2025 January to May Build Update: Progress, Travel, and Tiny Wins

Oh, heyyyy long time no see…it’s been a little while since we’ve updated you all — five months, to be exact! Between travelling, working, and chipping away at the house, the blog has definitely fallen to the wayside, but we’re back with plenty to share. Let’s dive into what’s been keeping us busy over the past few months. Spoiler alert: we’ve made progress, but as usual our timeline has been blown out of the window.

January: Plywood Dreams and the First Cup of Tea

January was all about transformations. A new year…a new plan to finish the tiny house…and new plywood installs? We finished installing the plywood lining on the walls and now, suddenly, the tiny house has begun to look like an actual home. Watching it all come together felt like one of those moments where the endless hours of planning and cutting pieces by hand (mostly by Erny, sometimes Lys just stands there) finally paid off.

We’ve started adding small touches to bring warmth and personality into the space. One of our favourite additions is a beautiful artwork made by Erny’s niece — it’s now sitting proudly in the loft of the house, reminding us to finish as quickly as possible so we can hang it on a wall properly.

The bathroom then became the month’s primary focus. We installed the plywood backing and created a service cavity for all the essential plumbing and electrical cables. Next came the tile backing board, which was surprisingly fun to work with. We overlaid this over our plywood foundation.

Honestly, we haven’t seen much information about tiny house builders using tile backer board (maybe because tiles aren’t the done thing to install as they are quite heavy) but for us, it was an easy choice. It’s lightweight, which made handling and installation much simpler in such a small space. Beyond that, it’s highly moisture-resistant, which is obviously an essential feature for wet areas like the shower. We also loved how easy it was to cut (just with a Stanley knife!), saving us time and effort compared to heavier, more cumbersome materials. Its squishy foam core is also so satisfying to cut through, which is an added sensory bonus. Lys’ friend Tina came over for tea which was so nice, and while the space is far from finished, there’s something special about sharing it with others, even in its raw state.

February: Painting, Wombats, and a Wedding

February kicked off with more bathroom progress — specifically, waterproofing. The waterproofing membrane turned the walls and ceiling a vibrant green, adding a pop of unexpected colour to the space. Lys really enjoyed this part, much to Erny’s confusion.

With the waterproofing complete, we escaped for a bit of adventure. Originally, we had planned to hike the Overland Track in Tasmania, but wildfires forced us to pivot to the East Coast instead. The East Coast was stunning — pristine empty beaches, lush greenery, and wildlife everywhere. We spotted wombats waddling through the bush, saw Tasmanian devils on Maria Island (which we have been informed it to be pronounced as Mar-rai-a by the locals), and ate our weight in scallop pies and oysters. Lys even brought back a family pie from Jackson and McRoss all the way from Hobart. If that wasn’t enough escapism, from there, we hopped over to Phuket for the wedding of the decade. Jess and Maxime tied the knot in a celebration that brought our climbing crew together in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Is it starting to become clear why our April move in date is a little ambitious?

March: Solo Leveling and Staircase Prep

March was a quieter month, at least for Lys. She spent most of it in the US for work (not something on her bingo card for 2025), which left Erny to hold down the fort at home. Progress slid to a halt. In hindsight, it’s not very motivating when there’s one person on the job site when it is a two-person project.

One of the biggest projects Erny tackled was preparing for the staircase installation. It’s one of those steps (pun intended) that feels pivotal to making the house truly live-able. Erny also did some general prepping and tidying that set the stage for the months ahead.

April: Shower Pans and Tile Troubles

Easter is usually a big building break for us, but this year, life got in the way. Work schedules and other commitments made it impossible to take our usual build-a-thon, which was a little disheartening. As previously highlighted, we had hoped to finish the house by the end of April or early May, but that timeline started to feel less and less realistic. With Lys’ return, Erny tackled the shower pan using a flush diamond blade. It was nerve-wracking (power tools + precision = mega stress), but the result was surprisingly good.

Then came the tile saga. We had a stash of free tiles salvaged from a house renovation in Bondi, but identifying what they were made of turned into a full-blown investigation. Were they ceramic? Cement? Porcelain? After some Googling, taste-testing (yes, that’s apparently a thing if your tiles taste like soap they’re cement), and digging through the Wayback Machine, we confirmed they were in fact porcelain. We may have wasted a weekend over this, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. Crisis averted!

The next step was choosing a layout. We enlisted our friends for input, and the consensus landed on a picnic rug pattern. Not to toot our horns but it’s really cute!

May: Tiling Triumphs and Late-Night Projects

May has been all about the bathroom floor — and what a project it’s been! We started by buying a second-hand tile cutter off Facebook Marketplace. It’s hilariously oversized for our needs, being able to cut huge 95 cm tiles, but it got the job done on our tiny 20 cm tiles (f anyone wants to borrow a massive tile cutter, let us know!).

Then, laying out the tiles and cutting them to size took patience and precision. Tiling is physically demanding work, even in a small space like ours. While Lys buttered the back of every single tile, Erny’s perfectionism ensured every tile was flush and level. Watching the floor come together was deeply satisfying. Our backs and knees were crying days after.

One Friday night, we found ourselves working until midnight, meticulously silicone-ing all the edges in prep for the next day. Here, blue painter’s tape was our secret weapon for getting crisp, clean lines. With the tiles in place, we moved on to grouting. Neither of us had grouted before, but luckily Bunnings YouTube came in clutch with their three part series: How to mix grout, How to grout tiles and How to seal grout. Honestly, YouTube is the best place to mine for information and Bunnings YouTube is S tier. They step through every single part in simple language and make you feel DIY invincible.

It soon became clear that we could not do this job without a mythical grout float. Its hard foam base made pushing the grout into corners and gaps much easier than we anticipated. The end result? A fully finished bathroom floor that looks and feels like a professional installation. Lys’ dad even called it a “feature floor,” and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

One of the unsung heroes of May has been our new Makita battery-powered light. It’s made late-night projects so much easier (and quieter), allowing us to work well into the evening without running power cords. Thanks Erny for the find!

Looking Ahead

With half of May still ahead, our focus is on finishing the bathroom and tackling the kitchen ceiling. Completing the bathroom will be a huge achievement — one room will be finally complete!

Our original goal was to finish the tiny house by the end of April, with a move in May. While that timeline has shifted, slowly yet surely, we’re still making steady progress (we swear we aren’t bludging). Until next time — a few non-tiny photos for your perusal 😊

Catch ya later, Lys & Erny