I have been scheming on how to make the finances work when we decide to build.  This will be our
primary residence and as you can imagine, paying or a mortgage long-term while building is a rather
daunting thought.

Outside the of the obviously ideal solution of finding the land we want with no-value single-wide
trailer on it (free septic, well and electrical service plus short-term living quarters), the only real option
I can come up with is building in stages.  Not a revolutionary concept by any means but I want to do it
"smarter".

I think the general consensus from reading other threads is that $50-55/sq ft can get you a pretty
decent, all-weather home.  We eventually want about 1100-1200 sq ft.  We also have the restriction of
needing two bathrooms and two bedrooms all on a single level with the appropriate clearances and
layout for handicapped accessibility (42" hallways, 36" doors, etc).

Here is where the new (to me at least) idea comes in.  I have distilled this down to two 16' x 36'
"modules".  Does anyone see any issues with building the first 16' x 36' house as a shed roof with no
high end overhang then adding the second section of the same size creating the opposite slop of a
standard gable-end roof?  In my head, this means the only wasted materials later would be the siding
on the high wall and the unnecessary sheathing as well as the framing and insulation upgrades to an
exterior wall that will later be an interior wall.  Another positive I perceive is there will be no breaching
of the envelope of the original house except for removal of siding (or use T111 and just sheetrock over
it) when adding the second half of the home.  This also helps me in the building schedule as I know I
can finish a 16' x 36 in a timely manner to get a CO.  I can then take my time on the second half of the
house.

There would be logistic challenges that are best dealt with up front while building house "A" that
would make everything about adding section "B" much easier.  Those that come to mind are:

Empty 2" conduit running from panel in A to a suitable tie-in location where B will be

Ditto for water lines and DWV lines

If I use a crawlspace or post and beam foundation, make sure the foundation for the high-side wall of
A is designed to carry the load for same wall/floor when B is added

If I use a slab, embed internally threaded anchors into the edge of the foundation for later tie-in (I can
have a friend steal samples from my old employer)

Place header in side A so that a large opening can join the common areas in A and B (place framing
inside header'ed opening to fill until B can be built)

Use inexpensive T111 siding on the high shed wall of A so that siding does not have to be removed but
can be drywalled over

No windows on the high shed wall

Make sure the metal roofing I use is a standard color from a long-standing manufacture and make that
the first material purchase when I start side B

Design the septic system for the ultimate size of the house.

I realize this creates a boring box of a house that will have some similarities with the post-war
production cracker-boxes but we do plan to dress it up with a covered porch on the gable end (makes
ramp access easier should that need to be added) and I think good fenestration and attractive
detailing will take it the rest of the way.  The goal is the land and the mortgage free life as well as
having created it with my own two hands...that trumps aesthetics for me.

Floor plans to follow.

Now, help me tear the idea down and build it back up better.

As with all plans, these are rough..
Initial section...Part A


A & B together...the window position for the kitchen/dining room is correct in this one.

The shorter exterior wall in section B is because I think it has to be shorter by the width of the interior/exterior wall to make the roof slopes match...but it might be half the thickness.

You might want to visit a modular home factory if htere is on near you. It interesting how they bundle the primary & communications wiring, PEX water & heating lines etc for connection to the other modules on site. I've gone to 2-3 open houses and watched them build and picked up a few good ideas.

I live in a "modular" home right now!  Trust me though, the only ideas you would want to take from this place is the 240/480V plug and cord system designed by the Germans and copied by everyone.  Oh, and the use opf mini-split heat pumps.

Our CHU's (Containerized Housing Units) are manufactured in the Turkey to the lowest standards available.  The knock-down 8' x 20' Corimec CHU's were from Italy and built to very high standards...shipping was just a killer so they stopped using them.  Now they have to completely re-wire ABOUT 70% of them before anyone can move in.  Your tax dollars at work!  

My favorite failure is when they have a ground wire in the outlet box but it terminates at a junction box while the rest of the wires make the whole trip to the breaker box.  Another good one is a breaker that is hot in both positions.  Finally, P-traps are apparently a western decadence the are not needed when you are in the desert!

OK, rant over!

   Instead of tying two buildings together, maybe considered multiple shed roofs.   Build a larger building first with all the utilities.   Then add on bedrooms, living rooms, etc. . .    The vaulted ceilings going in different directions.


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This has some real possibilities.  A lot more planning involved, though.  My biggest concerns would be keeping the handicap ready spacing throughout and pre-planning for all the infrastructure requirements.

It would definitely add interest and open up even more chances for creativity like different exterior wall textures or roofing colors.

Too bad my design program sucks for doing complex roofs!

Mike

I like the idea of different hieght  shed roofs for a few reasons the main beung that it is easier to build of a flat then trying to match an exsiting ridge. You could stillput windows on the side you plan to expand off of if your plans and allow you to put window openings where doors or passageway's will be May I even suggest a backdoor so you can have acessto the 2nd part and still be weathered in.

