Now, part of going with a "Little Home" is to save money, and just looking at the handtools needed demonstrates that there will be some expenses involved. Decisions of what kind of materials to use, as well as where to get them is a question that will be answered by you, and the factor of time versus money. When it comes to tools, some will say "that can't be done without machinery." Well, the machine is a relatively new thing. In colonial days, everything was done by hand, and even Pre-WWII most carpentry was done, expertly, with hand tools. A circular saw and generator should be prioritized, but a miter saw, compressor, and nail guns may need to wait. A good cordless drill is invaluable, and should probably be prioritized. A high quality chainsaw is critical to Living wih Nature.
The easiest way to get your materials is to take your truck and trailer down to the local builder supply store and buy them. You can get them in the planed smooth dimensions you want. The dimensions are fairly standard, with only small deviations, but the wood is still fairly green, so bows and crooks are still likely if you let it be exposed to moisture for long before you get it in. By "very long," I mean if it gets rained on over night, you could wind up with a pile of rocking chair rockers. If there's dew on your plywood, it may look like a pie pan when you show up. Using ratchet straps to keep it tight and plastic to keep it dry, and/or staining it can help avoid that. Getting it cut and installed and dried in, will also keep it straight.
Another easy, but less expensive way to get your materials is to buy from a small lumber mill. This will mean buying "rough cut" lumber, which will probably be full dimension, i.e. a 2x4 will be 2" by 4" with a rough texture, instead of 1 1/2" by 3 1/2". You can get a splinter from either, and the "rough texture" is more fuzzy than splintery. If you stain it, it'll act like a sponge and really soak up the liquid from a much greater surface area. You could buy a planer and smooth it down, but that does not make it any stronger. When it comes to trim, a planer can be key, but there's little value in planing the framing materials. Add a plunge router to a planer, and you can take that rough cut lumber from framing materials to fine trim, particularly if you buy hardwoods instead of pine.
Whereas a store bought 2x4x8 will cost you about $3 (before tax), the mill rough cut will probably cost you $1 or less. If you have a means to get trees to the mill, and have some pine you need/want to cut, you can cut this cost even more. Moving logs is an exercise in and of itself, so either you'll need some serious equipment or some serious ingenuity. The least expensive means I've seen is a car hauler trailer. You would have to have a logging chain, but you could use a block and tackle to get the log high enough, or a hand crank pulley, or install an electric winch on it. Logs are heavy, so you're not going to be moving these by yourself, without tools, and you're unlikely to find enough locals looking for a SeAL or Special Forces log training workout.
A third possibility is Craig's List or similar advertisements. If you look under materials, you'll find stuff that is priced as if it's new, as well as some great deals that will be snapped up before you can pick up the phone. If you look under "free," you'll find people that will give you pallets, or their decks, so long as you take it apart. Here, you're going to have to pull the nails out of the boards, and there's a limited use for boards only 4' long. This stuff is "seasoned," so it's less prone to cupping, crowning, and bending in the weather, but it's usability is sometimes questionable. Some of it will be good for burning only, while other stuff will be nearly new. If you bought that planer, I strongly urge you not to run re-used lumber through it. If you miss the tiniest piece of metal, it'll permanently nick your blade, forever producing a line in your work, until your replace the blades.
When it comes to tools and many appliances, old is better, as long as it was cared for. I ran across a 90 year old carpenter a few years ago that was still using the circular saws and table saws he bought in the 1940's. The tools were simply made better back then, with steel not plastic, in the US, not China. Today, you can buy an oilless compressor for a few hundred dollars, but that oil kept the pistons lubricated, so, it lasted longer.
So, you can get your lumber for free, but you'll be pulling a lot of nails, which is a good exercise for the novice. It helps perfect your eye hand coordination, but if you can afford new lumber, you'll appreciate the savings in time. You have to decide whether your time or money is at the greater premium. And if the money for brand new materials is available, you may want to consider whether or not the money for labor is available. I can tell you that it is not worth it to pay a professional to pull those nails, but it may be worth it to have them frame, plumb, or power it. And when it comes to things that do require machinery, like running a septic line, that is very often something worth paying someone else to do.
Now, I've known people that tried to build walls using lumber that wasn't long enough, and degreed people that insisted that ceiling joists were unnecessary. If your studs aren't all the way to the top of the wall, that wall will be prone to bowing out at the break, and the ceiling joists are what hold the walls plumb. Without the joist holding the top of the wall (studs) plumb, the weight of the rafters will push your walls out.
In Living with Nature, and in Construction, levers are your friend. "With a big enough lever, I can move the world," may be a stretch, but a man in Florida did move multi-ton boulders, by himself, and an unknown set of levers. Think about pulleys as well. Pulleys are an age old technology where by you double the amount of line pulled, in exchange for pulling half the weight. Two pulleys makes it a quarter of the weight. A block and tackle (with chain instead of rope) allows a single mechanic to lift 3 tons (or more) of metal. Make sure you know the weight capacity of ropes, chains, cables, and pulleys you use.
