Wisconsin Tiny Home: 30 Below Outside, 68 Inside
Updated: 1 day ago
After his divorce, Jake was looking for a place of his own that would also keep him close to work. And for Jake, work is more than just a job. His family's meat business was started by his great-grandfather in 1923 and is now going on 103 years. So instead of moving farther away, Jake put a 28-foot tiny home right on the business property, where his south-facing windows look out over 40 acres.
He's been living tiny for about seven months now, which means his Wisconsin tiny home has already been through a full winter. And when temperatures dropped to 30 below outside, it stayed a comfortable 68 degrees inside.
At a glance
Home: 28 feet long, on wheels, parked on a concrete slab
Builder: Picknell Tiny Homes, northern Wisconsin
Where: Wisconsin, on his family's 40.3 acre business property
Cost: about $70,000 for the home, about $10,000 for slab, landscaping, power and water
Heat: one heat pump mini split, which held 68 degrees at 30 below
Inside: nine woods, including black walnut floors and a cedar bedroom ceiling
Why He Parked It on the Family Business Property
Before the divorce there were two homes, one near work and a lake home about an hour north. The lake home is the one he kept. At 50 miles each way, it was not somewhere he could live and still run the business.
The land solved itself. The family already owned 40.3 acres under the business, bought years earlier, so he did not have to buy a lot or find a community with an opening. For most people that search is the hard part, and it is worth reading what to check before you buy raw land before going that route.
The home sits on wheels, which he describes as a deliberate choice rather than a technicality. In his situation that makes it temporary rather than a permanent structure, and he says he does not pay property tax on it. Whether that holds where you live is a county by county question, and our guide to whether tiny homes are legal is a good place to start before you plan around it.
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What a Wisconsin Tiny Home Has to Survive in January
This is the part most people ask about, and he has a real answer rather than a theory.
The house has one heat pump mini split, doing both heating and cooling. Last winter the temperature here got down to somewhere around 25 to 30 below, with wind chills he puts at 45 to 50 below.
"This thing did not miss a beat. Kept it 68 degrees in here. Just absolutely perfect."
The air conditioning side is still untested. He moved in for the cold half of the year, so this will be his first summer in it. His own view is that if the heat worked, the cooling will be fine.
The windows earn their place too. He has one positioned so that opening it along with another gives him airflow straight through the house.
Nine Woods in a 28 Foot Build
Jake wanted the inside of his tiny home to feel open, but he also wanted it to be interesting. His solution was to use different woods throughout the home. In fact, almost no two surfaces are the same.
The floors are black walnut, waterproof and scratch resistant, and something he was able to buy right off the shelf at Menards. Overhead, he used number two soft maple, choosing it specifically for the variation in color and all those knots. From there, you'll find cherry, red pine and white pine, alder, cedar, hickory and black ash throughout the house.
All together, Jake managed to work nine different woods into just 28 feet of home.
But the cedar ceiling above his bed might be his favorite.
"You wake up and you're looking up at all those beautiful knots in that cedar, almost like looking at stars in the sky."
The Kitchen a Butcher Built
A gas stove was non negotiable. It runs off two 30 pound propane cylinders out front by the hitch, and the hood above it vents straight out through the wall.
"I love it for cooking breakfast on weekends, or making something in the oven so that I have food for the week while I'm here at work."
The countertop is butcher block, sealed with a food grade finish, and it is not a styling decision. He is the fourth generation in a meat business, so he calls it sentimental. There is a second butcher block shelf above the stove holding the microwave, which keeps it off the counter.
There are no upper cupboards. Open shelving holds the dishes, with a stainless sink and storage underneath.
"When you live in a tiny, you buy less at a time and buy more often."
The fridge is short enough that he gets down on his hands and knees for the bottom shelf, which he reports cheerfully rather than as a complaint. The space above it holds books.
Off the kitchen there is a pantry with shelves, and a closet with hanging space for whatever season he is in.
