Building an off grid tiny house on the Hilo side of Hawaii, Advice needed (porch, better)

[hotzcatz]

One of the reasons to have a lanai on your house is to cool off the air with a shaded area before it goes inside. There's also the aesthetic value of transitioning from the outside to the inside of the home. Hawaii folks spend probably more time outside than many places on the mainland and a halfway place between in and out is really nice.

Ideally, a lanai is sort of a living room without walls, but they show up in a lot of different varieties.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by eddietude

Ok, then what is YOUR definition of a "lanai". I was under the impression it referred to all of the above you listed...

In a nutshell, a "lānai" is a covered, outdoor area that is appurtenant to a dwelling. When the term "lānai" made the transition to the English language, it lost the kahakō (macron) over the initial "a" and became "lanai." Unfortunately, it also lost some shades of meaning and is often used interchangeably with "porch," "veranda," "balcony," and "patio.

[mikereilly]

We have a neighbor a couple of doors down with an octagon house with a wrap around lānai. I think for a tiny house it's a good addition. Our cottage is under 600 sq. ft. and I think that might be the best upgrade we could add in terms of bang for your buck.

[67Cam]

Part of my research into eventually moving there is whether we will be able to (financially) build a house or will buy existing. My ideal house would have a wrap around lanai and I was somewhat surprised to see so few existing houses or new house plans with that feature.

It made me wonder why there weren't. Could it be about mosquitoes/bugs and the difficulty to screen in a wrap around, maybe a cost issue or some other reason?

Looking at the local places that supply house plans I see only 2 models with the wrap around lanai. When I asked for pricing info from Honsador for the model in the pic below I was surprised to see the materials cost was very high - much higher than some other models with very little lanai space but more interior square footage. Maybe it's the cost of the lumber for the decking or increased roof area... If that's the case maybe that's why there aren't many of these style houses around?

[hotzcatz]

Generally folks will want a carport or garage attached to the house at least on one side. Frequently bedrooms won't have a lanai alongside of them, especially bedrooms that don't have an outside door. Usually a lanai will be on the back of the house if only one side has a lanai. Right now I'm drawing up a house with a lanai on three sides, although it's three separate lanai. The two big ones are attached at one corner the other is the entry lanai.

There are a lot of reasons why folks wouldn't want a lanai entirely circling their house, but usually they want one near the living room or the just use the carport as a lanai.

[KauaiHiker]

I find any lanai that is too small (less than a table and chairs) to be useless. If you can't sit out there, or hang laundry, you don't use it and it is wasted (also just more wood to rot and need fixing). In my opinion, it is much better to have a 10x20 (or more) lanai that you will truly use.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by 67Cam

Part of my research into eventually moving there is whether we will be able to (financially) build a house or will buy existing. My ideal house would have a wrap around lanai and I was somewhat surprised to see so few existing houses or new house plans with that feature.

It made me wonder why there weren't. Could it be about mosquitoes/bugs and the difficulty to screen in a wrap around, maybe a cost issue or some other reason?

For the Hilo side of the Big Island, a wraparound, screened lānai might be a bit of a hassle to maintain. Oftentimes, there's mold, mildew, and gecko poop to contend with and it's a perfect place for coqui frogs to hide.

Originally Posted by 67Cam

Looking at the local places that supply house plans I see only 2 models with the wrap around lanai. When I asked for pricing info from Honsador for the model in the pic below I was surprised to see the materials cost was very high - much higher than some other models with very little lanai space but more interior square footage. Maybe it's the cost of the lumber for the decking or increased roof area... If that's the case maybe that's why there aren't many of these style houses around?

The model in that pic is Honsador's ʻOneki model. Ironically, they call their wraparound lānai a "deck" and point out that ʻoneki is the Hawaiian language transliteration for "deck."
http://www.honsador.com/Runtime/Uplo...0hilo%20BR.pdf

HPM's "Honokaʻa" model has a wraparound lānai that incorporates a carport into the design…
Honoka

Mahana Home's "Kunewa" model has a wraparound lānai…
Kunewa Prefab Home Kit | Mahana Homes Hawaii

And, there are some "Hale-8" and "Hale-12" models by Multifacetted Homes with a wraparound lānai…
The Hale-8
The Hale-12

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Generally folks will want a carport or garage attached to the house at least on one side. Frequently bedrooms won't have a lanai alongside of them, especially bedrooms that don't have an outside door. Usually a lanai will be on the back of the house if only one side has a lanai. Right now I'm drawing up a house with a lanai on three sides, although it's three separate lanai. The two big ones are attached at one corner the other is the entry lanai.

An "entry lanai" is a "porch." It's interesting how many folks nowadays use "lanai" as a catch-all term when "porch," "patio," "deck," etc. usually provides a better description.

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

There are a lot of reasons why folks wouldn't want a lanai entirely circling their house, but usually they want one near the living room or the just use the carport as a lanai.

"Carport?" Nah, that's just a "vehicular lanai"

[67Cam]

The 'Oneki has a carport option - see attached pic - although it would not be much of a view from that section of lanai, deck, (insert other words here)!

When I saw these plans, but before I saw the materials cost, I thought I would have the lanai/deck widened all the way around, rather than be so narrow along the sides. I would replace a guest room window with a slider or french doors so they could access the lanai/deck and have seating areas adjacent to their room. It seems that would be more useful than a narrow lanai/deck.

But that is all just day dreaming and not a set plan based on the reality of location. As pointed out above, there could be issues with mold, rot and other headaches. When or if the time comes a realistic plan will be made.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

And, there are some "Hale-8" and "Hale-12" models by Multifacetted Homes with a wraparound lānai…
The Hale-8
The Hale-12

We were very interested in the Multifaceted Homes when we were originally looking to build in 2004. However, I thought that they were out of business. When you mentioned them, I looked up their website. In January of 2015 they posted the following: "We are currently working on some projects in the South Pacific and will be out of production for approximately one year."