Cabin Design - Seeking your ideas

[wendigo]

We are going ahead with building our "ski cabin".
Have to deal with heavy snow loads so 12/12 roof.
Looking at something in the range of 18-20' by 20-24'
Prefer a simple roof line to keep costs down

Mandatory:
-1/2 loft
-plenty of windows - south and west oriented
-1 bedroom - not including loft
-kitchen - with emphasis on cooking and being open to general area - everyone goes there anyway
-major Arctic entry - we have lots of skis and other crap
-1 bathroom
-small washer and dryer


I've worked up about a dozen different designs, but can always learn from the collective. I can stick build easily, really dig timberframe but probably will be time and $ constrained.

So if you were building and/or renting (we are going to rent it out to skiers and fishermen) what would you be sure you had?
Any particular design that is really efficient (and has character)?

[dk_alaskan]

why just one bedroom? are you and the wife/so willing to cozy up in bed next to your nice, but oh so smelly hippy type bff after a LONG day of skiing?

[RootSkier]

for the bathroom...put the shower and toilet behind a door but keep the vanity separate so people can brush their teeth while someone else shits. put bathroom and kitchen on back to back walls so you only have one wall of plumbing

think pocket doors or even simpler, barn door type units to maximize floorspace.

opposing dormers in the loft would give it a ton more usable space, maybe even enough for a double bed in each dormer

i would look at hard at sips for the roof, especially if it's a simple design

you should post up your favorite plan for critique. are you using sketchup?

[Tippster]

[DougW]

That sounds like our cabin. Main floor 32x20 ' , loft is about 2/3 not 1/2. One bedroom on first floor. Don't realy have drawings other than some early excel stuff.

One side open sitting area, room for couch , love seat and coffee table, next dining table ,large enough to sit 8, then pretty standard size kitchen 10x10

other side wood stove and stairs to loft, then bedroom 9.5 by 8ish wide, then bathroom utility room, shower 4x4, toilet, room for stacked washer and drier, sink vanity and framed utility room for panel and hot water heater plus there's a lot of cabinets for storage/

For us it worked out to a good size.

[BigDaddy]

Sounds exactly like what I built in VT. We have two beds, one and half baths and it's only 850 sq. ft. w/ a footprint of 20' x 24'. I added a 7' x 14' mudroom with electric radiant heat. It's great for drying out gear and storing ski stuff. We rent quite a bit year round and people love it. I used shiplap siding on the interior and polyurethaned it so it makes it "golden". One thing I would highly recommend and am so glad I did, is use polyurethane spray foam for our insulation. We did the entire building envelope and have not had a single mouse intrusion so far in 3-4 years!!! (That is so worth the extra dough, not to mention, it is super efficient.)

Here's a few pics:






As you can see, I have a gambrel roof, but it is also very efficient. The downstairs is one open space, with the bath off the kitchen. It really works well for a small family, but honestly, I wish it had three bedrooms. It would be better for when we have other friends.

[sidewall]

Have you checked out the pre-fab design wee house? They're pretty cool,
http://weehouse.com/

[BFD]

Do not build dormers. They hold snow. A 12x12 pitch is not neccesassy. 5x12 will shed snow. You do not want snow to sit against your house. I would get the first floor up from the ground on the foundation at least 3 feet. Put 4' eaves on the roof to get the snow away from the house. There is a builder here that has a good house design. I'll get a picture of one of his houses for you.

[RootSkier]

Do not build dormers. They hold snow. A 12x12 pitch is not neccesassy. 5x12 will shed snow.

If you have a 12 pitch roof you can put a 5 pitch dormer on it.

[DougW]

I know at the KH ski hill lots of the big houses have metal roofs but dormers and other complicated elements. The hold snow and they have had leaking problems. Ours slides with a 10/12 roof with almost any amount of snow.

Sounds like BFD would like ours. Its on 3 foot piers which actually worked out well as the crawl space is pretty useful storage.

[DougW]

Don't think you need 4' eaves, 2 feet provides lots of protection for siding and majority of snow is 10 feet from skirt.

[Tippster]

That's a badass cabin, BigDaddy. I'll bring the wine and Steaks.

[AdironRider]

Im not quite at the building stage, but going through the same process.

countryplans.com is a pretty cool little site with a good forum with lots of local ingenuity. Lots of good info and ideas there if you poke around.

[iceman]

That's a badass cabin, BigDaddy. I'll bring the wine and Steaks.

Doug's is sweet too. Man, I remember when you were just starting to clear the land for that place, Doug, nice work man.

On BigDaddy's the only thing I would do is try to get the plumbing off the exterior walls and I'm not sure that I would have given up interior space within the foundation for that back porch. Nice place to keep a little wood and clean off your boots but that could be accomplished pretty cheaply otherwise. Nice places, though, boys.

[wendigo]

A few of the leading designs
Walls will be 8', with 10' max




Thanks for the input so far. Hadn't thought of pocket doors, that may be a great use of space.

Photos of other places are great, hint hint.

Pretty set on a steep roof, as I don't want to worry about it when there is 8' of maritime falling. Plus this place will be right next to this


Planning on a pier foundation ~3' off the ground, so already have that covered. Maybe I'll push the loft out a bit further, hadn't really thought of that before.

