owner built homes Archives - Handmade Houses with Noah Bradley

29 06, 2019

Good design, natural materials, and attention to detail

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T09:48:19+00:00

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.

Good design, natural materials, and attention to detailNoah Bradley2019-06-29T09:48:19+00:00

29 06, 2019

The Creation of the Handmade House Academy

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T09:47:31+00:00

I built my first handmade house nearly 40 years ago, and have been building unique handmade homes ever since. (BTW… I did start young… I’m not quite a fossil yet… lol)

I’ve learned a lot in all those years… trade secrets and simple ways of looking at things. I’ve had some great teachers along the way… talented craftsmen… and combined with lots of hands-on experience… and in addition… the pleasure of studying so many homes that have survived for a century or more.

I did very little advertising throughout my career, it seems that folks who wanted a special home found me through word of mouth. I guided these precious clients of mine through the design and building process with the goal of giving them their dream home. I have found that the only thing more pleasurable than having a handmade home is playing a major role in its design and construction.

If you haven’t experienced it, I hope that one day you will.

In looking online it seems there is no shortage of information out there on “how to notch a cabin” or “how to lay a stone”, but nowhere do I find any source that teaches a person the basic concepts and steps on how to design and build an attractive handmade home.

To me, that is the most important lesson of all… one that needs to be a priority… from the first dreamed vision, to the final stroke of a paintbrush.

Rather than taking a lifetime of handmade house insights to the grave I thought about how great it would be to just sit down and share a full day (eight hours) of focused time and share what I have learned through all these years of designing and building one-of-a-kind homes… to help move anyone interested “30 or 40 years down the learning curve”.

Just think about how much money could be saved, and how much better a home could be built by making such a leap!

(and what I would have given to have had such an opportunity when I began my journey.

For many, the Handmade House Academy likely will be life-changing in that something that was once viewed as impossible to have, suddenly becomes achievable.

Building a home does require a lot of work, but it can be an extremely enjoyable experience.

I’ve always said… “It’s much easier to design and build one’s own home, than it is to live with the regret of never having done so.”

And so this idea of “sharing it all” spawned the creation of the Handmade House Academy.

The Handmade House Academy is only available to those who are Members of the Handmade House Guild… I hope that you will consider joining us!

Noah

Originally posted 2016-03-19 15:28:27.

The Creation of the Handmade House AcademyNoah Bradley2019-06-29T09:47:31+00:00

29 06, 2019

Inquiries like this keep flowing in faster and faster

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T09:45:18+00:00

Here’s a cabin that I built years ago.

And below, is one of two messages that I received just this morning, both of which asked similar questions. (I’ve edited it a bit for privacy sake, but I thought everyone might benefit from my response)…

Dear sir, I am in Central xxxxxxx. After doing some research I have not been able to find any builders of the style cabins you are recommending. Most, if not all of the ones I have found here are building kit homes. I am seriously interested in the style cabin that you advocate. Are there any source materials you would recommend to help me in that direction? Do you know of any builders in my area you would recommend? Lastly, I would be interested in possibly purchasing one of your floor-plans. If I have missed obvious answers to these questions on the website, then forgive me. I thank you in advance for any of your time and correspondence back that I receive.

Handmade Houses with Noah Bradley

Dec 17th, 2:37pm

Thank you for getting in touch. Congratulations on making the decision to move forward on building an authentic log cabin. You are going to love your new/old log home!

I’m afraid that I don’t know of any builders in your area that I can recommend… in fact I’m sorry to say that I don’t know of any other builders anywhere that I can recommend… It’s not that there aren’t any… I’ve seen cabins built by others that I felt were done well and that were attractive… but, I have no names to go with the finished homes. I’ve searched online for handcraft builders… in fact my main focus a year ago when I started posting online was to put together a community of builders who created handmade houses, but is seems that they are either all gone, or are keeping themselves well hidden.

Be aware that you are not alone in your situation. I get several similar emails per week from all over the country. The membership list is steadily growing on my website and here on Facebook the community has grown to 50,000 in only a year’s time. Clearly there is hunger by many to have special handcrafted place of their own.

So, here are my recommendations for you that I feel will help you achieve the cabin of your dreams… Continue following along here on Facebook and consider visiting my website handmadehouses and go through as many postings that I’ve made there as you can (over a 1,000 to sort through)

On that site you will learn a little something with each photo commentary while you begin the process of narrowing down exactly what you want in your own cabin. Make sure and sign up at handmadehouses.com in order to get any updates that I might send out. I’m not a spammy kind of guy, so no worries about getting a bunch of junk in your email box.

I am in the process of scanning my favorite dozen or so sets of plans that I have drawn and built over my career, and will be offering them for sale at a very reasonable price in the near future. All were hand drawn by me, were approved for permitting, and have been built, lived-in and cherished. Your particular building department might like more details on these plans, and if so, that should be easy and inexpensive for you or a local architect to amend.

I would also encourage you to consider being your own builder. It’s easier than you think, you will save a good bit of money (how much depends upon the amount of hands-on work that you do), and to top it off, you’ll have a great time doing it. I built my first two houses in my early 20’s with no experience and I did a great job. After completing those projects I decided to make building handmade homes my career. I’ve now spent several decades perfecting the craft and have kept what I learned as a trade secret. But I’ve now reached that point that it’s time to share what I know and I’ve been doing a lot of just that here on Facebook and on my website.

I’m also finishing up an online course that will encourage and guide attendees step-by-step through the process of building a truly handcrafted home. The course is called the Handmade House Academy and it will start sometime in January… you really ought to sign on when it becomes available (more details to be released soon)

And finally, once you get your land, you figure out exactly what you want to build, you’ve taken the Handmade House Academy course, and have taken care of starting the process of building (permitting, foundation work, a floor system in place) I’d be happy to help you find a great old cabin and a crew to set the logs in place… from there it’s just one step at a time… carpentry, roofing, plumbing… etc

If you’d like to know more don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at noah@handmadehouses.com

Originally posted 2015-12-17 19:52:38.

Inquiries like this keep flowing in faster and fasterNoah Bradley2019-06-29T09:45:18+00:00

29 06, 2019

One year anniversary!

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T09:45:02+00:00

Oh my… one year ago the first posting was made here at Handmade Houses!

And, at the time… no one read it.

Yes, it got zero response… nothing but crickets chirping in the background.

Since then over 1,000 posts have been made and this wonderful community has grown to over 48,000 members!

Wow! Give yourself a pat on the back!

I have a hard time imagining what a gathering of that size would look like, but I do take great comfort knowing that I’m not the only one who dreams of owning the perfect handmade home.

Thank you… each and every one of you… for your support, for your encouragement, your likes, your comments, and your shares.

It means a lot to me.

I spent the first eight months or so sharing the stories and the steps in building some of my favorite projects. And the last few months I’ve been posting photos of houses that inspire me to do better. I hope that you have enjoyed them and have gotten something out of them. There is more to come!

I’ve greatly enjoyed your comments and have learned a lot from you all as well. Thank you for sharing.

I’ve gained a lot of new friends too.

Life is good.

This photo was the most popularly received image of the year, having been viewed by over a half a million people. Unfortunately, this cabin was not built by me… go figure… what’s up with that guys? lol!!! Are you trying to keep me humble or something?

Thanks once again for all your support!

Noah

Originally posted 2015-12-11 17:29:39.

One year anniversary!Noah Bradley2019-06-29T09:45:02+00:00