DIY Archives - Page 2 of 39 - Knowledge Weighs Nothing

160+ Used Pallet Project Tutorials & Ideas

September 15, 2016

Used pallets are in abundance as they are often used once and then discarded, you can either pick them up for free or really cheaply for small batch of them. This makes wooden pallets great for low-cost DIY projects. One word of advice with pallets is to ALWAYS get the HEAT TREATED pallets and not the chemically treated ones, you may be asking yourself ” well how do I know what pallet is what. The picture below shows you if a pallet has been heat-treated and chemically treated. You want to look for pallets marked with HT which stands for ‘heat treated’.

FREE DIY Pallet Wood Flooring

I have lost count of the number of DIY posts we have done about using wooden pallets for various projects (all of these posts have now been compiled into this huge pallet post now!), but for all the DIY pallet posts we have done it has honestly never occurred to me to use pallets for a real wood flooring…

Genuine hardwood flooring is very expensive and out of the reach of many of us, but everyone can get hold of free wooden pallets, sand them and treat them to make their own beautiful wooden flooring. My only concern would be for durability – pallets are usually made from softwood and I am not sure how much wear and tear a pallet floor would take, but once fitted and treated it might be absolutely fine, I guess it would depend on the room/environment the floor is fitted in. Check out the tutorial and additional photos: DIY Pallet Wood Flooring

(Photo from: A Building We Shall Go!)

Awesome Free DIY Pallet Decking

We have posted previously about free DIY interior wood flooring made from recycled pallets. It was a very popular post, so when I stumbled across this awesome DIY pallet decking, I knew it would go down well too…

The thing I love the most about this DIY project is that the entire decking, including the framework, is made from recycled pallets. The only addition is the screws/nails used to fix the whole thing in place. Thought you couldn’t afford a nice wood deck? Think again! Check it out here: Awesome Free DIY Pallet Decking

(Photo from: Redo Redux)

Build A Canning Cupboard From Pallets

It seems that everyone into canning or prepping loves those expensive rack-type storage systems with the shelves tilted forward, so that when you take out an item from the front, a new one slides down from the back… Here is a nice simple tutorial showing how to make something similar from free pallets (make sure you use heat treated pallets, not chemically treated). The tutorial isn’t the most detailed, but you can easily see from the photos how it is all put together.

This cupboard has the top shelf tilted forward, but it would be really easy to adapt it so other shelves also tilt forward. You could build several of these canning cupboards for your food storage; all in all, a great storage solution at a great price – FREE! See: How To Build A FREE Canning Cupboard From Pallets

(Photo from: Old World Garden Farms)

Make A Bike Pallet Trailer For Less Than $10

Bike trailers are surprisingly useful and you can actually carry far, far more gear than you could carry on your person with a rucksack etc. You can also cover greater distances, faster.

A bike trailer makes particular sense if you don’t have a car/truck, or if you are prepping for a time when the gas will stop flowing and you’ll need alternative means of transporting goods and equipment. Don’t underestimate how effective a mountain bike and a trailer will be to transport goods/equipment in a SHTF scenario. Below is a simple tutorial that shows how to build a bike trailer from some pallets and old bike wheels. To be honest – it would be fairly easy to scavenge all the materials needed to build a bike trailer like this and make it for free. See: Make A Bike Pallet Trailer For Less Than $10

(Photo from: cmachia via Instructables)

Recycle a Wooden Pallet to Use for Shoe/Boot Storage

You could, of course, clean yours up a bit better than this. A lick of paint might work well. Depends on where you are putting it I guess… This is perfectly good for the garage or shed!

What do you think? No instruction required really…

How To Build A Low-Cost Rabbit Hutch From Pallets

This great little DIY rabbit hutch would be excellent for keeping rabbits as pets and breeding rabbits to eat. There are two types of people reading this post – one is going yum, yum and that other is mortified about the idea of eating pet rabbits! Your motivation for keeping rabbits doesn’t matter, as long as they are cared for and kept in decent sized hutch. Actually, if you were into breeding rabbits, you could build several of these cheap pallet hutches.

If you want to build your own DIY rabbit hutch, check out the link below for the build tutorial. Although any competent DIYer could probably build a hutch like this from the photo above anyway. See: How To Build A Low-Cost Rabbit Hutch From Pallets

(Image from: Little Tassie Prepper)

Make A Chicken Coop From Some Pallets

If you’ve got the space, you should keep some chickens, simple as that! They are low cost, low maintenance and they recycle your waste food into eggs each day and they can also provide you with meat if you breed them. They are perfect for homesteaders, preppers and anyone wanting to be more self-sufficient. If space is limited, you can even keep just two or three chickens in a small coop like the one above.

