Come on now… it’s time to get started!
Your Aunt Ida thinks it’s about time that you had that dream home you’ve always wanted.
Originally posted 2016-06-13 16:29:27.
Thank God for trees
Without trees we would not have logs.
Without logs we would not have log cabins.
Who would want to live in a world without log cabins?
(and porches… with rocking chairs)
Originally posted 2016-06-13 16:15:00.
Keep the dream alive!
It’s easy to lose focus when it comes to gaining our dream home.
Life is busy and full of distractions.
Our thoughts turn away from the dream, and then the “how’s” start to move in to destroy all hope.
Our greatest weapon?
Just start, gain momentum, take small steps, like laying stone, one at a time. Setting stone is easy enough that anyone can do it. And, with a little bit of progress every week, eventually the home is complete.
Originally posted 2016-06-13 16:11:10.
Every form of building has it’s pros and cons
This house, one of my previous homes, was built using several different forms of construction.
Without a doubt the modern stick-built area saved me money and sped up the construction process.
The log cabin addition aged the entire home… made it feel as if it had always been there.
The post and beam section gave us a very warm and cozy feeling family room.
And the stone basement, foundation, and chimney kept us warm and ensured the house would stand for centuries.
Quite frankly a home like this would have been out of our financial reach had I not contributed a lot of effort in building it, work that anyone can do, one step at a time.
Originally posted 2016-06-13 15:11:27.
A mortgage-free home
Every twenty years banks gather enough interest, through mortgages, to buy every home and commercial building in the country.
How would they ever survive if we chose to build our own mortgage-free homes?
How much better would your life be?
Would you lose any sleep knowing that the banks were suffering?
Originally posted 2016-06-13 15:01:57.
99% of builders get this wrong
Today I’d like to share with you a very important design issue with regard to the construction of chimneys and fireplaces.
99% of home builders and masons get this wrong… and the shameful part is that it does not increase the cost, nor does it take any more effort, to get it right.
It’s all about “fresh air vents”. You see, a few years back, the government in it’s infinite wisdom decided to make it mandatory that all fireplaces be supplied with a fresh air vent to the outside… in other words… a hole poked through a fireplace and out the chimney.
We don’t need to get into the merits of “should there be one or not?”. It’s not like we have a choice. It’s the law.
There are pros to having these vents… Some say new homes are so airtight that fresh air is needed to keep a fire going and not smoke up a house, and others say it’s better to draw in outside air and throw it up the chimney than it is to pull heated air out of the house. Both are valid points.
The negative aspects of fresh air vents are many… most people fail to either open the little door to the vent when burning a fire (and thus they are useless) or they fail to close them when a fire is not burning which allows in cold air and all kinds of creatures who decide to crawl through the vent piping. Plus, I have witnessed strong winds blow smoke and ashes out of fireplace into the room (not good at all).
But, my biggest peeve (besides the government once again feeling it has the right to force me to build a home the way they want it to be) is that for some odd reason 99% of builders and masons feel the need to install these vents front and center… as if this piece of hardware is a decorative element.
It’s not! It’s an eyesore. It’s a visual distraction. It’s a pimple on a gorgeous face… why put it on the tip of the nose?
If you go to the trouble of building a beautiful chimney why mess it up with a modern vent sticking out of the face of it? You might as well hang a few hubcaps on it while you’re at it. lol And when you come inside, and you see the gorgeous fireplace that you’ve put so much effort into building… why have a vent cover staring back at you?
You will never find an old chimney with a fresh air vent… at least I’ve never seen one. And, you will never see a fresh air vent sticking out the face of one my new chimneys. Remember, it’s all about the details. So you may ask… “How do I get away with having an unspoiled fireplace and chimney, and yet keep Big Brother happy as well?”
It’s SO simple… so simple in fact that I am stumped why no one else does it. Well yes, I do know… it’s because so few bother to consider all the options when building a house, failing to always strive to build a home as attractive as it can be. The simple solution to not spoiling fine masonry?… install the vent on the side of the chimney… on the side of the fireplace… where it is hardly noticed or seen!
Often I’ll even go one step further… on the exterior of the chimney, I’ll install the vent recessed and then shape a stone that can be put into place to cover it over during those times the chimney is not being used (as I did on the one seen in the photo at the top of this posting).
There you have it folks… if you want it done right, you either need to do it yourself, or be prepared to tell others how you like it.
Originally posted 2016-05-21 17:25:20.
Good design, natural materials, and attention to detail
A handmade home doesn’t need to be built of log, or stone, or timber frame.
Modern construction (stick built) can be an excellent method to achieving a dream home… it’s an easy way to build, cost effective, and energy efficient. And, building inspectors love it.
