Tiny House Attempt
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@tig said:
The traditional Japanese tatami house does just what you suggest with a small core which is adjustable with sliding partitions and cupboards full of extra tatami-mats [6'x3'each]
My main worry with this project is as you hone it down it's becoming more like either a garden-shed, a caravan/camper-van or a small boat...
But I don't want to dis your ideas, I think they are interesting...
PS:
The new BBC detective series 'Vigil' [set an a trident submarine] shows how you can cram mixed uses into small spaces - although sleeping in a third-level bunk with ~500mm spacing, with two belts to strap you in while you try to sleep your 4hours seems somewhat unappealing !Constructive crit is always welcome TIG. In fact I am my own biggest critic as I never know when a design is actually finished.
I was aware of the Jananese system but must look it up again. If you have any links, I would appreciate it.
I came across a great article on the use of pods for homeless people some time back. I'll locate it a post here.
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I've found an article, Traditional Japanese House Floor Plans (with Drawings), which describes the 'Minka' house. It has some interesting features and a unique measuring system!
[attachment=0]https://upgradedhome.com/traditional-japanese-house-floor-plans/#Tatami_Mat_Characteristics_Uses
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I have been living in my TH for nearly 5yrs now. Very happily. I thought I might share this cool way of living with others.
But I have learnt several things in this time.
A. Dont bother engaging with FB groups to share. 50% wannabees, 40% wankers, 10% shysters.
B. Dont engage with commercial builders of TH's. Mostly greedy bastards who dont give a shit. And have only basic skills not suited to a TH barrelling down the road at 80klm
C. I could go on but I've lost interest.
D. Put me down as a nihilist.
E. Make sure you have an oven. And a deck.
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Not being interested in interaction ESPECIALLY on Social media, does not qualify you as a nihilist. it appears your lifestyle is, at least in part, hermit-like and there is no crime in that. In fact it shows a certain common sense and insight.
Keep sharing here so others can dream of the off-grid life. We may be wannabes but we'll try not to bother you.
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Hey Mike how's your tiny house project coming along??
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@joe wood said:
Hey Mike how's your tiny house project coming along??
Hi Joe,
Thanks for inquiring. The Tiny House project is on the back burner for the time being but I will pull it out to a front burner shortly.
The guy I am working on this with made a very simple observation that has changed the way I am now looking at the project. Jim, said to me over a coffee and cig that he thought 8'/2.4m was bit on the narrow side. He then pointed out to me that many mobile homes he saw being transported on low loaders were in the region of 10' to 12' wide! I agreed with him that it would make sense to have a 10'/3M to 12'/3.6M wide Tiny House if transport conditions allowed.
What I have done to set the design perimeters is to research the actual dimensions allowable, particularly the widths of mobile homes also bridge / flyover clearances and low-loader deck heights over ground level.
From what I understand typical mobile home widths is up to 12'/3.6m, road to underside of flyovers is 4.65M and low load deck height over ground is 1M. Based on this information the initial wider Tiny House design will be no more than 3.6M wide and 3.65M minus 150mm = 3.5M high.
I will post my initial design here over the Christmas period for all useful observations and comments.
Mike
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@mike lucey said:
Yes Mike, I'm finding the project very interesting.
The stairs is tricky to get right. My proposed ground floor to bottom of floor joists will be 2.1m (approx 7'0"). I will expose the floor joists in order to give the impression of more height. The rise per step will be approx 230mm a shade over the normally allowed maximum in standard dwellings (225mm).
[attachment=0:3t0cwkue]<!-- ia0 -->Sleeping Loft Stairs.jpeg<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:3t0cwkue]
I've used this type of stairs on a few attic conversions in the past and once the occupier gets used to them they work fine. I have included two hand rails which wrap around the 1st floor partition. These should help to make the stairs safer to use.I find "box-shaped" space-saving stairs very aesthetically pleasing. They also allow optimal use of storage space under the stairs, which is highly relevant for tiny houses.
https://www.pinterest.at/pin/423197696229129406/
As I understand it, the advantage of the other design is that they can rotate and be bought ready made at fairly low cost, in hardware store, ebay, amazon...
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I find "box-shaped" space-saving stairs very aesthetically pleasing. They also allow optimal use of storage space under the stairs, which is highly relevant for tiny houses.
https://www.pinterest.at/pin/423197696229129406/
Love it
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Hey Mike, a cool idea for your tiny house?
https://twitter.com/i/status/1487433429696270337 -
Thanks Joe, That fold down/out table and chairs is clever.
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It's a great idea, thank s Joe. I might just have to use that sometime.
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For my TH, quite a bit of research went into the stairs..
I started with the Japenese Tansu Stair thing...loving the storage.
Then my timber take on a Ships Stair... tempting.
And then what I actually built was normal stairs. I def wanted the storage and I def didn't mind not having to instruct bloody people how to climb stairs. And storage to spare.
(182mm riser, 300mm go and a kosher handrail. And Legal in Oz for good reasons. (Except for the width, the regs require 900/1000mm min. My stairs are legal for storage access).
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Thanks Baz for the images.
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I've been watching a lot of french cleat videos lately.