   Here is a 1100 sq. ft. multi-roof shed home I had previously planned.   Each bedroom had a sliding glass door unto a courtyard.   I added arrows showing the roof angle.   Hope it is of some help to you.


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I think this is a great idea.

Remember to include extra width for your piers / stemwalls / whatever on the side that you will be adding the addition.

I also like the idea of different height shed roofs.  You could place clerestory windows to provide for some solar gain. 

The kitchen layout you have doesn't feel right to me, but I don't know how to make it better offhand....


-f-

I think Bayviews plan is a keeper. However I do agree with Onkeludo2 about the kitchen. What do you think about swapping the Kitchen and the dinning area? that would make the plan into more of a greatroom type of plan.

OK, I really took the multiple shed roof idea to heart.  My design program cannot do this complex roof or even draw the arrows!  So text will have to do.

Imagine "A" is built first with a shed roof running from the bedroom to the kitchen area...top to bottom.  it is a 5/12 pitch.
"C" is a she roof running right to left at a 3/12.
"B" runs bottom to top at a 5/12.

They would be built in alphabetical order.  A would be the cabin stage.  B would be full time move-in.  C would be the "final" stage.  All the utilities would be above the kitchen in a loft.

Again, tear it apart for me.

   If you ran the shed roof 5/12 in "A" top to bottom or 28 feet, you would have a rise of about 11 ½'.   With the additional 8' walls, you would have a wall nearly 20 feet high.   If that is what you are looking for, than maybe you could also have a "loft" over the kitchen-dining area.

 You may want to consider making the rooms 14' wide. . .    That way you can span the roof with 16 foot material.   Any wider and you may have to support the roof with additional bracing.  

  I have drawn your various rooms with different colors on a grid pattern.   Basically you would be viewing if you were standing outside and to the right of the living room.

  Your plan will work . . .    But I think you will have quite a bit invested in extra lumber for bracing, and a lot of roof area for the size of your home.


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   If addition "B" was 20 feet wide, you could go with a gable end roof.   Maybe make the bedroom smaller and move the bath and closets around.   I don't think you would want to leave the laundry in the closet.   (Humidity)   So I moved it to a closet off the dining area . . .    Or maybe make bedroom "A" 24 feet wide - As the original "B" addition.

   Hope you take this as help and not as criticism.   Good Luck!

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Bayview: The modelling of the roof is something I had done on graph paper...I actually like it, and that green area is the loft I want to use for the utilities and storage.  If I overbuild, I could even do the the batteries for the solar grid-tied back-up system.

Your gable roof version is VERY close to the plan my wife likes best.  It is a little harder to integrate the roof of two opposing gables but not a deal-breaker.

The WD in the Master Bedroom closet is specific requirement if I build.  We drop all our dirty cloths in the hamper there and hang up the clean ones there as well.  We stayed in a small 2-bed apartment in Budapest with two of DW's cousins.  They had the WD unit in the master bath and we loved it!

More playing around to do...

Here is the wife-approved plan.

   I see that you have moved the laundry to its own area .    

  You may want to swing the living room door the opposite way.   Towards the closet. . .

  Maybe a window in kitchen?   Venting transom windows over the beds?

  Consider exterior sliding doors in the bedrooms.   They take up less floor space.

  Seems to lack closet and storage space for over 1200 sq. ft. . . .

  Maybe a little "tight" at toilet in master bedroom.


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Yep, this was on older design before the trip to Prague.  In this case, I think I would leave the W/D where it is as it allows for a mudroom area at the back of the house.  If we end up building in the south, such a thing is unimportant but in the lake-effect area of Indiana...priceless.

On the closet space, I see your point.  I have lived out of suitcase for so long I forget that I might have closet space needs as well as those of the wife.  At some point I might want to hang up more than 3-pair pants and 5 shirts.

Part of the reason for the long empty walls in the dining room (which will rarely be used for dining) is to allow for something similar to what we have in our current house...a 12' wall of 18" deep open shelves with my wife's collection of flea market wicker baskets.  It is almost perverse how much of our lives are stored in those baskets!  DW finds this more useful than any storage I ever built as she can slide her little rolling stool up to reach all the way to the 9' ceiling (she is 4'9" on a good day)...personally, I do not get it but it makes her happy.

The entry door is a good call as is the kitchen window...just forgot it on the plans.

The bedrooms will have those big glass doors for light so I really saw no purpose in extra windows.  Sliding verses french doors are an ongoing debate in my head.  The space and cost savings of sliders is unquestionable.   I have yet to see a 10-year-old sliding door that still functioned well as a door but that does not mean they do not exist.  The salvaged 80-year-old out-swinging conservatory doors I put into our house in Tulsa were still going strong but that could be because they were 9/4 cypress with 4 hinges each...now if I could ever finished making the stained glass for them my wife would never get me to sell that house!

Thanks again for the input.

Mike