Candid Tiny House
Candid Tiny House is an Australian podcast about the real experience of building, living, and advocating for tiny houses on wheels.
Hosted by Shannon Schultz from Fred’s Tiny Houses, the podcast features honest, candid conversations with people who have built their own tiny houses in Australia, taken workshops or online courses with Fred, and navigated the full journey from planning to living tiny.
Instead of glossy social media posts or idealised tiny house tours, Candid Tiny House focuses on the realities of designing, building, and living in a tiny house that is both a safe road vehicle and a comfortable home.
Across the series, guests share lessons learned, challenges overcome, and insights gained — from technical building tips and budgeting, to problem-solving, community support, and the physical and emotional demands of a tiny house project.
You can also watch video interviews, tours, and build footage on the Fred’s Tiny Houses YouTube channel, and see photos and articles about each build on the Fred’s Tiny Houses blog.
Season 1 – Building Tiny Houses on Wheels
Season 1 introduces listeners to clients who took a Fred’s Tiny Houses trailer, workshop, or online course and then built their own homes.
These interviews dig into the reality of the build:
- The financial costs and savings
- What they wish they knew before starting
- Injuries, setbacks, and community support
- Creative compromises and innovations
Season 1 focuses on DIY builds in Australia, giving builders practical lessons and inspiration for designing a home that works both on the road and year-round.
Season 2 – Advocacy in Action: Changing the Law for Tiny Houses
Season 2 is a documentary-style series that tracks a small Australian town’s three-year journey and two attempts to change local laws to support tiny house living.
Listeners follow the advocacy process from start to finish, learning how grassroots communities can:
- Build awareness and support for tiny house-friendly policies
- Navigate local councils and legal frameworks
- Organise campaigns and gather community backing
- Turn setbacks into victories
This season is a how-to guide for tiny house advocacy, showing that change is possible when communities work together.
Season 3 – Life After the Build
Season 3 revisits past clients who have now lived in their tiny houses and can reflect on the full journey — from early building stages to everyday tiny house life.
Guests share stories of:
- Families living with children and even having home births in tiny houses
- Builders achieving financial freedom by reducing housing costs
- People who used their tiny house build as a stepping stone into hands-on construction skills
- Couples and individuals adapting their design as their lives evolved
These candid conversations offer invaluable insights for anyone considering a DIY tiny house build in Australia and show the real rewards — and challenges — of tiny house living.
Candid Tiny House – Real people. Real builds. Real stories.
Hosted by Shannon Schultz from Fred’s Tiny Houses, supporting Australians to build their own tiny houses, advocate for tiny house-friendly policies, and learn from people who’ve walked the path before them.
Candid Tiny House
DESIGNER DIY Tiny House: Alex & Harrison E5, S3
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At just 22 and 23 years old, Alex and Harrison designed and built a beautifully refined DIY tiny house on wheels in Australia — learning resilience, problem solving, and perseverance along the way.
In this episode of Candid Tiny House, they share the full story behind their lightweight tiny house build, including planning their trailer size, building outdoors on a nature strip, managing strong winds during construction, transport costs, insurance, budgeting, finding land in the Blue Mountains NSW, and adapting to tiny house living.
They also discuss material choices including charred cedar shou sugi ban cladding, timber framing, grey water management, composting toilets, and the emotional realities of burnout and maintaining momentum through a long DIY build.
This episode is packed with practical advice for anyone interested in:
• DIY tiny house builds in Australia
• Tiny house trailers and lightweight design
• Tiny house budgeting and transport costs
• Tiny house parking and renting land
• Composting toilets and grey water systems
• Minimalist living and alternative housing
• First-time owner builders and resilience
Alex shares:
“Rest when you need it — rest is really productive.”
And Harrison reflects on how the build strengthened his mindset:
“You realise everything has a solution and it doesn’t have to ruin the whole day.”
Whether you're dreaming of building a tiny house, already deep in your build, or simply curious about alternative housing in Australia, this episode offers honest insight into the challenges and rewards of creating a tiny home from scratch.
👉 Online Course Alex & Harrison found very helpful: https://www.tinyhouseuniversity.com.au/courses/how-to-build-a-tiny-house
👉 See Alex and Harrion's Tiny House Trailer: https://fredstinyhouses.com.au/trailer/8-meter-flat-top-trailer-hot-dip-galvanized-triaxle-2-4m-wide-4500kg-rated/
👉 Architect: Lucy Hayward lucy.may.hayward@gmail.com
👉 Composting Toilet: https://ecoflo.com.au/product/nature-loo-alectura-premium/
👉 Tiny House Towing Service: https: //www.recoveryrescue.com.au/
👉 RV Lite Hardwood Ply: https://forest.one/rv-lite-hardwood-ply
Music by Scott Buckley.
