New Brunswick high school students’ tiny home project close to completion

A tiny home designed and built from the ground up as an educational project by Grade 11 students at Caledonia Regional High School in Hillsborough, N.B., is almost complete.

Skills and trades teacher Michael Robertson said Monday that the full-year project, which is a first for the province, has been in the works since September with Friday as the final day.

“So it was pouring rain Friday and the kids were putting the trim on Friday,” Robertson said laughing.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "So it was pouring rain Friday and the kids were putting the trim on Friday," Robertson said laughing.

He said the tiny home is almost complete with a few little pieces that will be finished during exam week.

Robertson, a Red Seal carpenter by trade, is teaching students all about framing and residential finish work.

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READ MORE: N.B. high school students build on tiny home movement

The junior contractors found a client and designed and built the tiny home.

The 250-square-foot home includes a master and guest loft, full-sized fridge, stove, a three-piece bathroom, and working electricity and water heater ready for the family to furnish it however they choose. The house will be delivered to a family in Belleisle, N.B.

The price tag is about $25,000 with the cost only covering materials as the students worked for free.

“The best part about this is all the cross-curricular stuff we’re able to do,” Robertson said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The best part about this is all the cross-curricular stuff we're able to do," Robertson said.

He said there is an original piece of artwork from the school going into the home and there are also parts of the science curriculum going into the project.

Choosing the tiny home as this year’s project provided a different challenge from the baby barns Robertson said students had completed in the past.

READ MORE: Tiny homes: Perks of buying a ‘shoebox’, and tips for maximizing space

“They never got to do any of the inside work,” he said. “This lets them experience the full finished project of building a house and it’s on a scale small enough it can be completed by students in a one-year time period.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They never got to do any of the inside work," he said. "This lets them experience the full finished project of building a house and it's on a scale small enough it can be completed by students in a one-year time period.

He added by getting students “fired up” about the project, it keeps them excited in what they’re doing, which he said is shown by the fact the students stayed out in the pouring rain Friday to complete the home.

—With files from Shelley Steeves, Global News