This is a great DIY chicken coop made from some old pallets. This is a great low-cost project, with the only real cost being for the chicken wire. Whilst it is only a small chicken coop, there is no reason why you couldn’t build a larger version for more chickens.

If you would like to see how to build this chicken coop, head over to the Shed and Beyond website via the link: Make A Chicken Coop From Some Pallets

(Photo from: Shed and Beyond)

The 5 Pallet Livestock Feeder

The other pallet hacks (I’ve featured either here or on the Facebook page) have been really popular, so here’s another one.

Make a feeder for your livestock with five pallets. No instructions, but you get the design from the photo. Pretty easy to build and you should have no problem picking up the pallets for free.

Free Pallet Chicken Coop Tutorial

Now as you can see from the photo, this chicken coop is HUGE! It is actually 11×12 feet, I am not sure exactly how many chickens you could house in a coop this size, but it is a lot…

This chicken coop is made entirely from free reclaimed pallets and the estimated cost of building the coop with new timber is around $1000! A word of caution – it is super easy to pick up free pallets, but if you are growing food or keeping animals in them, you want to make sure they are heat treated and not chemically treated… You don’t want any of those nasty chemicals leaching out into your food-chain. We did a post a while back: How to Make a Better Strawberry Pallet Planter which also explains how to tell if a pallet has been heat-treated or chemically treated.

If you want to keep and house a lot of chickens, this tutorial shows you how to build this large chicken coop for very, very little money. For others, it is great to see what can be archived with almost no budget and I guess you could scale it down if you were after a smaller chicken coop. See: Judy’s Free Pallet Chicken Coop

(Photo from: BYC via Backyard Chickens)

No Fuss Wood Pallet Gardening

When I first saw this concept of wood pallet gardening, I was like – that’s such an obvious thing to do, how come I have never thought of doing it… We are surrounded by haulage companies who pay to dispose of pallets and are only too happy to give them away free of charge. Just make sure you only use heat treated pallets for growing food in, the link below show how to tell if pallets have been heat-treated or chemically treated…

Seriously, no matter what scale of gardening/growing you are doing, using pallets in the way to create ordered, low maintenance raised beds, has got to be a winner, although this won’t work for crops such as potatoes. Check out the post below for a whole series of posts on pallet gardening like this.

No Fuss Wood Pallet Gardening

(Photo from: One Hundred Dollars A Month)

Make A Free Standing Pallet Herb Garden (Tutorial)

We have pots of herbs growing everywhere and with the kids riding around on bikes and scooters, they can get in the way or get damaged…

This DIY pallet herb garden project from ‘DIY Show Off’ looks awesome! It looks great and it saves a huge amount of space. I think you could even hang or attach it to a wall a bit higher up. It’s also great as you could have it right by the kitchen door, so you can just lean out cut some herbs and carry on cooking.

A word of caution – it is super easy to pick up free pallets, but if you are growing food in one, you want to make sure it is heat treated and not chemically treated… You don’t want any of those nasty chemicals leaching out into your food-chain. See: Free Standing Pallet Herb Garden

(Photo from: DIY Show Off)

How to Make a Better Strawberry Pallet Planter

The reason this planter is “better” than other pallet planters is that it isn’t made from just one pallet, one pallet planters and almost always leaned against a wall or some may be bolted to something to stop it from blowing away. Plus this planter will look so much better in a garden and you could grow a lot more strawberrys with this design. See: How to Make a Better Strawberry Pallet Planter

Picture credits: lovelygreens.com

How To Make A Beautiful Potting Bench From Pallets

Having a potters bench is pretty handy. It can hold your pots at the right height and to make this even better I would add hooks and hang some tools you might need that day.

This project is really simple to do and has step by step picture and text instructions. Make the most out of your old pallets and get a great potters bench for pretty much FREE. See here: How To Make A Beautiful Potting Bench From Pallets

(Picture Credit: bhg.com)

19+ Planters & Raised Beds Made From Free Pallets

I have lost count of the number of DIY posts we have done about dismantling and reusing shipping pallets. Wooden pallets are the ultimate free resource for DIYers. They are plentiful and available for free if you know where to look. Use the K.W.N search facility and search PALLETS to see all the other posts we have done.

There are 19+ tutorials showing how to build pallet garden planters and raised beds. Personally, I love the simplicity of the vertical pallet planters and the basic throw a pallet on the floor, raised beds, but some of the other more technical ones are beautiful too. Check them out: 19+ Planters & Raised Beds Made From Free Pallets

(Image from: Mixer To Mower)

29 Cool Recycled Pallet Projects

Pallets are amazing, that being said I have found 29 pallet projects you might enjoy tackling this spring. Pallets are so versatile and can pretty much be made into anything if nothing else pallets ( heat treated only ) can be used for emergency firewood.

