Upper Floor

The staircase leads you upstairs.
The stairs ... Here is something that had caused a lot of head-scratching! Because we were looking for compactness, we really had much trouble finding a sensible location for the stairs that does not "eat" too much space. Various solutions (thanks to SketchUp, one more time !), such as placing it outside in its own envelope or between home and containers, have been thought of, but due to other constrains (related to energy conservation, principally, and practicality), we had to admit that this was the only suitable location. A few precious square meters will not be used for other purposes, but hey, we must go upstairs! ...


You will notice that the floor plan is almost identical to the ground floor: simplicity, economy.


This upper floor will include a large room (UP2) ... which usage is unknown for the moment, although Sylvie seems to have put a serious option on its use! She is considering painting here, imagining already her easel in the southeast corner, enjoying the light and warmth. What woman wants ... Ok, this is Sylvie’s paint shop, then.


Through a sliding door, we will access to our bedroom (UP3). This is not a large room, we will only sleep there (!), and we preferred to keep space elsewhere for the day's activities.
A dressing-room (UP4) is attached, where to store our belongings.


Through this dressing-room, we will access to the laundry (UP5): washing machine (which I intend to connect to the network of rainwater when its quality will be good enough), dryer, etc..
A dryer? A priori, nothing less “green” than a dryer! However, this accessory is producing a significant amount of heat. That's why one does NOT recommend its use ... in a poorly insulated house, but in a passive house, every calorie emitted inside has a chance of being "used" (not scientific, my blah-blah?). The dryer will then heat the house efficiently during cold days. Obviously, the highly efficient drying line and the gentle wind of the garden will take care of cloth-drying on fine days!


The second bathroom (UP6) will be completed later (lack of financial resources ?... Yes, that's the point)


The upper container (UP1) is insulated. Lighted by two windows on the south-east and south-west, it will be used as “hobby room”. I am already planning to set our home-theater in the "dark" end of the container: Well separated from the living rooms, the sound effects of a movie like "Lord of the Ring" should not bother LeChat, our sleeping cat!
This “dark corner” will be highly modular, I will also set my photo studio there, and we plan to construct a folding bed for our family and friends.
Get ready to to play in "A night in a container"! ...


Now that you know how our house looks like, we will propose you in the next few posts to follow the steps in the actual construction. We will also come back on design details and techniques.