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Buying a summer cottage is just the beginning. It needs to be planned, to choose the best house, to develop a general concept for its design. In this article we will consider a variety of projects of country houses. From the smallest for one room, to very roomy – for 100 squares of usable area.
With veranda and terrace
When choosing the layout of a country house, they often try to find a project with a veranda or terrace. Such a covered area is good not only for relaxing or dining outdoors. On a rainy or hot day, under a canopy, you can do a lot of things that you can’t do because of the large amount of garbage in the premises.
On a common foundation
Projects of country houses with a veranda have a small area: the smallest are 6 * 4 meters in size, and the veranda is 2 meters on the long side, and the house itself is 4 * 4 meters or 16 square meters (taking into account the thickness of the walls even less).
The project presented above provides for the winter use of the dacha. To keep the heat in the house, there is an entrance through the vestibule. The entrance through the veranda can be used in the summer. It is also good because it has a bathroom – a small shower, with washbasins and a toilet. If there is no sewerage in the country, you can consider the option of a dry closet.
Another option is one room, in which there is space for several kitchen cabinets and a stove, there is a small dining table and there is a bed. This layout is ideal for one person. Two people will feel good in it. In this option, there is no bathroom, so you have to build a toilet separately.
The layout of a country house of a small area (up to 40 meters) is quite simple: usually there are two rooms, the first of which is used as a kitchen and dining room at the same time. Most of the time it is a pass. The second room is living. More or less comfortably accommodate two beds here. So the projects of country houses with an attic of 6 * 4 meters are designed for 1-2 people.
If the construction budget is very limited, consider projects for country houses with a pitched roof. They are unusual for our country, but the cost of a roof with a small area is much less. It is only necessary to choose the correct angle of the roof slope (taking into account the amount of snow cover).
A medium-sized country house is shown in the photo above. The project is interesting in that the veranda here was originally “winter”, glazed. Most owners of open verandas come to the need to glaze it, and to build a gazebo for a pleasant pastime in the air. In this project, the veranda is a continuation of the living room, but a partition can be installed here. In general, a convenient and comfortable house with a traditional layout, all rooms are separate, there is a bathroom, a fenced-off corridor. All conditions for year-round living.
On a separate foundation
Please note that the above projects of country houses with a veranda have a common foundation. This is reliable, since even with spring heaving of the soil there will be no movement. But the cost of the foundation is significant. Therefore, such an approach is justified on complex soils prone to heaving. In normal soils, you can make a veranda on a separate, disconnected and lightweight (usually columnar or pile) foundation. One such project is presented below.
In general, a veranda can be attached to any building. It can be laid at the design stage, or it can be attached after (as happens very often).
The veranda can completely occupy one of the sides of the house, it can cover two or even three of its sides. But there are options with a small open area (as in the photo above). The foundation in this case may be separate, but there will not be much savings. For example, in the above project, only 1,1 meters of the “main foundation” were “won”.
We are so accustomed to comfort that even in the country we do not want to have “conveniences in the yard.” For many, the main selection criterion is the availability of a bathroom. Even the need for individual sewage equipment does not scare them. Not all projects of country houses of a small area can boast of such an “excess”, but some have a bathroom (toilet and shower).
with attic
The idea to increase the living space due to the attic floor comes up often. It is believed that construction costs do not increase much, since most of the superstructure is a modified roof. In reality, if the attic is used all year round, the difference in the price tag for a two-story house and a one-story house with an attic will be small. After all, it must be taken into account that the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe premises of the attic floor is much smaller, and the costs will be high, since good heat, sound, vapor barrier is required.
Attics under a gable roof
A country house with a summer attic is really cheap. But at the same time, it must be taken into account that on sunny days without insulation it will be too hot there, so thermal insulation is still necessary, but not as “serious” as for winter operation.
A country house with a summer attic is really cheap. But at the same time, it must be taken into account that on sunny days without insulation it will be too hot there, so thermal insulation is still necessary, but not as “serious” as for winter operation.
The projects of country houses presented above are intended for seasonal visits. They provide only living rooms. In the room on the first floor, you can organize a kitchenette.
Below is the layout of a small garden or country house measuring 5 by 5 meters with a dedicated kitchen. Please note that the porch is attached and is not on the plan.
All these houses are designed as frame houses. With slight modifications, these projects will work for houses made of any other material. Only it will be necessary to take into account the thickness of the walls, choose the right foundation.
If desired, the covered veranda can be made open. However, the opposite usually happens. Having built an open one, it is glazed or driven out to half the wall, single frames are installed. If you want fresh air, you can always open the windows, and the area can be set aside for a summer dining room or kitchen.
How to increase the area of the attic floor
All projects of country houses with an attic floor are made under a gable roof. This is good in the sense that the snow will not linger on such steep slopes. The second plus is a simple truss system. Minus – a small area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXba “full-fledged” room at the top. Too much wasted space around the edges. There you can make cabinets, but this area is unsuitable for housing.
If it is important for you to increase the living space, the roof can be made broken. It is more difficult to construct and more expensive, but the area of the premises on the attic floor is much larger.
Another way to increase the area is to drive the walls above the level of the first floor. They say to build “one and a half floors.” This option is good for cottages that are visited during the cold season. The roof can be made as you like, but a large area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbrooms still turns out under a broken line.