All of these projects shouldn’t take more than a few hours to a weekend to complete. Get them here: 29 Cool Recycled Pallet Projects

107 Used Pallet Projects

We have featured loads and loads of DIY pallet projects before (use the K.W.N search facility and search: pallets), but they have mostly been tutorials on how to make a single project from some old pallets.

This post is different, as the link below contains a huge selection of DIY pallet projects, I doubt there is a bigger list of DIY pallet projects anywhere online. Unfortunately there are not any instructions on how to complete each project, but to be honest, most are self-explanatory, you can see from the photo what needs to be done and how it is used. Check out the DIY projects here: 107 Used Pallet Projects & Ideas

(Image from: Wikipedia)

Tiny House Plans Free To Download & Print | 8 Tiny House Blueprints

September 15, 2016

Tiny house plans free to download and print out. Tiny houses and DIY sheds and cabins are really popular right now, many reasons but the main one are that it costs so much to have one built or to buy one outright. There are also many PAID DIY build plans out there and again, why pay for them when you can get FREE tiny house blueprint plans. If you want to build your own tiny house but you don’t want to pay for the plans, we have you covered!

There are 7 free tiny house plans available, although the newest one at the top of the page requires you to sign up to the newsletter to get it, but that is no hardship really to bag some quality free PDF tiny house blueprints.

There are some great downloadable and printable PDF floor plans here. There are a few basic free tiny house plans, some static and some on wheels, but there is also a nice homesteader’s house plan and a solar house plan, with the tiny solar house designed to be lived in full-time. Whether it is for your accommodation, guest accommodation, an outside office, or even just a shed/workshop, building one of these yourself will give you great satisfaction and save you money a ton of money.

7 Tiny house plans free to download here: 7 Zero Cost Tiny House Full Build Plans

If you do build one of the houses from the tiny house bluprints above, be sure to send us some photos of your finished project. We’ll post them to the Facebook page, so others can see your handy work.

(Photo from: Nicolás Boullosa)

Free Tiny House Plan – Cottage Style Plans (No Building Permit Required)

We have shared other free tiny plans previously, for sheds and tiny houses etc, but I think this little wood cabin is one of the best, if not THE best yet. You can print out the tiny house blueprint below.

This wood cabin is 8 foot by 13.6 foot, which gives you 108 feet of living space. Many local authorities don’t require a building permit for structures less than 108 feet, so you should be able to build this cabin without a building permit. That said, be sure to double check with your local authority first! This wood cabin would be great for guest accommodation, or perhaps even a secret, get-away-from-it-all cabin in the woods. Get this tiny house plan free to download and print out here: Free Cottage Style Wood Cabin Plans (No Building Permit Required)

(Photo From: The Wood Plans Shop)

Amazing Mobile Hot Tub Tiny House – You’ve Got To See This!

Ok so this doesn’t contain the build plans, but that’s why the post is titled – 8 Tiny House Plans Free To Download & Print In PDF (rather than 9!) – This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen, a tiny house with a hot tub, built on a trailer for easy transportation. It’s also absolutely stunning inside and out.

This tiny house is owned by Tinywood Homes, and if you live in the UK (or you are visiting), you can actually stay in this awesome little house, as it is one of several tiny wooden built houses they have for holiday rental. Even if you are not going to stay there, I highly recommend checking out the additional photos of this and the other awesome tiny houses they have for rental. See here: Amazing Mobile Hot Tub Tiny House – You’ve Got To See This!

(Image from: TinyWoodHomes.com)

Homemade Water Filter: Make A DIY Water Filter

September 8, 2016

Below are six different homemade water filter tutorials. The first five are DIY filters for filtering rainwater and water from unclean water sources. The last tutorial shows how to make a homemade Berkey water filter for use in the home. This homemade Berkey filter is equally effective but around 75% cheaper!

How To Make A Bio-Sand DIY Water Filter

Bio-sand filters are super quick and easy to build homemade water filter systems and they are very effective at filtering dirty water and making it safe. Watch the video for details. A homemade water filter like this would be great for filtering and purifying water stored in rainwater catchment systems.

