HOUSE THAT?
I built my dream home at 21 for £5,000 – it’s just a 8ft wide shed but I love it… people are shocked how luxe it is
From the outside, it appears to be nothing more than a garden shed
A STUDENT has told how he built his dream home at 21 for just £5,000 while at university.
Jack McKenna built the tiny 8ft wide shed in Colchester using a £60 old farm trailer over the course of three years.
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Now he and his girlfriend have moved in - and everyone is surprised by how luxurious it is inside.
From the outside it appears to be nothing more than a garden shed, but in reality it has everything you would find in a new apartment.
For Jack the idea to build his own home was a long time coming.
Speaking to Bryce Langston from the page ‘Living Big In A Tiny House’, he explained: “When I was 13 I saw this video online of this guy online who built a one metre squared home.
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“So I saw that and I wanted to build one with my dad. So we built one and that’s what inspired me.
“I then went on a deep rabbit hole looking at these videos online and I took ideas from there and designed it.
“Then when I was 16 I bought the trailer and got to work.”
Video shows the stunning interiors of his home - which he built with almost all salvaged materials.
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The wood paneling inside came from a car park in Colchester, while the doors and windows came from a project on his uncle’s building site.
The kitchen is as big as what you would find in many city flats - and it even has a double bed.
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The shed is even home to a full-sized shower and and a fully functional compost toilet and sink.
Jack explained: “The home with the trailer it took about three years throughout university so not too bad considering I’ve done it all myself.
“Most of my friends are still renting or not evening being able to afford to rent with the property market at the moment.”
In total Jack spent just £5,600 building his miniature home.
“Its come at quite a good time to have actually have built it myself given the current situation is very expensive.
“I didn’t know I’d be able to do this to this quality. I was saying to my dad that I’m a amazed how good it actually looks compared to how we thought it was going to look but its taught me to be proud of myself.
“It's going to save me so much money in the long run as well.”
Elsewhere, one woman bought a tiny home for herself after her kids moved out and now has exactly what she wanted.
Karen bought a 16ft box home for herself and her cat to live in after feeling like she had way too much space in her home.
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In even more extreme circumstances, one man lives in a debt free home that he made out of mud and built for £150.
Sage Stoneman set himself the goal of spending as little money as possible on his naturistic home in order to be "connected to the environment".
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