16x24 in Alabama - Please critique my current plans

[kng]

I have been lurking on this site for several years.  At least since I bought my 40 acres in the "mountains" (1,750 foot elevation, 3 miles off the grid) in January 2007.  There are certainly many inspiring cabins on this site.  The goal is to end up with a hunting cabin that the family can also enjoy.  

It will be an Appalachian style since it is in the Appalachian Mountains.  Please give me your thoughts on my current plans.







Thanks!
-Kyle

[suburbancowboy]

I know that in some states you have to go 20 foot wide to get a building permit.  You might also consider a 12/12 roof.  It will give you more head room in your loft.

[trish2]

Nice start; the relation of the front door to the rear door of the enclosed porch is very nice.  You can walk from one to the other without bisecting the main living area.

  Here's some observations that would apply to my family; feel free to disregard any that don't work for you.

Storage:  I'm assuming you'll have some storage under the eves on the second floor.  But the first floor also needs some storage.
1.   Every silly millimeter of space counts.  Consider doing a 'banjo' bathroom sink top that extends over the toilet. Raise the height of the sink top a couple of inches to give you more undercounter space.  Don't forget the 'kick spaces' can have short roll out shelves.  This also applies to the kitchen cabinets.  I put kick space roll-outs in a very small kitchen to increase the amount of storage.

1a.  I didn't notice any closets inside your floorplan.  You need some interior storage.  Consider 'setting in' some tall cabinets in the studding wall between kitch/bath. Another possible place would be the exterior wall to covered porch, between the back door and dining area window.  Cabinets 10 to 12 inches deep, set into the wall, will take up very littler interior floor space.  If you can work in a 2 foot deep closet somewhere else, all the better.

Adding-on
2.   Think of expansion.  While this floorplan may work for your family today and the next few years, what about 10-15 years? Future generations?  Future spouses of your children; grandkids?  Consider framing out long headers for doors in the exterior wall of the kitch and bath.  At some time in the future you—or a new owner—can extend the house if need be. It's easier to frame in headers now than to have to redo them later.  Any chance this house will be a permanent retirement home someday? If so, would you need a first floor bedroom?

Looking at the furniture placement, where would the TV go?  Even if you don't get good reception wherever you are building, you may want to watch DVDs or play video games.

As I said, these would be concerns for my family; if they have no relevance to yours feel free to ignore the input.  This is free advice and worth about what you are paying for it.

Best regards and keep us posted on your progress.
Trish

[jdejarn]

Your basic foundation in good, very similar to mine. Just built a similar 16X20 (and yes,  I need to post pics!). When I submitted the plans, one of the notes I received from the county was to double the rim joists under the walls.  Because of very heavy snow loads, I went with a 12/12 pitch roof (also for headroom) and moved the piers on the sides below the roof-bearing walls to the outside edge to directly carry load.  I don't know what you expect for snow, but snow storms in my area can dump 4'+ and sustain 2-3' all winter.

I also agree with the need for storage. Closets or later built-ins for blankets, quilts, pillows, jackets... and a lot more that you find "need" for require some storage.  It's surprising how much space you can find in a very small area, when you look at it right!

Have fun and enjoy the build, good and bad!

[Pine Cone]

Looks pretty good, but here are a few suggestions...

Use a pocket door for your bathroom, , consider moving the sink across from the toilet and then move the wall in a bit ((3 feet?) to the right.  Add a closet in back of the door, move the base of the ladder to the loft out a foot or two.

I lived in an A-frame with a loft for a few years, and having a ladder that slope a tiny bit helps you get up and down quite a bit.

Like others said, you could use more storage space inside.  I don't think anyone ever had too much storage space.

Depending on how cold it gets in the winter, you might want to move plumbing away from the outside walls.  Your bathtub and bathroom sink could share water pipes with the kitchen sink if you moved them both to a common inside wall.

Are you going to have a gun rack or safe?  Where will you hang all the deer you get once this is a hunting cabin.  Is there a place to age the meat after you skin it?

You have a great project here, good luck!

[kng]

Thanks to all the responses!  I got some good ideas that I didn't think about.

suburbancowboy,

A building permit will not be required.  I did think about a 12/12 roof, but I will be more confortable with the 10/12, and I think aesthetically 10/12 looks better.  Also, since the loft is only a partial, it will mostly be for the kids.  However, at the peek the ceiling heigth will be ~6.75 feet.

trish2,

1.  I am trying to keep a very open floor plan.  Other cabins that I have stayed at get quite a few visitors from mice, squirrels, and insects.  I'm trying to keep hidey holes to a minimum.  Having said that, I did add a shelf in the bathroom and in the living area.  I will also have the kitchen cabinets, but I agree, I don't have a closet for clothes, but don't think I'd use one.

2.  I did consider building a 12x16 to the right first, but the reality is that a 40 long cabin really would be over kill.  A 16x24 should be plenty.  However, I still have the back door is a need to add another sleeping bunk.

