More square footage?

[stockhatch]

First off, this is an awesome community, and I am very impressed with the homes many of you have built/are building. Here is my question; I know this place is geared towards smaller homes, but is it possible, or a major undertaking to stretch the dimensions a bit? I was thinking along the lines of a 25x50 1.5... Does stretching the dimensions like that lead to problems with the engineering and structural aspects of the cottage design? Also, is it possible to build a 1.5 with a loft/cathedral over the living/dining? Im working on a 3d rendering of my intentions. Maybe a few of you could chime in with any suggestions, comments, or a doability scale once I can post pics of what Im after?

TIA

[Amanda_931]

You can do anything you want.

But especially when you go wider on a design, the structure gets heavier--or more complex--fast.

Joists made of unobtanium^tm, or with added nuisance and expense--girders down the middle.

John posted this the other day in Plan Help.  I had fun playing with it.

http://www.planhelp.com/public/98.cfm

(unobtanium^tm??  It's usually saved for race car parts, but every once in a while it finds a use in houses as well.  Or would if we could find it.    Or afford it.)

As I've been thinking about what I need in the way of a house, I've gone from around 1100 sf down to 400--with a loft for my books (and a separate building for sewing and other crafts work).  What one needs, what one can afford to build with minimal financing, what one can afford to heat or cool or otherwise power may become pretty important to us in the future.

I've no idea what your household is like, so I surely cannot tell you what you need, or want, or feel you have to have.  Certainly some kind of private space for each adult is important, for instance.  With some friends, that amounts to a closet-turned-office for her, usually the table is covered with papers for grant proposals and her work.  His is a stairwell and landing, often impassable with pump or car parts, and a book or two.  They can entertain/feed six or eight people comfortably any time of year without having to clean up their private spaces--well, much.  In 800 or so square feet.

[glenn kangiser]

For a specific design the width of the main framing needs to remain the same, or it is a whole new design although length can be easily added to.  Independant add ons are also easy such as the Big Enchilada package, with rooms on either side but the bearing walls are still supported the same and the ceiling joists remain the same span as designed for.

Example - The 20x30 could easily be the 20x50 but not the 25x50.  Framing members and foundation would have to be redesigned.  Add-ons could still be done on the sides for more room.

I think the widest John has is his Expandable Saltbox plan. I would guess that it could be extended too.



It shows how additions can be made to the basic structure.

[stockhatch]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Im going to look into combining some of the floorplans as you suggested. Its just as well that wider than 20' wont really work out too easily, as I have been tweaking the floorplan all night and have yet to come up with anything we really love. I had to stretch it to 50x30 to get an acceptable plan on the lower floor...

Me and the significant other are looking to be around 1800-2000sq-ft once finished, and we really want/need this much space. We are living in 1100sq-ft now, and it it TIGHT. We plan on adding two kids to the picture soon as well. We want to build our own home, but have limited building experience. We also want to build as much with cash as possible. This is why I am here. These plans seem simple to build, and the support from others who have already built similar houses is a world of help.

[Mark_Chenail]

Stockhatch:  30 foot wide is not that  big but let me remind you that most building materials, particularly sheet goods come in 4' increments.  My house in Missouri is now pushing 1800 sq ft. with 5 bedrooms most of it on one level. The widest sections are 28ft wide but about a third is only 20 ft wide.  Its a big ell shaped house with one very long arm.  It wasnt all built at once but was designed so we could add on as we wanted and could afford more space.  Add on is definitely the way to go.  Have you considered a U shaped house or a square courtyard house?
For example, a 50x50 square(2500sqft) with a 20 foot court(400sqft) in the middle leaves you with 4 wings 15 feet wide or about 2100 sqft of enclosed space.  That courtyard would be a handy place for kids to play in a protected area.  Good idea in the country or in town.  And you could build the wings as you need them.  Just an idea.

[Mark_Chenail]

STOCKHATCH:  Here's a little courtyard design I banged out this afternoon real quick to give you an idea.  You could build the dining kitchen utility wing and the kids bedroom wing as a starter house. Then add the other two wings as you got time and money.  The whole house is 2500 sq ft  but that includes the courtyard space. Just a quick study plan.  Comments?

[Amanda_931]

I like courtyard houses.  In hot climates foliage and shade can apparently keep the temperatures down.

that one makes is pretty simple to navigate without crossing the courtyard if there's a yard of snow there,

Friends who have a house on that order have four separate little buildings.  And a largish pond in the center that is over their 26,000 gallon cistern.  They do not have a snow problem.  Architect designed, built by laborers who sometimes confused feet with meters until it was too late to go back to the original heights--which gave them quite a bit extra in their cistern, and 12 foot ceilings in their laundry room.  At least the laundry room wasn't 8 meters high.

[glenn kangiser]

I liked the courtyard houses and motels in Mexico -- they are fairly common there.

[stockhatch]

Wow, thanks for the help guys. Very interesting plan there, with the courtyard. I just dont know. We are in the planning stages, and it is difficult to say for sure which direction we will go. Deciding where you want to live for the rest of your life is actually a pretty difficult decision Now we are looking at a 40x40 log home...

[Amanda_931]

The summer I spent in an Indian village in Mexico, the people built a little house for the newlyweds, added extra little buildings as the children came.  As the kids got married they either occupied one of the little buildings or built for themselves, or tore down something and recycled the roofing.  Of course that was really simple building--pole frame corrugated iron (brought in on horse- or mule-back!) roofs, no plumbing, refrigeration or electricity, floors pounded dirt.  For months after I came back to--Indiana at the time--I'd pick up a skirt I'd worn a lot there and smell wood-smoke--the kitchen was a fire in the original building--sides were built up, but no chimney.

The point being that building for the next 40 years means building for a lot of different kinds of situations--couple, kids added, kids go away.  Friends in college towns have occasionally rented part of the house out fairly inexpensively to students who were supposed to check on them daily, etc.  Or housing for a housekeeper. Or rent out as a B & B.

It would be nice to be able to do this without having to heat (at least enough to prevent frozen pipes or toilets) or cool or otherwise pay utility bills on the extra space that you probably do need with a handful of kids--although once I ran into an article by some guy who rhapsodized about how wonderful it was growing up in a sheep wagon with a handful of brothers and sisters.

[mrdety]

Wow, I have been fantasizing for quite some time about the concept of some sort of "courtyard" house.
I have a family of five with three children and need four bedrooms.
I have purchased the "big enchilada plans" and was considering adding on to the "universal farmhouse" with these, perhaps in some sort of "courtyard" effect.
I look foward to seeing what else you may come up with that could meet our needs!

[John Raabe]

In cooler climates where you want to open the house to the south and perhaps take advantage of a view, a three sided courtyard house can work well. It is sometimes called the armchair layout as the lower wings protect the "seat"  

This would work with the Universal cottage and the arms could be built later.

[Mark_Chenail]

Mrdety:  You could always use the playroom for a 4th bedroom and there you are.  Or we could add another bedroom between the other two, which would widen the house and the interior courtyard.

Johns armchair courtyard makes we think of the southern tradition of a main house and dependencies.  Very common in in 18th c america particularly in the South.
Many 18th c. swedish manor houses follow a similar form in wood, very much in the little house style.