Tiny House Deck Ideas From Tiny Solar Homes

Blake on Tiny Home Decks – Practical Info, Designs & How They Work

For many who have adopted the tiny home way of living, a deck can transform your outdoor area into a personal oasis. The best tiny house deck ideas will significantly extend the living space of your tiny home while offering a cozy place to relax, entertain, and enjoy nature. 

After a recent trade show, Blake from Tiny Solar Homes took some time out to tell us more about the portable deck options for their tiny homes.

First up, Blake, many people will be asking whether they should build a permanent deck or opt for a more mobile solution, a deck on wheels to sit alongside their tiny home?

That really depends on the site, the same as with a lot of the questions around tiny homes and what they need. If you own the site, you might be better off building something that’s permanent and you can put footings down.

For those who are unsure how long their homes will be there, we offer tiny home decks on wheels. We’ve had clients who like to move their tiny homes on their blocks every so often to mix it up. 

It really depends on how permanent or mobile you want the deck to be. Having a deck that’s mobile or one that’s detachable can still jump through many hoops when it comes to council permissions. 

So, it’s not a bad option to have a deck on wheels. We can put a really big-sized deck and pergola on that without the need for council approval in most cases. Rather than having something that’s permanently fixed to the ground, just like your tiny home, it might be worth having your deck on a trailer.

So it really comes down to if people want to move their deck or they don’t want to get approval – in essence, it’s just a trailer.

Yes. The short answer: Should I build a permanent or portable deck? I’d say portable.

How do you attach the mobile deck to the tiny home?

With the mobile deck trailers on wheels, we have a winch underneath them, front and back. We also have drop-down legs, so we level up the deck trailer, and then we wind the winch in so it’s pulling tight against the tiny home. We still leave a gap, but so it’s not wobbling, it’s fixed to the tiny home with the winch.

If the deck has a roof, like a pergola, we’ll put a heavy-duty flashing on top and screw it to where the gutter line would be, and screw it underneath the roof sheets of the pergola so it’s all one unit.

We also offer detachable decks built from aluminium. These are much cheaper than deck trailers. However, we don’t supply a roof with this option. Adjustable feet can level out the deck without it being permanent.

Are there any height restrictions?

If you want to do just a deck, without council approval, it has to be under 25 square metres on your property. But, it can’t be over three metres high from the natural ground level.

Depending on whether you want a pergola or not, if you’re trying to match the deck up to a tiny home height, especially with tiny homes with lofts, it can be really hard to be under that three metres. But your deck might be able to be classed as an annex. 

A mobile deck trailer on wheels you could class as an annex to your caravan.

How big should tiny home decks be?

Our mobile decks are 8.4 metres by 2.4 metres, which is definitely big enough. However, some people are happy with half that size. I personally think the same length as the tiny home is ideal.

Do you need any registration for a mobile deck on wheels?

I think anything on wheels, or with a trailer, will need a VIN plate, but we don’t need registration, as we use trade plates to drive the trailer to your block.

We deliver the mobile deck on wheels and put it in place, setting everything up so when we leave, it’s ready to be linked in straight away.

What materials do you use to be lightweight yet still sturdy?

Previously, we almost exclusively used hardwood for all the decking on trailers that are mobile, like our deck trailers on wheels. We weren’t too worried about the weight, but more about the upkeep of hardwood, which constantly needs oiling.

We’ve got this new product called Accoya. It’s a pine, but it has already gone through a process of acetylation. This basically makes it last longer and has a higher warranty than hardwood.

Accoya is also much lighter, maybe half the weight of hardwood. Otherwise, there’s PVC material, which is great and easy to look after. Personally, as a carpenter, I would go with hardwood, but other options, including Accoya and PVC, are much lighter.

How do you stabilise a mobile deck?

Obviously, we’ve got our drop-down legs, which are just like the tiny homes, so we don’t need any concrete when stabilising the tiny home decking with a winch to the tiny home.

But, one of the questions we get asked most is about cyclone areas. We can also add earth anchors that can tie your deck (and home) to the ground to help keep it in place and achieve cyclone ratings.

Working like a traditional anchor, you can hit earth anchors into the ground as deep as you need or as many as you need, depending on your cyclone rated area. There are even heavy-duty versions you can install.

Once installed into the ground, when you put tension on the anchors, they twist in the ground, and pulling them up, it’s like they’re trying to pull up the earth above it. They’re also a good way to stabilise the deck and the tiny home.

What sort of areas are people using earth anchors in?

We recently had a customer in Jindabyne, so we’re looking at the mountains. They can get 100km/h winds up there, and it can get pretty cold too. So, yeah, they told us they were pretty happy they had used earth anchors.

So, can any trailer use earth anchors?

Yes, so long as the trailer is set out for it and it has the attachments, it’s very easy.

How safe are tiny house decks on wheels to tow?

As long as they’re structurally well built, there shouldn’t be an issue. We can attach our trade plates (or you can apply for a permit) so the decks can be towed on the road. All our trailers come fitted with indicators and all the legally required rear lights fitted as standard.

Is a deck-on-wheels road-legal in Australia?

If the deck has been built on a road registerable trailer and has been signed off after completion, then yes. However, there are many illegal tiny homes and decks on the road that don’t have that all-important VIN plate, the correct weight listed on the VIN, or they’re only classed as flat-bed trailers.

Do I need council approval for a deck on wheels?

In some cases, yes. It all depends on the deck trailer’s size, height, and location.

Are mobile decks treated the same as trailers or extensions?

They can be both, treated as decks on a trailer or possibly an annex to a caravan, depending on the build.

Tiny Solar Homes

If you want to find out more about the decking ideas for your tiny home, you can reach out to Blake at Tiny Solar Homes or arrange a tour of one of their tiny houses by calling 0418 411 099.