How small is too small?

[911 Rod]

.66 acre lot is small?

[Turbo_pro]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

.66 acre lot is small?

That would be a location specific question.

[herr_oberst]

It's interesting to see how the Master is the crown jewel of the layout, at the expense of every other area. Space for 6 in the conversation pod, but barely room for 4 at the table. And that's a 2-butt kitchen at best.

I like the overall zeitgeist, with a beautiful plan view and huge windows but the designer needs to find some (hopefully clever) solutions to basic problems like the aforementioned door to the powder room.

Do you really need a standing water heater? Wouldn't tankless be a better fit in this tiny thing?

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

All the plumbing on one wall.

On an interior wall they take longer to freeze, and like the idea of simplicity.

but..leaking pipe:
-Where does the water go?
-Would you prefer to remove a wall of shower tiles or kitchen cabinets?
-Needs to be staggered.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

It's interesting to see how the Master is the crown jewel of the layout, at the expense of every other area. Space for 6 in the conversation pod, but barely room for 4 at the table. And that's a 2-butt kitchen at best.

I like the overall zeitgeist, with a beautiful plan view and huge windows but the designer needs to find some (hopefully clever) solutions to basic problems like the aforementioned door to the powder room.

Do you really need a standing water heater? Wouldn't tankless be a better fit in this tiny thing?

Wow obviously posting a general floor plan that is generic at best was a mistake.
Small houses have compromises and if any of you have a perfect floor plan that I can review and perhaps save me the effort of investigating further.
As for water heater choices, I'm thinking that choice is way down the road.
Please try to remember, this thread was about finding information about specific size requirements for zoning not about a specific floor plan.
As for "plumbing on one wall" : it's southern California, we don't have frozen pipes in Fallbrook. By putting all the plumbing on one exterior wall, we can make repair access extremely simple and septic flow simpler as well.

[Henry Schmidt]

How about this one. Let the critiques begin...... I think it has a bathroom door...lol

Disregard the stairs and put storage in that space.

[911 Rod]

^^ I like this one better.
A smaller place needs to be open concept I think.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

^^ I like this one better.
A smaller place needs to be open concept I think.

Open plan garage, lounge, kitchen and bedroom, great idea!

[908/930]

I'm sure you can get some good critiques on here, good to get different opinions, don't have to use them. Looking at the kitchen I would want the sink on an outside wall, possibly where the window is also larger window, not sure about your drain vent codes down there. Keep the peninsula for work space and cab space below. The oven could use some counter space on both sides, so flip where fridge and oven is, no pantry in corner.

For fireplace, I assume gas? Using for actual heating or just looks?

[Turbo_pro]

If I'm reading this correctly, this little house is going in behind your engine shop, Supertec.
If you don't have a tenant I'd like to get on the list...
How cool would it be to wake up, go out your back door and watch the magic happening at Supertec?

Bathroom door and sink location is not an issue for me.

[john70t]

Chicks like kitchens with a view and bathrooms with lots of light i.e. south-facing.
(so do I. the first part at least)

The 'open plan' of kitchen attached directly to living room means there is no escape or privacy. Didn't notice the 'other man-cave' thing.

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

I have a property in Northern San Diego county (unincorporated) that I would like to put a small house on. Limited/minimalist living being the trend but I can't find a definitive answer to the minimum size for a single family dwelling on a .66 acre lot.
Anyone out there have the number or are there other variables to consider?

As I mentioned before, there are minimums defined by your county building code which is based on the Cal State Building code. It’s not just a total square footage when talking minimums, it’s minimums defined for individual rooms by use and some of the rooms (bedrooms for instance) are further defined by the number of individuals served.

Your bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living space (room) are going to have individual minimums on their own. Also some codes (bedrooms again) require a closet to meet that designation. Add more sq ft to the total. That’s basically how the IRC comes up with the total minimum sq ft for a residence.

So, for instance you can’t just say 650 sq ft is the total qualifying minimum if your bedroom is less than 100 sq serving two people.

Look into the San Diego County Building codes and you should be able to find all of your room minimums.

I would bet that your codes allow less than 400 sq just by using room minimums for living, kitchen, bath and bedroom.

[john70t]

The flip side of the gub''mint determining every single detail is Houston anarchy
https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/houston-doesnt-have-zoning-there-are-workarounds

[otto_kretschmer]

2 bedroom, 900 sqft, single bath. I bought a house made in the 50s this size and its nice for a single person or couple.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by otto_kretschmer

2 bedroom, 900 sqft, single bath. I bought a house made in the 50s this size and its nice for a single person or couple.

I have a home but I get what you're saying.
I think most people should abandon the mass consumption, McMansion concept spoon fed to them by Hollywood and seek to minimize possessions. Reduce the cheap crap from China, new cars, every new electronic device and return to a needs based existence. I'm trying but I'm not even close.
Of course that movement would kill my engine shop.
I lived in a motor home a few years back and there was a psychological comfort in that smaller space.

This new building however is more of a guest space than a transition to minimal.

[Zeke]

My first apt was a studio. It had no bedroom, the kitchen opened up to the main room so the only door in the place was to the bath. I can't remember the closet situation. At the other end of the galley kitchen was a sliding patio door to a small balcony. That was nice.

A murphy bed or convertible couch makes the bed. in this case I had a sectional with a corner seat so it was pretty comfy. There was room for that, a table and a TV/stereo. I know I had some drawers like a dresser, but if that was in the closet or not, I don't remember. That's all you needed to own to live in comfort.

All of this homeless stuff should take notice.

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by Zeke

My first apt was a studio. It had no bedroom, the kitchen opened up to the main room so the only door in the place was to the bath. I can't remember the closet situation. At the other end of the galley kitchen was a sliding patio door to a small balcony. That was nice.

A murphy bed or convertible couch makes the bed. in this case I had a sectional with a corner seat so it was pretty comfy. There was room for that, a table and a TV/stereo. I know I had some drawers like a dresser, but if that was in the closet or not, I don't remember. That's all you needed to own to live in comfort.

All of this homeless stuff should take notice.

$2,500/month in Toronto! (maybe more)

[Henry Schmidt]

A couple of new challenges.
Can two properties share the same water meter. We have a 2" ag main that is right on the property line. I wonder if sharing water violates code?

Next, I have two electrical meters on one property.....past commercial requirements.
I'm wondering if I can have the slightly used meter transferred/moved to the new house.
New meters have a cool $ 15K premium.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

A couple of new challenges.
Can two properties share the same water meter. We have a 2" ag main that is right on the property line. I wonder if sharing water violates code?

Next, I have two electrical meters on one property.....past commercial requirements.
I'm wondering if I can have the slightly used meter transferred/moved to the new house.
New meters have a cool $ 15K premium.

Those are some good questions and are addressed on the Garage Journal a lot. Generally people advise that you speak with the utilities directly. They are not your enemy per se, although from a corporate stand point maybe they are. But the guy at the counter or on the phone (good luck) is usually there to help.

And strangely, only they seem to have the answers since there are 1000's of utility companies in the U.S.

There is no way I have the answer, but one meter per address seems to be the norm. Perhaps it;s how the titles are held, annexed or what?

15k for a meter sounds outrages to me. Unless that includes bringing power onto the property from the nearest transformer. What does it cost to merge the properties? Problem maybe solved as you could run a sub panel at the house.

Again, I can't say I know that for sure. I read hundreds of posts on the GJ every week. Many cover this in one form or another. Plan A and plan B seems to be the way to proceed.