Tiny house, big project

For four months, students in the building construction technologies, electrical and HVAC programs have been working side by side on a project that will raise funds for Orange Technical College – Westside Campus in Winter Garden.

Dubbed the Tiny House Project, it is exactly that — a six-foot-by-20-foot home with all the same features as a traditional home except on a greatly reduced scale. When completed, it will have a kitchen, dining/living room, bathroom with shower and loft bedroom.

The exterior will include a metal roof Fiberglas siding and composite trim, said Bob Harman, the building construction technologies instructor at Westside and project manager for the tiny house.

Harman said the estimated market value for a comparable home is $60,000.

“The goal is for the home to be auctioned off and the proceeds benefiting (Career and Technical Education) students in a variety of programs,” he said.

Final details have not been made for selling the tiny house, as this will depend on when the home is finished. Harman said he is crossing his fingers that it is done by the end of the school term, later this month.

On a recent afternoon, construction and electrical students were busy measuring, cutting, nailing and wiring — both inside and outside the house.

The designed selected for this project is the Shonsie, chosen because it looked the most like a Florida home, he said. It is sold at 84 Lumber.

This is Harman’s first year of teaching the BCT course at Westside. He opened a similar program at East River High School in his second year with Orange County Public Schools. He has 45 years of experience in the construction industry and is a carpenter by trade. He has spent the last 15 years teaching construction to youth and adult offenders.

The Westside team presented the idea of building a tiny house to Dr. Mike Armbruster, CTE associate superintendent, who supported the project wholeheartedly, he said.

“I love the project because it is timely with all the shows about tiny houses and because it gives students the opportunity to do real work, including carpentry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and roofing and actually have a finished project at the end,” Armbruster said. “I think it has been a great experience for the students and a wonderful tool for learning so many different skills.”

Harman agrees it’s been a positive experience for the students.

Westside Senior Director Crystal Davidson-Sims also has put her stamp of approval on the unique fundraiser.

Armbruster was asked where he would take his tiny house if he had one, and he said that although he’s 6-foot-2 and too claustrophobic for that environment, he would enjoying taking this one to a mountain lake in north Georgia or Tennessee.

Contact Amy Quesinberry at [email protected].