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Asher
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2015 04:31pm
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Hey everyone, I just stumbled across this site and I must say I am impressed.. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences...
This spring the wife and I purchased a place down in AR, it's a couple acres of a sloping hill side by the White river. It currently has a very old and run down 14x70 mobile home on it, the appealing part was that is already has all the utilities in place. We basically bought the property with the intention of building a weekend cabin, the plan is to use the mobile home as a sleeping base and supply shed until the cabin is finished then rip it out.
We found a 400 square foot cabin on line that she loves and wants to duplicate. The foot print of this cabin is 14'x28' + a 3 seasons porch that is 12'x14'. (here is the link)
https://www.icetrend.com/from-the-outside-its-just-a-tiny-log-cabin-but-look-inside-y our-mind-will-explode/
I have been working this over in my head for a couple months and figured it would be just as easy to bump the width out 2 more feet to keep the width on "8's" and maybe even take the length to 32' for the same reason.. The location we want to build will place the cabin on the side of a hill, if everything goes the way we want (no large boulders) I will be able notch out the ground to pour a walk out basement type foundation under the living area (16'x28'). The goal is to make the lower basement area a garage to store the fishing boat.
So now for the obstacles,
I know the foundation is going to cost me $$$ because of the location, the other is I will have limited time to work on this project since I am 5 hours away and will be doing it on weekends and during vacations. So being efficient is a must.
Another issue is that where we plan on placing the cabin is perpendicular to where the trailer is, but the front edge of the cabin will be right up against the mobiles wall so building the front porch area is going to have to be held off until the cabin is shelled and trailer can be removed or at least that end of it cut off..
The plan:
I originally planned on a standard "stick" framing design, but it is time consuming... I really want to get the building up and shelled in as fast as possible. The plan would be to build as much of the walls here at home and then trailer it down, but then I thought of a different plan (plan B)... Could I built a post and beam (pavilion structure) and then frame in walls after I had the roof up. The only reason I was thinking about going this direction is because it allows me to be more versatile with interior wall placement since I wouldn't have to be concerned about supporting walls and I will have a roof over my head to help with adverse weather.
Either way I plan on having 2x6 studs on the exterior walls for insulation reasons so it's not like I am going to skimp on framing the outer walls with either plan...
Does the post and beam idea sound like a better idea, or should I just stick with the original plan? Shoot me some of your thoughts... I am far from being a professional builder, but I have built a couple interior remodels, hand full of storage buildings, and helped my dad build a house when I was in my early teens. So I'm not completely useless, and I have all the power the power tools I will need... The one thing I might have to rent is a lift if I plan on doing the "beam plan" and can't figure out a way to make the skidsteer do the work...
Sorry for the long wind, there's a lot going on in this head and I'm not always good and typing them out for others to understand...
Thanks in advance for the suggestions..
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rockies
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2015 06:51pm
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I have studied this cabin quite a bit. I first saw it on an episode of "Tiny House Hunting". I liked it because it was one of the few simply shaped cabins available that had a large bathroom, bedroom and main living space and didn't look like a boring box. I was less thrilled with the fact that if you come in from outside covered in mud you have to walk through the whole house and bedroom to get to the bathroom, and the $400 k price tag was a bit high (!)
A "post and beam" design would have to have pier supports under each post. The floor would sit on a ledger beam wrapped around the outside of the posts and also running across the width of the cabin. The exterior walls would sit on the floor platform and attach to the outer side of the posts. You're still building 2x6 walls to wrap the cabin with but the loading points would be the posts.
If you want to enclose the cabin quickly I would use Structural Insulated Panels for the roof (and maybe even the floor platform). The panels are about 10 inches of foam sandwiched between osb. It's a structural panel, insulation and vapor barrier in one. You screw them down onto the wall tops and ridge beam, seal the seams and apply the roofing material. They are much faster than stick built roofs.
The other nice thing about these panels is that you don't have to build in a ventilation channel, which is very difficult to do properly for any cathedral ceiling since there isn't much depth to work with in a cathedral ceiling.
You would still use either post and beam or stick built for the walls.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2015 07:17pm
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I like your 'post and beam' concept....It does allow for getting the roof up quickly and move the interior walls anywhere you like. It is a good solution for irregular or rocky sites. I built a 'pole house' which is the same thing. (see pics) 2x6 walls are good, a 2x10 floor with insulation would be good as well.
Are you going to pour a perimeter foundation or footings?
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Don_P
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2015 07:50pm
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Post and beam and post frame (Borrego's), metal connected framing. Timberframe, wood connected framing.
There is actually nothing that is all... cheaper, faster and easier, than stick framing. SIPS are fast but are not cheap and generally require a crane on site. I've also had blowing issues from one company, had to modify a panel in the field (engineer required) and cut into nothing but air, kinda killed the thrill for me on those. But I'm not at all opposed to any of them. You can actually build a conventional floor on top of your full foundation and set the posts on the floor, just make sure that you put blocking under the posts to transfer that heavy point load down to the foundation. If you do go that route remember that a roof without bracing walls is capable of being blown over, brace it well until the walls are in and sheathed.
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Asher
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2015 07:52pm - Edited by: Asher
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If the ground allows it, we are going to do a full (well 3 walled) foundation. The lower / open sided wall would have a steel I beam and 2x10 header to allow for a garage door on the 4th wall side.. If I can't do a full foundation, I am definitely pouring piers. Picture a house with a walk out basement, but instead it's going to be a garage/storage.
We really like the design of the place, we took into account the bathroom is only accessible from the bedroom and aren't worried about it. I am sure I will have a outside wash off area somewhere outside, but honestly what we do now is just run down to the river and take a quick "cold" dip to rinse off (it's a clear water river with gravel bottom)... If everything works like we want and it starts getting crowded, we are planning on mirroring the cabin on the opposite side and building a large deck between them with a cowboy hot tub and covered pavilion and open fire pit in the middle of it.. but again that's a "way down the road" dream...
I know the thought of building a duplicate cabin is not money smart, but we figured that if it did happen, we could always offer the second one to friends/family even if we weren't there and not have to worry about our stuff in the way and heating/cooling more cabin then we need when it's just us down there...
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Rdkng07
Member
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2015 01:46pm
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I really like the cabin. I needed more info so I found this:
URL
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Asher
Member
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2015 08:08pm
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Great find Rdkng, I like that plan "B" bathroom layout much better...
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2015 08:26pm - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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I think we commented a while ago on a cabin layout with the bathroom access only through a bedroom.
When you have guests they are not going to want to wake you at night to use the bathroom. They are either going to hold it until you wake or go outside. Than they will bring bugs and maybe even a bat or mouse inside with them.
I would find a way to change the layout to make the bathroom accessible through a back door so as someone else mentioned you won't be tracking dirt throughout the entire house and your bedroom to use the facility's.
Edit: Lol,just looked at the alternative layout. That's much better.
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Rdkng07
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2015 08:27pm
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Ya I think the bathroom access from the kitchen area too is a better idea.
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2015 08:00pm
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I've never seen the "alternate" plan for the washroom before. It is a good idea to include a separate access door to the toilet from the main room, but "ever the architect" I've always been hesitant to have a toilet space open right into a kitchen prep space. While I do think that the layout is much more practical for the bathroom, I would now flip the kitchen so that the washer/dryer closet is next to the bathroom (less plumbing runs) and the kitchen prep space is moved further away from the bathroom. So the kitchen would now be from left to right: fridge, counter, stove, counter, sink.
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