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…The beams are recycled old–growth redwood, and the interior panelling is Port Orford cedar from a forest that is sustainably managed. Plaster on the exterior is a plaster mix with 80% of the sand replaced by vermiculite and fiberglass. The base consists of poured concrete ribs. It’s actually portable…

• This sauna is featured in our book Builders of the Pacific Coast; Vin’s home is also featured in our newest book Small Homes: The Right Size.

There is something about the idea of a treehouse that truly captures the imagination. For builders, it’s a licence to let their creativity run wild and construct something which is playful and adventurous. For years now the team at Nelson Treehouse and Supply (better known as the Treehouse Masters from their hit TV show) have been doing just that. This week we were fortunate enough to be able to visit one of their latest projects in Seattle, Washington.

The treehouse is accessed by a rustic set of stairs which wrap around the trunk of the tree and curve down to the ground below.

The exterior of the treehouse is exquisitely finished, with spectacular yellow cedar shingles. A large porch area provides plenty of space to relax, entertain and enjoy being up amongst the trees…

• From www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/…

…Alan did everything himself: carpentry, plumbing, wiring (solar electricity and hydro), and developed his own water supply. He drives a tractor, maintains several miles of roads, makes beer and wine, and raises pigs and ducks. A lot of people have started homesteads since the 60’s, but seldom have they got as far along as this…

• From our book, Builders of the Pacific Coast

I finished building this sauna in June 2017 with some help from a few friends. All the wood is reclaimed apart from a a few lengths of dimensional timber. The round larch posts are leftovers from previous jobs.The floor, roof planks, internal and external cladding, benches, rafters, tie beams, wall plates, fascia boards, and even the door are made with reclaimed scaffold planks (96 of them!) that I bought from a scaffolding company. The banister and spindles are off-cuts from a job I did many years ago.

Only new items are the (old-looking) hinges, the insulation (aluminum-polyester blanket), the thermometer/hydrometer, and some stained glass. The wood burner was beautifully crafted from an old gas bottle by Ed Osborne from Parp Industrie in Devon.

The dragon heads up in the fascia boards have hollow eyes with embedded red stained glass. When the late evening sun hits the back of them, they shine and make the dragons look alive. Totally unnecessary detail but it really puts a smile on people’s face the first time they see it…

The platform is 3.9m long by 2.2m wide and the interior is 2.6m by 1.8m. It accommodates 7 people in comfort or up to 11 if they are very friendly…

I call the style “Euro folk fusion”. It’s based on the very rich (although a bit forgotten) European wooden building tradition. It’s one part traditional Finnish sauna, a Norwegian wood cabin, a Slovakian log cabin, a Spanish horreo from Asturias region and a splash of Swiss alpine chalet.

All the materials including wood burner, stainless steel flue, glass, screws, hinges, insulation, and timber cost me just over £1000.

–Jesus Sierra
www.sierraecocarpentry.com

• Two of Jesus Sierra’s creations are featured in our new book Small Homes: The Right Size.

• From our new book Small Homes: The Right Size

Will Beemer of The Heartwood School for the Homebuilding Crafts was kind enough to send us this amazing book on learning to build using the timber framing technique. I have always been amazed by this particular process of framing, watched a ton of YouTube videos on builds using this technique, but never really understood the process fully.

I now know about wood selection, the tools needed, layout and cutting, framing, sills, joists, braces, etc. This book gave me a great starting point for using timber frame building techniques. Thank you so much Will! Can’t wait to start a project!

• You can find a copy of the book at www.amazon.com/…

…I felled trees on my site and had them milled on a portable sawmill. Last year, a friend and I started to prepare the timbers. We did 95 percent of the cutting with Japanese handsaws…

• From our new book Small Homes: The Right Size