Universal 20' 2-story in Colorado - "Scavenger"

[MountainDon]

Interesting Jonathan. Where will this be located? Geographically speaking that is. Am I correct in figuring this is a more rural than developed area?    I see CO, but it's a big enough state with varied terrain.

Note that you can edit your profile and place personal text that will appear under your ID to the left of every message. You could add your location or whatever.Follow this link..

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=4973.0


I do have a couple design questions.

Depending on your weather you might find a mud room a convenient addition at one of the doors. Maybe a section of a porch?  I don't have one in my one room cabin, but with six people there might be a lot of coats, rain gear, whatever. Just wondering how that would be handled.

The other question that came to mind is how is that wood stove surrounded, materials, clearances and so on.


Your design work and ease of getting the image posting down pat would indicate you are very handy with computers.

[ScottA]

I like your plan. With that many people I'd think hard about adding a main floor 1/2 bath.

[apaknad]

nice plans!! that stove is a thing of beauty. did you look into a lister generator(i think that is the name)? i think you would find it interesting. we have links somewhere in the forum. i plan on incorporating one.

[Jonathan]

This house will be built in west-central Wisconsin on a 5-acre rural property (1/2 wooded, 1/2 field).

A mud room is a good idea.  I thought about screening in the front porch for a 3-season porch.  I'm really trying to keep this as CHEAP as possible - focus on the necessities rather than the niceties.

I'm planning on having an outhouse in addition to the inside bathroom.  I'm still not sure how to get the hot water upstairs from the cookstove.  I thought about a handpump and storage tank, but that would probably have to go in the bathroom requiring it to be enlarged.  I don't think the cookstove reservoir is designed to operate under water pressure.

The wood stove will be surrounded by a wrought iron railing.  Clearances from combustables is an issue to be considered.  I'm planning on using a stainless prep-table to the side of the stove rather than traditional cabinets.  In fact, we aren't planning any traditional cabinets.  We will use shelves and decomissioned commercial stainless prep surfaces/sinks.  All part of the "scavening" process.  Additionally, I am considering a steel surface to be placed under the stove including a sufficient apron.

Thanks for the tips on the lister generator -- I'll look into it.

My images were created with Chief Architect v.10.  I'm lucky enough to have picked up a full copy for $100.  It is far more powerful than I am!

[Jonathan]

BTW... I know I have an issue with egress windows.  I'm thinking about using similar sized casement windows in place of the double-hung.

[phalynx]

Johnathan,  one thing I will point out is your upstairs bathroom is not likely to work due to your sloped ceiling.  Aside from the shower potentially spraying on the ceiling, when you get up from the toilet, you are going to hit your head.  We had to re-engineer our bathroom 15 times before we finally figured it all out.  When working with a sloped ceiling, we found that less than 8'x8' is going to be extremely difficult to use with a regular bathtub.  just a thought.  Neat plan though.  I wanted to have a large master in mine but my girls said they were tired of sharing a room.  I lost that battle..

[MountainDon]

I'm still not sure how to get the hot water upstairs from the cookstove.  I thought about a handpump and storage tank, but that would probably have to go in the bathroom requiring it to be enlarged.  I don't think the cookstove reservoir is designed to operate under water pressure.

If it was mine, I'd use an RV water pump to get the water upstairs. The normal RV pump is 12 VDC and sits there doing nothing until a faucet is opened. Flojet and Shurflo are the two big names. They both also offer their pumps in 120 VAC and 24 VDC configurations. Most of the pumps can run dry without damage. There is an upper temperature limit but off hand I'm not sure what that is. They are normally plumbed to push cold water into the hot tank which then sends the hot water to the point of use. If the temperature is not a problem give that a look.

They both have websites with info on their products.

If you have some other pressure system on the cold side that would allow hot/cold hookups to the tub/shower, etc.

[MountainDon]

PPL motorhomes in one of many sources. Their prices are fair, service is excellent, and they have real people to talk to if you want/need. I've bought numerous things from them over the years.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com


The only unknown at this time is I believe they are in Houston, if memory serves me well. But they also ship from some location in UT.   

[Redoverfarm]

Jonathan  I am on the same page as Scott regarding a full bathroom on the 2nd floor loft.  I am going to put a 1/2 bath in the loft of my cabin.  I had a fairly large loft area 16' X 18' when it was open.  Even a half bath took up an enormous about of space just to allow headroom.  So the large area that I once had is no longer.  The way I made it work out to be least intrusive was to situate the commode and the sink opposite each other on the wall toward the center of the room.  The entrance door divided the two on that same wall.  Even given with the minimun of space needed I ended up with about 36" in width for the headroom.  The area toward the eve's will be a storage area with a shelf and doors/drawers. I will have to go with a outswing door to accomidate the slope pitch.

This is the area before



This is the same area but from the opposite direction







As a suggestion you may be able to reconfigure the floorplan to reflect the bathroom against the gable end mid center to divide the two bedrooms which may or may not give you the room needed.

[Jonathan]

We aren't planning on having a shower - just a bath.  Also, my in laws have a much lower sloped ceiling (@ 30" wall) with a toilet next to it, and you just have to learn how to sit and stand correctly!    I think a 60" wall with a 9/12 pitch should give the average person enough room to maneuvre.

I decided that my wife and I would take the large room so that she could have a sewing table, and I could have a desk (I work from home).  by building in bunk beds for the girls on the short wall it leaves plenty of room for other activities on the "tall side" of the room.  Also, the built-in beds will have storage under the bottom bunk and a built-in desk between the two.

Our goal really is as SMALL and as SIMPLE as necessary -- nothing more.  We recently toured a homesteaders house in Platteville, Colorado circa. 1860.  It had two rooms downstairs (kitchen / living room) and a single bedroom upstairs with a 2' outside wall.  The man, his wife, and their SIX kids all shared this one bedroom.  Sheesh... we have become spoiled.  People used to do with a lot less and they survived.

