Southern Tiny Living sold their first model of a tiny home after about two years to a graduate of Southern Adventist University’s business department.
Now that the first tiny home has finally been sold, they’re eager to get finished with the new model and get that one sold and keep the sales running.
Robertson, freshman Construction Management major, said, “The best part for me building tiny homes is knowing that it’s not just work or for a class but that someone will actually get good use out of it.”
John Youngberg, associate professor in the technology department, leads students in these projects and has been working with Southern’s construction management program for 11 years.
“We’ve started on a new model and it’s more weight efficient. In the first model we have to move some of the heavier stuff, or it tips over,” Youngberg said.
Students in the construction management program take classes in order to become well-rounded in the field of construction. Then they get to go put those skills to work and build, namely the tiny home projects in addition to helping out with University Housing from time to time.
Construction management is something Youngberg believes everyone should get some experience in.
“A house is the biggest purchase you’ll ever make, and you’re going to want to know about it, you know? And [with automobiles] you don’t want to get hustled by some mechanic because you don’t know about it.”
While Youngberg hopes to expand further and get students involved doing a lot of things in the surrounding area, the program is currently not open to students outside of the technology department with an interest in helping out.
“We might open it to other students, but it’s kind of a pull like, ‘You want to do the construction? Well, you got to join the degree,’” Youngberg said.
According to Youngberg, the hope is for the future of Southern Tiny Living is to become a staple in the Chattanooga area. Enough so that the city codes, which are not very friendly towards tiny homes as of right now, will soften up and open their minds towards the prospect of tiny homes.
Right now, they have a customer who wants to set up a park for tiny homes in Pikeville, Tennessee. The vision is to have those sort of business ventures all over Tennessee.
For more information, visit southerntinyliving.com.