SoCal Wildfire Burned Her Home Down. Here's How She's Rebuilding.

Marialyce's Social Media Links:   / marialyce.pedersen     / marimalyce   Cahill Works Tiny Homes: https://bit.ly/cahillworks Check out our other social media platforms! https://linktr.ee/tinyhometours Check out our Podcast: Podcast : https://bit.ly/tinyhometourspodcast= Join our newsletter for all things living tiny! https://bit.ly/THT-Newsletter Take our quiz to find what tiny is right for you - https://bit.ly/tinyhomequiz Interested In Being Featured On The Channel? : https://bit.ly/THTTourApplication VIDEO DESCRIPTION: Marialyce lost her home when the Eaton Fire destroyed 9,000 homes and businesses across Altadena, California in January 2025. Instead of paying rent on top of a mortgage on a house that no longer exists, she used her insurance company's temporary housing payout to buy a 243 square foot Cahill Works tiny home for $85,000 and moved it onto her own lot. She swapped her lifelong gas stove for induction, and she is in no hurry to leave. Homeowner's insurance pays out in three buckets: rebuilding, replacing possessions, and alternative living expenses for temporary housing. Marialyce received roughly $110,000 in that third bucket. Knowing how fast that money would disappear into a landlord's equity at Los Angeles rent prices, she decided she'd rather own something she could have forever than pay rent that's gone forever. She put most of it toward the tiny home instead. She's back on her own property now, and once her new house is built, this home becomes her guest house. In the kitchen, Marialyce has a farmhouse sink with a flexible nozzle faucet, a nearly full size refrigerator and freezer, and a two burner induction stove she was sure she'd hate. She grew up on gas and swore she'd never switch. Now she's converted: it heats water faster, cooks more evenly, shuts itself off if she walks away, and can be set with a timer for rice or anything else that needs watching. A countertop Breville oven she bought separately handles pizza and baking. Her son helped her switch which way the refrigerator door swings so it opens toward the counter. The living room shelving was built to hold what survived: her phonograph, a Bluetooth speaker, and a porcelain heart she found while sifting through the rubble of her old house, with her grandmother's ring tucked inside after her son found it scattered when a table broke. She leaves one shelf open so the cats have a sunny spot to sit. Outlets run along every wall. Her bedroom sits at one end behind a pocket door, with a queen bed, closet, and under bed storage she's filled mostly with donated clothes and shoes. At the other end, the bathroom has a push button flush toilet connected to a real sewer line, a propane on demand water heater, and a rain shower head. Marialyce chose a washer and dryer over a bathtub. Storage above the machines holds linens, most of them donated after the fire. Outside, her outdoor kitchen, cob oven, and swimming pool survived the fire and now function as extra rooms. A donated table seats guests for dinners, parties, and a pool gathering last summer. The path to her front door is made from bricks salvaged from her old chimney, which she had the Army Corps of Engineers set aside for her before the property was cleared. Marialyce worked a recycling job from her couch for months, taking calls with the cats curled up nearby and a hotspot for internet. She is 62, submitting permits for a straw bale rebuild, and she is honestly not in a hurry to finish it. Her neighborhood is loud with construction during the day and nearly silent by evening. She says she'll probably miss having the whole place to herself once everyone moves back in. THE DETAILS Home: Cahill Works, Scandinavian model (builder's largest) All-in cost: $85,000, delivered Dimensions: approximately 243 sq ft (about 30 ft x 10 ft) Lot: Owned Location: Altadena, California HER ADVICE "Knowing how expensive rent was, and how quickly the amount I got from my insurance was going to go if I was paying rent to a landlord, I said no, I'm going to use almost all of that and just buy this tiny house. I decided I'd rather own something I could have forever versus pay rent SHOT BY:   / abe.and.mel   EDITED BY:   / filmbro_   TINY HOME TOURS LINKS: Business Inquiries - [email protected] Subscribe -    / tinyhometours   Facebook -   / tinyhome.tours   Instagram -   / tinyhometours   Newsletter : https://bit.ly/THT-Newsletter Podcast : https://bit.ly/tinyhometourspodcast Apply for a tour : https://bit.ly/THTTourApplication