My next dwelling

FarmingSawyer · February 15, 2015, 07:01:23 PM

In a former life I used to build luxury homes for the rich and not-so-famous.....or at least those who didn't want to be identified....
I still do quite a bit of building, and have built or remodeled most of the homes I have lived in since college.
Currently I am living in an uninsulated, ramshackle wreck of a Maine farmhouse where the pipes freeze no matter what is attempted. And today I discovered a main stemwall in the cellar has rotated 45˚ at the foundation because whoever poured it didn't bury it deep enough below frost level, or insulate it well enough if it was supposed to be shallow.....I also abhor paying rent....especially as much as I pay for this ruin.

So....I design and dream of a tiny woodland hut. About 500sq feet on the ground floor, with a couple of lofts. Tightly insulated, slab on grade and probably off-grid as much as possible. Enough for me and a partner, with additional tiny huts for my kids/grandkids when they visit, or guests. The hut I have designed here will actually be the guest house one day when I build the 1000sqft main hut....

The idea is to find a woodlot I can buy outright and throw up this hut quickly and cheaply while I build something bigger.....

I sketched out two models to see about roof lines. One is a 24/12 roof, the other a 36/12. The idea behind the steep pitched roof is to reduce wall space and use the roof area to funnel heat to the upper floors via a central masonry chimney. This reduces siding & insulation costs, with the savings put into the more highly insulated roof. The basic footprint of the main room is 16'x16'. With an 8x8 entry and a 12x16' workroom/shower/pantry annex. The wall height to the roofline is 6ft. The extra height in the roof gives the chance for better views out of skylights. The attic over the entry is for storage and the attic over the workspace is a spare room and access to the main bedroom. It also helps keep the stair/ladder out of the kitchen/living area.

It's designed to be small and easy to build, and quick, and to use largely self-milled wood for framing, siding and finish. Slab on grade and blockwork chimney connecting to an Amish wood cookstove in the kitchen.

If I had a good year I could be living in this next winter.....

hamish · February 15, 2015, 08:12:21 PM

When all you heat is "upstairs" it makes for miserable living "downstairs". Traditionally having sleeping areas on the upper floors make for some hot sleeps. Not to mention all the wastes space with a roof designed as such.

A 500 to 1000 sqft area properly insulated is a pittance to heat.

Magicman · February 15, 2015, 09:57:03 PM

Keep us updated with your progress. 8)

FarmingSawyer · February 16, 2015, 07:29:53 AM

Quote from: hamish on February 15, 2015, 08:12:21 PM
When all you heat is "upstairs" it makes for miserable living "downstairs". Traditionally having sleeping areas on the upper floors make for some hot sleeps. Not to mention all the wastes space with a roof designed as such.

A 500 to 1000 sqft area properly insulated is a pittance to heat.

Hamish...the cookstove in the kitchen heats the downstairs. The upstairs is only heated via radiant heat through the floor and via the masonry chimney. The house is designed to maximize the space we spend 80% of our time in....work areas/living spaces. The upstairs is smaller by design. The steep roof actually helps preserve space to use because you can stand up at full height for more of the "attic" area and it comes to a rapid point sooner overhead than a normal, shallower pitched roof.

Magicman · February 16, 2015, 08:08:15 AM

It is not that extreme, but I used a 12/12 on the Cabin for that reason. More walkable space in the upstairs bedroom.

dgdrls · February 16, 2015, 09:33:41 AM

I would love to do the same,
have you considered a round house?
less materials to build only one load bearing column.

With my eye, your design has a Catholic Church and rectory look to it.

DGDrls

jueston · February 16, 2015, 02:48:11 PM

Quote from: dgdrls on February 16, 2015, 09:33:41 AM

With my eye, your design has a Catholic Church and rectory look to it.

DGDrls

that's exactly what i was thinking

but i think its an attractive design, would definitely be unique in a world of cookie cutter vinyl sided mcmansions...

thecfarm · February 16, 2015, 02:51:50 PM

That would get my attention driving down the raod.

FarmingSawyer · February 16, 2015, 06:05:28 PM

Quote from: dgdrls on February 16, 2015, 09:33:41 AM

With my eye, your design has a Catholic Church and rectory look to it.