The challenge (where so many fail) is in the use of natural materials, good design, and attention to details.
Just look at these two beauties… what do you think?
Originally posted 2016-05-21 15:59:02.
Are you crazy enough?
The people that are crazy enough to think that they can design and build their dream home… are the ones who do.
Originally posted 2016-05-21 15:42:27.
One thing you must do, if you want to get it right
You’ve got the perfect piece of land.
And, the ideal set of plans, plus a good selection of quality materials. Life is good.
But, what is the single most important skill that you can practice going forward in the construction of your dream home?
Today I’d like to share with you the importance of the daily practice of “standing back and taking it all in”. I perform this ritual every single day when I’m building a home. It only takes a few minutes of my time, and it is such an important activity in order to achieve the best home that I can build.
You see, when a person builds a home they are always focused on the task at hand… what’s directly in front of them, and it’s easy to lose track of the big picture. We are building a home after all and one day all these parts we are working on will blend together and become a house. Yes, today we might be trying to achieve the perfect notch on that log cabin corner, but we must not lose track of the fact that what we are truly doing on any given day is building a home.
There seems to be an inner resistance to performing this simple act of “taking it all in”. Over the years I’ve had many apprentices who I’ve attempted to teach this simple lesson to. Most have expressed confusion, and a bit of frustration, at having to stop what they were doing to take a small walk with me (some were likely concerned the boss was going to do some firing that day and were fearful of being pulled away that they might be the one). In the end, after explaining this to hundreds, only one or two of these craftsmen ever picked up the habit, or truly understood or appreciated the value of this act.
And so, dear friends, the responsibility of doing this falls on the builder… which means you if it’s your own home. Perhaps, if you have had the good fortune of finding a good builder, one who not only has the ability of assembling a house, but also has a keen design eye, you will have someone to share this responsibility with, but even so don’t assume someone else is doing it.
Let me tell you how to “stand back, and take it all in”. It’s not a sprint where you will run out a ways, give the house a glance, and then run back. Instead pause for a few minutes and look at the home as if you were seeing it for the first time (it’s time to smoke ’em if you got ’em). Likely if you pause the proper amount of time you’ll reach a point where someone will ask “What are you doing out there?” (they will think that you need to stop slacking and get back to work). Let me emphasize the point of this exercise… this stand-off time is not an excuse to admire your work, it’s a time to be critical and ask questions… “is that the best size window to use?, is that its’ best location?, should I even have a window there? does the trim look too big, or too small?” Now, if the answer to all your critical questions are positive, well, then you can turn the moment into a private award ceremony, a pat-yourself-on-the-back event. Have at it… you deserve it.
This process of long distant oversight can help you so much in solving issues before they become problems and in answering questions you never thought to ask. But in all likelihood, this process will on occasion become a discovery event for problems that have already occurred, things that should have been done a better way. “That trim board around the porch floor looks too wide… eight inches would look much better than ten”. You could have caught it easily before it was finished by simply tacking a board up and then standing back to see how it looked before nailing it in place, but the focus and drive was on the work, on getting it done, and no one bothered to step back and see it as part of the whole.
A carpenter had put a lot of hard work into installing this “too wide” trim board. His (or your) craftsmanship was excellent. The plans clearly show that the correct material was used. And that same carpenter (or you) is going to be less than pleased to tear it all of off and do it again, and to top it off, it’s going to cost you precious money, effort, and time to make it right. Most people will fold, let it slide, and live with it. Unfortunately there will likely be other discovered issues that will come up later on and it will tempting to also “live with it” and the end result will be that the finished home will be somewhat disappointing and those items that were given the pass. will be there to irritate and remind the builder of his failings for many years to come.
Don’t be that builder.
Be the builder with the sharp eye. The one who not only focuses on quality work and special details, but also the one who steps back regularly to see the entire home. Do this often and prevent problems before they occur, and when disappointments are discovered don’t be afraid of undoing something and redoing it properly, while the opportunity is there.
When in doubt on making a decision, choose to do it right.
Do this, and I promise you, you will love that finished home.
And so will everyone else.
(this advice is just a taste of what you will discover in the full Handmade House Academy which will be released soon… make sure and sign up to be on our newsletter if you are interested in learning more)
Noah
Originally posted 2016-05-20 15:47:40.
They just do
She is just a log outbuilding…
A carefully placed stack of hewn logs,
with a metal roof above her.
But there is wonder to be found there.
For some reason visitors who pass by, or stop in for a moment, feel more peaceful for the experience.
Old log cabins tend to do that.
I don’t know why.
They just do.
Originally posted 2016-05-17 15:44:55.