Small House Institute—Newsletter #5

On Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 6:44 AM, Harvey Harman <> wrote:

Dear Friends of Small Houses, You are included in this email newsletter because either directly or indirectly you have expressed interest in small houses and the idea of a "Small House Institute." These emails are a way of sharing information with each other related to small houses, building small houses, designing small houses, permitting small houses, and getting the skills to build small houses. Please let me know if you prefer not to receive these emails.

There is no one definition of "small houses," but for our purposes we are looking at houses 1200 square feet and smaller. We are especially interested in exploring ways that we can redo housing in the United States so it is more affordable, durable, buildable without a mortgage, accessible to more people, diverse, energy and resource efficient, and beautiful. As we have mentioned in a previous Email Newsletter, the goal is not to see how small a house we can build and live in but to make our houses fully represent our most important values. For most people paying rent or paying a mortgage is their biggest monthly expense. If they can reduce or eliminate this expense it allows time and energy to be put other places.

Update about NC Building Codes and What is the minimum size structure that meets NC Building Codes:

Here are the sections of the NC Residential Building Code that apply directly to size:

From Harvey: Recently someone asked me what is the minimum sizehousethat is legal in North Carolina? Assuming no Restrictive Covenants are involved, usually the minimum is what is allowed by the NC Residential Building Code. Below is my reading of what the NC Residential Building Code allows.

1) Section R304.1 Minimum Area: Everydwellingunit shall have at least one habitable room that shall have not less than 120 square feet of gross floor area.

2) Section R304.2 Other rooms: Other habitable rooms shall have a floor area of not less than 70 square feet.

Exception: Kitchen

3) Section R304.3 Minimum dimensions. Habitable rooms shall not be less than 7 feet in any horizontal dimension.

4) Section R306.1 Toilet Facilities. Everydwellingunit shall be provided with a water closet (toilet), lavatory (sink), and a bathtub or shower.

5)Section R306.2 Kitchen.Each dwelling unit shall be provided with a kitchen area and every kitchen area shall be provided with a sink.

6) Definition ofDwelling Unit: A single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.

7) Definition ofHabitable Room/Space: A space in a building for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces and similar areas are not consideredhabitablespaces.

My reading of these regulations is the following:

1) You need at least one habitable room of at least 120 square feet in size.

2) You need a bathroom that includes a toilet, sink, and tub or shower (the minimum size I can come up with that meets the NC Building Code requirements for bathrooms is 6 feet by 6 feet).

3) You need to provide a space for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. It is my understanding that these can all be combined in one room, although the kitchen area may need to be in addition to the 120 square foot minimum.

4) Any additional habitable rooms beyond the first one of a minimum of 120 square feet need to be a minimum of 70 square feet, and at least seven feet in any horizontal direction.

So to answer the question about minimum size, as I read the code, the absolute minimum size would be a habitable room of 120 square feet that included space for living, sleeping, eating or cooking, plus a bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower or bathtub of at least 36 square feet in size. The kitchen area may need to be in addition to the 120 square foot habitable room requirement.If you add a bedroom separate from the main room then that would need to be a minimum of 70 square feet in size being at least 7 feet in any horizontal direction. Minimum size that still meets all requirements of the NC Residential Building Code could certainly be under 256 square feet (16’ x 16’) and maybe significantly less.

The Building Inspector would give final approval once plans were submitted to them for review.

Below is an example of a "SmallHouse" (16' x 16', 256 square feet) that meets all the size requirements for the NC Building Code. This plan was developed by Harvey Harman, with additional development and upgrades (and drawing) by architect Tim Watson. You can see more about Tim Watson atarchitect.com/