Country cabins: how to choose and equip?

Country cabins have not been considered for a long time as a temporary alternative to garden houses. Today they represent a completely independent version of buildings that can fully provide a comfortable life while staying outside the city. Many ready-made options include a full bathroom or even a mini-steam room, a veranda for relaxation and are able to accommodate a family of 3-4 people for the whole summer. Garden two-room wooden and metal cabins are a real find for a lover of out-of-town pastime, but sometimes it is rather difficult to choose among the many options on the market.

What layout is considered optimal for a summer cottage? Who is suitable for insulated corner and other options with a non-standard arrangement of modules? What kind of exterior cladding to choose, is it worth focusing exclusively on ready-made solutions? There are indeed a lot of questions on the topic of arranging a change house for a summer residence. To find answers to them, it is worth studying all the features of such structures in as much detail as possible.

Country cabins are small-sized structures for 1 or 2 rooms, which have a summer kitchen, a full bathroom. Sometimes a veranda or a small porch is added to the total area. As a temporary shelter, light panel houses are most often erected, designed for several seasons of residence. But in most cases, summer residents prefer a capital structure with a solid wooden or metal frame, a base in the form of a concrete or pile foundation, and sometimes even a mobile wheeled platform.

Classic garden houses, even small ones, do not give the desired feeling of comfort. In addition, their configuration is very limited and is not very suitable for a summer residence, where every square meter is important. Initially, cabins served as temporary housing for workers and were metal container wagons without any special amenities.

Today, metal structures are almost never found. They were replaced by sectional houses with cladding made of timber, logs or wood-based panels, as well as objects with external finishing from sandwich panels.

The simplest solution is a summer cottage, it can become a temporary refuge for summer residents. Such a mini-house is inexpensive and does not take up much space on the site. In the future, a correctly chosen change house can be converted into a bathhouse or a storage room, made a guest house. It is absolutely indispensable if you need to provide housing for the master during the construction of a house or create comfort during trips to the country with an overnight stay. You can also store a tool or valuables inside without fear that they will be stolen in the absence of the owners.

Change houses, like any other buildings, have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Among the obvious advantages are the following.

• Multifunctional design. The change house can be used as temporary housing or converted into a bathhouse, auxiliary rooms and other purposes.
• No installation difficulties. You can mount the change house on a simple pile foundation or install it on a welded metal base, a concrete slab.
• Minimal time required for installation. It takes no more than 2 days to collect the finished structure, and the trailers can be installed and settled right away.
• Attractive cost. A change house, due to its smaller area, even in the most expensive configuration, is cheaper than a full-fledged country house.
• Lots of configurations. There are options with an entrance hall, vestibule, veranda, two-story with a terrace.
• Ease of repair. It is easy to change the sheet or wood cladding if necessary.
• The ability to use in a limited area area. Substantial space savings are a big advantage.

Not without its drawbacks. They are mainly related to the seasonality of use. For year-round living, the change house requires serious re-equipment, it is necessary to insulate the walls, sewer and water supply systems, and solve heating issues. Metal cladding gives an acoustic effect at any time of the year, especially in bad weather. In addition, in such a house, all the noises from neighboring areas will be audible.

All types of cabins can be divided into several categories according to their type of construction and material of manufacture. In addition, there is a division according to the arrangement of the modules, for example, angular and straight layouts. According to the assembly method, such structures are distinguished.

• Collapsible panel board. The simplest temporary structures that do not require a foundation. Installed on any support, even on wooden logs, suitable for living in the summer. Models with on-site assembly look attractive, but they are made frameless or mounted on a light crate of a thin bar and almost completely lose their advantages in a few years.

• Modular from a bar. They are assembled in production, the main difference between such structures is that they are compatible with each other, they allow you to create houses of almost any number of storeys and configurations. Insulated dwelling houses in winter design are often used for seasonal living, they can be installed on top of each other, turning them into comfortable housing, united by passages in the walls.

• Prefabricated sandwich panels. Change houses resembling construction trailers. They are mounted on a metal frame, due to the correct thermal insulation they create comfortable conditions for a winter stay, but they lose heat faster than wooden ones, there are problems with sound insulation. Finished structures are delivered disassembled. They are mounted on a metal frame in 1-2 days.

• Wireframe. Created using the same technology as large cottages. Suitable for year-round living, less limited in size, since they are being built right on the site. Such cabins most often have a terrace or a spacious veranda, a summer kitchen, and can be supplemented with a second attic floor.

• Block containers. Ready-made kits with full insulation, durable, suitable for winter living. On sale you can find options equipped with all communications, from a stove to a water heater. There are different layout options - linear and "vests". Such containers can be combined with each other, creating a full-fledged living space, they are installed on a welded metal foundation on piles, and can be delivered to the site even in winter.