DGDrls

I agree it looks a little too ecclesiastical for my tastes--hence the computer modeling..... I think thickened roof with possible mock-shingled thatch to round it out a bit might help. A few skylights and some rounded door tops, etc. Should have it more Hobbit & less Holy Ghost.....

I did think about going round with the whole thing, ala yurt....I already have one of those my father put up on my woodlot..... But I need quick and easy and I'm a square frame kinda guy. I can weave shingles around a corner in my sleep and know how to fit cabinets and doors and trim on xyz axis..... Round work might come after I am living in a place for a while. I am thinking of a cluster of small buildings rather than one massive house. Easier to heat, easier to afford one at a time..... the round house could be central to the layout and contain the woodfired bread oven and sauna.......

47sawdust · February 17, 2015, 06:05:32 AM

At 68 my ideal house would be a ranch house,full basement,wide overhangs,overbuilt truss roof,2x8 walls,large quantity of cellulose in walls and roof....everything reached by a small ladder......with attached garage and cellar access from garage.I'll probably finish my life in the house I started in 1973,suits our needs and visitors seem to like it,good house to take a nap in so they say.

drobertson · February 17, 2015, 08:15:40 AM

the first thought that came to my mind was tee pee, I hope you get a chance to prove it,

Sixacresand · February 17, 2015, 08:53:18 AM

Ideal to me would be a ranch style single story (no stairs), hip roof (no gables to paint), low pitch roof (able to walk around on) and full basement (easy access to wiring, plumbling and duct work). And big porches on front and back.

FarmingSawyer · February 17, 2015, 05:46:18 PM

Quote from: Sixacresand on February 17, 2015, 08:53:18 AM
Ideal to me would be a ranch style single story (no stairs), hip roof (no gables to paint), low pitch roof (able to walk around on) and full basement (easy access to wiring, plumbling and duct work). And big porches on front and back.

Ah...that would be a nightmare here in Maine.... Shoveling roofs is hard enough when gravity helps, but a shallow roof would be unpleasant. I like the porches, and on my bigger house design I have trellised porches with grape vines drawn in. For me all the plumbing--except for drains--will be exposed as an architectural element--makes it easier to replace the copper pipes too when the druggies strip it out......

This house will be sided with unpainted cedar. I might paint the trim green, though.....One of the keys to the ubersteep roof is that it's almost like a sidewall....just lean a ladder against it to work on it, and it sheds the snow well. I would have a skylight near the peak which would open enough to climb out of to service the chimney.

snowstorm · February 17, 2015, 08:04:31 PM

no body uses copper pipe anymore. pex is way faster and the druggies wont steal it

POSTON WIDEHEAD · February 17, 2015, 08:12:32 PM

Quote from: snowstorm on February 17, 2015, 08:04:31 PM
no body uses copper pipe anymore. pex is way faster and the druggies wont steal it

Sixacresand · February 18, 2015, 08:22:33 AM

Pex is new to me. I will have to give it a try. Thanks

FarmingSawyer · February 18, 2015, 08:42:40 AM

Quote from: snowstorm on February 17, 2015, 08:04:31 PM
no body uses copper pipe anymore. pex is way faster and the druggies wont steal it

While I'm grateful this rental has pex, because the landlord stripped all the insulation out of the cellar and the pipes keep freezing......I love copper. I won't use pex in my houses. I've plumbed with copper most of my life and love the look of a well run installation.

FarmingSawyer · February 18, 2015, 08:47:19 AM

Based on @dgdrls idea of a round house, and the fact that I stumbled on some interesting articles this morning which got me thinking, I've added some design ideas to my 3D sketches.....

I've always liked the look of roundhouses. Just don't know how to do circular work. Perhaps it's time I learned..... Don't seem to be may books out there on the topic though.

thecfarm · February 18, 2015, 07:37:12 PM

I like the looks of a round house too. I myself would not have the smarts to make it come out right. Lots more work,time to it,but the look is worth it.

Don_Papenburg · February 18, 2015, 09:00:35 PM

A lot of circular work can be done with long triangular segments . Truly straight wall are harder to construct than curved walls .

pineywoods · February 18, 2015, 10:04:41 PM

As long as you're talking round, why not go one step further and look at geodesic domes. Looks complicated but really isn't. 30 ft free span with nothing bigger than 2X4 is easily done...Absolute maximum interior space with minium wall/roof surface...

