Breaking into the big world of tiny homes

Above: Steve Zaleschuk, a tiny homes builder from Sturgeon County, stands beside one of his latest undertakings, a micro-cabin. The small structure is part of a pilot project with Parks Canada, who are placing some of these miniature cabins in different national parks across the country. – Jennifer Lavallee Photo

by Jennifer Lavallee
Morinville News Correspondent

It wasn’t even a year ago when a small idea popped into the head of Steve Zaleschuk. Unbeknownst to him at the time, that thought would snowball into something big, and fast. Zaleschuk, a Sturgeon County resident, decided to get into the big business of building tiny homes.

With 30 plus years of construction experience on his side, Zaleschuk started his business, Finished Right Contracting (FRC) last fall. He educated himself on the booming tiny home movement, researched materials, and tiny home building plans, developed a website, and simply got to work. He hasn’t looked back since.

In an interview on his 80-acre farm, located a few minutes west of Morinville, Zaleschuk stands beside his latest labour of love, a micro-cabin for Parks Canada. The cabin is a small square building with large tinted windows and a beautiful wood exterior. It’s part of a pilot project that may see many more tiny cabins erected in national parks across the country. FRC was one of only two tiny home builders asked to build a prototype.

Pretty good for someone who just went full-time with his dream only less than a year ago.
Currently, tiny homes are not permitted within the boundaries of many urban Alberta municipalities. According to Zaleschuk, the City of Edmonton, for example, says no to tiny homes, though it does appear to be a grey area whether they are actually legal there or not. Other communities, like the Town of Stony Plain, do allow them in certain designated zones, such as mobile home parks.

The Town of Morinville says tiny homes are currently not allowed within its municipal boundaries, but notes no inquiries or requests from residents to accommodate the small structures have ever been received to date.

“At this time there are no plans to amend our statutory plans or the land use bylaw [to allow for tiny homes],” said the Town in a statement on July 14.

As the tiny home movement continues to soar and demand increases, however, this could no doubt change. A few months ago, the Morinville Public Library (MPL) hosted a tiny homes info session, in conjunction with a tiny homes enthusiast, Kenton Zerbin, and the event was considered to be a huge success.

“Thirty-six people attended the Tiny Homes Workshop at the Library. Learning the pros and cons of planning and building one yourself,” said Cheryl Pasechnik, MPL’s Assistant Manager, “there is a lot of interest and excitement in the tiny home movement. It was a really well-attended event for us.”

Establishing space friendly to the micro-structures does appear to be moving quicker in some parts of Canada over others. In Northern BC, for example, tiny home communities, or micro-villages, have started to pop up. In Victoria and Vancouver, “micro-housing” is being considered as a way to address affordable housing and homelessness.

Back in here Alberta, Zaleschuk’s is confident our province will follow suit. He says he’s been bombarded with emails from people interested in learning about the ins and outs of tiny home living.

Luckily for Zaleschuk he’s got a great resource and champion for FRC on his side, helping him spread the word about his business. His very first customer shared her tiny home story online on her blog and emailed media she thought might be interested. She even allows people to rent out her miniature home on the weekends so they can try out tiny living for themselves.
It was this that led the well-known Canadian home renovation channel, HGTV, to catch wind of Zaleschuk and his tiny houses.

“They came out and filmed me making [a tiny house], it’s crazy. The episode—it’s season 3 of ‘Tiny House, Big Living’, episode eight or nine I think—has already aired in the States…it should be running in Canada this fall.”

And HGTV is not the only one to take note; both the CBC and Maclean’s Magazine have also interviewed the carpenter regarding the tiny home movement.

So what’s the big deal about tiny homes?

The allure of tiny homes has a lot to do with simplicity and attainability. “People are really interested in tiny homes because it’s about freedom—financial freedom and freedom with your time. It takes way less time to clean a 250-square foot home versus a 2,000-square foot home.” Zaleschuck also adds, when purchasing a micro-home people can afford to include indulgent
touches because it ends up costing way less than it would in a regular sized house, for obvious reasons. These mini-mansions give people the ability to live in luxury, even if it’s in a small way.

And if you’re wondering, the price of an average tiny home is, for the most part, also pretty tiny (think of it as a mini-mortgage). “We can realistically build a home starting at $39,900—that’s on the very low end—up to infinity, depending on the finishes and what’s needed in the home.” Zaleschuk estimates a typical tiny house will cost about $140,000.The verage home costs $60.000.

“It seems like tiny home owners have a different mindset. They want to live in a house that is eco-friendly, with a smaller carbon footprint…” The entrepreneur says residing in a tiny home also gives people perspective, it forces them to ask, ‘what do I have versus what do I need?’
FRC builds tiny homes (either as a main residence or as a guest house), micro-cabins, specialized sheds, ice fishing shacks, and any other special project clients may want or need.
It’s no doubt, says the carpenter, however, tiny homes are the bread and butter of FRC. Those buildings range in size from about 150-square feet to 410-square feet and can be built to accommodate any requirements. For example, Zaleschuk recently completed a tiny home for a family of four that needed three separate bedrooms.

The builder estimates his homes will last 50 to 60 years, or longer.

Another aspect contributing to his success is the fact Zaleschuk will deliver to locations found throughout the country—his micro-cabin for Parks Canada is heading east, destined for a national park in Quebec. Two of his upcoming projects are headed to the Northwest Territories, and one has even had to take a ferry ride to its permanent home located on Keats Island (off the south BC coast).

When asked how he thinks his buildings—which have an average weight of about 11,000 to 12,000 pounds for a 24-foot home—manage over their long journeys to their final destinations, Zaleschuk simply laughs, saying, “they could roll them there if they wanted to. I’m not worried; they’re built to withstand the trip.”

Zaleschuck says though he’s surprised with his early success, he’s obviously very delighted and will keep running with it, remarking things don’t appear to be slowing down.

“I have close to 400 emails in my inbox right now, [it’s surreal]…I joined a ‘Tiny Homes Enthusiasts of Edmonton’ group; we started off with a handful of people, now there are hundreds and it’s growing each day.”

FRC shares stories of its projects online, including building plans, photos for inspiration, and information on how you can get started with your dream of owning your own tiny home with big heart.

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Above: Each of the tiny homes built by Zaleschuk is a labour of love. The builder describes every one of his tiny homes as a custom build since each purchaser has different priorities for their small space. Pictured here is a tiny home built by FRC earlier this year where luxurious finishes are found throughout the home. Finishes in the house, which is now located in Stony Plain, include 150-year-old reclaimed barn wood, solar panels, in-floor heating, and custom cabinets.

– Photo by FRC

Editor’s Note: The original online version of this story incorrectly identified the company as Framed Right Contracting (FRC). That and one point of clarity have been added to the story.

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6 Comments

  1. This is encouraging – I am approaching tiny home builders for the new Brenmer development in Strathcona County. We want a micro-village / tiny home community within the development.

  2. Would have been better if they had got the name of his company right! Finished Right NOT Framed Right.

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