Many of us who grew up from out of USA do not even know how to use a drill .....
I would be so proud of myself if I build a house myself.
I like small houses, it is cozy and environmentally friendly.
When I had a small space, I did not buy a lot of stuff, and I was fine. I could find most of my stuff easily.
Since I started to have much bigger space, I started to buy a lot of stuff (not worried about no space to put them), but I ended up collected a lot of unnecessary stuff. I sometimes could not even find the stuff I need since there are too many places to look for. Sigh~~
I hope the small house movement will be more popular and become a trend.
So, start doing it!
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be only 16 years old, mature people build their houses from scratch in these times. They learn themselves, and get help from their families and friends, too, when necessary.
Start with a blueprint. Get a carpenter's ruler, pencil to mark, wood, nail and hammer. If you get wood at a lumber store, and have the exact measurements, they will cut it for you.
On the floor, square out a the shape, gravel can be put over smoothed, plain earth, for drainage. Raise the support poles / beams. then the wood planks floor.
To reinforce the interior beams you may even learn how to make knots on thick ropes, to tie them...like the traditionsl farm homes in North Asia. See photos of traditional village homes on line. All those homes didn't have complete straight lines, but were build for strength, and use unpolished wood, which became smooth with age and use. And go on from there.
As to the roof, you can use thatch, which is low maintenance, and long-lasting. The villagers in the UK still use them, at least 15 years, with maintenance. Thatching is a skilled trade, which apprentices for 9 years.
If you have the space, you can go on and do it. There are books and books on self-teaching in the stores, and libraries, and information on the internet. See: "Traditional Asian Houses"
or "Cobhouses." These are earth /straw bricks, made by hand and dried in the sun. These are used in Brit. villages, to France, Italy to China, to the Pacific Northwest.
If you do your own blueprints, you can have the house arranged the way YOU want it....closets and large bathroom, included. You may even be able to have an area on the roof, reinforced and doubly waterproofed for a roof garden, for flowers and herbs.
Lucky!