Windows and doors are probably the most cost effective thing to buy used. There has long been a booming business selling replacement windows to people that don't need them. That means there's a steady supply of used windows. One of the things in particular to look at are sliding glass doors, which can be readily converted into the walls of greenhouse. When dealing with double paned glass though, be very wary of anything that has been setting on the ground, or exposed to the elements for very long. They have a tendency to have seal issues, allowing condensation and other cloudy between the glass.
If you were to hire on with a remodeling company, you'd likely have ready access to discarded, but perfectly good materials. Your boss and the owners will likely be happy to give it to you, just so they don't have to deal with discarding it. They're less likely to part with unneeded new materials, but there are definitely times when they can't return a custom ordered door or window. If you're willing to plan around those materials, it'll save you money. The downside is that you'll likely end up with a mismatch of materials, unless you're fairly picky, or crafty about the collection. You'll also need to have a place to store them until you've collected the things you need.
And those bad orders are also available through the builder's supply stores, including the big box corporations. People that didn't get the window as ordered, didn't pick up the window ordered, or otherwise custom ordered materials that no one else wants leave the store with the quandry of how to clear their facilities of the items. Don't pay more than 50%, but you can often get these for 25% of the original prices, and you'll have a brand new item. If you plan ahead, these materials can be installed in your project without headache or a "rigged" appearance. The secret is to have a general idea of your eventual plan, and then to pick up materials that cause the fewest wrinkles to that plan as they become available. So, say you want a window on every wall (4) and are looking at 3-0 x 4-0 windows, and you find some that are 3-0 x 3-6 and some that are 3-0 x 4-6. Well, that is close, and as long as the extra 6" isn't all that important to you, saving $600 may be a worthy trade off. (Make sure that if you pre-purchase windows and doors, you keep them out of the elements until you install them.) The art of hinging a door is mostly lost today, so you'll probably want to make sure the ones you buy are "cased" in trim.
In a "Little Home," a novice should be able to be ready for windows by the end of the week, so, it's not a bad idea to have all the materials through roofing, siding, and windows on hand when you break ground. Conversely, drywall, insulation, trim, and flooring probably ought not come on site until things are dried in.
You may be able to find free bricks and blocks, but you'll likely end up spending more in gas to get them in small quantities than it would cost to buy them new. They only run $1 or so each, new. It is definitely counter-productive to pay new prices for something you have to go collect up in yards across the region.
Now, the question comes in of how to get the materials to the site. Delivery fees can significantly increase the cost, but if you don't have a truck, that may be something to consider. Better than just a truck is a flat bed trailer. You want something that will accomodate a 16' piece of material. It's a good idea that if you have this, you load it in reverse order of use. While you don't want a ton of wood on top of your metal roofing, it's a good idea to have your floor joists on top of your plywood on top of your studs on top of your ceiling joists on top of your rafters.
And since you'll likely want to make a 2nd trip, your first load could be your metal roofing, vinyl siding, cement blocks and 1/2" plywood, stacked to the side, before starting. Supply runs cost a lot of time, so you want to make most efficient use of time when you do. Rainy days are not a bad time to do so. And don't forget to have a roll of plastic on hand. You can reuse it as a vapor barrier over the insulation, as a few small holes won't hurt, and you can run a layer above and below the materials to keep the elements off. Some ratchet straps laid down before the plastic will help keep it tight.
I've also seen items available that could be used in a different manner than manufactured, like closed foam insulation used for packaging that would make an excellent insulator and soundproofing, and old jacuzzis available for free that would make a nice fish or frog pond. Think outside the box. Think like an old farmer. Don't become a hoarder that thinks that every free thing could someday be used for something, but rather when you see something free or cheap, think about how you might use it for something other than intended. If you need that something, pick it up. If you don't, think about how much space you're willing to give up for how long, until "you may need it."
Below is not a "buy list," but rather a prioritization list. Critical tools should be quality tools. Buy the good product for a little more on the front end, once, rather than fighting the cheap stuff and replacing it often and for more. Consider what would be "nice to have" versus what is critical. If you have a little mechanical capability, consider getting a broken generator or lawnmower and fixing it. If you don't have that mechanincal sense, try finding a free one, and learning on it, with a downloaded copy of the parts and repair manuals. Briggs and Stratton is great engine that has endured the test of time, and easy to repair, or put on a new body. Both Porter-Cable and DeWalt were once Made in the USA, but today, it's hard to find US made power tools.
Foundation and Floor: Start and finish there
Walls and Ceilings
Framing the Roof
Roofing the Little Home
Insulate the Little Home
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