Shotgun Shack

[lxskllr]

I was listening to the radio, and they made mention of the shotgun house. I've know basically what they were for a long time, but didn't know the details, so I looked it up. The floor plan's kind of bizarre. You have to walk through the bedroom to get to the kitchen. Any of you ever live in something like that?

Growing up, the bedroom was always considered a private subdivision of the house. To go inside, you had to specifically be invited. Making it part of the 'hallway' turns that concept on its ass.

I like this one. It has that Caribbean style that's kind of French I guess. Not sure what you call it...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_house

 

[Ns1]

only seen it once in NJ


nowadays we just tear down the walls and call it a "loft"

lol

 

[Childs]

This style is seen a lot in New Orleans. I saw a This Old House that took place in New Orleans, and this was the dominate house style in most neighborhoods they were in.

 

[lxskllr]

This style is seen a lot in New Orleans. I saw a This Old House that took place in New Orleans, and this was the dominate house style in most neighborhoods they were in.

I think all the Wikipedia links were from New Orleans. They also tentatively think that's where the style started in America. I'm familiar with it from Mississippi, and other areas of the deep south. When I was young I read a lot about black culture, mostly how it pertained to the birth of the blues.

They started as 'normal' blue collar housing, but became associated with poverty going into the 20th century.

 

[Gibsons]

I can only think they were made because they were super cheap and easy to build, and required minimal frontal space. Fewer walls to build and all the space is used, with none 'wasted' on a hallway. I don't think most people would choose that if they had options.

 

[Childs]

They started as 'normal' blue collar housing, but became associated with poverty going into the 20th century.

Its not that different than bungalows. They were considered old and outdated, and over time poor people move in because the value is perceived to be low. Then they come back in style and people restore them. It will probably happen with shotguns, like it did with victorian and craftsman bungalows, depending on the area.

 

[BrokenVisage]

....and you may find yourself, living in a shotgun shack...

The only time I ever hear of that is in the Talking Heads song.

 

[pontifex]

never heard of shotgun shack....why is it called a shotgun shack?

 

[BladeVenom]

I can only think they were made because they were super cheap and easy to build, and required minimal frontal space. Fewer walls to build and all the space is used, with none 'wasted' on a hallway. I don't think most people would choose that if they had options.

But you have more siding per square foot by building a house so long instead of more square. So I'm doubting it's efficiency.

 

[lxskllr]

never heard of shotgun shack....why is it called a shotgun shack?

Folklorist and professor John Michael Vlach has suggested that the origin of the building style and the name itself may trace back to Haiti and Africa in the 18th century and earlier. The name may have originated from the Africa's Southern Dahomey Fon area term 'to-gun', which means "place of assembly". The description, probably used in New Orleans by Afro Haitian slaves, may have been misunderstood and reinterpreted as "Shotgun."[3] Another, frequently repeated theory suggests that the term "shotgun" is a reference to the idea that if you open all the doors to the house, the pellets fired from a shotgun would fly cleanly from one end to the other (though the origin of this description is unknown). Also a common understanding of the name is that they were built of discarded crates, i.e. shotgun-shell and other crates.[citation needed]

But you have more siding per square foot by building a house so long instead of more square. So I'm doubting it's efficiency.

It's for efficiency in cooling. They said the open floor plan allows breeze through the whole house. They also had relatively high ceilings so the heat would stay above occupation level.

There was also tax and property considerations that made economic sense at the time.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

you may ask yourself "where is my large automobile?"

 

[pelov]

You see some of these in NYC and NJ. It's an efficient use of space so long as you don't have to travel from front > back of the house.

 

[highland145]

It's for efficiency in cooling. They said the open floor plan allows breeze through the whole house. They also had relatively high ceilings so the heat would stay above occupation level.

There was also tax and property considerations that made economic sense at the time.

That makes sense. They're not uncommon here. Poorer neighborhoods. Have always been told that it was called shotgun because you could open the doors and fire a shotgun in the front and out the back without hitting anything.

 

[ZOXXO]

That makes sense. They're not uncommon here. Poorer neighborhoods. Have always been told that it was called shotgun because you could open the doors and fire a shotgun in the front and out the back without hitting anything.

I just the opposite. You can fire a shotgun through the front door and hit everything, or rather everyone.

 

[highland145]

I just the opposite. You can fire a shotgun through the front door and hit everything, or rather everyone.

That works too.

 

[calvinbiss]

Where you listening to NPR?

 

[IronWing]

The kitchen in back was essential to development of the blues as the configuration facilitated access for the backdoor man. It was also to allow for better cooling while cooking with the cross breeze plus back door open.

 

[lxskllr]

Where you listening to NPR?

Yea I was. I don't even remember what the article was. I was only half paying attention, but the shotgun house part jumped out at me.

The kitchen in back was essential to development of the blues as the configuration facilitated access for the backdoor man. It was also to allow for better cooling while cooking with the cross breeze plus back door open.

Hmm... for some reason I feel like I'm getting bamboozled here :^D

 

[feralkid]

But you have more siding per square foot by building a house so long instead of more square.

How is that possible?

 

[Squisher]

My old house was a modified shotgun shack when it was first built, around the turn of the century, in that it had a narrow hallway running down one side, but then three more additions obscured the original layout.

 

[feralkid]

I just the opposite. You can fire a shotgun through the front door and hit everything, or rather everyone.

Oh hell no.

 

[highland145]

How is that possible?

New math.

 

[Gibsons]

How is that possible?

Assuming a rectangular plan -

For a given square footage, the minimum perimeter (total siding length) will have all sides equal.

Or, for a given amount of siding, the maximum internal square footage is 4 equal sides.

So for a 100 sq feet 10x10 gives a total perimeter of 40 feet, 12.5x8 is 41 etc.

 

[highland145]

Assuming a rectangular plan -

For a given square footage, the minimum perimeter (total siding length) will have all sides equal.

Or, for a given amount of siding, the maximum internal square footage is 4 equal sides.

So for a 100 sq feet 10x10 gives a total perimeter of 40 feet, 12.5x8 is 41 etc.

I see the math but can't get my brain around it. Must be a fart.:\

Sorry, Blade.

 

[DrPizza]

Assuming a rectangular plan -

For a given square footage, the minimum perimeter (total siding length) will have all sides equal.

Or, for a given amount of siding, the maximum internal square footage is 4 equal sides.

So for a 100 sq feet 10x10 gives a total perimeter of 40 feet, 12.5x8 is 41 etc.

Likewise, if heating or cooling with air conditioning, the increased surface area from a non-square floor plan causes an increase in heating (or cooling) losses.