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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / Fixing to get started
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bschlute
Member
# Posted: 29 Nov 2018 10:33
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We are fixing to get started on our cabin project. Plan to build in phases for to many reasons to count or go over, but decided it fit our situation the best.

When we are finished (could be years) we want a dogtrot style camp that can serve multi families (my brother, dad and Me)

1st phase is to build a 12 x 24 bunk house with 2 bedrooms (9x 12) with a 6 x 8 bathroom in between. We plan to build a 12/12 pitch so we can have a loft for air mattress for kids only and or light storage

The door to enter will be in the middle of the building with a bedroom door to the left and right and a bathroom door in front of slightly offset. We plan to have a ladder going to loft above also in this area.

As for building materials. We are using 6 - 12 inch sonotube piers. With a double 2x 12 beam running the 24 feet. We are going to use joist hangers off the inside beam and span the 12 feet with 2x8x 12 for floor joists. 2x 4 walls with 2x 6 rafters and 2x6 loft joists.

Metal roofing and still undecided on either T-111 siding or metal.

There is very little snow load where we live( Arkansas) and no codes to follow or worry about..

The 2nd phase will be to build a 16 x 24 main house with small kitchen and rest open area for common room.

The 3rd phase will be to connect the buildings with a screen porch.

This will be used as a weekend getaway or a hunting cabin so nothing full time. Currently no power or water but both could happen in the future.

Looking for suggestions or if anyone see's any obvious faults in the plan.

rockies
Member
# Posted: 29 Nov 2018 19:23 - Edited by: rockies
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Well, a cabin that is 24 feet wide with a 6 foot wide bathroom in the middle will give you bedrooms that are about 8 feet wide once you subtract the thickness of the walls. Still, the bedroom will be 8 x 11 (inside measurements) which isn't bad but doesn't leave you many options for bed placement, closets or dressers (if any). It will be really tight with a queen sized mattress but can work with singles.

The main problem I see is that the design sort of defeats the purpose of a "Bunkie" which is usually the type of building where the kids like to congregate and hang out and talk and gossip. Hard to do with all the rooms being separate. There's also the issue of where to put the ladder to the loft and any issues with escaping fire and egress windows.

What you might consider is putting the bathroom in the northeast corner with the 8 foot length along the 24 foot long wall and then building in bunk style beds along the north wall (single sized mattresses) between the bathroom and the west wall. This will leave you one large open south facing room for everyone to gather in (you can still have the loft too and put some double or queen sized mattresses up there for adults - more private).

Borrego
Member
# Posted: 29 Nov 2018 20:05
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Do you have any plans or drawings you could share? We might be able to add some pertinent comments/suggestions....

DaveBell
Moderator
# Posted: 29 Nov 2018 22:47
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Don't attach loft joists to wall studs.

bschlute
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2018 18:57
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Here are some rough plans... and what we are trying to build finish project..

again we are building in phases that could take years to complete.

davebell: if we drop the loft height we are planning on using a ledger board to rest loft joists on. The loft is only going to be used for a child sleeping area only. A place to put some air mattress.
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Nate R
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2018 19:18
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How much space is on either side of the beds? Looks pretty tight if that's a queen.

rockies
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2018 19:31 - Edited by: rockies
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Hello. Everyone here knows I'll be responding to a design question so here goes.

I would move the east(?) bedroom wall in the larger building to align it under the ridge beam. This will allow you to put a closet inside the bedroom facing west towards the bed. Your kitchen will still be a good size.

I take it the kitchen is laid out with the fridge at the bottom of the "L" run of cabinets, then the sink, the stove on the north wall under a window and a pantry in the corner?

A better layout would be to switch the pantry and fridge locations, put the sink under the window and the stove where the sink is. I would add windows into the screen porch and make the door an outswing into the porch as well.

Your bedrooms are tight and there is no storage shown. Since the roofline runs north/south I would extend the length of the building by about 4 feet to the south and create roomier bedrooms.

