Lookout Homes

Figure 1: A fire lookout tower with a 30' tall base, then three 10' tall livable floors, topped by a observation cupola.

Figure 2: A floor plan for the fifth floor of the Sullivan fire lookout home.

Lookout Homes

Most forest service fire lookout towers were tall towers with tiny cabins on top, typically no larger than 14' by 14'. They had lots of steep stairs, no bathroom, and made staying overnight seem a lot like camping. This page explores how to design a lookout home; that is, a fire lookout tower inspired design combining outstanding views with the comforts of a well-appointed home. This page describes two lookout home designs:

An 800-square- foot budget home that has two livable levels. This two-bedroom, 1-1/2 bath home is designed so it could be built rapidly from a kit. We expect the kit could be erected in a week or two by a two-person crew by using a rented telehandler for all the lifting tasks.
A 2,800-square-foot home with four livable levels and an elevator. The first instance of this fire lookout home will be built on Dave and Barb Sullivan's timberland property at 12875 Kings Valley Highway, Monmouth, Oregon. Land use approval to build a fire lookout has been received from Polk County, and the Sullivans have completed site prep by logging trees near the building site and removing stumps. Actual construction will begin in the summer of 2021.

More information about both of these homes can be found below.

YouTube Video

In this short video, Barb Sullivan looks at the site of her future lookout home.

Lookout-Home-9-27.pdf

The Sullivan's Fire Lookout Home

This two-page PDF file shows early design plans for the Sullivan's Lookout Home. Page one shows side views of the tower, and page two shows floor plans for the tower's six floor levels.

The talented folks at Fire Tower Engineered Timber are creating detailed plans and making structural analysis. These plans should be completed and construction should begin in the summer of 2021.

Before the fire lookout home can be built, we need to complete a detailed design that has been engineered to be safe. The licensed professional who has had the most impact on this home's design is Ben Brungraber who founded Fire Tower Engineered Timber, a design and engineering firm that specializes in timber frame and complex post-and-beam construction methods. You can learn more about Dr. Brungraber and his qualifications at the Fire Tower Engineered Timber website. He has agreed to have his firm do the engineering work necessary to arrive at a stamped set of construction plans.

Figure 1 near the top of this page shows a side view of the Sullivan lookout home's initial design. The tower will be a 30' by 30' square, so each floor will provide 900 square feet of livable space. The tower will begin with a 30' tall timber-framed base. This base will be designed to evoke the image of forest service lookouts, but it obviously will be wider and deeper. Rather than having a single-story cabin on top, the base will support three 10' tall floors. The tower will be topped with a 14' by 14' observation cupola. Finally, to make the home comfortable, the tower will have an elevator.

Figure 2 shows the floor plan for the fifth floor. Similar plans for the other floors can be found in the PDF file nearby.

BudgetHome-3-27-21.pdf

Budget Lookout Home

This lookout tower provides 800-square feet of living space in an inexpensive package making it a perfect starter home for people on a budget. Because it has simple foundation and roof requirements and can be built from a kit, it should be possible for a small construction crew with a rented telehandler to assemble the entire home in a week or two.

As you can see, this lookout home is perfect for placing on a sloped site. The draft design shows a 15-degree slope from the front to the back of the home, and this is easily accommodated by making the rear columns shorter than the front ones.

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