Ari Leach and her partner Steph Knaus-Tucker are having a custom-made tiny house constructed, but it won’t just be any run-of-the-mill, custom-made tiny house. This one will be an energy-efficient off-grid tiny house.

The couple came to the decision to buy a tiny house mainly to save money. “We got thinking about how much we were paying in rent, and what our next step would be,” Leach said.

A biotoxin specialist at the Maine Department of Marine Resources in Boothbay Harbor, Leach has been living in a studio apartment over a garage with Knaus-tucke and their dog Charlie. The apartment, about 600 square feet, is huge compared to what they will be moving into – 240 square feet.

They considered moving into another apartment, but didn’t want to spend any more on something they didn’t own. They looked into buying a regular size house, but didn’t want to be tied to a big mortgage.

Then the idea of a tiny house was explored. They found Tiny Homes of Maine online.  “We started talking to them about what our lifestyle is, and what we wanted, and needed,” Leach said.

The couple is buying the home from Tiny Homes of Maine. The plan is for an off-grid tiny home that will be built with solar panels, a composting toilet, a gas cook-top stove and a little wood stove.

‘‘One of the reasons we decided to go tiny was to downsize our belongings and free ourselves from the burden of ‘stuff,’” Leach said.

The couple is working closely with Tiny Homes owner Corinne Watson on a pilot program to use a product called an Aqua 2 Use, a greywater management system. “It’s basically a filtration system that catches your greywater and renders it safe enough that you can use it to water gardens and plants, or lawns,” Leach said.

The home will be the first of its kind, and Leach said Watson is almost as excited as they are.

A Tesla-style lithium battery will be installed to provide electricity. All appliances will be high-efficiency, low water use, and a water usage meter will show how many gallons of water they’re using daily.

“We’re working with Corinne to make our tiny home as efficient as it can be, especially with water usage,” Leach said.

The house will be eight feet wide and 30 feet long, with two lofts on the second level, and will sleep six people comfortably, according to Leach. The home will have French doors that open outward so no space is lost inside, Anderson windows, a metal, saltbox-style roof, a shower and bathtub, a sliding, pocket door into the bathroom, and a livingroom that will feature an ell-shaped couch that opens up to a queen-sized bed.

The main sleeping loft will have a skylight and another queen-sized bed. There will be a small under-counter washing machine.

All the comforts of, well, home, and it will take about 15 minutes to clean, though Leach said it will probably be cleaned as they go. “Otherwise we’d be sitting on top of stuff.”

The home will be in Monmouth until the couple decides where to place it. Leach said they’ve spoken with the code enforcement officer there, and have learned it’s a new concept to him. “They have never had anybody ask about a tiny home, but they are very interested in what we're doing, and are willing to work with us.”

Generally towns need to become more comfortable with the coding, Leach said. “It’s not necessarily that they’re against it, but it’s something new and they’re not sure how to approach it.”

Leach said it is considered a type of camper, and they can get a 180-day permit to have it in a certain location. The permit can be renewed if the owner is in the process of buying land.

They’re looking at the Midcoast area and specifically Edgecomb. “We don’t want a ton of land, but we’ll need a water supply. If it’s one acre and it’s perfect for us, great. If it’s four acres, and perfect, great. Is the price right? We’ll look.”

Once they find the land, they plan to have a well drilled. It will have a solar-powered well pump. They also plan to build an outdoor pizza oven.

The total cost for the custom-built, well-equipped, energy-efficient, off-grid tiny house is $84,000. Leach hopes to have it paid off in seven years. “It’s the way to go,” she said. The houses start at $45,000.

Leach is 33 and Knaus-Tucker is 25. They plan to have a child someday, and Leach is confident there will be plenty of room for them, their child, and Charlie. “Not a lot of people our age are doing it the right way. They’re putting themselves in debt. Yes, we’ll have a mortgage, but when I’m 40 my house will be paid for. Not a lot of people can say that.”

It takes about three months to build a tiny house. Theirs will be done around the end of August and be delivered on the custom-built trailer that will act as the foundation. It will have wheels, and when Leach and Knaus-Tucker decide the permanent spot, jacks in each corner will be lowered to keep it in place.

Leach said most owners of tiny homes are women between the ages of 35 and 65.  “The whole idea is that you’re freeing yourself from the burden of having to upkeep a lot of space in a house, and you have more time to go out and explore the world.”

Leach has almost finished her master's degree in sustainable natural resource management and Tucker has just started hers, in public and global health.