Small 2 floor cabin floorplans – comments?

[tinysteve]

Hello, I've been lurking for a while, gaining a bit of knowledge and thought I'd make my first post.

This is a potential floorplan of a small recreational cabin I'd like to build somewhere on the south coast of the UK. I freely admit I'm a complete novice so I'd like to get as much advice as possible please. There is a possibility it will be wheeled (only to get around planning laws) so I have to keep it as small as possible. This cabin is 2.3m x 3.4m (approx 7'6" x 11'), with a ceiling height of 2m (6'6"). Scale on plan is 1 grid=10cm.

It will use off grid utilities (small PV and PS arrays, water tower with mounted vertical turbine, natural waste treatment and recycling) with all appliances, heating and lighting being low voltage DC. Most of the water is used on the ground floor to gain pressure and all the electricals are on the first floor to save on wiring. I'm thinking of putting a hot air system under the stairs and vent through the column?

This is designed for one person (with the possibility of a guest) having a short stay of no more than 4 weeks at a time so I have avoided 4 burner hobs, full ovens and a huge bed. I could have avoided a separate bedroom too but I prefer to separate living and sleeping quarters. There's plenty of outside and storage space too.

I'd be very interested to read your views, opinion and suggestions.
Steve
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48976518@N08/4479649653/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48976518@N08/4479649661/

[MountainDon]

Ground Floor...




Upper Floor...

[Solar Burrito]

Can you go any bigger or is that the max the law allows? 2 or 3 extra feet would be "huge" in this small space. Also consider taking out the bedroom wall downstairs to gain more space.

[tinysteve]

Thanks MountainDon – I didn't know how to do that.

I'd like to keep it as small as possible, Solar. There is a restriction in some local authorities and on some land types regarding the size of a temporary or mobile homes. Once you have one on-site for a number of years, planning permission for a permanent home is easier to gain. Plus materials costs and space heating costs are lower.

You're right – I could gain some perceived 'air' space, but lose privacy by removing the bedroom wall. I'll certainly consider it.

Thanks gents.

[tinysteve]

OK, to give you some idea of what I'm looking for, is it too small to stay in comfotably? Are two exterior doors above each other feasible? What roof options should I consider? Is 10mm insulated cavity enough for my latitude?

Or is this cabin too small for this forum?

Thanks
Steve

[John Raabe]

No, the cabin project is not too small to post here. We love playing with Tiny Houses! You have probably seen the earlier 200sf max design contest this site had a few years ago:

http://www.countryplans.com/contest.html

Are you hoping to build this yourself? Is there any restrictions on your footprint size? If the answer is yes to #1 and no to #2, then you will find that doing a small house all on one level will be easier to build and will not feel so cramped for any given total SF.

Stairways are about the same size for all houses (this one is smaller but may not be allowed by codes). Thus they take up a disproportionate percent of a small house plan. Your design has devoted about 20% of the house floor area to vertical circulation space. This is space that would be "liberated" in a one level design.

PS - you will need to convert your measurement questions to feet and inches as most folks here are in North America.

[MountainDon]

10 mm insulated wall cavity = 4/10 of an inch. That doesn't seem like much no matter where one is.    You didn't mean 10 CM did you?

The best foam insulations run a maximum of 6-7 "R" per inch. I don't know how that is rated in the UK. So .4 of 6 = 2.4

A double pane 3/4" air space window achieves 2.38, the more usual 1/4" is less than R=2.0

So a 10 MM wall would be a little better than a normal window or as good as a better window.


As for what the south coast of the UK needs, I don't know what is recommended. I was only there in the fall and it was cool but I don't remember it being really cold.

[tinysteve]

John, I did read that competition front to back and found it incredibly interesting. You really should run another competition soon.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I do plan to self build, with help. Restrictions vary with the type of land bought but I can get around most of them by making it as small and mobile as possible. The reason for two floors is that I stayed in a European 'upside down' cottage recently and it really made sense to build the living space above ground level to maximise the views and light.

As you mention stairs, I think I have come up with a great idea to incorporate a full stairway in less than half the space. I need to varify a few things but I'll keep you posted.

MountainDon; sorry, you're right, I did mean 10cm (approx 4"). I could increase to 6" without too many problems. We use R Values and U Values here too. After graduating in architectural design (a long time ago...) I had to measure the U Value of every surface in a proposed school. Some introduction to thermal efficiency!

And glad you came over to stay - business or pleasure? Where did you go?

[ScottA]

I would reverse the floors but that's just me. I agree with John that alot of space is being wasted with stairs. You could do a single floor design that was actualy smaller and still have the same useable space.

[tinysteve]

Thanks Scott. Of course, you are correct, I could design on one floor which would be easier, cheaper and quicker to build. However, the elevation is also part of the requirement (not so much a necessity, more a preference) so I'd like to keep the second floor. It also can't be too low as this is the main living space.

Thanks, Steve