anyone have a 2 story 12 x 12 tiny home

I am looking at a piece of property that has no building red tape if you build at or under 12x12.  I'm hoping someone has done something like this and sleeps on the upper level?

Thank you

I've seen various "tuff shed" style sheds that are that size that have lofts; not the same as having an entire second floor but most of one. I've seen people set up comfortable sleeping areas up there.

A 9' 4" square (inside) loft area including the access stair can fit a double bed and some shelving, as long as you are not big people. An alternating tread stair is key to making this possible - mine has 24" clear width at shoulder height, and about a 46" run for 81" rise. I would give each tread another half inch if doing it again for more comfort. Being able to, say, carry a couple of cups of coffee upstairs makes it viable for longer term use.

For detailed reference, 9 1/4" treads (1x10) are adequate unless you have big feet. Mine with closed risers has 4" run per tread (1 1/4" overhang on the riser) which makes me hit my shins if I am not careful; just another half inch on the run would help significantly. A lower rise than my 7 1/8" would probably also help with that.

I have seen one, and a THREE story 12x16.  It used pole barn poles in the corners. The upper floor was cantilevered 4 feet on all sides so it was 20x24.

I was thinking a 2 foot pony wall and then a steep pitched roof which should provide more accessible space.

I have considered this sort of ratio when I wanted to build a small greenhouse. My concern was that I live in a gusty/windy area (not to mention earthquake risk - some day!!). I don't know enough about Civil Engineering to give a ratio, but the taller one builds on a specific footprint, the more you're affecting wind load etc and increasing the risk of the whole building tipping over.

There was a small house that was a "Granny Flat" sort of situation, but it had 2 stories only on one part of the building, so it's footprint was larger.

The approach I would take is to seriously engineer the foundation - possibly using more than one system so thick concrete foundation plus earth anchors just as an example. It might seem like a weird idea, but depending on the eco-system, I'd consider excavating and building an actual "basement" - if nothing else it could be a storm shelter if I was in hurricane/tornado country, but so far those aren't risks in my area. If I insulated well between the basement and the house, it could be a cold cellar.

In my particular environment which tends to a high water table, I might design so that the first floor could actually be bermed 2/3rds up. That would decrease tipping risk.

Cameron Green wrote:

I was thinking a 2 foot pony wall and then a steep pitched roof which should provide more accessible space.

If your first floor is a standard 8 ft, and if you allow 11 inches for the joists/subfloor, and 2 ft for the pony wall, that wall would still be less that 12 ft up for a 12 ft foundation square. My totally non-professional gut feeling says that sounds fine. In fact I'd try to go for a 2 1/2 ft pony wall and less slope on the roof for the sake of my head. I think with some clever designing, and definitely out-side the box thinking, I could make a totally livable space within your design, but I've not actually done it. One of the reasons I haven't is that here, the limit is 10ft by 10 ft and I like to cook. I couldn't even manage a kitchen I'd like in that space! (I need more counters!)

All joking aside, what is critical is considering carefully your lifestyle and what's important to you. I bake bread/pies regularly, I make a wide range of preserves, I do a lot of sewing, I *don't* have a workshop, so my living room gets pressed into service. You may not have considered the difference, but I would like you to build yourself a home, not a house.

Does the whole building have to be under 12'x12' or could it sit on a foundation that size and overhang to your heart's content?

I built a 10 foot x 16 foot strawbale house with a lofted sleeping area. Built it in the spring/summer of 2012 and lived in it with my girlfriend (now wife) for 4 years.

The door was on one of the 10' walls, with the kitchen counter, sink, and small fridge in one corner by the door. The other corner by the door was a coat rack and shelves, space for shoes, etc. In the middle part was a table, chairs, and some shelves, and on the far end was a couch and the heater. Above chest hight on every wall there were shelves, lots of shelves definitely helped keep things organized. The lofted area covered about 2/3 of the upper level, and it was just big enough to have a king sized bed up there and storage for clothing on either side of the bed.

We had a composting outhouse nearby, so no toilet inside the house, which was fine and probably preferable to having a stinky bucket toilet inside such a tiny space.

It was definitely helpful to have a couple sheds or outbuildings nearby to store the random stuff that we didn't use every day.

Later on when it was time to move to a new place, I tore it down and used the strawbales to mulch my new garden and the boards all got turned into fencing.

