Looking for a critique of my floor plan design. 20x30 w/ two upper bedrooms.

[ktmcrashking]

I have always like what Rob LeMay had done with the 16x24. He maximized his living area by putting the bedrooms upstairs. But 16x24 did not offer the room I wanted and the 20x30 plans always have a bedroom on the first floor hogging up square footage. So I took it upon myself to give design a try. The purpose will be mainly for snowmobiling. This always involves a half dozen people milling around the kitchen and living area and all the gear that goes with sledding. So, with that  in mind I put in a 4' walk way through the kitchen, large storage closet inside the back door, and made the living eating areas as big as possible for comfort. What I am looking for is any obvious design flaws as I have never done this before. I have not drawn the upper yet but I can tell you it will model Robs design with two 10x12 bedrooms on either end with a walkway between on engineered joists with a 2' knee wall. Thanks for your input. K

[JRR]

You might want to consider moving the second/living-rm entrance door to line-up with the stair well.

Is that a storage/mud room next to the bathroom?  If so you might want to remove the connecting wall and serve the larger area with one door.  Do you really prefer a tub to shower stall on the first floor?

I would dedicate less space to kitchen counters ... maybe move the oven/range over close to the sink and remove the "penisular", letting the bar and stools swing around against the outer wall/window.

Good luck!

[lobster]

for the use you describe the spacious kitchen seems fine.

you may want to turn the storage closet into a mud room by having the rear entrance go into it, with another interior door (that can be left permanently open in summer) to the kitchen. this will confine slippery snow and grinding mud cleanup to a smaller area, keeping it out of the kitchen area.

although very compact and thus frequently used, having a bathtub along an exterior wall usually plays havoc with the windowsill of any window installed there (due to shower head water accumulating and rotting the wood sill, not to mention the window itself) and besides you lose the ability to easily look out the window, and it is awkward to open/close the window in summer as you have to step into the tub. if you arrange for the tub to fit lengthwise in the bathroom instead of crosswise, it is a better design. then you can walk right up to the window and admire the view or open/close it. you can put your electric baseboard heater right under the window, and hang towel bar above that, and reach out from tub and grab warm towel. it is worth it.

[Erin]

Personally, I would reshuffle the layout a bit to have a single wet wall.  Ie, the kitchen sink on one side of the wall, the bath fixtures on the other.  It's cheaper so far as pipe runs, and easier for a novice DIYer.

[PEG688]

Make the two exterior doors out-swinging , it will save you room inside. The added benefit is out -swing door get blown shut rather than blown open , and the weather stripping get compressed making it more effective in the wind.   

[MountainDon]

Kitchen: Myself, I'd prefer the fridge and range side by side or nearly so.... just enough counter top to place something while cooking. Maybe move the fridge closer to the door and insert the range beside it.

Bathroom: With many people using at once it might be good to try and separate the shower from the toilet. I'd have just a shower, no tub.

Exterior doors swinging out is a great idea for making use of interior space.

Wood stove more central for better heat distribution?  Maybe by the stairs?

For me having the space laid out to be most usable is more important than trying to keep the plumbing in one wall. If it can be done it does simplify construction.

Got to watch how the headroom is going to work out for the stairs. Might need a dormer.

If winter use is a priority I think the storage room should become a mud room, coat, parka and boots storage, space. Place the exterior door down the wall into the room. Then there is some room for a storage closet where the present door is. 

[EvoQ]

To be Honest that Looks Really Cramped, way too much stuff. While your drawing may look ok I would be willing to bet that your drawing is Not to scale. If I were you I would find a way to have all the plumbing share the same Interior wall somewhere in the middle of the cabin. Save allot of money time, and of-course not having to worry too much about pipes freezing. With 2 different plumbing area both on the exterior walls you will fight a battle each deep winter with the pipes freezing. Also no-way I'd ever do a full Tub in that small a cabin. If you build it like you have it drawn this place will be very cramped.

[ktmcrashking]

Thanks for all the great replies. I like the idea of getting rid of the closet and making it a mud room. I will remove the wall and try to put a door into it. By using coat hooks instead of hangers it would make it wide enough to walk through (I think). Now I do have another question about the tub. I put it in there thinking it could be a tub or dedicated shower. The bath is only 5' wide (so the tub is only 5' long). How much room could I save by going with a walk in shower?  What do you guys think a good dimension for a simple bath should be (D x W)? Still working on the rest of your suggestions. I am currently working on a 3D model in sketchup and will post it as soon as it is done. Thanks again for the help. K

[ktmcrashking]

One more thing. There was a question as to if the drawing was to scale. I drew it in cad and then sent it to PDF so it should be pretty accurate.

[Erin]

For me having the space laid out to be most usable is more important than trying to keep the plumbing in one wall.

I agree.
But for a layout like this, all he'd have to do is swap the bathroom and closet (mudroom) with the dining area.  And if he's doing a southern exposure along that long bottom wall, all the better to have light/heat in that area rather than wasted on the bath and mudroom.

[bayview]

Are the stairs long enough?

With a 3 ft landing, it leaves about 5 ft for each run of stairs.

/.

[MountainDon]

Are the stairs long enough?

A quick check with the calculator looks like it could fit in the space with code rise/tread.. But it was a quick check and I didn't check on headroom measurements...   The total actual design rise from main floor to upper floor levels must be known first to be certain.  The stairs might need an extra 10 inches or so of run space to be code, depending on total rise.

[ktmcrashking]

The stairs are supposed to be 10" treads with an approx 7.5" rise. I did a quick internet search before I put it to paper and it seemed to meet code but I have not dug out my code book to double check. The head room where the landing meets the wall should be around 6.5'. Probably a little less once the rafters start to crowd in so I am going to have to do some more thinking there.