Building a very small low budget house - space saving tips desparately required

[dejags]

As many might know - I live in South Africa.

We are due to emigrate to Australia soon and as a parting gesture, DH and I have decided that we would like to pay towards building a small home for the lady who works for us (she is a combination childminder/housekeeper).

At the moment, Noma lives, like many millions of South Africans in an "informal settlement", her home is a shack, consisting of tin walls and roof, with no bathroom facilities or running water. She does have electricity - and considers herself fortunate for this.

We hope to build her a brick home with a proper roof, running water, electricity and of course with a bathroom.

The thing is, is that she has four children so needs at least two bedrooms. Building costs are per m2 and as we don't have unlimited funds, we need to come up with a good way to maximise space on a budget.

I have so far come up with:

1. Bathroom with shower only
2. Bedrooms - this is the huge conundrum, currently the children share 1 bed (yes all 4 of them!!), I would dearly love to see them all in their own beds, but the only way I can see this happening is by putting in two sets of double bunks, which will leave precious little space for a desk, etc (their eldest child starts High School next year and will need a study space).
3. Kitchen, I will be buying them a washing machine, is it ever feasible to plumb a washing machine outside (i.e. under a lean-to or something similar, or will the machine just rust?)

Sorry for this rambling brain dump, but I need to get this sorted ASAP because we are leaving in 7 weeks and time is limited.

TIPs? Hints?

TIA.

why do you need 2 sets of double bunks? surely 2 sets of single bunks will be fine?

Just a difference in terminology NA.

Here 1 set of double bunks = 2 beds, therefore, we'd need two sets = 4 beds.

so 2 single beds not 2 double beds? i thought you meant bunks with double beds!

what about something like this the bottom two bits pull out i assume.

That is so cool. I have never seen anything like that. I'll have to see if it's possible to get one in South Africa.

Anybody else?

the pull out beds would be a great option - they don't take any room during the day when the kids aren't sleeping.

of course the other space saving device is pull DOWN furniture folded against the wall when not in use: beds, desks, tables, etc.

excellent project, dejags.

I've seen 2 sets of bunk beds before where the beds were on the back wall and the right wall. The beds interlinked at the joining corner if you know what I mean...... So the bunks on the back wall were slightly lower than the others - then in that corner the bunks were all slotted over each other with about 30cm between each one (height wise). Which was fine for the feet end.

How about a hinged, fold-up desk which when not in use can be put away, or even is attached to the wall ad pins up against the wall when not in use.

I have been calling around, unfortunately the quadruple bunk has never been heard of - joys of living in Africa .

I think we might have to consider something bespoke - that's if I can find somebody to make it fairly reasonably.

The fold down desk is a very good idea and will not cost much at all. I can get DH busy with that next weekend.

They also have very limited wardrobe space at present - big bulky wardrobes which take up far more space than is necessary. I need to come up with something - especially in the children's room where they can store their things. The underside of the bunk bed is great for two of them - I'll get DH busy with some funky lockers, perhaps wall mounted ones alongside the top bunk for the other two kids.

didn't someone have a thread on here recently about situating appliances outdoors? it was in the last 2 weeks, so might be worth seeing if there were any suggestions in there. The safety of the electrics, rather than rust, would be the main worry, wouldn't it?

I didn't see that one BOTR. I'll try a search.

I would also worry that it would get nicked - a washing machine is a valuable thing in the townships.

When we were students I had our washing machine outside in the outhouse without problems. However we discovered that the students down the road were using it at night so we were paying for the electricity

Had to lock it in the end. Also could it be stolen?

What about an l shaped bunk bed set up which would take up one corner?Getting bespoke is the way to go in small spaces if you can afford it Cube shaped storage boxes all along the top of the walls with a ladder for access keeps everything off the floor .I think an outdoor utility would be great just get a big plastic barbecue cover to put over it in harsh weather

Sorry x-posts. I see you've already thought of that.

Ours was ouside (undercover but basically behind a slatted door) for nearly 4 years and never broke down.

I am thinking as long as it is waterproof, perhaps we could build a lockable cupboard around it. This would keep it safe from the elements and the thieves?

if there isn't much room for storage can you get them lots of bags like this?

also very good for saving space

I think the L Shaped Quad bunk is the best in terms of space - we'll just have to see if I can find somebody to build me one.

Have just spoken to the bank. They will finance Noma for what we can't afford, the challenge is now to keep the costs down to what she can afford.

Can you believe that all it will take is around GBP70 per month to pay her mortgage (this will hopefully build her a 60m2 house).

I so wish I had the time and energy to try and galvanise other South Africans to do the same thing. If I was staying in the country and had two less children, I definitely would!

I LOVE those hangers, they are definitely on my list.

put shelves on the walls to hold storage boxes or wicker baskets. also if there's room underbed storage will save space. a big blanket box or toy box can double up as somewhere to sit. a tall, thin wardrobe with sliding doors will be best.

I am so excited about this project. I harbour (not so secret) feelings of guilt about "abandoning" South Africa, so to be able to leave knowing I have helped one family will be good.

not sure if this'd be any help at all, but we once rented a teeny house that was so well laid out it felt much bigger, and I've frequently thought about the layout etc when trying to make the most of space in other places

here it is - actually if you clikc the 'plans' tab it reckons it's exactly 60m sq

Thanks MrsB!

Noma will be getting a draft drawing from a potential builder tomorrow - if she's happy to share it I'll post a link then you can comment.

Since the shower is going to get such heavy use, can you build one in that is fully tiled top to bottom and doesn't need a door/shower curtain?