The great thing about a tiny house is that you can clean the whole house in like 5 minutes before your guests arrive.

Mike Haasl wrote:Does the whole building have to be under 12'x12' or could it sit on a foundation that size and overhang to your heart's content?

I don't know if they will allow an overhang, also need to ask about an attached deck.

Jay Angler wrote:I have considered this sort of ratio when I wanted to build a small greenhouse. My concern was that I live in a gusty/windy area (not to mention earthquake risk - some day!!). I don't know enough about Civil Engineering to give a ratio, but the taller one builds on a specific footprint, the more you're affecting wind load etc and increasing the risk of the whole building tipping over.

There was a small house that was a "Granny Flat" sort of situation, but it had 2 stories only on one part of the building, so it's footprint was larger.

The approach I would take is to seriously engineer the foundation - possibly using more than one system so thick concrete foundation plus earth anchors just as an example. It might seem like a weird idea, but depending on the eco-system, I'd consider excavating and building an actual "basement" - if nothing else it could be a storm shelter if I was in hurricane/tornado country, but so far those aren't risks in my area. If I insulated well between the basement and the house, it could be a cold cellar.

In my particular environment which tends to a high water table, I might design so that the first floor could actually be bermed 2/3rds up. That would decrease tipping risk.

Cameron Green wrote:

I was thinking a 2 foot pony wall and then a steep pitched roof which should provide more accessible space.

If your first floor is a standard 8 ft, and if you allow 11 inches for the joists/subfloor, and 2 ft for the pony wall, that wall would still be less that 12 ft up for a 12 ft foundation square. My totally non-professional gut feeling says that sounds fine. In fact I'd try to go for a 2 1/2 ft pony wall and less slope on the roof for the sake of my head. I think with some clever designing, and definitely out-side the box thinking, I could make a totally livable space within your design, but I've not actually done it. One of the reasons I haven't is that here, the limit is 10ft by 10 ft and I like to cook. I couldn't even manage a kitchen I'd like in that space! (I need more counters!)

All joking aside, what is critical is considering carefully your lifestyle and what's important to you. I bake bread/pies regularly, I make a wide range of preserves, I do a lot of sewing, I *don't* have a workshop, so my living room gets pressed into service. You may not have considered the difference, but I would like you to build yourself a home, not a house.

The great thing is I could add additional buildings as long as they are under 12x12 as well.  I think I would do a combo bath house along with a separate room for a composting toilet.

Don't know if your county *only* cares about a size of 12' x 12', or if they are really saying *144 sq ft or less*; it is possible they won't even come out to look at things, if you tell them it is under their size limit. Most counties go by a sq ft limit (my county is 120 sq ft ... don't know why that number was picked, and I like your number better!).

I'd recommend building it in two passes ... 1st phase is to their size limit, yet still tall enough to accommodate 2nd floor. In their minds, any square footage would count, and a 2nd floor might push the plan over the limit.

If all done, and code police don't make an appearance, then in 2nd phase, put in 2nd floor.

I think it's a great idea to build multiple buildings, all to be conjoined (at a later date, again after code police have come and gone). This could be done with tiny homes, containers, etc., and patios/decks (covered) make great connections, while still leaving things more "open" to nature.

My county has a similar allowance, but there are other laws regarding height and living on the land without a domicile of 600 sq. ft. or more. These restrictions may be in a completely different part of the building code. I don't recall exactly, but I think it was something like 13 feet above finished grade to the highest point on the roof in my county. You might be able to get away with it being a few inches off (just say you're going to lay sod raising the finished grade), or berm up the base as mentioned above.

It's a bit funny how many absurd things I see on the side of the highway driving all the way down to my property, then hearing (and in some cases dealing with) horror stories about angry neighbors calling cops, the town/county, and complaining to everyone under the sun about someone way down the road from anyone doing the smallest of things in ways they don't approve. Everyone has to do their own risk management, plus things and people can change over time. I've had to do some amazingly unnecessary things to accomplish goals without further raising the ire of these bad apples.

Another thing is that my county has different rules for agricultural land, and my land is considered ag and residential. If the area you are looking at has similar rules and you are doing something ag related you may have more freedom with certain building requirements.

Years ago there was a book out called, “I Built Myself A House” by Helen Garvy.   It had plans for a 2 story 14x 14.