Mini 2-plex

Drawings for pricing, not permitted

Two studios side by side under one roof, with a small owner hall behind them for the water heater and the water lines.

Concept render of a one-story home with two front doors, two windows, a shingle roof and a walk across the lawn. — Concept render: the 2-plex from the front, with an entry for each studio.

Concept render of the back of the one-story home: a panel of three electric meters and two outdoor heat pump units on the back wall, and a third outdoor unit on the end wall. — Concept render: the back of the 2-plex, with the meters and the outdoor units.

Colors, the lot and the planting are picked for these pictures. Our drawings do not set them.

Specs in our current drawings

Two studio apartments in one story, with a wall between them rated to resist fire for one hour.

Building footprint 44 ft by 17 ft 6 in, outside the walls: 770 square feet in all
About 252 square feet per studio, inside the walls
Walls: 2x6 framing with R-20 batts, plus 1 inch of foam (R-3.9) on the outside
One vinyl window per studio, in the front wall, with low-E glass, U-0.30 (heat loss rating; lower is better)
Insulated steel entry door, 36 by 80 inches
One 50-gallon electric water heater for each studio, on that studio’s own meter

Status. Drawings for a specific lot and a permit are still needed.

The owner hall, kept warm

The hall runs behind both studios. The fire-rated wall between the homes runs through it, so it is two halves, each with its own door from outside.

Each half holds one studio’s 50 gallon electric water heater, on that studio’s own meter, and its cold and hot water manifolds with shutoffs.

Each half has its own mini-split heat pump on the house meter, with a 1,000 watt baseboard heater set at 45 degrees as a backup.

The hall heat is separate from the studios’ heat, so the water heaters and the water lines stay warm whatever the tenants set.

We plan to keep that heat on all winter, so the water heaters and the water lines never freeze.

Walk through it in 360

Drag to look around, and use the buttons under the view to move between spots.

Concept render, not a photograph: outside the 2-plex, by the front walk. The one-story 2-plex from its front walk, with an entry door for each studio, on its own lawn.

The studio is the same plan in both one-story buildings. The studio views are of a 4-plex studio in the village concept: its bath door is 36 inches wide (32 in the 2-plex), and the fire extinguisher by the front door is a 4-plex item.

The plumbing plan shows where each pipe runs, not how high. The lines over the hall are drawn at ceiling height for the picture; the lines to each studio run below the floor slab.

Walk around it in 360 4-plex 8-plex, two stories All buildings

Every spot as a flat picture

Here is each panorama laid out as one wide picture, for anyone who cannot use the viewer.

The one-story 2-plex from its front walk, with an entry door for each studio, on its own lawn. — Concept render, not a photograph: outside the 2-plex, by the front walk.

The end wall of the 2-plex with the owner door to the hall, its step and outdoor light, the outdoor unit of a studio’s heat pump, and a parking pad beyond. — Concept render, not a photograph: the 2-plex owner door on the end wall.

A loveseat and a round table for two sit in the middle of the room, with the TV on the front wall and the kitchen along the back wall. The bed is in the far corner, and the indoor unit of the heat pump hangs high on the end wall. — Concept render, not a photograph: the entry and living area, seen from just inside the front door.

White shaker cabinets and a stainless sink, with the range and refrigerator beside them and a microwave over the range. A fruit bowl, a mug, a cutting board and a pot of herbs sit on the counter, with plates and a bowl beside the sink. — Concept render, not a photograph: the kitchen along the back wall.

The front window looks out on a lawn and other concept homes. Beside it is the closet door, and the indoor unit of the heat pump hangs high on the end wall above a framed print, with the bed in the corner. — Concept render, not a photograph: the corner by the front window, near the closet and the bed.

A tub with a tiled surround and a shower curtain. A wall-hung sink sits under a mirror cabinet beside the toilet. — Concept render, not a photograph: the bath, with the tub across the back.

A 50 gallon water heater in a drain pan, a cold water line overhead, a board of red and blue water lines for one studio and the house panel. Toward the far end are a mini-split heat pump high on the wall and a baseboard heater. — Concept render, not a photograph: the owner hall behind the 2-plex studios.