By True Citizen Staff | on August 24, 2021

General Manager Ryan Keller shows off a log-cabin style shed that could be used as a tiny home.

Oakland Structures, Hwy 56 S., regularly receives phone calls inquiring about the use of storage buildings as tiny homes in Burke County.

“It’s been more and more prevalent,” General Manager Ryan Keller said. “We do it in other counties. Other counties have allowed it.”

Oakland Structures takes the shell with the finished exterior and sets it up on a concrete and block foundation and the customers finish them under the supervision of inspectors. The buildings are anchored down. Agencies in other counties like Screven, Washington, Jefferson and Candler are inspecting the buildings to make sure electrical and plumbing meet code requirements.

“A lot of times, obviously, they tend to be larger buildings,” Keller said. “I would say anywhere from 14 x 36 to 16 x 48, that is anywhere from 500 to 800 square feet. It makes a nice living space, it really does, and I have seen them finished out really nice.”

Mainly, Oakland Structures constructs the buildings to be sold through dealers, but they also sell onsite. However, people in Burke County are not allowed to utilize storage buildings as a place to live.

This tiny home has provided cozy living quarters for a Plant Vogtle couple for approximately seven years.

The buildings are constructed a lot like homes, Keller said. They are framed and built with similar materials.

On average, the larger sheds sell for $20,000 to $30,000, far less expensive than purchasing a home. With 10% to 40% down payment, the buildings can be bought on a rent-to-own basis over four years, eliminating traditional 15 to 30 – year mortgages.

Oakland Structures built rows of tiny homes, situated in Girard, to provide temporary housing primarily for transient Vogtle workers. They meet state fire escape and septic requirements. They were built specifically to be tiny homes and not storage sheds, however there is not a lot of size difference between the 1-bedroom units and the average shed, Keller said, but the quality extends beyond what it takes to keep a mower dry.

“We tend to build a higherend storage building as it is,” he said “I think that is why we have ended up building a lot of tiny homes in other counties because people see them and they are attractive as a home.”

Planning Commission Director Scott Lee successfully persuaded his board July 27 to consider looking at how Burke County can regulate the conversion of storage sheds into tiny house units. This was at least the third time he asked the panel to approve a request to consult with an engineer who could assist him in providing them with information that might result in a future ordinance.

Lee and Building Inspector Lynn Chance pointed out that people are already living in storage buildings, converted into small homes in multiple locations through the county. Lee said he sees converted tiny homes as another housing alternative to site built or HUD regulated manufactured homes.

“I would be open to talking to some engineers and seeing how things pan out as far as what the (Planning) Commissioners are working on now,” Keller said.

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