Residents in rural communities across the U.S. share a range of challenges that might be eased by the 20K Income Home. Some nuclear families live with extended family or an elderly relative. Some drive great distances to work and could reduce commuting if they had adequate work space at home. And some could use extra space to generate much needed income from rent. The 20K Income Home is designed with an attached, but private and flexible unit that is separate from the rest of the house, a space that can serve any of these purposes.
The Income Home’s long, narrow, super-insulated section takes advantage of natural cross-ventilation. The design of the main home and the small unit are structurally attached through a common dogtrot porch that also serves as an entrance for both.
In the main two-bedroom home, one long exterior wall is loaded with service functions. The separate apartment, with its own kitchenette and bath, has an open and flexible plan that can be adapted to different uses. The house is designed to use a pier-foundation system with traditional platform framing and be built with readily available, durable materials. The walls are designed for wood stud framing wrapped with the ZIP System®paneling. The roof is designed for a pre-manufactured truss system topped with corrugated tin, providing a generous overhang that protects the walls and provides shade. The common dogtrot porch is designed to be clad with wooden boards, giving the design a warm feel, while the finished siding for all other exterior walls is a low-maintenance metal.