[OSECS]

Do not build dormers. They hold snow. A 12x12 pitch is not neccesassy. 5x12 will shed snow. You do not want snow to sit against your house. I would get the first floor up from the ground on the foundation at least 3 feet. Put 4' eaves on the roof to get the snow away from the house. There is a builder here that has a good house design. I'll get a picture of one of his houses for you.

The OP said a loft was on their wish list, and you're not gonna get a usable loft with a 5/12 pitch on a 24' wide house without some fairly tall cripple/pony walls and additional labor/framing/materials cost. Dormers holding snow isn't an issue as long as the flashing and roofing are installed correctly.

BTW most roofs "hold" snow to some degree anyway so what's the big deal with a roof that holds snow ??

[concretejungle]

Our friends cabins set-up seems fairly efficient fwiw. You enter into the mudroom with washer/dryer room for gear and then immediately left off of that room is the 1 bedroom. Kitchen is next and then dining/living with a 1/2 loft upstairs over the front leaving the living area open. Bathroom is off of the kitchen.

[iceman]

Most of the time when I sketch one out I end up with a couple of big 5-pitch shed dormers on a roof that's 10 pitch or so. You'll end up with a lot of space upstairs, enough for two bedooms and a small bath, there's not a lot of angles to hold snow and it's pretty simple to frame and build. The gambrel roof accomplishes pretty much the same thing but they're just not my style for whatever reason. But there's a lot to be said for the clean lines, simplicity and ease of insulating a roof like Doug's.

[DougW]

"Planning on a pier foundation ~3' off the ground, so already have that covered. Maybe I'll push the loft out a bit further, hadn't really thought of that before. "

Exactly like we did. If piers are 3' depending on spacing beams are 12" so you end up with ~4' of head room in crawl space so its less of a crawl space than a useful bend over storage space where you still hit your back. Ours is not ventilated but is dry as a bone. Put down geo textile/ 10 mil poly and another layer of geo then 1-2" of gravel. Skirt is standard 2x4 construction PT plywood with stoco finish. As space is heated spaces between is insulated with pink board. ( Eldo helped with that)

[DougW]

Can't really tell from picture of loft but there is 2' pony wall which really increases the usable space on 20ft wide loft. Have to really watch the structure though.

[OSECS]

Planning on a pier foundation ~3' off the ground, so already have that covered. Maybe I'll push the loft out a bit further, hadn't really thought of that before.

Pier foundations are cost effective, but cause varmint/critter problems. Skunks take residence up under your home, and when they "go off".... big problems !!!!

Setting the roof rafter bearing up above the floor on cripple walls means you have to brace the roof back to the floor with kicker bracing or create a ridge beam condition.

[irul&ublo]

heavy snow area...digging your car out sucks. garage, ground floor. living space 1 floor up. stairway from garage to living space. extend a front deck out over garage, keeps snow away. roll up garage doors.

You do not need a steep roof. you can have a regular pitch engineered to hold snow.

If you do have a steep roof, designed to shed, keep that in mind w/ respect to doors and windows. Avoid dormers and skylights.

[BigDaddy]

Doug's is sweet too. Man, I remember when you were just starting to clear the land for that place, Doug, nice work man.

On BigDaddy's the only thing I would do is try to get the plumbing off the exterior walls and I'm not sure that I would have given up interior space within the foundation for that back porch. Nice place to keep a little wood and clean off your boots but that could be accomplished pretty cheaply otherwise. Nice places, though, boys.

Yeah, I remember when Doug was starting his... it's very cool to see it done and come out so nice.

All my plumbing, is basically in an interior core. The sink plumbing is all inside a false wall, just behind the heater. There is an enclosed, heated basement 10' x 10' just below, which houses the water pressure tank, filtration system, compost tank, on demand hot water, etc. Again, everything is sealed so no mice and very efficient. The main bath is directly above and the half bath above that. Pipes are all in one zone, heated (with back up) and not subject to the elements. Washer and dryer are full size stackables in the bath, so again all pipes in same area.

The front porch provides a nice protected transition to the hot tub which is located just off the steps. This is also something to consider for attracting renters. (I would say at least half of our renters are there for that amenity.) It's also a great place to hang and enjoy sunsets in the summer and views of the Green Mountains.

The back porch/entry area is very useful and you would not believe how fast that space fills up! (The back three feet is actually a storage closet, so it's more like 7' x 11'. We can store our ski gear, wine, supplies, etc. independent of the renters this way.)

My place is on concrete piers, and haven't had any critter problems... so far.

Tippster, why not come for Ullrfest when there's roasted pig, Long Trail kegs, etc. You can still bring wine and steaks, though! (Note, this applies to all mags...)

[userA]

our family has a Pan Abode design cabin. solid cedar wood construction that stacks like a classic log cabin. Lots of options and has been solid. Best reason for us is that roof can be lifted. and another story of interlocked stacking and we have a second floor, lower roof and sq. footage will double. The location is @ mt. Pilchuck so snow loads are nominal in a normal season, but last years record snow was no problem for the roof. worth a look

[Labcabin]

I had one of these. A 1977, same color even. Did a couple east coast tours in it.