Costco’s Tiny House
Ambershawn recently brought something interesting to my attention, Costco, the big box store, sells a tiny house. It is called the “HomePlace” guesthouse and is one of their many small structures. Costco builds tiny houses, play houses and garden sheds. Personally, I think the Bungalow Garden building would make a perfect tiny house, it ranges in size from 12ft X 16ft to 12ft X 24ft and the costs for what appears to be a shell range from $4,995 to $7,244.
You can select a paint color, asphalt shingle color or even have wood shingles. According to Costco, the Bungalow provides a great mix of pleasing functionality and aesthetics.
Engineered drawings are available upon request to help you get many of our Garden Buildings/Garages approved for your site. These drawings detail standard features of the unit, and provide information about snow and wind loads.
Some locations/municipalities require that a stamped engineered drawing be prepared in order to obtain a permit; contact one of our Design Consultants for further details if you will need drawings. Be sure to obtain any required permits before placing your order.
Standard features include:
- 2×4 Rafters 24″ on center
- Doub le plywood gussets
- Screened wood vents
- 2×4 Double wall plate
- Factory primed trim
- Boxed in 12″ gables
- 2 Wrought iron flower hooks
- Factory primed siding
- Sidewalls 2×4 16″ on center
- Insulated raid panel double house doors
- Real lock set
- Black antique hinges
- Three vinyl flower boxes
- 24×30″ Aluminum sider windows
- 18″ wide front overhang
- Shingles
- Off-set A-frame roof
So, if you are looking for an economical starting place for your tiny house, this is for sure an option. Check it out online here and or visit your local Costco and ask for more information.
27 Responses to “Costco’s Tiny House”
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That is a nice looking little house . If we all started that way we could save $250k-$300k not paying a 30 yr mortgage. What would you do with all that money ?
I strongly agree. Buy a piece of land, pay for it. Start site inprovements, pay for it. Start building your own small or tiny house, try to pay as you go along. Living mortage is fantastic.
Borrow as little as possible and do as much of the work as you can.
A quick way to build a nice little nest egg.
*free
Looks like any other Amish Woodworks shed. Perfect for the intended purpose, garden shed, pool house or outdoor storage. Suggesting that one of these be used for the start of a small house would be asking for trouble from Code Inspections.
That depends on where you live . We need to work with local building dept to revise and or relax there min sq ft requirements. Some areas are as small as 400-600 sq ft which is a good start.
Hi Kevin, I agree with you about changing size requirements. These sizes are fine. However these sheds are built like sheds. If you want a small or tiny house, build it to comply. I recently built a small house, 20×22, complied with all building codes & code inspections. Rec’d a CO. I was surprised at how easy this was. Total material costs was about what these sheds cost.
I’ve been hearing bad things about OSB. I had a very bad experience with furniture made of that stuff. I would eagerly hear from you about different types of OSB, how they perform and how are they protected to last. Does it need extra protection from water/humidity compared to milled wood?
The osb used in construction today is a very good product and works well as subfloor and wall sheathing. I’m couirous if you had partical board or osb in your furniture ? It is not made for exposure to the weather but I have a building with that as a finnish and painted it over 20 years ago and it is still standing .
OSB is compressed shreds of wood, bark & exterior grade resin; specially designed for cladding homes. The only mistake a builder/homeowner can make is leaving it exposed to the elements for more than four months during construction. It must be covered with house wrap, vinyl or cedar siding, etc, or yes, it will deteriorate. The resins used to make construction wood panels (like OSB) can give off minute amounts of formaldehyde – however most US & Canadian panel manufacturers have eliminated this compound from production. (Import panels, possibly not.) Ask anyway. Material Safety Data Sheets s/b available thru the panel’s manufacturer or the APA. (American Plywood Association.) Cheap, inexpensive furniture today is more commonly particleboard or MDF, vs solid wood. (And I do believe some unethical upholstered furniture mfgrs may be using OSB to cut costs.) Often labeled as a recycled “green” wood product, particle board/MDF furniture & cabinetry can be deliberately overpriced to take advantage of environment-friendly consumer requests. So do shop panel prices at your local lumberyard/home box store before allowing contractor installations. Particleboard & MDF is compressed sawdust and resin – it does not hold up to daily use, esp in kitchens & baths. Within five years your cabinets will be worn, chipped & delaminating. Also, many mobile/manufactured home mfgrs use particleboard underlayment – avoid this concept. One bad leak & it swells & disintegrates. You and/or your kitchen appliances will be falling thru the floor! Opt for fir plywood underlayment panels instead, & always exterior grade, in case of leaks/or slab construction. Costs a little more but worth it. Lighter in weight too; better when hauling little homes about.
