Building Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Adventures with a portable sawmill

By Pat Barden Issue #104 • March/April, 2007 I was raised in the suburbs and spent most of my adult life living in apartments and houses in the suburbs. Dad was career civil service and had...

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...

Rural Building

By Martin Harris Issue #63 • May/June, 2000 Q. We have just purchased 15 acres, and our question is how to install our septic system, how far away from the on-site stream and can we use...

Rural Building

By Martin Harris Issue #63 • May/June, 2000 From the architect's chair Before beginning any building project, it is usually beneficial, from a time and cost perspective, to think through all the possible alternatives, weighing the pros...

We built John Silveira’s chicken coop/garden

By Suzy Lowry Geno Website Exclusive • April, 2007 I have what seems like mountains of great "fertilizer" from my barn full of English Angora rabbits. But between my work as a newspaper editor and caring...

Build a Trail

By Claire Wolfe Standing near the top of the trail, looking down. The bright sunny spot in the middle distance will be the site of my future camping "pagoda;" it will...

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...

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...

Build a Vertical Storage Rack for Cans

By Monika Williams Issue #155 • September/October, 2015 I am always trying to come up with different ways to utilize the small space I have to store food. Then there is the problem of rotating my...

Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute

By Robert E. Kramer Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 Materials 1 propane or butane torch or campfire to heat up metal rod. 1 steel rod at least 1/2" diameter 1 oven mitt or heavy cloth 1...

Building a $3,000 Barn

By Robert Van Putten Issue #169 • January/February, 2018 There comes a time when all homesteaders start thinking of livestock, and 14 years ago, we were no exception. But before we could get any livestock, we...

Build a ski sled

By Kai Moessle Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 Since my property is almost half a mile away from the nearest road and I can't keep the dirt road to it plowed all winter (I don't live...

Build an Old-Fashioned Hotbed and Start Your Seeds in Style

By Roy Martin Issue #104 • March/April, 2007 A hotbed is a miniature greenhouse that is heated to protect new seedlings from cold. The hotbed differs from a cold frame in that it has an internal...

Build a barrel stove

By Nick Weston Issue #133 • January/February, 2012 This stove kept me warm and provided an excellent cooking surface for more than six months while I lived in my treehouse. With a bit of nip and tuck...

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...

Solar Building Design

By Steven Heckeroth Issue #63 • May/June, 2000 Solar building design has been used since ancient times. In the more recent past, it has been more or less ignored as impractical, complicated, or too expensive. Incorporating...