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Back in the 50s, my great grandfather built the house where my mother and my grandmother grew up in all by himself. It took him 6 years, but he had no help. He started digging into the ground with a shovel. He was a carpenter and bricklayer and used his spare time and skill to do it. This house is still standing and my grandmother still lives in it. This is him with his wife, my great grandmother: https://i.imgur.com…
Beautiful photograph.
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Him and Mathias Wandel (woodwork shop) have some tangible zen effect on my mind. It may be subjective but crafting with simple material, and mostly your hands * is extremely satisfying to watch and also very tempting to do. Society creates a distortion in which every pleasure sits behind some door but here they do tons of fun stuff outside just like that.
I totally agree with you and I love Primitive Technology, but let's not lose track on that these videos are edited too. All the failures and retries are left out, what is left is only a clear path from start to finish that looks deceptively easy.
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Other channels in that vein: Wranglerstar - https://www.youtube.com/wranglerstar Pure Living for Life - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChhBsM9K_Bc9a_YTK7UUlnQ Paul Sellers - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc3EpWncNq5QL0QhwUNQb7w Not quite the same aesthetic but still interesting: Steve Ramsey - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBB7sYb14uBtk8UqSQYc9-w
Essential Craftsman Currently in the process of building a spec house out in Oregon; has been filming the entire process so far. Very craftsman-zen, not to mention chock full of good info for anyone building/buying a house.
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My father's hobby is property investment. Well, it's a bit more than a hobby, he owns around 10 houses. He does as much work as possible himself, or when I was living at home, by getting me to do it for free (well, I get inheritance one day). The amount of money he's managed to save by doing his own work is staggering. We saved at least $10,000 by building a retaining wall ourselves. We mixed up over 6 tonnes of conc…
A good friend of mine owns around 50 houses and apartments, and does 95% of the work himself. He is super smart and impressive, however he is his own limiting factor in his growth. He literally can’t keep up with the work and refuses good deals. Learning to lead others effectively is key to growth in real estate investing and it’s a hurdle many unintentionally self limit their growth.
At 50 properties, your friend probably could start leveraging a team and either get more properties and more income or simply get more time for himself and still have enough income. But, a lot of people will have topped out at 10 or so properties, if you're paying other people to do the work there, you may not be making enough income to grow your assets.
Does anyone know what are the exact materials used? I'm so used to concrete/bricks/blocks around the area where I live, that this makes me wonder whether it will bear against a stronger winter (while I know the video was filmed in the winter) or wind. Can someone share their experiences with this type of a house? Also, are all houses in the states built like this?
- A poured concrete foundation. (Sometimes blocks are used.)
- Dimensional lumber - spruce/pine/fir cut to standard dimensions for structural members (rafters, studs, joists, posts, beams).
- Engineered lumber - structural lumber that looks like plywood, strandboard, or combinations thereof but is designed to bear significant load in horizontal or vertical structural applications. This stuff lets you build stronger structure in less space than simple dimensional lumber, and there's a huge range of products for different applications.
- Panels - OSB or plywood manufactured panels (typically in 4x8ft sizes) are typically used for roof decks and wall sheathing.
- Housewrap and siding - to seal the exterior against water and air leaks, and provide a nice-looking exterior covering.
- Insulation - because there are nice big cavities inside of a wood-framed wall, that's a natural place to put insulation. Fiberglass is the most common, but foam, cellulose, and rock-wool products are also frequently used.
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That is sad. My Grandfather also built their family home, a feat which I'm still in awe of to this day. As one who builds things that live in a computer, but still has a messy visceral requirement of a roof over a head, imagine building a house! What an achievement. If I was born 20 years earlier I imagine I would have become a carpenter and been very happy.
Same with mine, back in 1942. Lived in it until he died recently at 100. Had seven kids in a three room house, and wasn’t until the 60’s he expanded it. Of course the only time the kids were inside was sleeping. Unheard of today. He also joked that he had a hard time getting a loan. They wanted to see plans, etc. “Why the hell do you need plans for a house?”. He built aircraft; those you needed plans for.
In vernacular architecture, someone woke up one day and decided to build a house. They built it house-shaped, from whatever materials were cheapest and most available in their region at the time, using whatever techniques were common in said time and place. The patterns of vernacular houses in different times and places are fascinating; you're shining a flashlight through the region of a peoples' brains where the archetype "house" is stored and seeing what it looks like.
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Very cool! If you have a picture of the house, I'm sure HN would love to see it!
I currently do not have one by myself, but you can see some of it from Google Maps street view: https://goo.gl/maps/rXx5DKRT4K12 It's this one: https://imgur.com/a/afZgOZ2 Naturally it has been maintained over the years, new roofing, new paint, but all in all it's the same house.
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Cool to see this! Most people will never build their own home these days (even with the cost savings).
If the economy is working properly there shouldn't be cost savings by doing it yourself. That's the whole point of division of labor.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRZePj70B4IwyNn1ABhJW... -- Essential Craftsman (a great channel about manly stuff) series on Building a Spec Home, done by a guy with decades of experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGNuhyfyF6k&list=PL8eqcjvgrQ... April Wilkerson's series on building a shop, she does it mostly on her own, but with some help when needed. She's got a great channel for woodworking, some metal working, and home repairs.
As someone who has no real building experience but has recently done a kitchen remodel (everything except the countertop, most of the cabinets I ordered, the pantry I'm building), youtube is an amazing way to get educated on the specific tasks. I replaced the subfloor, new oak hardwood floors, plank tiles, drywall, texturing, painting, removed a wall, electrical (including inspections), range hood ducting to outside, plumbing, cabinet installs...
Youtube is like that scene in The Matrix where Neo jacks in and then comes back out "I know Kung Fu!" I've spent many nights jacked in downloading Master Vila's knowledge of pressure treated lumber. (obscure Robotman reference)
what could possibly go wrong.... https://youtu.be/9P72VnjQww0?t=22