Build a chicken house in a day
By Anita Evangelista
Issue #136 • July/August, 2012
We built our chicken house for around $200. We could have done it for less if we were dedicated scroungers. Three of us put up the 7x18-foot structure...
Building Eric’s house
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #112 • July/August, 2009
This is the first in a series of several articles documenting the building of a stud-frame house from start to finish by an amateur owner/builder, using the pay-as-you-go...
Easy awnings
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...
Ambidextrous chainsaw filing
By Thomas Brewer
Issue #57 • May/June, 1999
I am not ambidextrous. My wife, Judith, uses chopsticks with either hand or even both hands at once. She is ambidextrous. I can barely write with my right...
Trusses — Low cost marvels to roof over most large spaces
By Martin Harris
Issue #23 • September/October, 1993
When you strip away all the frills, building construction is nothing more than enclosing a volume of space to create a micro-climate for human activity. You can call...
Build a lean-to greenhouse
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
Just thinking about a greenhouse can stimulate the senses. In our minds' eyes, we can see the filtered light shimmering down on rows of greenery, feel the moist...
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....
Never underestimate a woman
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #32 Mar/Apr 1998
(In the May/June issue , we published an article by Dorothy Ainsworth titled "Determined woman builds distinctive vertical log studio," in which Dorothy detailed how she built a beautiful...
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...
Build an Off-Grid Root Cellar, Garage, and Bunkhouse
By Robert Van Putten
Issue #166 • July/August, 2017
My wife and I built our homestead by hand. I’m not a professional builder, so once in a while I make mistakes -- the garage we built...
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 a holz hausen to dry firewood
By Doug Fluckiger
Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
My secret passion is tall, dark, and handsome. I may find her lying luxuriantly among a dark grove of firs. She may be standing proudly on a sunny...
Small engine maintenance for women
By Michelle Richards
Issue #24 • November/December, 1993
How many small engines do you have on your homestead? I counted mine the other day and came up with eight. These engines help me live a simple...
A recycled dresser makes a useful bathroom vanity
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #152 • March/April, 2015
Here's the finished vanity with our unfinished dresser
that will store our extra towels and linens.
We've had our log home built for more than eight years now, but until...
PVC pipe in the home, garden, farm, and workshop
By Charles Sanders
Issue #94 • July/August, 2005
Perhaps one of the most important innovations in modern plumbing has been the development of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), and related plastic pipe. These materials...
Make a Quick and Easy Tipi
By Bob Van Putten
Issue #174 • November/December, 2018
The native peoples of North America were a very practical lot. Over the centuries they developed some very efficient tools. Yet, perhaps because of their appreciation of...
