When I started Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses in April of 2013, there wasn’t really anyone in Colorado building tiny houses commercially. I was wrapping up my first build, the Durango model. Before I even had an idea of what I was going to build, let alone how I was going to pull it off, I did not have any intention of making a business out of building tiny homes. I just needed an affordable and simple place to call my own. Durango was expensive, even back then. But it was a place I loved dearly, and a tiny house was my ticket to making it work.
As I progressed through the design phase, I had a realization that this was kind of fun and perhaps I should make a business out of it. It seemed like a great way to mend my love of design with my passion for creating things with my bare hands. I met with the Small Business Development center and pitched my idea. They did some research and informed me that there was indeed a lot of folks looking for tiny houses, and not many people building them, especially in the Rocky Mountain region.
I decided to go all in, putting up almost all of my savings to launch the venture. My intuition told me it would be a successful and fulfilling business, and for the most part, it has been. All startups have their ups and downs, their joyful wins, their heartwrenching gut punches, their struggles, their triumphs. RMTH was no stranger to these facts of life. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50% of new businesses make it to the 5 year mark. Only 30% make it to 10 years.
13 years and somewhere close to 150 tiny home builds later (I lost track around 125 or so), I’m still at it. I’ve watched several tiny house companies come and go, wondering when it would be my time, wondering when I would build my last tiny house.
There have been some incredibly difficult times running this business. I take great pride in having what it took to keep my doors open when other builders did not. I take great pride that RMTH was the first builder to complete a State of Colorado certified tiny home unit. I take great pride that I was able to create jobs and employ so many wonderful carpenters over the years. I take the most pride that I was able to help so many homeowners get a quality built house for a very affordable cost.
Demand for tiny homes is still there. I could very well keep doing this for another 5 years+. I still get inquiries even though my woefully out-of-date website has stated I wasn’t taking inquiries until Fall 2026. Here we are in September 2026.
If you follow me personally, you already know I made an announcement back in the Spring that I was going to stop building tiny houses and focus on some new ventures. In a nutshell, three forces are pushing me in this new direction: 1. I’m exhausted from running a business with employees. 2. I’m tired of customers who don’t appreciate my value and try to nickel and dime the crap out of me 3. I’m just craving something new
Running a business with employees is not taught in traditional school. It’s an art and science most business owners learn via the school of hard knocks! The list of compliance requirements, especially in a blue state such as Colorado, is endless. Payroll taxes, workers comp, social programs, quarterly taxes, annual taxes, fees, registrations, licenses, you name it. All on top of the mental energy it takes to manage people. While I’ve loved my employees (most of them) it’s extremely draining keeping people busy all the time. Due to the nature of highly customized tiny home builds, it’s just not feasible to hand over the blueprints and expect them to complete the build exactly how the customer envisions. Every build has to be prudently managed, every detail carefully thought through. I have finally reached a breaking point with all this. Decision fatigue is real.
While most of my customers have been extremely happy with their tiny homes, there’s always a few bad apples-perhaps a build I took on to keep the calendar full that my better judgement told me I shouldn’t have. The Covid pandemic and now the tariff trade wars and unrest in the Middle East have placed material costs in extreme fluctuation. Everyone has a budget, I get it, but when the cost of goods fluctuates in the time period from when a contract is signed to the time the house rolls out of my shop, I simply am unable to hold to the numbers I said I could. No fault of the customer, but no fault of mine either. Yet somehow, the blame always comes to rest on my shoulders. I’m tired of it.
I turn 45 next month. I’ve been at this tiny house thing 13 years and counting now. It’s time for a change. I’m one of those souls with a bit of wanderlust built in. I have no idea how people work the same job for 15+ years. I guess there’s a lot to be said for job security and benefits. I’ve never really had either, so such things do not concern me.
I just wrapped up a really amazing build that I drove to southern California. It is hands down the nicest build I’ve ever built for someone else, right up there with the San Juan, which of course was my personal tiny house. As I write, we are nearing completion of a well appointed 10×40 state certified build destined for La Plata County. After this, there is a sleek 10×34 state certified build also destined for La Plata County.
I’m not going to use the word “last”, but for the indefinite future, I do not intend to construct any further “production” tiny homes. As a niche custom builder, it wasn’t like we built production models anyways, but there was always a crew, a shop that was tooled for the sole purpose of building tiny homes, and a production process that has been refined many times over to make the operation of custom building go as smoothly as it could with the means I had available.
