This winter was (is) brutal. Being our fourth winter since we had owned our land, we thought we were prepared. We were not.
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Over the winter I found out that I needed to replace my spare tire holder. Naturally, I found that out the hard way. (more…)
With all of the big projects going on at our homestead, it’s easy to lose sight of some of the day to day tasks that need to be taken care of. Mowing the lawn is one of them. We spent the better part of the summer building an enclosed yard for the dogs to enjoy, but that requires a great deal of mowing. In the future, we’re looking at reseeding the lawn so that it’s primarily grass. At the moment, it’s still hay from it’s previous life as a hayfield. (more…)
14×36 Timber Frame Greenhouse
A huge priority for us regarding the homestead is beginning crops as soon as possible so that we can start to sustain our family. Living in northern Minnesota has its drawbacks – mainly the shortened growing season. We’ve always wanted a greenhouse to prolong our growing season and perhaps allow us the opportunity to grow some crops that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to. This greenhouse I designed as a step up from the firewood shed. It measures 14×36 on a slab. We figured that we would have some raised beds inside and the slab would help to radiate the sun’s heat to maintain the temperature. The rafters are spaced 2′ on center as it is sometimes easy to find cheap glass in that width. However, the rafters can be spaced to pretty much whatever dimensions you require. The posts and beams are a bit overkill to compensate for the lack of structural roof support. Because of the larger timbers, this project is a step up from the firewood shed. If you’re looking to build a greenhouse, I hope you’ll consider supporting us by purchasing these plans. Plans come with elevation drawings and a materials list.
*Update: I have decided to discontinue sales of our plans. I hope to relist them in the future when the time is appropriate.
6×16 Timber Frame Firewood shed
I designed this shed as an easy introduction to working on timber frame structures. The municipality that I live in allows structures up to 100 square feet without a building permit. This shed measures 6’3.5″x16′ and is meant for storing firewood. The skids on the bottom are due to the fact that once built, I will have to move it in the future. It is constructed with mortise and tenon joinery. Due to the small spans, smaller lumber is used than a normal timber frame. With that in mind, it is an excellent chance to learn valuable timber framing skills.
*Update: I have decided to discontinue sales of our plans. I hope to relist them in the future when the time is appropriate.
So I finally completed the first set of building plans, and I’m pretty excited about it. Seeing as though it’s the wintery months right now, I have plenty of time to contemplate how we’re going to situate our homestead, and the outbuildings that we’ll construct. After the cabin is up and we put in a big fenced yard for the dogs to play in, the first order of business will be to construct a shed for storing firewood. Our principal heat will be propane, but we’re also going to have a wood stove in the cabin. (more…)