Off grid tiny cabin based on pictures and Little House plans

Started by Pallas, December 31, 2018, 06:02:28 PM

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Pallas

Hi all,

I'm looking to build a tiny cabin on skids or blocks, with no plumbing, and keeping it small to avoid permitting issues. It wouldn't be a year-round or permanent residence, but more something to sleep in and enjoy on the weekends on a nice parcel of land outside of the city. I found a neat little cabin online that I'd like to base my design on, but while the builder has tons of fancy pictures at fancy angles, I can't find anything on specs other than it's 200 sqft with a 90 sqft loft on a cruciform base.



Anyway, from perusing the various shots, my best guesstimate is that it's a 10x18 base with bump-outs that appear to be 3x4'. If anyone wants to try their hand at guessing, I'd very much appreciate your feedback. More shots here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oAdxVCnq1q8iaARTW10jX8o5JUfzXP_I?usp=sharing.

If I'm right about the basic specs, I was thinking I could use the Little House Plans and modify elongating from 14' to 18' as well as a cross gable roof. Has anyone had any luck with this or going with a different roof pitch or structure?

The cabin's cruciform base and bump outs are stylish, but don't seem to have much functionality, and I'd like to keep it as simple as possible. I like the cross gable roof, however, and it does seem to serve a purpose as far as loft access from the side rather than the center, keeping the space clear. My research on these roofs so far shows me that they can be complicated, and I'm not sure if it would be worth it. Any thoughts?

PS. Here's an article on the builder and his other tiny cabins: https://www.dwell.com/article/jacob-witzling-cabins-da44d2f9


busted knuckles

I follow that dude on instagram. I dont recall many interior pics, but check it out. Also try contacting him and asking.
you know that mugshot of Nick Nolte? I wish I looked that good.


Pallas

Thanks BK, I follow him on IG also. I've actually gone through his whole feed to get whatever interior shots he does have - saved in the folder I linked in my post. I've seen many people ask him simple questions in the comments and he seems to ignore them all. This is why I'm hoping someone here is good at visual approximation for the basic dimensions.

Dave Sparks

Having solar in the first picture will be hard to do because of all the shading.
I like the second picture better for many reasons :P
"we go where the power lines don't"

gbleuc

Hi Pallas, just happened to see this thread and am curious if you had any luck getting more info on this cabin and your plans? I thought the cabin was beautiful and your idea a neat one to try to adapt the Little House Plans. I'd be interested to hear how it goes.


Pallas

Hi there, I didn't get too far on adapting it to the little house plans, as I was trying to fit it onto a trailer to get around permits. What I ended up doing was just "borrowing" the design features for an 8x20 dimension - for instance, the higher pitch roof and then a short cantilevered bump-out at the center with a cross-gable to give more space and headroom for the ladder, as shown in those pictures.

I framed it out in a small cardboard model, but ultimately found it too narrow and decided to build something more permanent.

Dave Sparks

I think you made a good decision! There is a single guy i know that built a whole bunch of small little structures on a property. He end up spending over 100K and now has an unsellable property, few ladies will date him, and he is getting up there in age.

He could have had a stick builder who specializes in competing with manufactured homes build him a 2 bedroom 1 bath that was easily expandable to 3 bed 2 bath for 80K. He also would have something that is marketable down the road.
"we go where the power lines don't"

Pallas

Right on the nose, Dave! As I was costing everything out, twisting myself to get around the structure permit, I realized that just the cost of the specialized trailer (to hold the weight of the house) was going to be as much as I could expect to pay for a well.

I'm trying to balance out the dream of simple off-grid living with practicality and using resources to add value to the land, whenever possible. I still want to do permaculture-type things that will be different from most, but keep in mind that I may have to sell my dream if things don't work out.

Dave Sparks

It is a balance, especially offgrid. As long as you really like what you are doing you should do it.

Just keep in the back of your mind that offgrid homes are harder to sell and definitely try not to put more money in than you can afford to. Keep the value at the low end of the prices in your county for similar grid homes.  Good Luck
"we go where the power lines don't"


gbleuc

Quote from: Pallas on April 28, 2019, 04:48:06 PM
Hi there, I didn't get too far on adapting it to the little house plans, as I was trying to fit it onto a trailer to get around permits. What I ended up doing was just "borrowing" the design features for an 8x20 dimension - for instance, the higher pitch roof and then a short cantilevered bump-out at the center with a cross-gable to give more space and headroom for the ladder, as shown in those pictures.

I framed it out in a small cardboard model, but ultimately found it too narrow and decided to build something more permanent.

Hey Pallas! Definitely understandable; I ran into similar aspects cost-wise when I researched tiny homes and decided to just build small and permanent instead. Do you have any photos of your project up?