As for what I do intend to do moving forward, it shall encompass a conglomerate of the many skills I have acquired since getting into carpentry all the way back in middle school. To sum it up in one word: Handyman. I would like to help members of the Durango community fix their sinks, replace a door knob, change out a bad light switch, maybe do some small remodel jobs here and there-whatever comes my way that I feel like tackling. In addition to this, I’ll be chasing larger wood and metal fabrication jobs. Think high end staircases, decks with metal railing, custom furniture/countertops, and the like. This business has been dubbed The Handy GOAT. (Greg Of All Trades)
This will be the physical side of things. One aspect of RMTH that I really enjoyed was that I got to split my time between the office and the shop. I always felt like the perfect split was 2-3 hours in the office, and 5-6 in the shop. I don’t really like being on my feet all day, neither do I enjoy sitting in a chair too long. For this reason, I am going to keep offering design and consulting services. My expertise in the tiny house field is massive, and this is an area I definitely would like to still contribute to. It does not have to be limited to tiny houses though. If you are looking for a regular home design, or need consulting about building sciences, esp insulated concrete forms, monopour footers, structural insulated panels, advanced framing techniques, and more, please reach out.
I’m going to offer a service I call “building optimization” where I can take the plans you already have and draw out the framing for each wall utilizing advanced framing techniques. It eliminates unnecessary lumber, adds insulation, and does not sacrifice any strength. The cost you save in lumber will often pay for the service.
Another exciting service I would like to offer is owner assisted builds. After my wife Stephanie and I built our own 1,600 square foot house and had to take up some trades we weren’t familiar with due to budget constraints, it was quite liberating to pull it off. Not only this, but we were told our work was actually better than the “pros” because we actually gave a damn. If you are wanting to build your own house, can’t afford a GC, and are nervous about your abilities, give me a call. I want you to succeed and can shoot you down the right path!
So is there a future for RMTH at all? Perhaps, perhaps not. Tiny homes are a huge part of my being. It’s difficult to imagine walking away from the craft completely. I still have a desire to build 1 or 2 special tiny homes per year. I’m going to keep the website up, and I will keep the company registered with the secretary of state.
I am only keen on accepting builds of interesting character. It’s difficult to define “interesting character”, but generally this will entail one of two characteristics: 1) curvy whimsical stuff on a moderate scale, meaning 10×28 or smaller. Think San Juan, Pequod, 16’ Curved Roof, and this build I just sent to SOCAL (pictured above). 2) very modern scandinavian type designs. Think like the Escape Vista , New Frontier Models, or the Land Ark Draper. I’m also really into the kind of work that Handcrafted Movement produced, although ironically they have decided to go a similar route as I will with local design/build projects.
You must have a budget that aligns with your vision. In other words, don’t send me pictures or drawings of a tiny home that will easily cost 150k and ask if I can do it for 90k!!! When a car enthusiast desires to own a Rolls Royce, or a Bentley, or maybe even a Lexus, they do not badger the dealer to come down in price. They know what they are buying and they have the funds to do so. The drivers who don’t have the means to buy a luxury car stick to a Honda or a Toyota. These are great dependable cars, they just aren’t on the same level as a supercar.
I know this will end up excluding 95%+ of potential buyers who admire my work and were hoping to get a build in the coming years, but this life crossroad I find myself at necessitates change. It makes me sad, but at the same time I am very excited about the new opportunities that await.
From the bottom of my heart, I wish to extend a sincere thank you to several deserving folks. Thank you to all my customers, past and present. I obviously wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without your faith in my ability to build you a house. Thanks to all of my employees who showed up and shed blood, sweat, and tears to get the job done! Thanks to all the secondary players who had a hand-Hiebco Trailers, Trailer Made Trailers, the local lumberyards, countless online vendors, delivery drivers, spray foamers, and so many more. Last, but definitely not least, endless thanks to my beautiful bride Stephanie. While we weren’t together during the early years, she has been by my side for 10 years now, enduring most of my ups and downs. She could have left many times over, but decided to stick it out, and for this, I am eternally grateful. RMTH would not be where it is today without her support.
With Love and Gratitude,
Greg
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