I just got my Little House plans yesterday, and I'm already thinking about a mod!
I'm going with the 12x18, but I want to have two foot knee walls for the loft area to make it more useable. Instead of using 92inch studs I thought I'd go with 10 footers and then have the loft hanging to provide 7 foot 6inch clearance under the loft.
What are the better ways of attaching the loft to the side walls? Lag bolts come to mind, but I thought there might be things to consider when framing.
Thanks, can't wait to break ground.
I've been wondering about this myself. Although I was thinking shed roof, so it might only be on one side. Both ends though
Extra set of studs in line with the normal ones to support the ceiling/loft floor joists(both sides in this case)?
A short wall put on after the loft is framed and sub-floored? Especially with a partial loft would there be more problems than with a true second floor?
I having not seen the plans your describing but you could use a balloon framing technique. I'd use 2x6s for the outer wall and notch each wall stud to accept a ribbon strip. Then the joists sit on top of the ribbon strip and attach to the stud. Here is a link to follow. Or do a search on google.
http://www.awc.org/Publications/WCD/index.html
I used the balloon technique on a two story I did- used a 1x4 let in to the side of the studs as you mention. I think that over 8' studs will require fire blocking.
I believe John's 20x30 1 1/2 story cabin incorporates a balloon framing in its design since he is using 10 foot studs to allow more head room in the loft. It also appears that way in the drawings on this site also.
I went with 2x6x10 studs for the walls and used a temporary ledger board to level the 2x12x16 joists. Double checked the wall straightness, used a pair of 1/2" bolts on the end of each joist, and blocked the joists. Seemed fine before blocking but was more rigid after.
Lofts have only been used for sleeping and, so far, have worked fine.
With 2x6 studs you can gang cut notches for a ledger and then set the joists on this (or use hangers if desired). This is the method we use in the 20' wide cottages.
If you use nice looking 2x material the same depth as the exposed beams or joists you can notch 3/4" for bearing and expose the rest of the ledger and attach beams with black painted steel hangers.