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...

Building and using wattle fences

By Kathryn Wingrove Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Wattle fences are made by weaving material in and out of posts in the ground. They were often used on the small farms of Victorian England. In fact,...

Build a log crib

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 Baby Zane is probably the only newborn in Hollywood sleeping in a log crib made by his grandmother in Oregon, but it was inevitable. The finished log crib. Dorothy uses...

Free pallet wood and birdhouses add up to big country dollars

By Rick Brentlinger Issue #53 • September/October, 1998 If I could show you how to manufacture a product anywhere in the country and if I offered to find you the raw materials free, would you be...

Install rafters alone the easy way

By Robert L. Williams Issue #35 • September/October, 1995 Anyone who has ever worked on roof framing knows that nailing up rafters is a two-man job at the very best. At worst, the task requires the...

Five building tricks for super strong framing

By Don Fallick Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 I was standing on the edge of the roof overhang, holding two bundles of asphalt shingles, when my boss's son drove up. He looked at me, then took...

Save Time and Energy with the Fenced Chicken Coop/Garden

By John Silveira Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 My engineer father was not fond of wasting time or energy. He was always searching for a better, more efficient way to perform chores, especially chores that reoccurred...

Vise Dremel Moto Tool mount

By Dana Martin Batory Issue #84 • November/December, 2003 Sometimes it seems two hands are not enough—three would be nice, four even better. This economical, easy to build jig solves that common workshop problem. Designed to...

New invention— The Fencerunner

By Dietmar Berg Issue #68 • March/April, 2001 Here's a gadget I developed to run barb or barbless wire. You mount it on the back of a pickup truck using the ball hitch (see drawing) so...

Build Your Own Hoop House

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 I’ve had my own garden for more than half a century, and I have learned a few things after all these years. One of the most valuable things...

Life-long siding with fiber cement board

By Jay Stoler Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 Fiber cement board siding is one of a number of siding materials that is replacing wood these days in new and remodeled home construction. It is essentially a...

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...

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...

Herb Boxes from Fence Boards

By Maggie Larsen Issue #86 • March/April, 2004 During a binge of spring cleaning, I ventured outside and began to renovate the exterior of my home, a 47-foot trailer in a mobile home park. While waiting...

A simple backwoods hay baler

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #82 • July/August, 2003 During the winter months, Steve and his wife Tandy feed between 120 and 150 bales of hay to a herd of pretty high-quality dairy goats on their...

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...