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tugboat
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2015 12:54am
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Hello all. To be direct, my wife and I have become very interested in a minimalist lifestyle and are in the very early stages of mapping out our future in a tiny home living as self sufficiently as we can. I was wondering if anyone had any experience living full time in a classic manor shed/cabin? We are interested in a 16x16, maybe 16x20 summer wind model. We are planning on placing it on a permanent cinder block foundation, and using old tongue in groove heart pine we salvaged for all the interior walls, floors, and ceilings. I imagine this would sturdy it up a bit, but curious how durable a shed like this would be. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks 
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TheWildMan
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2015 03:13pm
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they are fairly durible, but it also depends on your climate. they usually are basic 2x4 frames, very solid and can easily hold the weight of snow, etc. they should be considered comparable to house trailers/mobile homes, they won't last in extreme conditions like hurricanes and tornados but neigher will most buildings. the cinder block idea should keep the floor joists drier and away from the ground.
since they use 2x4 frames you will be limited in insulation but they are also small and easy to heat. also they probably won't keep out grizly bears. given the small space humidity can be a problem so ensure good ventilation, if you have high humidity it may become attractive to carpenter ants (they like damp wood to nest in).
i know people who had similar buildings for the last 15 years without any trouble. i myself have been living in a similar building for years without any trouble and i expect it to last another 10 or 15 easily. also small sizes make it easy and cheap to repair.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2015 06:16pm
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Many of these have a pair of "runners" that the shed floor bears on. You will probably be building a perimeter foundation and having the shed bear on those outside edge walls. Make sure they know how you are doing it. The roof systems on sheds are often pretty sketchy.
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tugboat
Member
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# Posted: 4 Jan 2015 12:25am
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That's great, thank you both for your input. We are still researching; we want to make sure we will have no problems if for some reason our dwelling is ever subject to inspection. We are planning on buying a small piece of land in a rural part of a county that has adopted the International building code, I have emailed the building official of said county about square footage requirements and we shouldn't run into any problems concerning the size of our dwelling. Now trying to get information regarding composting toilets. Thanks again, I'm sure this will be a great resource for me and my family in the years to come.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 4 Jan 2015 08:03am
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To meet code there are minimum insulation requirements. To meet these in a 2x4 wall usually requires foam. It might be worth checking for a local company and getting an idea of that cost. Roof insulation normally needs to be about double that of walls and floor.
Many sheds are built with a non code roof. Check the member dimensions and make sure they meet the specs in chapter 8 of the IRC as well as being able to hold the insulation of choice and a vent space if needed. Next check to see that they are built with either ceiling joists in the lower third of roof height or a structural ridgebeam. If the building comes with an engineer's seal as a habitable residence that is another way to meet code.
I usually have a sit down pre construction meeting with the building official and discuss the project where we both try to find any areas where we might have problems and resolve them at that early stage.
Best luck with your project
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SandyR
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# Posted: 4 Jan 2015 08:50am
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I too sat down with the building code official. It was the right thing thing to do because we got to talking and had the same interests. I called him for a couple of questions during the build. When he came out to inspect he told me in the beginning of the inspection that we needed a railing for the three steps coming down from the back door. I told him we did not know that and I thought the railing would take away from our ideas. At the end of the inspection he said he wouldn't enforce it.
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