Building Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Gabion walls for form and function

By Joe Mooney Issue #153 • May/June, 2015 I think there has to be something ingrained in the human brain that loves things built of stone. Maybe it's our desire for strength and safety or the...

Dorothy Ainsworth update: Out of the ashes

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #38 • March/April, 1996 I got the dreadful call from my son Eric at 2 p.m. on June 29th, 1995, an hour after I'd gone to work at the restaurant. "Your house...

Build a Trapper’s Tilt

By Robert Van Putten Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019 For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted a rustic log cabin deep in the forest. I believe there is something unique about this simple,...

Build this sturdy large-capacity food dehydrator

By Charles Sanders Issue #63 • May/June, 2000 Drying of food as a means of preservation has been around for a long time. Populations in suitably dry climates all around the globe have dried meat, fish,...

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 an all-purpose ladder

By Robert L. Williams Issue #45 • May/June, 1997 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 The story never varies. If I am doing outside work and need a ladder, I spend nearly as much...

From triumph to tragedy to triumph again. Dorothy Ainsworth makes her valiant comeback

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #50 Mar/Apr 1998 BHM readers are familiar with Dorothy Ainsworth, the log home-building Ashland, Oregon, waitress who spent more than six years building a beautiful log home, only to have it burn...

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...

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...

Yurt Magic — Building an Enchanting Instant House

By Claire Wolfe Issue #76 • July/August, 2002 I awoke last night to a circle of moonlight reflected on a wall. It was so vivid I could almost see the dark-and-light patterns of the moonface in...

Build a poultry killing cone

By Allen Easterly Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 You've worked hard and spent many hours raising your pretty flock of meat chickens from eggs or chicks to nice fat fryers, roasters, or stewing birds. They've provided...

Build your own portable forge

By Corcceigh Green Issue #51 • May/June, 1998 Looking for a handy summer project while building skills, supplies, and knowledge to put away for a rainy future? Here's one to consider: try making your own forge....

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...

Shelves and benches

By David Lee Issue #107 • September/October, 2007 Money doesn't buy happiness but it sure does buy a lot of stuff. If it is nice stuff then you need a place to display it. If it...

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...

A river rock shower

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #77 • September/October, 2002 The finished shower weighs a ton and cost about $800. Cultured stones, made of pumice and portland cement, weigh about half as much as river rocks. Notched-trowel texturing in the mortar...