The old saying goes… “Measure twice, cut once” and it’s so true. In order to avoid making mistakes in woodworking you need a good tape measure, but which one? A visit to your local building supply store will present you with many options… it’s so easy to get confused. Join us in this video to learn some insider secrets on what carpenters look for when buying a tape measure.
Originally posted 2016-02-27 17:44:35.
One of my favorite tools, and one often not found be using by carpenters anymore, the sliding T-square. I never leave home without mine… find out why in this video.
Originally posted 2016-02-27 17:40:12.
Welcome back to our continuing video series on the tools needed to build a home, or to handle the odd jobs that need to be done around the house. Today we cover the utility knife… likely a tool you already own… but, do you know the proper way to sharpen a pencil using one?
Originally posted 2016-02-27 17:35:02.
In this video we cover our second tool recommendation… the compass. A faithful and handy companion to Tool #1!
Originally posted 2016-02-27 16:44:09.
The short answer to that question is that a log home can be as big as you want it to be if you keep adding more log appendages to it, like we see in this image. For my own personal taste this home offers too much of a good thing…. logs, logs, and logs.
I’d like to give you two things to ponder.
First is that the desire to have a big log home is often solved today by building a log home in a modern way by ignoring the limits to how long of a log one can get out of tree by simply butting logs end to end and nailing them all together. The result of doing this destroys the definition of a log home and results in a horizontal timber home. The aesthetics of traditional log homes is lost. Don’t do that.
The second thought I’d like to present is that everyone should seriously consider a home that is log and stone, or log and timber frame, or log and well… something else. Also, some rooms are best not built of logs, like utility rooms, baths, and kitchens. By making some rooms of a home log and others not, the log rooms take on a special importance. I find that a home is more attractive, more interesting, when a variety of exterior and interior elements are seen such as log, siding, stone, etc. And finally one last point, money is saved by making part of the home out of less expensive materials than logs. Saving money is a good thing.
Originally posted 2016-02-26 15:54:56.
Such a nice little cottage.
She is “all-natural” and blends into the environment well.
She is also a great starter home, the perfect shape that can be added on to in the future when the need arises.
But there is one shortcoming to this home (hey, it’s what I do… look at houses… and learn from them… pro and con). The cabin is too short… her walls should have been taller. My best guess is that these walls appear to be seven feet tall. Notice how the roof encroaches upon the windows which are already too squatty themselves. And how the door was forced to be put on the end of the home and how the landing roof above that door overpowers the home.
I’m a big fan of a house design where some part of the home’s roof comes down low, where people can see and appreciate the quality of the roof that covers the entire home, maybe even so low in a place where they can touch it, but that is best served with a small addition off of the main structure.
Yes, by using eight or ten foot studs in the walls (which would have cost only a few dollars more) this home would have been more human-scaled and versatile (a porch could have been added on the front, and a loft area would have been created, if desired).
I would love to know the story behind the design of this home and how using seven foot studs came about (most unusual). I would venture to say that the landing roof on the end was not drawn onto the plans… If it had of been I think this situation would have been caught and corrected on paper. Ahhh yes, the importance of elevation drawings. I learned this lesson myself years ago in building one of my own houses… hey, I thought, if it’s built with natural materials it has to look good right?? lol
Originally posted 2016-02-26 14:58:13.
Originally posted 2016-02-25 15:12:30.
One advantage to a small home, a home that isn’t too comfortable, is that there is more motivation to get outside. And, that’s a good thing. There are wondrous things out there.
Originally posted 2016-02-25 15:03:44.
Originally posted 2016-02-24 19:53:25.
Originally posted 2016-02-24 14:53:27.
