Tech Center students build tiny house to auction off

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — The Tupelo Career-technical Center’s construction students are building a tiny house with plans to auction it off at the end of the semester.

Construction began in January and although bad weather and preparation for state testing has caused delays, construction teacher Scott Brides said he’s optimistic about completing the house in May.

Three classes, including 18 first-year and four second-year students, have contributed to the project.

Bridges said the two-year program begins by teaching basic fundamentals like how to use tools and safety in year one and goes in-depth on floor, wall, roof, window and door systems during year two.

“By building this, we get to take everything we teach in the classroom and use it in a hands-on way,” Bridges said. “Even though this is a tiny house, it has all the components that an actual house would have in it.”

The project was funded by a $10,000 Association for Excellence in Education grant. It will be auctioned off and that money will be used by the construction program to build another house next year and repeat the process in years to come.

Bridges said more details about the auction will be available in May, but he hopes his students can build a tiny house each year to sell to someone in the community.

The 288 square-foot house is 12 feet by 24 feet and will include a living room/ kitchen space with a refrigerator, stove, sink and cabinets. There will be a bedroom area and a bathroom with a standard-sized shower and bathtub.

The City of Tupelo has signed off on every step of the construction process, Bridges said, meaning it can be placed within the city limits. It will come insulated, wired and plumbed. All the new owner will have to do is hook up to a power supply, water supply and drain.

J.T Stephens, a senior, and Kyle Clardy, a junior, worked on the ceiling joist in preparation for adding the house’s roof on

Friday morning.

Stephens said he’s looked forward to building a house since he enrolled in the construction program last year and it’s been a “fun experience” so far.

Clardy works with Green’s Pools of Tupelo where he helps to lay concrete and build in-ground pools. He’s also had experience building houses with his uncles, but said he’s learned new techniques while working on the tiny house that help him work at a much faster pace.

He’s looking forward to seeing the final product.

“It’s kind of like art,” Clardy said. “I always just love doing it and seeing the outcome.”