Cabins and Cottages

by Time-Life Books

Book Overview

Covers every step in the creation of a vacation home, presenting illustrated instructions for building a contemporary version of a pioneer's rugged log cabin, putting up a modern A-frame structure complete with a deck and a sleeping loft, and assembling a prefabricated cottage

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809424126
• ISBN13: 9780809424122
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: Time Life Medical
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Explains how to build log and frame structures

Cabins and cottages (Home repair and improvement) by Time-Life Books (1978-05-03) Third printing, Revised 1982 Edition. Here's what's in the four chapters: ¶CHAPTER 1). GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL - Generating Your Own Power; Turning Untamed land into a Building Site; Pin-Point Foundation on Poles and Piers; The ease and Speed of a Wooden Foundation; Strongest of All: A Continuous Block Wall ¶2). FOUR SIMPLE STRUCTURES - A Frame Cottage Built with Prefabricated panels; The A-Frame: A String of Sturdy Triangles; From the Frontier, a Cabin of Hand-hewn Logs; A Cabin Suspended in a Cradle of Poles; Practical Shortcuts to a Strong Framed Roof ¶3). MAKING THE BEST OF NATURE'S FIRST - A Firm Foundation for a Hillside Hideaway; Tying a House Together against the Wind; Strengthening a house in Earthquake Country; The Lay of the Land: Clues to Foil a Flood; Preparing for the Problems of Deep Snow ¶4). ADDING THE AMENITIES - Water: From Where it is to Where You Need It; Picking the Right Pump; Putting in an All-Purpose Sink; A Choice of Simple, Safe Disposal Systems;Building a Traditional Country Privy; Chemicals and Composting for Convenience; Stoves that Make a Little Wood Go a Long Way ¶I think that it's ingenious how they explain how to get rid of a stump by drilling 10" deep holes, filling it with flammable chemicals, letting them soak in, and then burning the stump. Takes 5-6 weeks, but it'll just smoulder away within 24 hours after you actually light it!

Did it myself

The book is an excellent primer and provides sufficient guidance for even a novice though a basic knowledge of hand tools is necessary. The instructions are clear and though the illustrations are hardly artistic they are a good visual companion. If you are in a remote or secluded area and away from the utility infrastructure, and building codes, this is one of the best books to start doing it yourself with a rustic flaire.