My kitchen is too small for a permanent seating area. So I thought, mhh, why not turn an IKEA Pöang chair upside down and hang it from the wall with a French cleat?
Ikea Pöang chairs are comfortable, lightweight and the frame is perfect for a French cleat. It is only necessary to exchange a board on the bottom for a board with a 45° cut. The wooden frame is made of birch or beech plywood, which makes it very easy to obtain wood for the replacment part. It is also possible to simply cut a 45° angle onto the existing part.
It takes about 5 seconds and one smooth motion to raise and lower the chair. No fiddling with a folding mechanism required.
The flipped chair has a width of 82 cm. My kitchen has a height of 300 cm.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VCFYdskLzp4uQuk3A
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@pbacot said:
Not being interested in interaction ESPECIALLY on Social media, does not qualify you as a nihilist. it appears your lifestyle is, at least in part, hermit-like and there is no crime in that. In fact it shows a certain common sense and insight.
Keep sharing here so others can dream of the off-grid life. We may be wannabes but we'll try not to bother you.
Well mr pabacot. I thank you for that.
The interest for me is in the design of small spaces. I am 6'5". I live in small spaces.
I spent 30 years blue water sailing as crew,including 10 as owner/kipper. And 50 years woodworking on my own, designing and making as I went along.
My tiny house has been built to that experience. I would love to share that.
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@newnoob said:
I've been watching a lot of french cleat videos lately.
I love french cleats. Strong as. Be a bit hard to sit in that chair tho' unless you had anti-grav device:)
But really, nice solution. I would be worried about it catching cooking smells?
PS: I think that small spaces should have the least amount of 'Adaptable/Configurations'.
The worst, in my opin, is the pull out bed. Unless it's a single. The next worse is the fold up table, really?
A Tiny House is not camping or making do. It's a home. -
@baz said:
Be a bit hard to sit in that chair tho' unless you had anti-grav device:)
The idea is to put it down when someone wants to sit and put it up when it's not needed. For someone of at least 170cm it's fast and simple to put it down and up. Yes cooking smells are a concern. The upholstery can be washed though. A leather cover might be a better choice.
@baz said:
PS: I think that small spaces should have the least amount of 'Adaptable/Configurations'.
The worst, in my opin, is the pull out bed. Unless it's a single. The next worse is the fold up table, really?
A Tiny House is not camping or making do. It's a home.I'd say small spaces should have as little as possible but as many as necessary space saving solutions. There smaller the space there more complicated it is to fit different functions and there more trade offs need to be accepted.
Yes, folding tables need to be cleared when folded, and pull out beds can only be used when pulled out, but folding beds or loft beds have other problems. I think that every tiny space solution inevitably comes with specific compromises that cannot be avoided. Some compromises are better than others though and it depends on the user - a cild or student in his twenties might be ok with climbing up a ladder of a loft bed but people over 40 maybe not so much.
I don't like solutions that require a lot of time to set up, concentration and complicated mechanisms.
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There are some really tiny apartments out there but frankly I came to the conclusion that going below a certain size was pointless and I agree with the comment that there is living and camping. The house I grew up in in south London was built in the 1870's to a design by Wm Heaver who designed the Heaver estate the other side of the Clapham junction railway site. These houses have an internal room size of 12' X 10'. Two room on each floor (2) and 1 kitchen and scullery on each floor (2). Each of the rooms was intended to house one family. These were rightly condemned in late years as inhumane with nasty effects on the medical and mental health on those within.
It seems we are trying to reintroduce these conditions again by choice and while I understand building and appliance etc design have come on by leaps and bounds, believe there should be a logical limit on 'how low we can go'.
There are options and perhaps a detailed study should be conducted on the effects of living in these small properties, it might help us understand better the human side of architecture so we can reduce what is sure to be the next big health threat, either mental of medical.
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Most people who are interested in small living spaces do so because they simply cannot afford bigger ones.
Without addressing the root causes (supply, migration, income) that drive the need for very small housing, nothing will change. However, since large population groups cannot change the conditions due to which they can't afford largeer housing, the only thing they can do is by coping with these conditions as good as possible - above all, this means "smart furniture", using multifunctional room concepts.
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@newnoob said:
Most people who are interested in small living spaces do so because they simply cannot afford bigger ones.
Without addressing the root causes (supply, migration, income) that drive the need for very small housing, nothing will change. However, since large population groups cannot change the conditions due to which they can't afford larger housing, the only thing they can do is by coping with these conditions as good as possible - above all, this means "smart furniture", using multifunctional room concepts.
Good observations Alex. I'll be selling my house soon as I am finding it just too big for my current needs. It was a great family home while I had my wife, Pauline and my two daughters, Clara and Shelly keeping things organised. Now that my daughters have their own families and houses and Pauline has taken up residence in heaven, its just Misty (my little Westie) and me.
I will shortly be converting an office I own into a two bedroom apartment. Designing the conversion focused me on what I really needed. The main thing was the kitchen! A man's idea of what a kitchen should be and a woman's idea of the kitchen are very different!
I have also looked at 'smart furniture' and multifunctional rooms. Bedrooms in particular leave a lot to be desired. We really only use them for 8 hours a day and for those eight hours we are sleeping. I think there is scope to utilise space better in this area.
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