How I turned a tractor-trailer into the tiny house of my dreams

The design-savvy creative became a homeowner at the ripe old age of 22 — by converting a “beat-up” tractor-trailer bought for just £60 (€70) into a tiny house — and all for under €6,530.

The des res sits on the double-axle trailer — five metres long and 2.5 metres wide (16.4 feet by 7.9 feet).

Downsizing — or right-sizing as estate agents often refer to it — is often seen as the preserve of an older age group but Jack would tip away at his tiny house Acorn over three years whenever he was home from university.

Its super-clever design and petite footprint mean he can park it on family land, in Colchester, Essex, England.

Reclaimed and salvaged materials are used throughout and the project includes a DIY grey-water filtration system.

Jack completed the self-build with the help of his father, uncle and grandfather. “I live in the tiny house, but spend a lot of my time with my family on the farm,” he says.

Jack developed his passion for multifunctional spaces at an early age. “I started getting into the tiny-house movement when I was around 13 years of age when I saw a video on YouTube,” he tells Irish Examiner Home.

He built his own version of Van Bo Le-Metnzel’s One SQM Home, which is, to this day, the smallest tiny house in the world.

“I was inspired by the multi-functional space that could be moved around and so my dad and I adapted the design and built one that I could use to do my homework in as an office, and then lie it down to be a sleeping pod — it worked amazingly,” says Jack.

“I used it all the time and I found its multi-function very satisfying — this in turn sent me down a rabbit hole of tiny-space design!”

The gift of a tractor-trailer towed him further into the realm. “My uncle, who could see my passion for the house, very kindly brought me my trailer at a farm auction for £60,” says Jack.

At first, the vehicle’s real-estate credentials weren’t obvious. “It was pretty beat-up and knackered, so a fair bit of stiffening, extending, welding and painting had to be done to get it anywhere near build-worthy,” says Jack.

“When I was 18 we (my dad and I) started building the chassis, and through my three years at university and covid lockdowns, we built it together when I was back from living away.”

While at university, Jack continued to chase his tiny-house dream and every spare moment he had he worked on building his current home.

During the course of the build “some small things naturally changed in the design as we could see that they would work out to be more ergonomic”, says Jack.

“I put together a Pinterest board of everything that inspired me and began to design. With help from my knowledge of SketchUp from my Product Design classes in high school, I began making 3D models and by the time I was 16 I had gone through around 50 different iterations before I landed on one that I was happy with,” he says.

He also continued to seek inspiration online. “I would look at YouTube channels like Living Big in a Tiny House for inspiration as well as the plethora of other tiny-house YouTube channels.”

Jack was thrilled when the team from the channel from New Zealand visited to feature his house in an episode.

Upcycling was the name of the game and this was one way to keep the total cost down, as Jack tells Bryce Langston from Living Big in a Tiny House.

Acorn features the very best of small-space design and includes a home office as well as a bedroom and living area, a kitchen with a fold-out dining table and a bathroom complete with composting toilet, shower cabin and sink.

A wood-burning stove, a water heater, and electricity from the grid ensure the house is warm year-round.

A DIY grey-water filtration system is designed for maximum efficiency with a reduced carbon footprint.

The interior layout is 12 square metres (129 square feet) and the dual-level design means Jack has been able to avoid locating the bedroom too close to the roof.

There is storage everywhere — thanks to floating shelves and clever under-bed and understairs nooks.

In total, Jack spent £5,600 (approximately €6,530) on his home, which doesn’t include the site, as it’s on family property. “I am really happy with how it turned out,” he says.

“It was a fantastic process, which I loved doing with my dad. He has some great experience, but we did also have help from my uncle and my grandad who are all based in construction backgrounds as well as some friends — so it was a lovely project that made me feel incredibly lucky. I feel very grateful to be able to build something with my family like this.”

Does he plan on creating a line of future tiny homes? “I have not built any others yet, but plan on doing a campervan/camper in a few years for travelling around the country,” says Jack, who is now 23.

The creative, who is a quarter Irish, is also keen to take to the road and set up a home on wheels along the Wild Atlantic Way and reconnect with his roots next year.

“My grandfather, Harry, moved over to England from County Monaghan in the late 1950s,” says Jack, who has since the build graduated from university with a first-class honours degree in Film and Moving Image Production.

”We have family that live in Ireland and I would very much like to visit them again soon! I definitely plan on bringing the camper to Ireland, it has been too long since I last visited and I would love to drive the Wild Atlantic Way with my partner and visit family.”

• Instagram: @jack._mckenna
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