According to the material of manufacture, the change houses are divided into wooden and metal. The former are most often made from solid coniferous wood. In this case, the walls can be made of timber or logs. Frame structures are usually created on a base of metal or wood; as cladding, both ready-made blocks with already installed insulation are used here, as well as a variety of wood-based panels or ordinary lining. Outside, the building can be finished with siding, giving it a modern look and diversifying the color palette of the decor.

The iron shed can be a welded trailer with a skin or a prefabricated product made of sandwich panels with a layer of insulation inside. This solution provides sufficient thermal insulation, creates conditions for a comfortable temporary stay. But metal cabins are more difficult to heat in the winter, they freeze quickly. And the finish made of profiled sheet, even coated with polymer dye, does not look very presentable.

The sizes of cabins, especially in modular design, are strictly standardized, since they are determined by the standards for the carriage of goods. They are transported already assembled, installed on a prepared base using a manipulator crane. Regulated dimensions: 2.5 × 2.5 × 3 m, the last indicator is the length, depending on the number of combined modules, it can be 6 or 9 m.The two-story structure will have a height of 5 m.

With frame construction, the size range of cabins is even wider. The best option is a large two-room structure with a vestibule in the center and residential blocks on the sides. In such a shed, 6 m long is enough to place the partition walls inside, to insulate the frame. The mini-house will be 230 cm wide, and the inner aisles will be 70 cm wide.

For change houses with a shower and toilet, a summer kitchen, a spacious veranda, a size of 2.5 × 8 m is often used.In this case, 2 m of length is allocated for a bathroom and resting places, and the rest of the area remains residential. The most budget cottage cabins have dimensions of 2.3 × 3 m or 2.3 × 4 m, in such houses you can only hide from the rain or lock your garden tools. It is definitely not worth considering them seriously as housing, even temporary.

What are the best cabins and what should you consider when choosing such a structure for your site? If we consider the option of a structure permanently located on a site, you should immediately focus on frame or timber solutions - they are more convenient for re-equipment for non-residential purposes, a guest house, a barn or a bathhouse.

The amount of free space on the site, the location of communications also matter. For example, if we are talking about a change house with a shower and toilet, it is better to place the building so that the well or water supply well is as close as possible. The size of the structure depends on the availability of free space. If everything is occupied by beds and greenhouses, and you do not plan to spend the night at the dacha, you can stay at the most compact houses, where you can wait out the bad weather or store inventory.

It is worth being guided by the requirements of the legislation governing the location of cabins regarding:

• road or common street - at least 5 m;
• neighboring plots - from 3 m.

One of the most important criteria, and it is not at all necessary to consider the most expensive options.Additional insulation is needed only for those owners who plan to come to the country in the winter. The same goes for the number of compartments inside. If there is no need for overnight stays outside the city, you can choose a one-room option with a porch or vestibule. In addition, if the change house is purchased for a short time, it is worth considering options in which unnecessary property is easy to sell. Basically, these are ready-made containers, as well as mobile "mobile homes".

The change house, although it is planned very simply, still has some differences between different types. In particular, it can have a flat, single-pitched or gable roof - the latter option is focused on models with a length of 5 m and more and allows you to create a mezzanine on the second tier, equipping a storage room or an additional berth.

The number of windows also matters - it is better if they are located along the walls of a room that is not intended for sleep and rest. Window openings are sources of heat loss and additional noise in winter; in warm container houses they are made very small.

When choosing a layout, you should pay attention to the purpose of the change house. If it is planned as a budget analogue of a full-fledged house, it is worth choosing modules of the maximum size from the very beginning. For a family with children, an angular design is suitable, in which 2 modules are combined with each other. In this case, one part will accommodate a bedroom for adults and a nursery, and the second will be reserved for a full kitchen, shower and toilet. This solution is well adapted for seasonal use.

If the dacha is not considered as a place of permanent residence, and you want to turn it into an object for recreation with friends, an interesting solution would be a two-story change house, in which the modules are located L-shaped. It turns out the same angular layout, but with two terraces and occupying several tiers. The first floor can be turned into a living room with a kitchen, a stove with a barbecue can be erected on the terrace. And the second will turn into a full bedroom, isolated from the general fun, with a separate patio where you can put sun loungers.

Most of the classic cabins have a standard straight design. In this case the layout can be through or with a vestibule - the so-called vest... The first option resembles similar structures used as a bath or sauna, where all rooms are walk-through. The second one includes several modules and one common vestibule, from which the doors lead to a bathroom, a rest room or a kitchen. The most budget models of cabins do not have vestibules and corridors at all, they consist of only 1 common room.

