Getting started 12x24

[Headed out]

I am getting started after great inspiration from this site. I am building in the great northwest.....of Florida. Here is my plan for your viewing pleasure, any feedback would be appreciated. It will be on 6x6 skids 10ft on center. The skids will rest on concrete pads, and mobile home anchors will be used.

[Headed out]

A special thanks to eaglessj for his thread this is the one that got me started. Here is my view, skids will let me elevate further if there is flooding.

[dharma53]

Headed out,  I was raised in Crestview and have lived in Pensacola for many years.  Can you tell me where you are building?

[Headed out]

Under the radar, but not far from you.

[flyingvan]

Hi!


   Here's a few comments I have....

----The bathroom and kitchen are about as close together as can be.  Many designs share a wall for ease of plumbing, but having the bathroom door right next to the stove...is...gross.  As is,
----No bathroom sink.  After using the bathroom, contaminated hands will use that doorknob that swings past the cook surface as the recently relieved head for the kitchen sink to wash.
----That door from outside into the dining area swings out instead of in, for space efficiency I assume.  Makes a screen door difficult, and you're going to want good cross ventilation.
----Your plan to build on skids resting on concrete so it can be lifted....Well, you're going to have to design the entire structure to hold up to that lifting.  Electrical, plumbing, and gas will be a challenge to extend..  Why not build a perimeter foundation higher than historic flood levels?  But if you're set on doing it that way, if you make your entire footprint a rectangle (instead of the bathroom being downsized) the structure will be stronger and you might be able to move the bathroom door and include a sink.  If you insist on the kitchen sink doubling as the lavatory,  you might switch the sink and stove locations.
----There is very little storage space in the living area and kitchen and none in the bathroom.  Of the little storage you have in the kitchen, much of it will be difficult access---that inside corner is stuck between the stove and the sink plumbing. 
----Traffic flow is awkward.  You can't get anywhere without walking around something.  Not a huge deal until you have to escape in a fire---I've seen people dead in tiny structures whose escape was stymied by a coffee table.
----No 'mudroom' area.  When you come in out of the rain, where do you take off your wet stuff to set down?
----Where is the water heater? AC?  Heat? (Maybe you don't need heat.  Florida is the only state I've never been to)

[Headed out]

Flyingvan,

Thanks for your comments, they are just what I hoped to get. I agree about switching the stove and sink being switched.  We will likely only have only a hot plate and no actual stove. Bath storage will be above the toilet for towels ect and a six foot width bath is possible still that would add a sink. The main building will be roofed 12/12 to provide loft storage I plan a shed roof over the bath. In our last camper you could shower and use the toilet at the same time, 4x8 is huge to us. The cabin will be for weekend use, not full time living. Through years of camping we have learned what precious little you need or want to have at a camp. We find that a couple pots and a skillet are all we need for cooking along with the sacred crock pot. No gas inside and only tankless lp water heater outside. (Was in a mobile home when the gas furnace blew, and that cured me of wanting gas.) Skids let me stay low for handicapped family and portable for the tax man. Family has owned it for 100 years and flooding has not been an issue on this site, but I can use a hydraulic jack if needed and raise the building on cribbing. My picnic table is 2x10 and 4x4, I tend to overbuild but realize that some damage would be inevitable if I am forced to lift it. Thanks for catching the back door I will flip it on the plan. I plan 12' decks front and rear with roofs when money allows they will serve as the mud room. AC will be ductless mini split. I am wearing shorts today and heat is rarely needed, when it is ill use an electric space heater. Again thanks much you have given me a lot to think about.

[Frank W]

Headed out, we are loving in a12x24 cabin but it has. 2 small sleeping lofts. This is just temprary while we build our house. We have a tankless water heater and cook on a hot eye and small oven. Its small but not too bad.

[Headed out]

We will do the same when we retire but until then this will be a great escape for us and a chance to work on my building skills. Then this will be a guest house.