Where to Start

[love2teach7]

Hi everyone,

I'm having trouble getting started as I have really never built anything in my life but I'm tired of the student debt I have accumulated and I don't want to live with my parents forever. So, I was hoping I could tell you what my initial wishlist is and then maybe someone could point me in the right direction... I've looked at various plans but I am apprehensive to purchase plans that I will have to change so much it might not even be worth it to have the plans in the first place so here it goes:

Wishlist:
-Under 900 sq feet including loft and deck (front and south side), I was thinking a 25' x 25'? or close to.
-A loft that has a height of 6' in the center and enough clearance on the sides for a three drawer high dresser and the loft would need to be wide enough to fit a queen size bed and the dresser.
-I would just need a ladder to access the loft, no need for stairs.
-I want the loft to be above the kitchen and bathroom, leaving the living room with a vaulted ceiling.
-Open concept kitchen and living area, with the bathroom the only closed off room.
-Passive solar heating (no windows on north side of cabin)
-Need room for all the basics of a kitchen (counters, storage, fridge, stove/oven), a window seat bench, a decent size kitchen table, stand up shower and composting toilet as well as a wood stove.
-Possible room for an addition of a sun room/kids room in the future.

I hope someone will be able to help me out here, I've tinkered around with some plans but I don't think I can envision the amount of space well enough to be able to start floor plans. Thanks for your help.

I was also wondering what other builders ballpark costs were for just the exterior of their homes (just the framing and getting it closed off) as these are the materials that I will need to purchase new and will be the initial cost of the building and I can go from there a bit slower to finish it as I have the money.

Dawn

[Don_P]

Just off the top, 24 wide or slightly (inches) smaller would be better on materials, sheet goods like plywood come in 4' widths. Sleeping room above= code stairs. Headroom 7' for >50% of the area... build for possible resale otherwise the materials and effort are wasted. Same ethics as when you kill an animal, respect it and eat all you can, don't waste it. Trees, materials and energy are the same.

Back over with more tools to try to get a repurposed shed/chicken coop off my trailer. Darn thing is et up with gravity 

[SouthernTier]

My original design got stuck in the >50% loft area having to be more than 7' trap.  I went back to the drawing board (drawing mouse?) and had to go with a 10.5/12 pitch roof (up from 10/12), which gave me something like 9' head room in the middle.  My design is 22' wide, but it would be similar for a 24' wide.

Here's the portion of my design topic that dealt with this modification:

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12801.msg167800#msg167800

You might want to check it out for some ideas.  It is 22 x 28, about the same area as a 25 x 25.  Only difference from your specs is that it has an enclosed bedroom in the back.

Don is right as usual, too.  The 22' vs. 24' wide width made me have to do my floor sheathing plan over 3 times before I got it right since 22 isn't a multiple of 4.

[love2teach7]

Okay so I changed the dimensions to 24' x 24' and the loft is 24' x 14'. Here are some photos of my plan:

[love2teach7]

Just off the top, 24 wide or slightly (inches) smaller would be better on materials, sheet goods like plywood come in 4' widths. Sleeping room above= code stairs. Headroom 7' for >50% of the area... build for possible resale otherwise the materials and effort are wasted. Same ethics as when you kill an animal, respect it and eat all you can, don't waste it. Trees, materials and energy are the same.

Back over with more tools to try to get a repurposed shed/chicken coop off my trailer. Darn thing is et up with gravity 

Don, I changed my dimensions to 24' or multiples of 4' so thank you for that. I really don't want to put in stairs and I really don't want to build my house so that it will be resellable... worse comes to worse if I have to build a larger home for future family growth then this home would be used as a guest house or something to the like.. I won't be selling any of these homes especially because I am building it on land that I want to keep for generations to come... I understand your concern for code... but also I am in Manitoba, Canada so maybe building code is different? I'm not really sure. But thank you for all your advice

[love2teach7]

My original design got stuck in the >50% loft area having to be more than 7' trap.  I went back to the drawing board (drawing mouse?) and had to go with a 10.5/12 pitch roof (up from 10/12), which gave me something like 9' head room in the middle.  My design is 22' wide, but it would be similar for a 24' wide.

Here's the portion of my design topic that dealt with this modification:

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12801.msg167800#msg167800

You might want to check it out for some ideas.  It is 22 x 28, about the same area as a 25 x 25.  Only difference from your specs is that it has an enclosed bedroom in the back.

Don is right as usual, too.  The 22' vs. 24' wide width made me have to do my floor sheathing plan over 3 times before I got it right since 22 isn't a multiple of 4.

Thanks for all your advice, I'll be checking out your other posts and I will make note of how you changed your loft. Thanks a bunch.

[Don_P]

Very rarely have my clients built with the intention of reselling, but some have had to when circumstances change. Build a structure that has that potential. Tying future generations into our desires doesn't really work, there is a house above me that the daughter will sell to the first bidder when the time comes, the daughter is a city girl and that is her option. The cabin is a liability to the sale and actually will devalue the property. I can about guarantee it will be removed and sent to the landfill.

Stairs, how are you getting up there every trip? With a laundry basket? I've twisted ankles, broken bones had multiple limbs in casts at the same time as have many, etc, think about it then... with that laundry basket. I've generally been able to get my body up and down the stairs, a steep set or ladder, forget it. Stairs are the second leading cause of injuries in the home, something less just ups the odds. We call houses that can only work for young healthy people "peter pan homes" in the trades "I will never grow old". Think this through for long term rather than immediate needs. I'm still testing the springs but haven't found that darned fountain yet.

Canadian codes are not much different than the US and on life safety are pretty much in lockstep.

Cold winters, if you are on a full perimeter foundation the earth temp is under you, if not the air temp is under you. Up north this can be approaching a 100 degree difference underfoot.

Passive solar requires active people, southern glass does admit sunlight on the short low angle (weak solar) days of winter. If something is not blocking radiant emission back through the glass to the black sky and losses through the glass through conduction on the long night it can be an overall loss. Take care of infiltration first, insulation next, and insolation last.