FarmingSawyer · February 19, 2015, 09:46:00 AM

Piney, a looong time ago I studied geodesic domes. I've built geo-greenhouses, a few dome playscapes, and really thought about creating a house. The problem being....their ugly. I haven't seen one dome house that I would live in. They are also all siding..... I would imagine in the north here they'd be hard to heat/insulate. And snow load? I know the dome distributes load evenly, but..... the lack of pitch on the upper faces would cause snow to build up there. Also flashing and water issues could be a nightmare.

I've just spent 2-3 hours studying roundhouse designs and building techniques. I think one could be built inexpensively. Be cheap to heat, and with a witches hat roof, shed the snow and keep it warm--think of a wool hat pulled down over your head to your ears..... Low sidewall height where the space is largely unuseable anyway--we always put bookshelves, cabinets, etc near the walls, so why do we build them 8-10ft tall in single story structures? They can be shorter, meaning less insulation and materials, and 2ft into the room where we stand/live there is plenty of headroom.....

The other design flaw I'm seeing in roundhouses/domes is that the heating isn't central to the space. The stove is always pushed off to an outside wall, or the chimney is rickety-racked off at odd angles to get it away from the center.....so a skylight can be put in a dome at the top. Cute. But impractical. Send the chimney up the center. Keep the stove central--if heating with wood--and put a couple of skylights around the roof lower down the slope for easier maintenance.

Ah well..just some thoughts as the snow hammers down outside....

Tom the Sawyer · February 20, 2015, 08:15:52 PM

I too studied domes a long time ago (1970s) and found them quite interesting. A sphere encloses more cubic footage than any other shape. One of the significant benefits for geodesic domes is that it takes about 1/3 less building material to enclose the same living space. Not only is that a reduction in material cost, it also means significantly less thermal loss through the structure - most will have reduced heating/cooling units for the square footage conditioned.

Geodesic domes are based on triangle construction, the triangle is the strongest geometric shape. Domes are not all siding, they are primarily roofing covered surfaces. The intrinsic strength means that no interior supports are required for the structure. If you want additional interior floors they can be load bearing and not be attached to the dome structure. They can take extreme snow loads (8') without failure. Many are designed to withstand hurricane and seismic loads as well. There was an article in Popular Science in the 70's that showed a full-sized dump truck hanging from the center-point of a geodesic salt dome.

Since there are no required interior supports for the dome structure, walls and utilities can be placed almost anywhere. Many make use of forced air systems centrally located with outlets at the base of walls where they capitalize on the Coriolis Effect. When super-insulated, the reduced heat loss means that solar, geothermal, woodstoves and heat pumps become reasonable options.

Back in the 70s when domes were relatively new, there were issues with leakage but years of practical experience and material improvements have corrected that. They are not for everyone, like art, every home design has its detractors. My first wife told me, "I ain't livin' in no dang round house!" (actually it is a truncated icosahedron). Back in the early 90's while on vacation with my current wife (I got it right the second time), she said, "hey, look at that neat house." We started our geodesic dome Labor Day of '92 and moved in Memorial Day '93.

Gross square footage is well over 5000 square feet, 27' ceiling, all-electric heat pump, super-insulated. Very low utility costs.

jssmitch · February 20, 2015, 08:50:34 PM

My cousin bought one of the round houses, never could stop the rain from coming in the roof, mainly around the windows and every where there was a bend in the roof. suggest you get a good warranty and a good contractor that can fix any problems.

pineywoods · February 20, 2015, 09:43:19 PM

I got interested in geodesic domes back in the late 60's. Bought some books, and built a 3 ft diameter model out of popcicle sticks. It was incredibly strong for it's size. A stack of 8 ft 2X4's and a compound miter saw is all it would take to build a full size one. Early on, there were problems with leaks because most builders tried to use conventional roofing shingles for outside cover. Rubber sheet roofing like used on RV's took care of that. Ran across one that was built entirely of fiberglass panels..I probably would have built a house and shop, but we inheirited the old family farm with a conventional stick built, brick faced house, and a good sized stick built shop and barn. If I had a need for a big free span, high ceiling building, I would seriously consider a geodesic dome.