Wow, Costco does everything. This looks like a nice small house but a lot of work/material would have to go into it to make it livable/up to code.
Does anyone know if these are “prefab”, “precut” or assembled by Costco as part of the price?
I didn’t know this, cool!
Maybe it could be a downsize all except that we are spoiled by indoor plumbing.
No reason why it couldn’t be plumbed- just check the local codes!
Please, support your local builders and local jobs and skills, instead of big box stores.
Unless all you want in your neighborhood is big box stores…
I *STRONGLY* support et on this. Tiny house living is NOT about supporting big box stores like Costco that destroy local economies, local businesses, and local business owners for the sake of selling CHEAP, disposable goods. Support local craftsmen. Buy local. Buy USED. Raid the trash. Your dreams shouldn’t be for sale to the *lowest* bidder built on the backs of the worlds poorest people. I for one and terribly saddened that tinyhouseblog.com would post this.
agreed
et/Michael,
Big box stores are providing jobs for my family and pay a lot of taxes. If they were to go out of business, where would all of these employees end up?
As for local craftsmen/businesses, I recently got taken advantage of by two of them. One suffered equipment failure after half a day and still owed me for another half day, but he never returned as he found a longer term job than paid much more than the half day that I needed. To this day, he keeps blowing me off whenever I try to call and schedule a return date. Now, I’m stuck trying to find a replacement as winter sets in. Oh, yeah, he had great references and did a wonderful half-day’s work, but he if his lack of integrity didn’t turn me off of hiring “local,” then my cabinet maker sure did. Instead of making my cabinets, he ended up fooling around with my next-door neighbor’s wife and breaking up their marriage while leaving me with a very pissed-off neighbor and no cabinets.
Maybe where you two live, you have absolutely perfect local contractors, businesses, and craftsmen. However, this is far from the reality in my neck of the deep Texas Piney Woods where those who actually do work, do so on a totally different schedule that must take into account hunting, fishing, bar-b-cueing, hangovers, and just not caring to work every other day as the mood strikes.
I can unapologetically say that I wish I would have seen this posting here at tinyhouseblog.com pointing me in the direction of Costco earlier.
Kudos to Kent for not riding into town on a HIGH HORSE like so many and giving people numerous options to further their tiny house dreams no matter their lot in life.
Thanks, Kent. You are really making a difference. While some may not like all of your postings, everyone should realize that no matter how we arrive at a smaller housing footprint–it’s better for all of us and the planet.
With the material they are using looks like it would off gas like crazy. Something to be mindful of for people with chemical sensitivities.
I noticed this too. If you’re going to be environmentally friendly, why not be friendly to the inhabitants of the house too, and not use materials that may make them sick?
These are built to be used as a sheds. Thats why the cheap materials.
what is the name of the company that builds this house?
I applaud costco. With them in HI I would not have had a business. The tiny house? Cute as anything I’ve seen. Would work great here as far as I’m concerned…(I don’t believe in asking for permission(permits). We need to get real. I know there is a state that does not require permits, the responsibility falls on the owners head (no pun intended). I wouldn’t live in a state that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. Hawaii bldg dept would be all over me if they knew but, hell, they don’t and I’m not telling.
Great idea and take the money you would have spent every month on a mortgage and invest it into an IRA or another financial instrument. Remember, equity, though it may gain value over time, does not gain interest. In this day and age if you think your home is going to be your cash out nest egg when your old… think again.
“…it ranges in size from 12ft X 16ft to 12ft X 24ft and the costs for what appears to be a shell range from $4,995 to $7,244.”
I have one of these (shed) on our 4 acres, it only cost us $800, and it was built by a local carpenter here in Arkansas. We purchased it 4 years ago.
I’m not a fan of the big box stores either. Alternatively, I’ve also had bad experiences with contrators who fail to show up, fail to complete work and charge an arm and a leg.
At $26/sq ft, this is a great price for a shed. I agree that the cost of modifications to transform it into a winterable living space (I’m in Minnesota where -20 is just a way of life) makes it not such a great bargain.
Still, it’s an option for some folks – particularly those in a warmer climate. It is cute!
Just an FYI, for those who might stumble onto this later, only to find the link within goes to a ‘no longer available’ page at Costco… The structure is still available from its manufacturer, as of May 12, 2012, and can be found via: http://www.homeplacestructures.com/frontsite/structures/enclosed-buildings/garden-buildings/bungalow-garden-building/
(or just go to homeplacestructures and look for ‘bungalow garden building’ at their site…!)
This little gem is just too nice to have let disappear into oblivion…