Monday, September 10, 2007

Building your own cabin

Nick Rufford, assistant editor of The Sunday Times, has written a nice piece about building his own cabin. He writes:
"There comes a time in every man’s life when he needs a shack: something he can build with his own hands; somewhere to escape the daily rush. The Scandinavians have long acknowledged this need, and have elevated the shack to a magnificent construction – often made from whole logs and set in a pine forest, complete with sauna. Amid tranquil surroundings, the owner can shut the door on the outside world, contemplate important things and not answer the phone."
Inspired by Thoreau's Walden, he has built his cabin in East Anglia for the not inconsiderable sum of £67,000 (excluding the £70,000 he paid for the land) with the help of a kit from Reading-based Norwegian Log. I like his list of things he learnt during the build:
* You need to use load-bearing timber with minimal knots
* Steel near the sea must be galvanised or it rusts fast
* Never use sea sand in reinforced concrete or it will corrode the reinforcing rods
* When you cut off the tip of your finger with a cement trowel it can grow back

1 comment:

  1. Reassuring about re-growth of missing digit. But perhaps a lost finger tip is a small sacrifice to make in this context. That sounds like a splendid shed he built.

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