[soomb]

Kudos to you and your wife.  My wife is warming to the idea that not every house must have a master bath, and 2nd bath and a half bath for the visitors.  She also does not read this site so I can get away with saying that 

[Jonathan]

Does anyone know of a good book on step-by-step how you build your own home?  Every book I get on "how to build your own home" is about how to choose a lot and hire subs!  It's like writing a book on how to sew your own dress and only covering the subjects of picking out a pattern and fabric. 

I'm looking for a book in plain English that just covers each of the steps generally -- not exhaustively (that would be a HUGE book).  Any recommendations?

[glenn kangiser]

John's list of books is about as simple as you can get without leaving too much out.  He has made it with the owner builder in mind.

http://www.countryplans.com/books.html

[phalynx]

This book

http://www.amazon.com/Pros-Graphic-GT-Fr/dp/1561586366/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222201835&sr=1-3

Which is the updated version of what's on John's list is about the best framing book I have ever seen.  It was absolutely invaluable

[Jonathan]

I actually just read that book on framing last week!  It was worth it just for the "water level" foundation check.   I'm planning on reading throughout the project -- I can't absorb everything up front, so I will read as I approach each "next step".

I suppose that framing is the single most important thing the owner/builder does, and therefore it requires the most information and careful planning.  Do you agree?

Thanks for the list, too!

[MountainDon]

I don't know if I'd say that framing is the "single most important thing"; it is important but so are many other aspects. That said, if you mess up, if you don't get the basis straight, level and square, everything that comes after that is more difficult.

Flashing, for an example, is also very important. Done poorly it will let water in where water shouldn't be and cause even the most carefully built frame to rot.

Each step is important. Work methodically, ask questions if in doubt before building, rather than after.

But I guess I'd say that framing is most important to get right if you don't want to make problems down the road.

[Jimmy C.]

We weren't planning on having any closets.  Instead we will use wardrobes/armiores (sp?).  We live a minimalist lifestyle, so we really don't need a lot of storage.  
There might be issues with code as far as having "bedrooms" without a closet, but we'll just call them offices - might help on the taxes also.

Jonathan, Hi from Jimmy C.
It can be done!
I thought I would share a little info with you.
I took advantage of the dead space above the stairwell entrance and made a small closet for my sons room.

This is what we use for a closet in my room...

This is additional storage in the bedroom.

Also Storage for shoes and stuff in this bench.

Storage for towels above the toilet.

[Jonathan]

Thanks, Jimmy!  I'm going to build bed frames for our bed (sans box spring which is unnecessary anyway) and for the kids bunk beds.  I will incorporate drawers in these frames for clothing storage.

Regarding a mudroom... I've decided that I may try to close in the entire back patio with walls and use it also for storing cord wood in the winter.

[MountainDon]

Regarding a mudroom... I've decided that I may try to close in the entire back patio with walls and use it also for storing cord wood in the winter.

If you are meaning more than a few days worth of wood, storing firewood like that is a bad idea, IMO. No sense in bringing the insects right up to and against more choice food, your house. Firewood also attracts mice, etc. The longer it sits the greater the potential problem. Then there's the increased fire danger, with the large fuel supply sitting right there.

Even if the space is totally enclosed so as to theoretically keep the mice at bay, I would be reluctant to long term store firewood like that. But that may be just me, OMMV.

Those are some of the reasons my extensive firewood piles are 50 to 100 feet from our cabin. We'll have a Rubbermaid box for ready use firewood on the porch. Possibly two small ones so one can be emptied and cleaned as the other is used.

[glenn kangiser]

Our firewood is about 20 feet away in a separate shed.. lots of bark- chips- dirt  etc

[Redoverfarm]

Well I guess this might be something I did half right anyway.  I built two fireboxes within my fireplace wall out of concrete blocks.  Put a sealed steel door on the outside and wooden sealed doors on the inside.  I usually put about a weeks worth of wood in the two boxes which I access from the inside adjacent to the stove.  I guess the worse that can happen over time is the bugs will eat up my interior doors .  Sure makes it nice to open a door and get the wood from the inside rather than having to drag firewood through the house.  I guess the same could be done with a metal insert but you would have to have a wall thick enough to get any storage.

[MountainDon]

  John

Coat the inside of the boxes and the door (wood parts) with fiberglass resin.

[glenn kangiser]

Well I guess this might be something I did half right anyway.  I built two fireboxes within my fireplace wall out of concrete blocks.  Put a sealed steel door on the outside and wooden sealed doors on the inside.  I usually put about a weeks worth of wood in the two boxes which I access from the inside adjacent to the stove.  I guess the worse that can happen over time is the bugs will eat up my interior doors .  Sure makes it nice to open a door and get the wood from the inside rather than having to drag firewood through the house.  I guess the same could be done with a metal insert but you would have to have a wall thick enough to get any storage.

A lot less to worry about there then a whole woodshed full of it.  I havent had trouble with the bugs but chips and bark build up several inches over the season in my woodshed.  It has a dirt floor - usually I leave enough chips to keep the wood off of the ground and as a nice home for the scorpions..

[Redoverfarm]

Oh but I still have the shed and piles of wood some 50-70 feet from the house under roof.  It just takes two wheel borrows to fill them up.  And the chips, bark and bugs get cleaned out when my capacity starts to decrease(more frequent trips).  But that is what son's are for isn't it .  When the snows start getting deep he jumps at the oppurtunity to drive the tractor to bring in wood.  I did pick me up a railroad baggage cart sort of like then have at lowes that I was going to use but haven't decided on how to make a canopy yet to leave it parked buy the outside. 

Outside



Inside