Is it a trend? Is it a way to find a home you can afford? Can it work for everyone?
Since the beginning of the HGTV specials on “Tiny Houses”, the trend/phenomenon has garnered excitement, as well as entertainment. This has also led potential homeowners to search for a cheaper way to live.
Building a tiny house yourself is almost always cheaper, saving $20,000-$40,000 by avoiding labor and overhead. Those who cannot build it themselves are finding companies offering a pre-built turnkey home, usually with several basic types, with some customizing.
Susan Salvaggio had lived for over 20 years in Sodus in Wayne County, and found herself in need of moving from her large farm home to a smaller space.
Three years ago, she chose to live in a 3 bedroom apartment in Webster. She admits is was lovely, and the space was great...but it was further away from her kids and grandkids. After three months, she said “I just did not like it, it did not suit me after owning a single home.”
From there, she asked her realtor to locate a more stand alone option with outdoor space. She seemed to like the Webster area, so Susan purchased a Villa type home on Lake Road. The home had all the amenities she wanted. It had lake access and views, it had room for her beloved dog, Piper (a Chesapeake Bay Retriever), and room for guests. The landscaping was great, until she decided to move some bushes and landscape outside the home. This is where the HOA (Home Owners Association) became a tough reality. There were things she was not allowed to do with the home she now owned. “I loved my neighbors and the home,” but it was turning out again NOT to be the one for me,” said Salvaggio.
Considering the land she owned on Lake Road in Sodus, Susan began to form a plan for her final move.
“I watched all the HGTV shows about tiny houses and how efficient and less expensive they were. I loved the look and the idea of them. The sale of my Villa in Webster would allow me to purchase a tiny house and use land that I already had...which also was very close to my children and grandchildren.”
The research began with a fervor.
She originally found a manufacturer/builder of tiny homes in Saratoga Springs, but all the tiny homes were too customizable, and the cost kept going up, she explained. Then, she found “Lancaster Log Cabins” out of Lancaster, PA.
“The company had about 6 different models to choose from, but were less customizable than the first company. I found one I liked and felt I had to go to Lancaster to see one. When I got there, I saw the “Sierra” model and loved it. Then next to it I noticed a similar model with a 10 ft. screened in porch with steel railings, and the inside had WALNUT cabinets, QUARTZ COUNTERTOPS and SHOWER and skylights! I asked what it was and found that it was the deluxe version of the one I was about to pick.”
“The tiny homes from Lancaster are turn-key real log park model cabins, and they ship them to you and PARK them on your prepared property. My selection was a 400 square foot model with the enclosed porch, and a loft area with stairs. With my added upgrades, it ended up costing me about $125,000, including the freight and set up. With my home sale, I was going to be able to purchase the home outright (no mortgage) and still have money left to furnish it.”
The next part of the adventure was to hire a contractor with whom she had worked before. “Wayne Martin Construction out of Clyde, fit the bill and they were available for all the pre-work I needed to proceed. I had to go before the Zoning and Planning Board for variances and permits.”
“Wayne Martin did some “hand holding” as I did not know my way around the Codes. As a school superintendent, engineers, architects and construction groups guided projects for the district.
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Martin Construction guided me! I was not familiar with it all personally.”
After the approvals from the Town of Sodus, Susan needed water, septic, electric, and a concrete pad for the tiny home. Asking Wayne Martin to handle all of that proved so seamless for her. Martin started the project by building a 24x32 foot pole barn garage with a loft. Not only does it house the car – but it provides a place for all those things that were hard to give up and don’t fit in the tiny house.
There is no basement with the tiny home, and it does present storage issues that need some creativity to overcome. The garage and loft really help with that.
The home has the 10x12 foot screened in porch, a kitchen/sitting area with a leather love seat, a full size stoveand microwave, a breakfast nook and intermediate sized refrigerator which Susan finds quite adequate. The next room running down the hall houses her apartment size stacked washer and dryer, the pantry, and Piper’s dog crate”. There is one good sized bedroom downstairs.
The home boasts a decent sized sized bathroom with full shower,vanity and toilet. A wooden stairway (not a ladder) leads to a loft area, where two queen sized beds can fit for visitors or, as Susan has it set up – one bed for guests and a play area for the grandkids.
She has added a concrete pad around the back of her tiny house to serve as a patio for outside entertaining.
Heating in the tiny home is accomplished with very efficient Mitsubishi electric zone heaters.
This “adventure” actually began in August of 2025 when she signed the contract and purchase and put down a 25% deposit on her tiny home and Martin began excavation work to put in the driveway.
Susan set a timetable to be in her new home for Christmas and everyone worked together to make that happen – She moved in on December 24th. “It’s really a miracle we were able to meet that timeline. Every time he turned around, I was asking Martin Construction for the next thing I needed! I stayed in contact with Lancaster Log Homes and they helped make the pre-Christmas delivery happen. My son, Christopher, built amazing steps for the cabin – but couldn’t finish them until it arrived because we needed the final height of the cabin to concrete slab and didn’t have that until after the cabin was set and skirted. My son had faith in us meeting the deadline. He told me to purchase my Christmas Tree with the family on the day after Thanksgiving and keep it in the garage. When I came home on Christmas Eve, he had placed the tree with lights on the screened in porch. At that moment, I really felt like I was home.”
There is more to come at this tiny home. Susan will set up her gym in the pole barn/garage in the spring, (she is a triathelete), add another section of patio for a hot tub, add raised bed gardens, and find just the right patio furniture for outdoors.
This tiny home has made a huge impact.
