Hey Thomas/2bits,
Just went through the thread again and thought I'd throw out
a couple-three things that may be food for thought for you.
Is the "A Frame" your only design option or is that just representing
an ideal for a small cabin-like home? My reason for asking is that
the A Frame design is not really space/usable space efficient in and of
itself. One way to gain more usable space would be to use Gothic Arch
shaped frames/bents that you then connect with 2x sheathing horizontally.
Mother Earth News had an article years ago - I'm sure it should be
available in their archives - where the builders made their own Gothic
arch members by laminating 1x4s with glue and nails in a jig they set up
on the floor deck of the structure they were building. The curve in the
arch gives much more usable space within.
This link is only to give you a fast reference for how the arch looks:
http://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com/
Another construction method for a very strong smaller house/cabin
is the rigid frame. Google 'rigid frame or rigid frame cabin' and you can
find a few links. I first saw this method in one of the "Shelter" books.
The APA [American Plywood Assn] used to have a booklet on the method.
It can be used for various sizes of buildings. It is supposed to be the
strongest and cheapest way to structure a wooden building for any
given interior volume. It is basically a series of bents made from 2x6es to
2x12es joined together with plywood gussets. These are spaceed 16in to
24in apart depending on the engineering on it. These are then all
rigidly secured in place together by 3/4in structural plywood sheathing.
This would be my choice for a simple modest cabin. It seems to me to be
a very straightforward and easy method that allows you vary your
insulation thickness allowance easily by your choice of 2x size.
This link has a series of really good pics a family took when they built their
rigid frame cabin over time:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlylehol ... 303897028/
And lastly: Concerning your Shower:
Since the 'Stand Inn'will have limited floor space. Why not build the
shower pan into the floor frame/trailer frame so that it is an inch or
two below floor level. Then have a floor panel cover it to provide
floor space when the shower is not in use and that could be hinged on
one side to be lifted up out of the way to use the shower. A solid
enclosure could be made out of polycarbonate panels that could fold back
against the wall when not in use, and fold/pull out when needed. I
would envision a waterproof panel as wall covering in the shower
area with the two side panels hinged at the wall, in their middle, and
the other end of the panels hinged to the outer movable enclosure
panel that would move in and out and from the wall always being
parallel to the wall. The entry door would be in this outer panel.
-Hope this description isn't too confusing.- I don't think this should be
overly hard to fabricate, and you may even be able to include some
commercially made enclosure pieces in it if a factory made look is a
necessity. The reason I suggest this is that I think a shower needs to
be at least 36inx36in to be useful for an adult. 36inx42in is even better.
I think something like this would be much more comfortable to use than
a typical RV shower size.
Like I said, just something to consider if they'd be of any help to you.
Norm/mezmo
If you have a house - you have a hobby.