Skip to main content

12sqft Office

We considered downsizing from our 36ft trailer to a 26ft one. To help make up for the lost space and save our family from me trying to work in the same space as family life, I designed a small office, so to speak, that I could set up outside the trailer and then tear down, so it could be transported in the back of our truck. Assembled, it would have been 4′ deep x 3′ wide x 5′ high (at the peak of the roof).

We decided not to go this route, so it looks like this concept won’t be realized. But the items I priced came out to $850-$950.

Planning​

Initial thoughts​

Thoughts 1

Thoughts 2

Seeing if an A-frame would work​

A Frame

Developing internals​

It needed to be insulated, lightweight, and not too expensive.

Alt text

Alt text

Final figures before I moved to Illustrator​

Alt text

Alt text

Building everything in Illustrator​

I made everything to scale to help with figuring out the actual measurements.

Alt text

Key Ingredients​

  • Corrugated smoke/translucent polycarbonate paneling for the walls
  • Corrugated asphalt roofing
  • 2×2 treated wood for the frame
  • Treated plywood for the floor and subfloor
  • 1″ foam insulation, painted white, to go behind the polycarbonate, under the roof, and in the floor; the wall pieces could be pulled out on nice days, which would turn the walls into windows
  • Casters for two of the feet, to make it mobile even when assembled
  • Metal dowels for the door hinges; it would have opened upward, so I could prop it open on nice days
  • A 200mm computer case fan (for starters) embedded in the roofing insulation, to help circulate air
  • The four walls, the floor, and the roof module would all be separate pieces, held together by 24 carriage bolts