Building Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

How to maintain a dirt road

By Marjorie Burris Issue #48 • November/December, 1997 It is our job to maintain two and one half miles of dirt road if we want to get into our property. We are completely surrounded by forest...

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #149 • September/October, 2014 A window without an awning is like a lamp without a shade bare and glaring. In my opinion there's not a window around that wouldn't look better...

Make your own effective fishing tackle while you save money and recycle scrap

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 My long time friend Hearold Ruby passed away. Death came as sort of a reprieve. He'd been terribly sick and utterly miserable for years and he was...

The house that Dorothy built

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #86 • March/April, 2004 This isn't the first time we've had an article by and about Dorothy Ainsworth. Throughout the text are editor's notes refering you...

Build an inexpensive but durable jackleg fence

By Dynah Geissal Issue #45 • May/June, 1997 When we moved to our land in the summer of 1994, we were fortunate that open grazing exists where we live because we had to build shelters for...

How safe is your electric fence?

By Eloise Twining I’ve used solar powered electric fencing on my California ranch for at least 35 years. Over that time electric fencing has proved to be a very effective way of controlling stock safely....

Build A Hybrid Go-Kart For Kids For $150

By Dorothy Ainsworth Website Exclusive • May, 2010 Grandma Clara used to delight in telling us the story of our Dad's first complete sentence at age 2 when he received a toy car for Christmas: "It's...

Build your own home in two years — Get a PhD in homebuilding

By David Lee Issue #115 • January/February, 2009 There is an old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." Curse or not, times are interesting. We have world crises, national troubles, state level problems, county...

Build a pizza oven

By Mike Lorenzen Issue #143 • September/October, 2013 About a year ago, my wife and I traveled around Italy by car. We had lots of wood-fired pizza. Italians make their pizza very thin with some sauce,...

Build your own log home in the woods

By Jackie Clay (Photos by Bill Spaulding and Jackie Clay) Issue #72 • November/December, 2001 This is the third part of a three-part series. The first two parts appeared in issues 70 and 71. In the last two issues...

A cabin for one

By Lee Greiman Issue #109 • January/February, 2008 Between 1989 and 1990 I built a 20 by 20-foot log house on the Musselshell River in Montana. The next year I built an addition on it that...

Build a homestead Copy Cart

By Charles Sanders Issue #45 • July/August, 1997 I don't know too many homesteaders, gardeners, or small farmers who haven't at one time or another wished for one of those fancy big-wheeled garden carts. It seems...

The poor man’s ceramic knife sharpener

By Rick Brannan Issue #87 • May/June, 2004 There are few things more frustrating and dangerous than working with a dull knife. In my quest for a sharp knife, I have purchased many different styles of...

Build Your Own Car Wash

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #133 • January/February, 2012 Completed car wash in operation If someone told me a year ago that I would have a commercial car wash behind my garage, I would have laughed....

Build a wood-fired stock tank heater

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 Keeping fresh water in front of our livestock in the winter has always been somewhat of a problem. A long time ago, when we lived on a homestead...

Eye-catching signs with mirrors

By David Lee Issue #144 • November/December, 2013 The reflected image in the mirrored letters give a "see-through" illusion to the sign and the tree. Stained glass nuggets add flashes of color. Need a sign? Do you want...