When choosing a project for a country house with an attic for periodic visits, it is better to make the attic cold, and make the ceiling insulated. On the stairs leading to the second floor, it is necessary to provide a door / cover that will enclose the upper tier. Otherwise, heating will take a lot of fuel and time. In winter, there are usually fewer people, visits are short-term. Warming up both floors is too long and expensive, so it’s not a bad solution.
Projects of two-story country houses
Building a two-story house is not such an expensive undertaking. The foundation is still needed one, albeit more powerful, but its cost does not increase twice, but by 60%. The dimensions and insulation of the roof do not depend on the number of storeys at all, so there is no need to increase investments here. Wall costs are added – their area is twice as large, but in general, the cost per square meter of area is cheaper than when building a similar one-story dwelling. Because many are looking for projects of two-story cottages.
The above project is designed for aerated concrete or ceramic building blocks. Suitable for elongated areas. The attached garage is very convenient to use – you can get into the house from the garage. Another plus: this option saves space on the site, and it is always small in the country, no matter how large the plot you have.
In this layout option, a spacious terrace is supposed to be on the back of the house. It is not included in the total area of the house. An interesting design makes the house different from others: a large one-and-a-half-story window, a cubic-shaped garage and a shed in front of the house do not affect the price tag too much, but make the house unique.
Another two-storey cottage project with a garage attached to the side is presented above. This option is more suitable for square or wide areas. Building spot in plan – 10 * 10 meters, living area – 108 square meters. The high windows on the second floor give this house an unusual look. The selection of finishing materials, a combination of light beige and brown colors, also contributes. All in all, an interesting project.
A non-standard type of two-story house with a balcony that encircles the entire building. On the back side there is a large open terrace. The roof is hipped, which complicates the construction, but gives the building a special flavor.
With a bath
For many, the dacha is associated with a bath. The bath, of course, can be built separately, but it is long and expensive. In a country house of medium size, it is quite possible to take the room under the steam room. It is usually done with an entrance from the bathroom / bathroom, since water procedures are necessary. For true bathers, there should still be an exit to the street nearby: so that you can quickly cool off in a river or an outdoor pool.
The minimum dimensions of the steam room are 2 * 2 meters, the optimal ones are 3 * 3. Such premises can be entered even in houses of a small area, but the amount of living space will decrease. If there should still be enough rooms, you can consider the option with an attic floor. One such example is pictured below.
Pay attention to the layout. The first thing to focus on is that the stove is installed in such a way that it is heated from the next room. In this case, it’s the rest room. The option is not too good, since the entrance is far away. You will have to carry firewood across the room, which is inconvenient and usually fraught with a lot of garbage.
Another drawback: in the above version there is no kitchen. For country life, this is a solid drawback. A kitchen corner can be arranged in a large room, placed exclusively upstairs in the bedrooms. Another planning option is to make a kitchen in the current “furnace / rest room”. Resting is more convenient in a large room. After taking a shower, it is convenient to go there.
Small and inexpensive
Small dachas are usually designed for the most inexpensive construction technologies. In our country, this is frame technology and wooden houses. Approximately in the same category, houses made of porous building blocks (foam concrete, aerated concrete). But they are still not that popular.
Projects of country houses for frame technology
Small country houses are usually built using frame technology. Frames can be built independently, you can buy ready-made – prefabricated. These are two technologies that, with minimal cost and time, allow you to have a good country house.
To optimize the budget for building a country house, look for projects whose foundation on the plan is a rectangle or square. The presence of any protrusions leads to an increase in the cost per square meter. Not only do the costs of the foundation increase, the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe walls increases, and, therefore, the cost of them. The roof is also more expensive – the truss system is more complicated, there are more complex nodes.
Another point for those who plan to visit the cottage in the winter. So that when walking back and forth, warm air does not “run away” from the house, it is advisable to make an entrance with a vestibule. If the area does not allow it to be built-in, make an extension. This will greatly reduce fuel consumption and time to warm up the house.
Beam and log
One of the most common building materials in our camp: timber and logs. The advantage is that a small country house is being built very quickly. Minus – with prolonged shrinkage (from six months to a year, depending on the initial moisture content of the log and climatic conditions). Until the end of the period of active shrinkage, finishing work is not worth it, which delays the possibility of operating the building. This does not apply to standing log cabins (ready-made kits) or glued beams. But the price is solid (two times) for such options is higher.
If we talk about the smallest country houses, then they are 4 by 4 meters in size. Doing less just doesn’t make sense. The layout in this case is quite simple: it is just one room. They can differ only in the orientation to the cardinal points, the number and location of windows. More doors can be located in the middle or on the side. All. Options are over.
A little more in area will be a house of 6 * 4 meters. Here, in a “pure” form, we have about 22 squares of area, place 14-15 in the previous version. The layout still does not differ in variety, but it is already possible to fence off the kitchen area.
If we talk about optimal costs, then the above projects of country houses are not the best option. The fact is that timber or log cottages are best done 6 * 6 in plan. The fact is that the standard length of both timber and logs is 6 meters. If the walls of your house are smaller, you need to either look for a non-standard of a suitable length, or saw off the excess from the standard ones. Yes, non-standard costs much less, but you will have to look for it at different sawmills. Even at the largest sawmill, it is more than difficult to find timber or logs 4-5 meters long in sufficient quantity for construction. So you have to “iron” all nearby. It is difficult to say what the quality of the material will be in this case. Although, if it doesn’t “burn” with you, you can buy the same non-standard logs for several years, put them in piles, bringing them to operational humidity. All in all, this is a good plan. It just takes a lot of time to implement.