the incredible building mash-up

Posted on October 24, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | 2 Comments

We’ve been thinking about what to build next. The Noah House has settled into daily usage. The landscaping projects are slowing down as winter approaches. And we seem to have a tradition of starting new buildings in January. Which means we’re in the imagining stages, now, for the next one.
Next one, you say? Well, yes. [...]

in which we move in to the recycled house, and are pleased

Posted on August 10, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | 6 Comments

We have completely, and thoroughly, moved in, FINALLY, to the Noah House!
[cue cheering!]
That is to say, we haven’t moved out of the yurt, we’re just…spreading. And in case you don’t know what I am talking about, here is the beginning of the story of recycling a tiny house, the tiny house my cousin Noah built, [...]

poof, another room

Posted on July 27, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | 1 Comment

We are in the process of moving into the Noah House. I don’t mean moving out of the yurt, just adding the Noah House as another room in our weird, Tiny House Compound. As I mentioned here, Paul finished the interior trim last weekend and, although there is still a punch list of thing to [...]

recycled playground

Posted on June 8, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building, kiddo life | 4 Comments

If you’ve been hanging around a bit, you know we are bootstrap builders, putting together our country estate (cough), on very little cash, by building with junk recycled materials. (And if that’s news to you, but sounds fun, look over there in the tag list and you’ll find recycled building has its very own tag. [...]

yurts: the downside

Posted on April 22, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | 1 Comment

We love our yurt. I am really glad we decided to go this route.
But no space is perfect in all ways, and yurts are no exception. After nearly four years in ours, here is the unvarnished truth to living in a gigantic, glorified tent.
Sound
If you put up your yurt on a mountaintop, 100 acres from [...]

how to recycle a tiny house, day five

Posted on January 23, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | 7 Comments

After taking a day off for the big snow, the guys were back at work for their fifth day recycling our new, tiny house (see the last few posts for details if you are new to the story). They arrived just about the time I was going out to the barn. Here is Fancy saying [...]

how to recycle a tiny house, day four

Posted on January 19, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | 2 Comments

After taking the weekend off, the carpentry crew was back at eight this morning, slamming it into gear with their incredibly loud music and their hammers and full on get-it-done work ethic. I’ve been staring through the window in awe at their industry.
They’d been here about 45 minutes when it looked like this.

It’s just amazing [...]

how to recycle a tiny house, day three

Posted on January 17, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | Leave a Comment

The guys brought the Noah House to its new home the morning of the third day. This the first load, pulling up to the yurt at 8:30 in the morning. Be glad there isn’t a picture of pre-coffee me, staggering outside to answer questions about where to put stuff. Scary.

The sun is coming in from [...]

recycling a tiny house

Posted on January 13, 2009 - Filed Under alternative building | 10 Comments

My cousin, Noah, built himself a tiny house.

It’s adorable and perfect for him. Let me tell you what happened to it.
But first, look at this: In a nearby botanical garden you can visit Paul Green’s tiny house, where he supposedly wrote many of his plays.

I love tiny houses! Maybe it’s an introspective writer-type thing. There’s [...]

the TOOL shed

Posted on November 29, 2008 - Filed Under alternative building, honeymilk farm | 2 Comments

Paul has reached the 80% done point on his tool shed. I joke with him about how it’s where he keeps his tool. [insert Beavis and Butthead laugh here.] He’s been really happy working on the it because he’s finally building something with no time pressure (the baby is coming! the goats are coming! winter [...]