Mobile Home Makeover

Got one more makeover of my 72x16 foot trailer. Like the other two, it has sun room with a
rocket stove mass thermal heater with a hot tub for the thermal mass. couple the passive solar gain from the sun room and the thermal mass heating system with a heat exchange pump coiled under the hot tub and there should be very little need for additional heat energy.

Remember, if you want to see a bigger version of the plan, all you have to do is hold down your Ctrl button and push the + button!

 

Double pocket doors connect the large living room with the kitchen/entry enabling these two rooms to be one open area or two separate areas when cooking in the summer. A large closet in the living room and the guest bathroom may not be something you'd want, but I'm a pretty light sleeper and Grampa Tom is a morning person. Right now we have his closet in the TV room at  the other end of the house. That way he can get up and shuffle around without bothering me.

The  kitchen is gigantic because I love big kitchens! It has a triple sink washing dishes and processing  veggies, a professional range, a hand sink, a gigantic pantry and a breakfast bar.

Off the kitchen is a bump out that I have put over a basement storm shelter and storage room. If you want more bedrooms, there would be room for one or two down there. The bump out is connected to the master bedroom and the sun room and has a direct door going outside. 

I've been having a lot of fun with these. All of them could easily be built by a modular home builder and even be put over a full basement. I'm thinking about playing with some 12 and 14 foot wide mobile homes soon,   but I have some variations of the court yard home that I want to post next. 

What do you think? 

What would you change?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

 There's lots of great pools and hot tubs on this site!

Red Neck Heaven

Victims internalize shame when called a derogatory name. Winners find the positive things associated with the name and own it. Red Neck, Trailer Trash - hard working, innovative people with a different set of priorities than a Yuppy. It's what I am. Both are valid life styles. No need to be ashamed. This mobile home design is on the fancy end, but still under 1700 square feet. 

Remember, if you want to see a bigger version of the plan, all you have to do is hold down your Ctrl button and push the + button!

This home is a 16 x 72 foot mobile home with two bump outs, an attached garage and a large sun room. It incorporates passive solar principals and could be set on a full or partial basement. 

The guest entrance, the garage and the mud room are on the north side. The garage opens into both the mud room and the kitchen. 

The kitchen/living room is a spacious 30 x 14 1/2 foot area. Like all the other living areas, it opens into the sun room to take advantage of the heat produced there. The sun room has a rocket fired thermal mass stove to keep the hot tub warm and act as a buffer against cold nights in the sun room for all the plants you'd be able to cultivate there. 

Off the living room sun room is a study that could also be used as a second bedroom. Off the kitchen is a large pantry and a full bathroom with a door close to the bathroom so you don't have to run through the house in a wet bathing suit.

Way down the hall is a private master bedroom suite with a walk in closet, a large bathroom and private access to the sun room. 

I'm in love. 

What do you think?

What would you change about this design?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Trailer Gold

We have some friends who took an old trailer, gutted it and added on to it. The result is a beautiful home that didn't cost them much.

We have lived in our 16 x 72 food trailer for 15 years now. It's paid for and we've talked about doing this too. The other day I thought, I'm just going to sit down and play with this for awhile. I came up with two designs that I like. This is the simpler one. I'll post the the other one next week.

Remember, if you want to see a bigger version of the plan, all you have to do is hold down your Ctrl button and push the + button!

I left the master bedroom and bath that are currently there, but I put a door where the water heater currently is. I'd move the water heater to the closet just outside the master bedroom and I'd leave the furnace where it currently is in the pantry. Either that or just build a little utility shed out in the sun room near the rocket stove heated hot tub so some heat from the thermal mass could be tapped.

One of the things I dream about a lot is adding some passive solar capacity to my home. I probably wouldn't go so far as to put a permanent sun room on. This space could be as simple as patio and a hoop structure with clear plastic tarps that could be rolled up or removed in the summer. I think I this would be cooler in the summer and it wouldn't be taxed like a real sun room.