Yes, I will need a TV to watch college football!  The TV is in a perfect viewing location from both futons, the table, and the loft!

jdejarn,

I would love to see pics of your cabin, especially the foundation/floor joists.  To me, it's the hardest part.  I was hoping to get more coments on my foundation/floor joist plan.  Note that Alabama's snow load is 0 psf-10 psf.  Not sure what that means, but we rarely get snow.  I would like to hear some discussions about my cantilevers.

Pine Cone,

The reason that the bathroom is 8 foot wide is because it matches the loft. 

I do need to increase the angle of the steps to the loft and add a gun rack above the futon on the left.

All,

Here are the changes based on comments.  I also added another back window for an AC window unit (ran off of a generator), turned the wood stove 45 degrees, and a few others.





thanks!
-Kyle

[Tom]

Nice layout. I see that you have your woodstove in the corner. Are you running it out of the wall or through the roof? Either way, (if I'm correct here) you'll want to keep the top of the stack about a foot above the ridge of your roof.
Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but wouldn't that make for a long pipe to support?
There are others here far more in the know than I am, but if you're in snow country, snow sliding off of the roof can take out a chimney. If you think that this may be a concern, you may want to put the stove in a more central location in your cabin.
I'm not a builder by any means. Maybe someone else will tell me if I'm off my rocker here 
Can't wait to see your progress

[johnky]

suggestions:

frame a separate dedicated hole in the wall for the A/C unit.  This frees up the window to be a real window.  It also let's you move the A/C close to a corner and up high where you can then direct the air flow to move in a circular flow around the room.

Substitute a 36x36 shower for the tub and use the extra space for storage.

[kng]

Thanks for all the layout suggestions!   

Does anyone have any comments on my pier location or joist sizes?

thanks,
-Kyle

[kng]

So my floor system looks good? 

Thanks,
-Kyle

[kng]

Maybe I should have put the flooring question in the General forum?   

[kng]

Is an 8" Sono Tube sufficient?  I will be cutting a few more trees this weekend and plan to start on the piers.  Hope to have pics of the site up soon.

thanks,
-Kyle

[MountainDon]

Maybe I should have put the flooring question in the General forum?  

Sorry, I have somehow missed this topic  

The pier spacing looks okay with the triple 2x10 beams. Joists look okay as well.


The sonotubes okay too depending on the ability of your local soil to carry the loads. 

[kng]

Thanks Mountain Don!  I now feel much better.

A soil map for my building location shows "Hfo", meaning "Hartsells fine sandy loam, rolling phase".  Not sure if that means anything to anyone.

thanks,
-Kyle

[MountainDon]

You might want to investigate a split-mini heat pump for AC. They do cost more than a window unit but are also much more efficient. They don't require a window sized hole, just holes for pipes/wires.

example   http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/universal.htm


We saw see all over the place in Europe.




We like open spaces too, indoors and outdoors. 

[Texas Tornado]

You might want to investigate a split-mini heat pump for AC. They do cost more than a window unit but are also much more efficient. They don't require a window sized hole, just holes for pipes/wires.

example   http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/universal.htm


We saw see all over the place in Europe.




We like open spaces too, indoors and outdoors. 

Wow I like this!!! Any idea of the cost?

[MountainDon]

IIRC I've seen 1 ton (12,000 BTU) units for around $1100.     maybe more..... do a search for split mini a/c        

some are cool only, others heat and cool.... I forget what I was looking at.   

[phalynx]

There are a couple of online places that sell complete systems with plug and play connections.  Go with a brand name and get a heat pump. 

[kng]

Went up on Labor Day and laid down four more pretty good sized trees.  This should be the last of the clearing I have to do for the cabin site.  The trees would have been a little too close to the cabin.  Here's a pic from yesterday when I went to cut up the downed trees. 

It's not a lot to see, but you can tell on the left that the site does sit on a little knob, so shouldn't have water drainage issues.  I have slowly been clearing this spot since I bought the property 4 years ago.  When I got it this was completely wooded, so I'm happy with how open I've gotten it.  I also had to blaze an 1/8 miles trail to get to this spot, which is on the SW corner of my property.

[GambierCabin]

To provide more feedback on your foundations, you need to provide a detail of the footings (side view).

Also, are the main beams supported directly on top of the sonotube piers? or do you have a PT post on top of the pier and then the beams on top of the post? (this will also allow you to use non PT wood for the beams).

If it's your first time building, I'd recomend that you go for the second option; it's easier to cut a wood post to the correct length than it is to set the concrete piers perfectly and if you got it wrong, concrete does not give you a second chance.

I'm currently building a very similar layout cabin (mine is 12x20) and I went for 8" sonotubes. Looking back I wish I'd have gone for 10" as they provide much better bearing.

I dont like the way the porch floor is framed, I'd move the front (and back beams) 6 inches out, and frame the deck joists in the direction (perpendicular to the beams).

It's not clear to me the roof design (which is tied to the foundation design), can you provide a side elevations?

As for the plans, Here is what I'd do:

1. Move the wood stove to the front corner, and move the futon to the back wall. (it would  get really hot seating by a stove)
2. Make the bathroom 5'6x"5 (shower instead of tub), and use the extra space for a closet.

Hope this helps.

G.