How are you accessing the lofts?

beachman
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2018 20:45
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Wire the house for 110 while you build. I did not and had to do it later at great effort! Then you have a power ready home for solar or grid when the time comes. Plumb the place as well for water while building for generator pump or tank fed water. Build the bedrooms at least 9 ft wide or more if possible. You might be glad later even though you only sleep there. Mark an 8ft room at your home and see how long you can stay in the lines. I love the design and roof lines.

Princelake
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2018 21:35
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I've seen that plans before online. It's a great idea to have bunkie and overhanging enclosed porch. The only thing I don't like is it looks exactly what you plan on doing. Adding buildings to buildings. I call those addashacks. I like a more simple look. What about doing a straight roof right across no valleys. You can then have basically a second floor right across and when building with a 12/12 pitch roof. You'd have tons of room above the bunkie section and room above the enclosed porch.

DaveBell
Moderator
# Posted: 3 Dec 2018 22:27
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Quoting: bschlute
davebell: if we drop the loft height we are planning on using a ledger board to rest loft joists on. The loft is only going to be used for a child sleeping area only. A place to put some air mattress.


The wall studs carry the load of everything above. Attaching the loft joists to the wall studs adds more load, possibly beyond design limits. Once everything is built and closed in, future loads cannot be predicted. You don't want a collapse and injuries.

Typically, a shorter wall stud is attached to the current load bearing wall stud and the loft joist is placed on top of the added studs. The added studs carry the weight of the loft and anything put on the loft. Dead load and live load.

You can apply the same principle to the ledger board - attaching it to the added studs to transfer the load independently. In this case the added studs would not need to be shortened. Just do not nail the ledger board to any current wall studs.

Quoting: bschlute
12 x 24 bunk house
I imagine you are going to come out from the 12 foot side 8, 10, or 12 feet to create the loft. What size board needs to be used on the mid-room end of the loft? What is the dead load and live load for the loft? What size loft joists and spacing?

bschlute
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2018 11:15 - Edited by: bschlute
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Here is what we have in mind for what the loft will look like. Plan to access by a wall ladder and again it is just for storage and an air mattress. Planning on loft joists to be 2x 6 and they will span the 12 feet across.

So if i am following correctly, we should add a loft stud similar to a cripple for the loft joist to sit on top of to carry the weight?

The main cabin part is probably 3 years down the road after we save up for it and see what future needs are. it could be anywhere from a 24x 24 to a 16 x 24 to a 12 x 24.. we are undecided on it.


Also this camp will be in a family trust, so not looking for resale value or anything like that. We are trying to custom build it to fit mine and my brothers family. The dogtrot idea gives both families bedroom privacy, while a sleeping loft gives our kids, a place to sleep.

We have discussed closets and don't fit what we need. We will probably stay for a couple days and live out of a suitcase or travel bag for clothing, and take advantage of under bed storage for other needs (blankets, sheets)
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DaveBell
Moderator
# Posted: 4 Dec 2018 17:38
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You cannot use 2x6. Scanning the joist span tables for all species at #2 grade you need to use 2x8 at 16" centers.

Cripple studs are short single studs used under a window and are part of the wall load from foundation to roof. There is no second stud next to the cripple.

Add a second stud next to each wall stud, shortened so that you can mount the loft joist on top of it. Then the loft load is transferred to the foundation without using the wall stud.

So if you had an 8 foot wall stud and a 2x8 loft joist, you would take a second stud, cut off 7 1/4", nail it to the wall stud, then put the 2x8 on top and nail it also to the wall stud.

rockies
Member
# Posted: 7 Dec 2018 20:19 - Edited by: rockies
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This is an interesting layout that is quite similar to yours. It could be built in 2 or 3 stages.

https://www.keithhayhomes.co.nz/housing/architectural/park-terrace.html

It has excellent storage capabilities and the central section where the living room is could start out as a 3 season porch. The two hallways on either side of the fireplace (between the bathrooms and bedrooms) allow for a possible extra addition down the road and even more bedrooms
Floor Plan
Floor Plan


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