The Window He Spends Most of His Day At
The spot he names as his favorite is not a room. It is the seat by the south window, where he eats and works on his computer.
Early mornings there are deer. Lately it has been roosters and hens moving around outside.
A few things sit nearby that are not about the house. He flies airplanes, so there is a piece from Big Ben and Parliament. There is a keepsake from his friend Larry, who died. There are roses from a bouquet for his dad, who died this past New Year's.
"I get to look at those every day."
A Bathroom Bigger Than Most
He made this room larger than a tiny home usually gets, on purpose, and it is the decision he seems most settled about.
There is a full size shower in the corner, fed by an on demand water heater mounted just above it, which also serves the sink. The medicine cabinet has a lit face that can be warmed to clear the steam after a shower. There is a small vanity, an exhaust fan, and a window.
The toilet flushes, because the home is connected to a septic system rather than running a composting setup.
The only interior door in the whole house is the pocket door into this room. Everything else is open. The shelving in here is open too, to match the rest.
"I guess I wouldn't have done it any different. This is actually the perfect size for me."
The Bedroom and the Loft
The bed is a queen on a raised pedestal. He had a king and gave it up, because a king left no room to walk around both sides. Under the pedestal is storage for the clothes he wears daily and the suitcases he travels with. Above the bed there is more shelving with a clothes rod for off season things.
There is still a loft, reached by a ladder that stores on a set of pipes when it is not in use, but he does not sleep in it. It holds the larger suitcases and anything seasonal. "Somebody could actually stay up there if you really needed to."
Small things live in baskets on the open shelves, which he says is the whole point of open shelving. You can see the room and still hide the clutter.
What It Cost to Build
He puts the tiny home itself at around $70,000, and another $10,000 or so into the concrete slab, landscaping, and running power and water out to it. For how that compares with other builds, see our tiny home cost guide.
What is not in that number is land, because the property was already the family's.
He found the builder by asking around locally first, then meeting a builder in northern Wisconsin about 15 minutes from his lake home. That proximity turned out to matter more than he expected.
"I could poke my nose in every week or every couple weeks and look at the progress, look at the plumbing, look at the electrical."
The trailer ended up 28 feet long, and the two of them changed the wood choices as the build went.
Who This Setup Actually Suits
Jake is clear eyed that this works because of who is living in it.
"It's a nice option for a single guy. I would probably struggle with having a large family in a tiny home, but for someone who's living by themselves, this is an amazing, easy option."
Outside there is a table and room for a fire on the slab, and a spot already wired for a grill he has not set up yet. He plans to skirt the base when he gets to it.
On the side of the house hangs a sign that reads The Tiny Home, established 2025.
FAQ
Can you put a tiny home on commercial or business property?
Jake parked his on 40.3 acres his family already owned for their business, which meant no land purchase and no waiting for a spot in a community. Whether that is allowed where you are depends on local zoning and how your property is classified, so check with your county before counting on it.
How does a tiny home hold up in a Wisconsin winter?
Jake's got down to roughly 25 to 30 below last winter, with wind chills he puts at 45 to 50 below. One heat pump mini split held the inside at 68 degrees throughout.
Is one mini split enough to heat a tiny home?
In a 28 foot home in northern Wisconsin, it was. Jake runs a single heat pump mini split for both heating and cooling, and it carried the house through a subzero winter without a backup heat source.
How much does a 28 foot tiny home cost?
Jake puts his at about $70,000 for the home itself, plus roughly $10,000 for the concrete slab, landscaping, and running power and water to it. Land was not a cost for him because the property was already in the family.
Do you pay property taxes on a tiny home on wheels?
Jake says he does not, because his sits on wheels and counts as temporary rather than a permanent structure. This varies a great deal by state and county, so treat his answer as his situation rather than a general rule and ask your own assessor.
Builder, Picknell Tiny Homes:
Website: tinyhomelife.org
Jake's family business, Sailer's Food and Meat:
Website: sailersmeats.com
Facebook: Sailer's Food and Meat
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