Pacific West Associates is an accredited third-party agency that has been recognized in the industry for over 30 years. PWA is composed of licensed electrical, mechanical, structural and forensic engineers. PWA's evaluation and certification staff meet the requirements of the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) E699-16, which is for agencies involved in testing, quality assurance, and evaluating of manufactured building components.
PWA offers the most thorough and comprehensive process of certifying your DIY Tiny Home. Whether you are 100% DIY or a hybrid DIY with a shell PWA offers you the certification of the ANSI A 119.5 code.
Experience Tiny Homes is an affiliate of PWA.
The goal of getting your Tiny Home certified through PWA is to ensure your home carries the PWA compliance tag, confirming that your home is built to either the RV code (NFPA 1192) or Recreational Park Trailer code (ANSI A119.5) and their respective NEC sections. We strongly recommend building to Recreational Park Trailer code (ANSI A119.5)
BENEFITS of CERTIFICATION: The benefits of certifying your Tiny Home include:
TAG: See the image above for the PWA tag example you will receive to install on your Tiny Home when you have completed all sections of the build.
Certification includes:
PWA does not charge any recurring membership or yearly fees and we are not an industry association.
PWA doesn’t limit the time required to go through the certification process, however, tags will only be provided once all documentation and sections are approved by PWA. If you are financing your Tiny Home there may be limits to how long you can DIY build per the financing institution.
PWA DIY Certification through Experience Tiny Homes $1,800 (till December 10, 2020)
(Note the regular fee is $2,000 directly through PWA)
For builder fees, please schedule a call.
PROCESS: Obtaining your Pacific West Associates compliance tag is as follows:
PWA offers the most thorough and comprehensive process of certifying your DIY Tiny Home. Whether you are 100% DIY or a hybrid DIY with a shell PWA offers you the certification of the ANSI A 119.5 code.
Experience Tiny Homes is an affiliate of PWA.
The goal of getting your Tiny Home certified through PWA is to ensure your home carries the PWA compliance tag, confirming that your home is built to either the RV code (NFPA 1192) or Recreational Park Trailer code (ANSI A119.5) and their respective NEC sections. We strongly recommend building to Recreational Park Trailer code (ANSI A119.5)
BENEFITS of CERTIFICATION: The benefits of certifying your Tiny Home include:
- Safety- Most of all you want to affirm to yourself and anyone that lives or visits your home that your home is built safely
- Resale- With the growth of the Tiny Home industry comes awareness and education. More and more buyers of used Tiny Homes will require the home they are buying is certified. A certification can assure the new owner of how the home was built.
- Parking in RV parks- Many RV parks require that the RVs parking in their park meet ANSI 119.5 and NFPA 1192. (Note: there is some confusion that the RVIA sticker is the gold standard for certification. RVIA simply stands for Recreational Vehicle Industry Association and they also certify to the same ANSI 119.5 and NFPA 1192 codes. If there is ever an issue with an RV park not aware of the PWTH certification call PWA and they will get on the phone and explain it to the park).
- Permitting in jurisdictions- In areas where Tiny Homes are allowed as permanent, habitable dwellings, it is a requirement that in order to get a permit to locate the Tiny Home, the home has to be certified. Additionally, it is wise that the certification organization is listed on the respective state 3rd party verification list. (Note PWTH is listed on all states that have a 3rd party verification list. (ie. for the state of CA https://www.hcd.ca.gov/codes-forms/DAA_ThirdPartyAgencies.pdf)
TAG: See the image above for the PWA tag example you will receive to install on your Tiny Home when you have completed all sections of the build.
Certification includes:
- All process and materials needed (checklist, codebooks, access to BuilderTrend app)
- Unlimited phone/email support throughout the build
- Certification documentation
- Certification Labels for your Tiny Home (Water in, sewer out, electrical, exits, etc.)
- Compliance Tag
- 2 hours of consulting with Experience Tiny Homes. This time can be used to discuss a range of topics related to Tiny Home living including but by no means limited to: Layout and design, appliances, ideal places to buy trailers, connections to licensed electricians and plumbers for the testing, materials for your home, where to go for Tiny Home insurance, places to park your Tiny Home, how to register with the DMV, and much more.
PWA does not charge any recurring membership or yearly fees and we are not an industry association.
PWA doesn’t limit the time required to go through the certification process, however, tags will only be provided once all documentation and sections are approved by PWA. If you are financing your Tiny Home there may be limits to how long you can DIY build per the financing institution.
PWA DIY Certification through Experience Tiny Homes $1,800 (till December 10, 2020)
(Note the regular fee is $2,000 directly through PWA)
For builder fees, please schedule a call.
PROCESS: Obtaining your Pacific West Associates compliance tag is as follows:
- Once full payment is received an email will go out asking to schedule an on-boarding call between yourself, Alex Ontiveros with Pacific West, and Lindsay Wood with Experience Tiny Homes.
- In the email you will be asked to answer information about your build and will be given information on how to download the Builder Trend app (which is free for both iOS and Android phones)
- The Builder Trend app will be where you upload images and get communications to and from Alex with Pacific West. This is where the checklist related to your Tiny Home build will be provided. If you have any questions about the items included in the checklist, you will have unlimited phone and email consultations available.
- As you build your Tiny Home you will be guided to upload pictures, videos and proof of testing documenting the process through four specific “Gates” or checkpoints of your home.
- PWA provides a virtual evaluation of the pictures and video per the appropriate section and provides feedback about any issues PWA discovers that may affect compliance.
- You will be asked to correct any issue that PWA finds with the specific section and be given guidance on how to solve the situation.
- Once all sections are appropriately completed, PWA issues the required tag and documentation certifying compliance to the standard.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES: PWA is a full discipline engineering firm and design approval agency. Depending on your state and where you are locating your Tiny Home, if you should need additional engineering plans, PWA can provide that service for an additional fee.
The PWA DIY Certification Program is built to fit an Individual Build. Our goal is to provide you with an efficient program that is easy to follow and understand, taking you step-by-step through your build. If at any time you do not understand an item on the checklist or anything else related to the certification process, PWA is happy to guide you.
The PWA DIY Certification Program is built to fit an Individual Build. Our goal is to provide you with an efficient program that is easy to follow and understand, taking you step-by-step through your build. If at any time you do not understand an item on the checklist or anything else related to the certification process, PWA is happy to guide you.