My oldest son has a hot tub. We went out there last fall and had a chance to play in it. A hot tub is now one of my highest goals! But I don't want to pay the electric bill and the idea of running through any amount of cold snowy weather to get out to one on a deck like they have would keep me from using it. I don't think I have an ounce of Viking blood in me! But, I came across instructions for how to build a rocket fired thermal massstove a while back and I thought a hot tub would be the perfect thermal mass. I could put it in a sun room! Voila! Problem solved. This concept is in a lot of my designs now.

The pantry and ½ bath are carved out of what currently is a bedroom and the kitchen/dining room area are what currently is the kitchen/living room area. I really miss the gigantic kitchen we had in the old farm house. This area isn't quite as big, but the pantry ought to make up for that.

The other end of the house then becomes a large living area that opens to the kitchen/dining area with sliding pocket doors. They allow an open feeling when wanted, but the kitchen can be closed off from the living room during the summer so the living room can be kept cooler while cooking.

I also added a mud room with a toilet room, walk-in shower and a large closet.

If you wanted to build this home new, I'm sure any modular home builder could build this. If you put it on a basement there would be plenty of room for bedrooms for kids and storage.

Your feed back would be greatly appreciated!

What do you like about this home?

What would you change?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

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Intergenerational Homesteader

This home is for the inter-generational family that  is serious about producing their own food.  In between the mud room and the kitchen is a processing  room for washing and packing fresh vegetables and meat. It's a little bigger than some of my other homes because of this, but  the walk-in cooler and freezer make the extra space well worth it.

Remember, if you want to see a bigger version of the plan, all you have to do is hold down your Ctrl button and push the + button!

When you enter this home from the attached garage, there is a large closet to your left and a door to the master bath on the right. My bladder would really appreciate that! Grampa Tom would also appreciate it because right inside the bathroom door is a large locker style walk-in shower. He could take off his stinky clothes, throw them in the washer and step right into the shower. 

The master bath also has a double sink and a Jacuzzi type garden tub. Did you know that at one point I was considering making a run for president on the platform of "Cash for dub tubs" I really think there ought to be a government program where you can trade in your plain old dub tub for a whirlpool tub. Think about it! All of us would be relaxed and stress free. The production rate in this country would make the GNP soar!

OK, enough campaigning. The mud room also opens into the family room. The family room is at the back of the house, has it's own little half bath and access to the sun room. Double pocket doors to the kitchen allow it to be closed it off to the rest of the house when company comes. 

I envision the roof line of this home like two shed roofs with a row of clerestory windows on the wall separating the kitchen and the family room. This would give natural light to all of the middle rooms. To see an example of this type of roof, check out this garden shed plan from Mother Earth News.

 Off to the side of the kitchen is a granny suite with it's own sitting room, access to the sun room and deck and a door to the company bathroom. I love this arrangement. I've done elder care for many years. Having easy access to the bathroom, the kitchen and a nice sunny space would be such a delight for someone who is having trouble getting around. This home, like all my other homes has 36 inch doors and is easily handicapped accessible. 

The kitchen is center of this home. It opens into the the family room, dining room, living room,  processing room and granny suite. There is lots of counter space. a pantry and a breakfast bar. There is also a handy mop sink and hand sink right inside the processing room door.

The front of the home has a formal living room and dining room. If a basement wasn't wanted, The stairwell could be eliminated and the utilities could be located in a closet along the freezer/cooler wall.

There is a small office off the dining room that could be used as an extra bedroom if you didn't want the office. I put it at the front of the home so that if the home has an entrepreneur among the members, the clients would have easy access to the office without going through the family areas. I am currently the township assessor. In the boondocks here, that is a home office type of position. It would be great to have a place like this in my home to meet with taxpayers. As it is, I go to them. My house is just to small. 

Hope you liked dreaming with me!

What do you like about this plan?

What would you change?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue