Recent Posts

Types of Drywall and How They’re Used

Types of Drywall and How They’re Used

There are a lot of different kinds of sheetrock, drywall, gypsum board or wallboard. Besides the typical general use drywall, it also comes in moisture-resistant, mold-resistant, fire-resistant, noise-reduction and more. Drywall is gypsum plaster between paper layers. To create a sheet of drywall, gypsum is 

Inkwell or Inkbottle Octagon House, Lake Landing, Engelhard, North Carolina

Inkwell or Inkbottle Octagon House, Lake Landing, Engelhard, North Carolina

8-sided houses have been built for centuries, but there was a wide-spread movement in the 1850s.  Orson S. Fowler wrote The Octagon House: A Home for All in 1848. Fowler was not a professional architect. He was a phrenologist (he measured skull bumps for mental 

Hubbell Trading Post Guest Hogan and Free Plans

Hubbell Trading Post Guest Hogan and Free Plans

The hogan at the Hubbell Trading Post is an octagon with each wall approximately 10 feet. The interior is around 450 square feet. It has a bathroom and a kitchen area. The guest house is in the traditional shape of a Navajo hogan built in 

Modern Hogan Log Kits and Plans

Modern Hogan Log Kits and Plans

Hogans are the round or multi-sided structures traditional to the Navajo people. The design has changed significantly over the years. Traditional hogans are built of juniper or pine logs. They are covered with mud, earth, and stone to make them water tight and insulated. They 

Yurts: from Traditional to Modern Sustainable Housing

Yurts: from Traditional to Modern Sustainable Housing

A yurt is a round tent-like temporary or semi-permanent house. They have a circular footprint with a wooden frame covered in fabric. The roof is domed with a center opening where the roof poles connect to a heavy center compression ring or wheel. Yurts originated 

Yurts: Sustainable Traditional Central Asian Housing

Yurts: Sustainable Traditional Central Asian Housing

From the steppes of Mongolia and Kazakhstan to the mountains and valleys of Kyrgyzstan, nomadic people in parts of Central Asia traditionally lived in yurts. Lightweight, easy to breakdown, transport and re-assemble, they are ideal for shepherds and herdsmen as they move around to find 

Sun Tunnels and Skylights

Sun Tunnels and Skylights

A lot of houses do not get enough natural light. A-frames and semidetached townhouses often have dark central rooms because there is nowhere to put a window. Cabins surrounded by trees and houses that face north may receive very little sunlight. Many historic homes have 

A-Frame Cabin Variations for More Light and Floor Space

A-Frame Cabin Variations for More Light and Floor Space

Traditional A-frame cabins have two big problems. Only the front and back have windows. And the angled roof/walls provides less usable floor space high enough to stand up. These A-frame cabin variations address both problems. A traditional A-frame cabin is charming, but has windows and 

Pro Tips from an 1884 Tiny Towable

Pro Tips from an 1884 Tiny Towable

Tiny Towables are not new. Conestoga Wagons were built since 1717. From 1820 to 1860 (or so) entire families traveled in Prairie Schooners across America. Around 1810, circuses in Europe started traveling in horse-drawn wagons. The Romani in Britain adapted the design into Vardos. Before 

See Nordic Cabin Kits Assembled

See Nordic Cabin Kits Assembled

I’ve been shown a lot of posts for these Nordic Cabin Kits. If you want to see what they look like in real life, these are in Sevierville, Tennessee, near Gatlinburg. This one, 15’x11’ with a 4’x11’ porch, is $6,500. Cabin (15x11ft plus porch 4x11ft)