questions about 2 story universal cottage

[vojacek]

thanks for the plans! the pitch is impressive. could the attic space be used as a loft?  if not, i would like to decrease the pitch. i plan on using joist and rafter. what are your thoughts on this? also, would like to know if the spacing on the studs is really 24inches?
thanks,
matt vojacek

[John Raabe]

Yes, the 2x6 studs are at 24" for cost and energy efficiency. Only the bottom story of a three story house needs to have the spacing at 16".

You can modify the pitch of the roof as desired.

The attic could be used as a loft but gets a bit more complex as now the roof rafters have to meet the energy and ventilation code requirements. Not rocket science, but you will probably want to have a different roof framing plan and insulation strategy. Scissors trusses might be an easy way to get that figured out.

[vojacek]

just a thought, but what about making the attic space an entire 3rd floor living space. we figured we could just continue the stair case right up to it. if the house is 28' tall minus approx.16' for the 1st &2nd floor, wouldn't that leave a 12' ceiling in that attaic space? minus space for extra insulation, that is still a considerable amount of  standing room. what are your thoughts on this?

[John Raabe]

If I remember right when I looked at doing this it would require a dormer for the 6'8" minimum height at the stair. You would probably also want a dormer or two in the attic space itself.

Admittedly it is space begging to be used, but it was a larger project and outside the simple concept of the Universal cottage.

This is all doable however, and the Wagner book has a good overview on building dormers.

[Daddymem]

This space might be nicely used like Ross Chapin's Affordable Comfort home in Sarah Susanka's book.  My wife was in this house, she might tell you about it if you coax her, right Mommymem?  If we can get our project off the ground we are going to explore putting in loft ladders in the kids rooms up to a finished area over their bedrooms while we use the remaining area as traditional attic space.  Of course we still have to get our project off the ground somehow