OK guys I've been reading a lot of posts that say that the 20" wide plan would need a lot more engineering in order to be built, but I plan on using engineered floor and roof trusses, and they come stock in 24' wide. If I want to order the 20' wide trusses I can but there is a 4 week lead time on delivery after I order them. Can you tell me if there is anything else that I would need to consider to build the 20 x 34 2 story cottage?
w*
Hmmm. If you are going to be buying main floor and upper floor trusses and roof trusses anyways, have you thought of building 24 feet wide and maybe not as long? ??? Just a thought. You could easily expand a concrete block crawlspace foundation to that.
I don't think I understand what you're saying by making the cottage not as long... I really like the cottage as 20x34 but was going to add 10 feet to the length for an over all cottage of 20x44. So I went to my lumber store to get a rough cost of the materials, and really wanted to use the trusses so that the floor space was all open and I didn't have to have any beams, also a little easier to run electrical, plumbing, and HVAC duct works. Anyway while I was there, they let me know that they had the trusses for both the floors and roof 24' wide in stock no wait and no additional costs, the special order trusses are a little more expensive as well if that isn't odd, less material for more money! They explained it as the other trusses being more common... So that is where I am right now, thinking I'm going to end up with a cottage 24x44... so I'm wondering if I have to consider anything else for the stairs, walls, drawings to bring to the building department for permits? I guess I'm wondering if the universal drawings can be modified that way...
Sorry for confusing on the size. I thought you were wanting to build 20x34. Going 4 feet wider might allow shorter to keep the sq footage closer to the 20x34. If you want to go with the 24 foot wide manufactured floors and roof that's fine. The building dept will likely want to see drawing that represent the actual to be built design closer, as with correct dimensions and everything else. That depends on your skill level for redrawing, or if you'd pay someone. The changes in width and length means different numbers of wall studs, but that's not a biggie. Manufactured floor trusses will likely be taller than the 2x12 material in the plans and that will change the strair layout some, but not unsurmountable.
Hope that helps.
Is this a 2 story or 1.5? My understanding is the 20' wide has 2 options of truss or not. You can span 20 ft for a roof and floor without trusses. If the pricing is not any different than the 20 ft you will reduce your price per square foot with the 24' wide.
I can see 24' being the common truss size since most of the time I see people span up to 20' with standard dimensional lumber and up to 24' with TJI's.
There are a dozen different ways to do it. As long as you follow standard guidelines for safety, all are good.
Please note, I am not an administrator. My opinion is in no way an official opinion of the plan designer. (sorry I didn't realize this was under plan support)
The 2-story Universal plan (http://www.jshow.com/y2k/listings/57.html) is 20' wide by 34' long and uses I-joists or high quality 2x12's to span the width of the building on each floor. Thus this plan can be easily extended (or shortened) in length. Because the roof can be done with trusses AND the floor span can use various options for engineered joists and trusses, the width can also be extended to 24' or more. Foundation, porches, wall details and much of the revised house will still be the same as the details in the Universal Cottage plans. Your truss supplier can specify and design trusses to meet your local loads and your inspection requirements.
Now, you still need to figure out how to layout your rooms and locate the stairs, windows, doors and interior walls. If you are willing to purchase and learn to use a simple home design program, you can produce permit level floor plans and elevations to scale using the Universal Cottage plans as your starting point. The template files at our sister site PlanHelp.com can be loaded into a compatible home design program and modified until you are happy with the layout. The printouts from your design can be pasted back into the blueprints for the Universal Cottage. There is more information at the bottom of the link HERE (http://www.jshow.com/y2k/listings/57.html) or click the image below.
(http://www.countryplans.com/images/Univ-PH.jpg) (http://www.jshow.com/y2k/listings/57.html)
Even if you may need a final review or some help from a local engineer, architect or home designer you will have done most of work yourself and saved a great deal of money over starting from scratch.
John,
Is there a way to go 24' wide with 2 x 12s?
thanks
Austin
Select Structural Douglas Fir, 12" OC will span 23'3" according to published data. So theoretically a 24' wide (measured on the outside of the foundation) could work. That is pushing the limits though and whereas some folks may find the floor stiffness and vibration frequency fine others may not. And it is difficult to remedy after the fact. I think thicker sub flooring can help; like 1 1/4 instead of 3/4.
MD,
Thanks for the responce. The time to get down to business is coming quickly. I found a job in Lufkin (2 hrs north of Houston) and once we sell the old house in Houston, we will know how much money we have in our pocket. Then we will start looking for land to build on. I'm really hoping to start building this year.
thanks
Austin
One can also span a 24' wide building with engineered lumber or floor trusses. See I-joist tables for 14" (TJI-360) and 16" (TJI-230) deep joists (both at 16" o/c and L/480 deflection). However, many builders feel that 24' is where the economics start to favor internal beams and girders to cut the spans down. The Universal Cottage plans, for instance, have an internal beam and post support system for shorter span joists that is more easily upscaled to a 24' wide or beyond building.
While a deflection of L/480 is a very stiff joist, over 24' that can amount to over 1/2" of bounce. That same deflection is cut down to 1/3" for a 12' span.