Building a house from scratch sounds like a romantic adventure but without proper preparation it can turn into a nightmare. Learn what two things you need to have figured out BEFORE you build your own house.
19 Awesome Books for the Home Owner Builder
Anyone looking to build their own home as an owner builder needs to be well informed BEFORE building. Here are 19 awesome books available in print and Kindle editions for aspiring home owner builders.
How Much Can It Cost to Build a Cordwood House From Scratch?
Lots of people dream of building a homestead from scratch, but worry about the cost to do so. Is it expensive? How can you reduce your cost? We’ll explore the cost to build a homestead from scratch, including our experience building a cordwood house on raw land.
Cordwood Houses In The Winter: How do they compare to regular construction?
Can cordwood houses withstand the bitter winter cold? This is a question many folks ask about cordwood masonry. After all, it may seem counterintuitive that this kind of natural building method would perform well in places that experience bitter cold like the Northern U.S. and Canada. But it does! In this post, I’ll take you…
7 More Awesome Ways to Save Money on Building Supplies
Building a house, workshop, outbuilding, playhouse, or even a chicken coop? No matter what you’re building it doesn’t have to break the bank. Check out these seven ways you may not have considered to save money on building supplies.
How to Find and Refinish an Old Cast Iron Clawfoot Tub
Want a beautiful clawfoot bathtub but don’t want to pay thousands of dollars for one? We’ll show you how to find and refinish an old cast iron clawfoot tub for a tenth of the price!
Solar Power in the Winter: Our Experience With a Small Off-Grid System
The prospect of moving off the grid and running a home on solar power is often exciting and intriguing, but what is the reality? How well does a solar powered home really work in the dark winter months?
Building a Cordwood Home: November-December Building Update
Building a cordwood home with our own hands has been a long and rewarding experience. Here are some of the major things that happened in the last two months as we finished the build.
10 Easy Ways To Save Thousands of Dollars As An Owner-Builder
If you are looking to be an owner-builder for your new home AND you want to do the majority of the work yourself, we’re right there with you. Over the past three years, we have gone through the entire process of designing and building our own cordwood home. There are a lot of things we’ve…
8 Important Tasks For Owner-Builders to Do This Winter
You’re planning to build your own house from scratch, but what should you be doing to prep? Winter is the perfect time to prep for a spring build. If you’re an owner builder, these are the things you need to be thinking about before you start construction.