Introducing the Prospector’s Cabin Home Design Tendencies

When I began drawing what turned into the 12′x24′ Homesteader’s Cabin, I had intended to draw the plans for a simple 12′x12′ house – but I got carried away and it got bigger and bigger. This time I kept things simple and incorporated some learnings from that other drawing. I left out a lot of complexity too. The plans simply show the wall, floor, and roof framing for a tiny 12′ by 12′ shell.

The walls are 10-feet tall, which I understand is as high as you can go without having to add extra fire blocking. I’ve included drawings for two roofs pitches, an 8/12 and a 12/12. The benefit of the steeper 12/12 roof pitch is that you’ll have more headroom in the loft – but it’s a bit tougher to build because it’s so steep. Having been up on steep roofs like that I know how nice it is to have a porch roof to help protect you from falling off. The porch pitch is 3/12 – and there’s a porch on the front and back.

Like I said above I left some things out too, like a plan for a ladder, stairs, and foundation. The space is just too small for stairs – so a ladder would be best for accessing the loft. A commercial spiral staircase might work but it would take up a lot of floor space.

There’s some logic in the placement of the windows and doors. The front (East) wall faces the sunrise. The left (South) wall faces the sun during the day and has two large windows which should improve the possibility for passive solar heating. The back (West) wall also has a door, like the front wall, to provide cross ventilation (assuming screen doors are installed). The right (North) wall has no windows except up in the loft. The loft has a window on both sides for cross ventilation.

If 12′ by 12′ seems a bit small you might take a look at the tiny 10′x10′x10′ houses Peter King builds at Vermont Tiny Houses. Another good example of a tiny 12′ by 12′ house is captured in the book Twelve by Twelve by William Powers.

Below are some sample illustrations from the plans. You can buy a 37-page PDF copy of the plans for $9.95.

Please Note: Before building any structure be sure to check with your local authorities. In many communities permits are not needed when building tiny buildings like sheds but the rules range widely so it’s best to research your local restrictions before building anything. Also please note that these plans were not prepared by or checked by a licensed engineer and/or architect. Build from these plans at your own risk.