(I am also considering building 14' x 32' to get a little extra width; that is the largest I would go so I could still build it by myself. Nothing is finalized at this point.)
I've sketched out a preliminary floor plan below and would like some input from fellow tiny house enthusiasts regarding my thoughts below.
Windows and where to put them? The front door and deck will face north and what little view I have. In good weather, I expect the front door to be open most of the time, letting in light. I was thinking of putting 2 windows on the south wall for access to sunlight. The south wall faces the forest. The kitchen area will need 1 or 2 windows and the bedroom will need one. The bathroom will probably have a small horizontal casement window near the ceiling. Any thoughts on window placement?
I will have a bed on the main floor. This may end up being a retirement house, so at some point people will no longer be able to climb a ladder and will need to be able to sleep on the main floor. I have placed the full sized bed at one end of the house in the corner. I had originally thought of having an interior wall between the bedroom and main living area, but I think the house will feel more spacious with an open floor plan. I can hang heavy shades from tracks on the ceiling, to provide privacy when someone is sleeping.
We need closets, but where do we put them? In the interest of keeping things open, I have drawn the closet in the corner opposite the bed. This would give me space for a good size closet and still be out of the way.
I will have 2 lofts, one over the bedroom area and the other over the kitchen / bathroom area. Both could be used for sleeping if needed. The one over the kitchen may also contain a water tank, if I decide to go with a gravity water system for wash water. The open ceiling over the central living area will be about 13 feet high.
I'm not sure that a Dickinson boat heater would be able to heat a 340 sf area. I may need a small wood stove. If so, I need to position the stove so there is sufficient space from the walls.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, this house is intended to be off grid, using a 12V DC system powered by solar panels and a rain water catchment system. My lot is close to a large fresh water lake, so I can always bring in lake water for washing purposes if there is a shortage in rainfall. When I wire the house for 12V DC, I may also add 120 V AC wiring with blank outlet boxes at the same time. I wouldn't have to connect anything, but if someone wanted to connect to the grid in the future, it would be easy to do. I was thinking of putting in an empty fuse box inside the bedroom closet and routing the 120 V wiring to the box. I plan to have a battery box outside the house on the south wall. This would contain my batteries, charge controller and fuses for the 12 V DC system.
All comments on my layout are welcome.
One thing we didn't consider (ignorance at the time) when building our conventional home was passive solar. The pole barn retirement home we've built since has large south facing windows for passive solar heating in winter with a shed roof over the south side porch to keep the summer rays from shining in. The north side of the home has 14" x 28" (guessing the size - it's been a while since we put them in) glass block windows with small hand crank screened inset windows for air flow (about $30 at a lumber supply store as I recall). These are mounted high on the wall and allow light and cross flow but provide insulation against the cold north winds. It's exciting to read your blog - I'll keep an eye on you!
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