What is Small and What is Tiny

This is actually a continuation of the last post.
  Some have said that 120-150 sq ft per person is the boundary between too little, or not enough space in a Tiny House. Upwards of that, 200-400 sq ft is a Small House for 1 person or 2. You can imagine then, that 500 to 1000 sq ft is the about right for the average size family, of 2 adults and 2-3 children.

At present living like I am, it seems that a space of 150 sq ft would be tiny indeed. Adequate for temporary, and perhaps over a short haul (2-3 yrs), but hardly suitable for the long haul (5-10 yrs). That being 10 ft by 15 ft, adding that much again, would bring it up to either 30 ft by 10 ft shotgun house, or a 20 ft by 15 ft eehhhhhhhhh sort of not a shot gun ;-) at 300 sq ft. With a loft arrangement, this would be more than adequate for me.

One hundred and fifty square feet as starter, and outside sauna / shower would be more than adequate for a tiny starter home. By adding on another 150 sq ft would make it feel luxurious ;-) Throw in the possible loft, and I would be rattling around in it for the first year until I had spread out and filled up the corners LOL

Structurally it would be sound to go with the 20 x 15, as it would make ceiling joist placement and center support simple and strong. For a Cordwood house, making it 20 x 15 interior would make exterior dimensions, with walls at 18" , 23 x 18 ft..  This is a bit off from the 4 ft and 8 ft recommended denominators, but with a bit of juggling, it would be fine. Joists would span the 23 ft width, rather than the 18 ft., with the center posts at 12 ft from the outside. Perhaps too much detail for the present but have to start somewhere ;-) (adjusting this to 20 x 16 ft interior, and 24" walls renders a 24 x 20 ft exterior)

Building something like this does take a lot of sketching etc. but that leads to the problem of procrastination. Not knowing the circumstances at the time of initial construction, it is impossible to know what resources (money, trees, used windows, appliances, etc) will be available. It is entirely possible that things will be very tight, and only a shed would be built, or conversely, there would be lots of help and resources, and the full structure could be built in a summer. It is impossible to know. For that reason alone, it is prudent to keep sketching, and cogitating (HEY it is a word ;-) about the possibilities.

So the "Tiny" house option has to be considered as a first step. Or even just the Sauna, for a year as roof over my head, as resources are accumulated. This is the corundum of building your own home, and why Tiny Houses are becoming so popular in parts of the United States, during this Great Recession..

The advantages of going from Tiny to Small, also accrue to the Utility aspect of the building. The smaller the structure the lower cost of Utilities: Solar Heating, Electricity, Plumbing, and so on, and the less likely that one needs to hook into the commercial grid. The alternatives are numerous, from gas / propane stoves, heaters, fueled by a large exterior tank, to Solar and Wind power, or even heated water; The Internet is full of stories and sources for building without inflicting harm on the environment, and in addition adding 21st century amenities from unique and unusual sources. One doesn't need to go back to the 18th or 19th century way of living if one is willing to do due diligence in researching and pulling together ideas for replacing The Grid.
     Below I have added two sketches that I did up. Not that these are final ideas, just place holders. The side view is an ambitious undertaking, as it would require someone with extensive second story expertise to make happen. Something I don't have. A more likely outcome is a low crawl space type loft, about 4-5 ft high at most.

 In the floor plan, I have kept window space to a minimum. To the North I am thinking an attached shed or sauna, combination. Limiting wind entry opportunities to the North and North-West, as this is where we get our coldest winds from. The warmest winds come from the South and South-East.
  Have not included stairs or 'Loo' as I have not decided yet on how big or whether or not to include them. As the Kitchen counter takes up a large amount of space, you can gather that perhaps that will also be a work area as well as for food preparation. Maybe even a bar seating arrangement rather than a table. Still to be worked out.
    On the front, South, side, I have two 6 ft openings, one for a picture window, and the other for a sliding glass door. This with the door on the North side, takes care of the requirements of having two exits. The sizes of the other windows being 5 ft, is for Sun Light and Passive Solar Heat.  

There are a number of ideas percolating in my head, but at the present I am not ready to put them to paper, or electronic storage ;-)