Austin Hay, a precocious 16-year-old in Sonoma County, Calif., has started to build his own house so he can move out of his parents'. "I've always wanted to build a treehouse or something; this was just another step forward," he explains in a new video just released by Fair Companies. Marrying the task of a high school research project, $2,000 in wages earned from summer jobs, and skills learned in wood-shop class, Hay has successfully constructed the bones of a 130-square-foot house. "The house reminded me of a treehouse that I've always wanted to build since I was a little kid, but something that was on wheels was just way cooler—something that I could move and stuff," he says, adding, "After college I'll live in it, and during high school hopefully I'll live in it." As if these cajones of youth weren't enough, he adds: "You'd be surprised how basic this is, really," he explains. "Like a lot of this stuff is just basic construction–you cut, measure, and cut some more." By the time it's complete, it will likely cost Hay $12,000—not a bad deal, considering there's no mortgage—and earn him the fame of becoming the smallest denizen of the tiny house movement. "Living small means less bills, living big means more bills," he says. "I don’t want to pay big bills." Boy, oh boy, kids these days!
The video:
· 16 year old builds tiny home to guarantee mortgage-free future [YouTube via Fair Companies]
Loading comments...