If a pitched roof is chosen for the change house, berths can be transferred to the second mezzanine floor by equipping an attic bed with a ladder there. In a small house, you can replace a spacious terrace with a porch, turning it into a kind of hallway where you can take off your outerwear and shoes. The most convenient and practical is the undershirt. The presence of a vestibule reduces the spread of dirt from the street, isolated from each other premises allow family members to go about their business, without interfering with the quiet hour of children or the rest of the older generation.

If there are usually no problems with the exterior decoration of summer cottages, then interior decoration in temporary small-sized housing requires more attention.In the case of very compact buildings of 2 × 3 m, used as sheds, cheap hardboard is most often used here, with which ceilings and walls are trimmed. But not all summer residents choose small cabins, and for a constant summer vacation inside, you want to create at least a semblance of comfort. How to be in this case?

Metal structures (trailers, containers, products made of sandwich panels) do not keep heat very well by default, they let outside noise through. Therefore, the interior decoration here begins with the installation of additional thermal insulation on all surfaces - from floor to ceiling. On top, you can fix decorative MDF panels on the crate or use the lining, having previously covered it with varnish or paint. If hardboard or drywall is used, the surface can be easily pasted over with wallpaper - it is completely flat.

If the shed is built of timber, its walls inside do not need additional finishing. Here it is enough to pick up interesting details of the country style furnishings. It is better to coat the wooden floor with oil or varnish. If you want to create a more modern interior, laminate or linoleum will come to the rescue as a covering, a terrace board.

In a wooden shed with a gable roof, it is possible not to mount the ceiling - it will be enough to close the insulation with chipboard sheets or clapboard fixed on the logs and make a "floor". This flooring, which takes up a fraction of the space, can act as a loft bed with stairs or railings, and also serve as storage for vegetables and equipment.

Internal walls and partitions in a wooden shed, if not provided initially, can be made of plasterboard or chipboard. Further, the surface can be painted, pasted over with wallpaper, laid out with tiles. In "wet" areas, moisture resistant materials are used. The wall near the gas stove, stove, heater is covered with sheet metal. In the dining and living area can be used for finishing PVC panels.

Beautiful country cabins are not a myth, but a reality. Modern owners are not ready to put up with the limited functionality of such structures and propose to expand their functionality through additional extensions or competent planning of the space. Original design solutions for such buildings are often offered by Scandinavian designers. For example, you can install panoramic glazing on one of the walls or equip the roof with observation windows-hatches and watch the stars.

If the budget allows, it is worth purchasing a change house with a veranda. A spacious covered porch can be glazed and turned into a dining room or kitchen, gaining a few additional square meters of space. If the change house has already been chosen in a classic design, you can connect it to the terrace in the form of an extension by forming a wooden flooring around the object flush with the porch and equipping it with a railing and a canopy. This will significantly diversify the design of the front part.

The layout inside the change house is also usually limited by the lack of free space. But there are options here too. If you do not save money and combine 2 modules in a line, you can get a full-fledged vestibule, and bedrooms for all family members, and a bathroom with a kitchen. In projects from a bar, decorative glazing of the facade of a house with French windows instead of doors looks interesting - it turns out quite a nice home in the Provence style.

The change house should not be perceived solely as a temporary shelter.Modern manufacturers create comfortable mini-houses that completely abandon the idea of ​​building a bulky cottage or block structure. If you want to leave room for further expansion of the living space, you can simply opt for modular designs. They can be easily combined with each other, and subsequently it will be possible to attach a separate sleeping block or make a second floor, simply by installing an additional block.

Among the options useful for change houses, which should not be neglected, the following can be noted.

• "Winter" insulation. In the "summer" layer, the thickness of the layer of mineral wool or foam does not exceed 5 cm, in the all-season it is twice as much. Accordingly, the noise insulation also increases, which the manufacturers of the cheapest cabins rarely care about.

• Double floors. Don't think that rough flooring will be enough. In winter, it will freeze very much, suffer from the formation of condensation.

• Built-in plumbing. Manufacturers use plumbing fixtures of compact dimensions, electric or gas water heaters. And most importantly, the useful area is calculated with an accuracy of a millimeter.

• High quality wall material. If the shed is being built with a prospect of at least 5-10 years, it is better to choose products from a bar of 100 × 150 mm. They are durable, do not require additional interior decoration, look aesthetically pleasing and are able to retain heat well. This is important if you have to visit the dacha in winter or early spring.

• Foundation. Despite the fact that ready-made cabins can be mounted almost on the ground, according to the rule, they should still be installed on a solid frame. Change houses, used year-round, equipped with water supply and sewerage, are mounted on a concrete slab or blocks. Seasonal options - on a welded steel base or post.

• Stove or chimney for a gas heater. Even a small area of ​​a change house needs to be heated with high quality, especially in spring and autumn. Self-creation of technological holes for pipes can be simply dangerous for the further use of such temporary housing.

For information on how to properly equip a summer cottage, see the next video.