4) CLOTHES STORAGE. I don’t have much use for
closets, particularly in a tiny shelter, where square footage is at a
premium. You probably won’t have brought your Chanel evening gowns or your
Versace suits, so you really don’t need hanging space. A better and
simpler solution is to store your clothing in drawers, or bins, built in
under the bed. Face it, your wardrobe is going to be fairly simple and
sturdy and won't need careful storage. If you can’t manage under-bed
storage, invest in a good chest of drawers or chest on chest. They
provide plenty of storage and take up a minimum of floor space. And stay
away from chests or trunks. Invariably what you want will be at the
bottom of the chest and the flat top will attract all kinds of stuff that
has to be moved before you can open the chest and start hunting for your
wooly socks. A good chest of drawers is a godsend. Why do you think so
many came west on the back of a covered wagon?
5) BATHING/TOILET SPACE. Outhouses and
outdoor showers are perfectly reasonable solutions to this daily need as
long as the weather is pleasant, but if you can manage a little indoor
space, that doesn’t require a jaunt through sub zero weather, I urge you
to do it. A space as small as 5 x 5 will give you room for a sawdust
toilet and a simple washstand. A floor drain, that will send the gray
water outside, will let you take a primitive bucket shower and a thick mat
over the drain in winter, will keep the cold air out. If you want
something a bit more up market, buy an invalid potty chair. It’s a rare
general auction that won't have one of these “barely used” on offer and you
often see them at yard sales or at Goodwill. One size generally fits all
and when you’re done, you just empty the pot into the handy slit trench
you dug way out back, give the pot a rinse and return it to the potty
chair. If you are the fastidious sort, you can make a slip cover for the
potty chair and a matching cushion like I did and the necessaire becomes a
charming piece of bedroom furniture. It’s a good thing.
6) WORKSPACE AND TOOL STORAGE. Your little
house should definitely include a covered work area and a place to store
all your tools and other equipment in a way that is handy, but not
necessarily in the living space. An attached tool shed with an outside
entrance and a door into the house space will make a handy mudroom and
allow you to keep your living space relatively neat. Closed and secure
tool storage is a given and if you can manage some covered work space, do
so. A good wide porch or open-end dogtrot will suit the purpose. Either
will make a shaded place to work and live in warm weather, as well as keep you dry
and out of the cold and snow in the winter. It will give you a place to
store dry firewood, hang the wash and do all the messy jobs involved in
homesteading. And don’t be skimpy. There is nothing worse than a narrow
porch. In my book, 8 feet wide is the minimum. Give yourself room to
work and a space for a bench or rocker where you can enjoy the view and
the good clean air. You’ve earned it.
Now that we have a list of basic necessities, let me
show you a few simple plans that will fill your needs. These houses can
all be built using ordinary carpentry tools and require only the most
basic skills. You can build on a foundation, or piers if you want to, but
the easiest way will be to use a modified pole building method. Pole
building is about as basic as it comes and you really have to try hard to
screw it up. If you can dig a hole, set the posts and square up the four
corners, you’re pretty much home free. Pole buildings are fairly
forgiving of small mistakes in laying out. The whole thing won’t come
tumbling down if the corners aren’t quite square. Remember the first rule
of Do-It-Yourself:
DON’T WORRY, THE TRIM WILL
HIDE IT
The building sequence is pretty much the same for
any of the plans I will show you. Essentially, you are going to build a
deck supported on posts and then build conventionally framed walls
between the posts. The posts and walls will support the rafters for the
roof. Single sloped shed roofs are the easiest to build, but it doesn’t
take much expertise to build a gable roof. Anything fancier is just
showing off.
1) Lay out the building on the ground, marking
the position of the corners and all the posts. Dig the holes deep enough
to be below the frost line if you have one or at least deep enough to
support the pole safely or until you hit the first really big rock. It
really is amazing that you can stand a 14 foot, 4x4 post in a hole that is
less than 3 feet deep and keep it plumb, square, and secure enough to
support your building. Remember you are not building for the ages here.
2) Set the posts in concrete or dirt, which
ever method you prefer. The posts should be treated, unless this is a very
temporary structure. 4x4 posts are the easiest to use and are
sufficiently strong for most applications. 5x5 posts are nice if you are
planning a second story or very high ceilings, but the larger posts are
extremely heavy and hard to move without a few extra hands. Only use
the big posts if you need them for structural strength.
3) Attach the rim joists to the posts with lag
screws or 16-penny nails, suitable for use in pressure treated lumber. I
generally use pressure treated joists because I build close to the
ground. If you build your platform more than a foot off the ground, you
can probably get away with non treated lumber, which will, of course, be
cheaper. Most of these structures are so small they won’t need support
beams under the floor joists. I always use 2x10 floor joists and they can
usually manage a span of less than 14 feet without a beam underneath.
4) Hang your floor joists on
two foot centers,
using standard joist hangers. I use off cuts from the 2x10 joists as
blocking between the joists, at least one block every 6-8 feet, staggered
for ease of nailing. The blocking keeps the joists from twisting or
bouncing.
5) Lay out your plywood
sub-floor; glue and
nail it down securely. I always use ring-shank nails. If you are using
planks, instead of sheet goods, for your sub-floor, make sure to stagger
the joints and forget the glue.
6) The rest of the method is basic conventional
framing. Lay out the sills and mark them for studs on 16 inch centers. Frame
the wall sections to fit between the posts. Frame the usual openings for
doors and windows. Sheath the exterior walls with plywood, OSB, or sheet
siding. Sheath over the door and window openings and cut them out later.