level, as well as a two-foot and a six-foot level.

Another jobsite requirement is a speed square. Nothing is handier during roof framing layout. It serves several other functions as well, is inexpensive, and fits snugly in a tool belt.

If you intend on doing most of your build alone, a plethora of clamps is a necessity. They serve as an extra set of hands on tasks that require at least two people. We recommend at least two 8" C-clamps, a few spring clamps, and a set of trigger clamps.

TINY TIP

Even the best builders make mistakes on the jobsite and need to remove nails from time to time. A cat’s paw nail puller is a simple but mighty tool for this task, so we recommend you keep one in your tool belt.

If you plan on installing your own electrical system, add a high-quality set of wire strippers to your list. Realistically this is the only electrical tool you’ll need because there aren’t many plugs and switches in a tiny house. If you’ll be plumbing your tiny house, you’ll need to decide which system you’ll use (PEX, copper, and so on) before buying or renting any tools. Each plumbing solution requires very different installation tools.

The following hand tools are considered to be minimum requirements on a tiny house construction site:

• Safety glasses
• Gloves
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Tool belt
• Levels
• Speed square
• Measuring tape
• Clamps
• Hammer
• Utility knife
• Wrench set
• Caulk gun
• Linesman pliers
• Hammer tacker
• Needle nose pliers
• Screwdrivers
• Cat’s paw
• Electrical wire strippers

There are other basic hand tools you might decide to pick up as well. For some, less is more, while others prefer having the appropriate tool for each task. Consider your budget as well as your storage capacity for all these tools after your job is done. If you’re limited in both of those aspects, you might want to opt for the fewest number of tools possible and get creative if you don’t have the exact tool needed for a task.

Recommended Power Tools

There’s no doubt that the most versatile power tool on the jobsite is the circular saw. It can be used for almost everything from cutting lumber and sheathing, to metal roofing and pipe, simply by switching out the blades. It can even be used for finish work once you master its use.

Our preference for circular saws are worm-drive models. They have inline motors, which make them more powerful than standard box saws. The blade is set conveniently on the left side of the saw, which means that a right-handed cutter can keep her eye on the blade itself during the cut. Left-handed carpenters might find it easier to use standard circular saws so they can follow the blade directly.

A reciprocating saw makes fast and easy work of cutting through nails, wood, metal, and just about any material out there. This tool is invaluable on a jobsite when a mistake, such as framing a window incorrectly, must be fixed. You might think this is a demolition tool and, as such, not needed on a new construction jobsite. However, mistakes happen and having the ability to easily deconstruct things is valuable even on new projects.

Jigsaws and routers are typically not necessities on the tiny house jobsite, but they do save a lot of time and effort in certain situations. For example, a plunge router with a specialty bit makes cutting window openings through sheathing as easy as can be. However, because you won’t use it often, you might be better off renting a plunge router if necessary. We also recommend a Dremel tool on the jobsite.

Let’s get to the big stuff now: table saws, miter saws, and nail guns. These puppies are essential to a high-quality project. They not only speed up the process, but also make it more accurate. They aren’t cheap, but they’re worth the investment on any tiny house jobsite.

Table saws enable you to accurately perform rip cuts on materials such as sheathing, lumber, siding, and finish trim. A standard tabletop can accommodate materials of various sizes, from very small to 4-feet wide, heavy-duty plywood. Miter saws on the other hand are the best option for precise cross cuts in lumber, trim, and other materials. In terms of capacity, a 12" sliding compound miter saw can cut dimensional lumber up to a 2" × 16" piece at 90 degrees.

DEFINITION

A rip cut is when you cut a piece of wood parallel to the long direction.

A cross cut is when you cut a piece of wood perpendicular to the long direction.

There are various types of nail guns out there, so select one that can be used for at least a couple different purposes on your tiny house build. A good option is a framing nailer with nail size adjustments. These enable you to easily change nail size as you switch tasks—something that you will do often during the build.

Lastly, you’ll want to invest in a quality power drill and driver set. Drills are designed for creating holes, but drivers are made specifically for inserting screws and bolts into construction material. Some drills are hammer actuated and have much more power than drills. We recommend a standard drill bit set to go along with your drill with everything from ¹⁄₁₆" to ½" bits, a spade bit set, and larger hole saws for creating openings for vent lines and so on. In addition, we recommend a driver set that contains drill bits of various shapes and sizes as well as common-size ratchet drivers.

Lowering Your Tool Costs

There’s nothing that sobers a giddy builder browsing through the tool aisles more than price tags. Tools are expensive and if you’re not careful, you can blow a significant part of your budget before you even start building. Some tools are worth buying, but others are not.

Now that you know what tools are essential on your jobsite, you’ll need to decide which ones to buy new, which ones to rent/borrow, and which ones to buy used. If you plan on keeping your tools long after your tiny house is complete, buy the best quality you can afford whether new or used. You truly do get what you pay for.

TINY TIP

For tools that will only be used once or twice (e.g., a plunge router), you should look into renting. Just make sure you consider how many days you’ll need it. Some rental yards are so expensive that after just four days of rental, you might as well have bought the tool new.

Trade schools, community colleges, and high schools sometimes have tool rental options for community members. It’s worth mentioning here that many schools around the nation are now using tiny houses to teach their students hands-on construction techniques. Consider approaching your local educators and seeing if they’re interested in building yours or working together on the build.

Another great option is a tool sharing co-op. These tend to exist only in larger communities, so if you don’t have one near you, consider starting one yourself. In reality, not every single household needs all of these tools, so it makes so much more sense for a community to own them collectively. Because the costs are shared amongst all members and the tools are available for use to all members as well, the co-ops have been quite successful where adopted.

Borrowing or bartering tools are potential options as well. These situations always end best when there is a win for both parties involved. Consider exchanging either a tangible good or your time for the use of a tool. Perhaps your neighbors who happen to have a well-stocked tool shop/garage could use some help with yard cleanup or would appreciate you taking care of their plants when they go out of town. Come up with an agreement ahead of time that addresses how to proceed if one of the tools breaks or you need to use it longer than anticipated. With good, clear communication, these are great options that can save you hundreds of dollars.

Depending on how you approach the acquisition of tools, you could spend thousands of dollars or just a few hundred. If you plan on purchasing everything and combining some new tools with lightly used ones, your price tag will likely land somewhere in the $1,500 to $2,000 range.

The Least You Need to Know

• The best way to stay safe on your jobsite is by learning proper tool use from an expert and being exceptionally careful on ladders.
• Not a lot of hand tools are required for a tiny house build, but knowing which ones to get (and which ones you don’t need) will save you a lot of money.
• Tiny housers need to consider what they’ll do with their tools after the build is complete. Most tiny houses won’t have adequate storage to keep all of the tools long term.
• By being resourceful and reaching out to your community, you can access all the tools you need for your tiny house build at very low cost.