Below is some additional information from Wikipedia on the effectiveness of homemade bio-sand filters

Bio-sand filters remove pathogens and suspended solids through a combination of biological and physical processes that take place in the biolayer and within the sand column. BSFs have been shown to remove 5.00-64.00% of heavy metals and 90.00-99.99% of turbidity and contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

Filtration process

Pathogens and suspended solids are removed through a combination of biological and physical processes that take place in the biolayer and within the sand layer. These processes include:

Mechanical trapping. Suspended solids and pathogens are physically trapped in the spaces between the sand grains.
Predation. Pathogens are consumed by other microorganisms in the biolayer.
Adsorption. Pathogens become attached to each other, suspended solids in the water and the sand grains.
Natural death. Pathogens finish their life cycle or die because there is not enough food or oxygen for them to survive.

Removal of contaminants

Turbidity

Results for turbidity reductions vary depending on the turbidity of the influent water. Water with high turbidity looks dirty due to sand, silt and clay floating in the water. Feed turbidity in one study ranged from 1.86 to 3.9 NTU. In a study, water was obtained from sample taps of water treatment plants from three local reservoirs. It poured through a slow sand filter and results showed that turbidity decreased to a mean of 1.45 NTU. In another study using surface water, a 93% reduction in turbidity was observed. As the biofilm above the sand ripens turbidity removal increases. Although bio-sand filters do exhibit a high reduction in turbidity, slow sand filters show higher removals due to a slower filtration rate.

Heavy metals

There is limited research on removal of heavy metals by bio-sand filters. In a study conducted in South Africa, the filter was found to have about 64% removal of iron and 5% removal of magnesium.

Bacteria

In laboratory studies, the bio-sand filter has been found to have about a 98-99% removal of bacteria. Over a time period of about two months, it was found that the bio-sand filter may increase in the removal for E. coli due to biofilm formation. The removal after this time period ranged from 97-99.99% removal depending on the daily charge volume and percent feed water amended with primary effluent to the filter daily. The addition of primary effluent or waste water facilitates the growth of the biofilm which aids bacterial die-off. Research in the field shows that implemented bio-sand filters reduce fewer bacteria than ones in a controlled environment. In research conducted in 55 households of Bonao, Dominican Republic, the average E. coli reduction was found to be about 93 percent.

Viruses

Lab tests have shown that while the reduction of E. coli from these filters is quite significant, the attenuation in viruses is significantly less due to their small size. In a study using to bacteriophages, the removal ranged between 85% and 95% after 45 days of usage. A recent study has suggested that virus removal increases significantly over time, reaching 99.99% after a period of approximately 150 days.

Protozoa

In one lab test, the bio-sand filter also got greater than a 99.9% removal of protozoa. In tests for one type of protozoa, Giardia lambia had a 100% removal for 29 days of usage. Another protozoa, Cryptosporidium oocysts, showed to have a slightly lower reduction (99.98%) possibly due to their smaller size. This removal showed to be comparable to that of the slow sand filter.

How To Make A Hillbilly DIY Water Filter (A survival water filter made from trash)

After reading this you will never look at that discarded water bottle you find in the woods the same again. In fact, that garbage you are so disgusted with just may save your life one day. How you wonder? Well, the hillbilly DIY water filter is how. A little science and ingenuity is all you need to purify water with stuff you will likely find in the great outdoors.

Water that comes from an unknown source is widely accepted as unsafe to drink. You just don’t know what has been put into that water, whether you can see it or not. We are talking deadly bacteria, feces and a variety of other nasty impurities that would do a real number on your body if you ingested them. For that reason, you absolutely must purify the water before you consume it. You must have water to survive.

One of the most common ways to purify water is to boil it. Unfortunately, in a survival situation, that is not always an option. You may have some of those handy purification tablets, but again, what do you do if you don’t?

Making Water Safer With Trash

As a last resort, you can use the hillbilly filtering system to get life-sustaining water into your system. You can watch the video and see exactly what I am talking about. Basically, you need a discarded water bottle or plastic pop bottle. Foliage, like edible dandelions and chickweed, will act as a filtering system along with some charcoal material. Remains of an old campfire are perfect for this part of your filtering system. If you happen to be in need of a makeshift water purification system in the winter or in a place where foliage is not around, rocks and sand can be used.

While this homemade water filter is relatively effective, do not expect crystal clear water the first few runs through the system. However, it will be safe to drink. If you have the time, run your water through the filter several times to get a clearer product. As I said earlier, this may not be the best system, but it is effective and it will get you what you need to survive until a better purification system is put into place.

Craig Caudill is an outdoors enthusiast who regularly shares his knowledge at www.dansdepot.com. He is also the chief instructor at his Nature Reliance School.

How To Make A Tree Branch Water Filter That Removes 99% of E. coli

Ok, I’ll admit, this is a new one for me. I know several methods for making DIY water filters, even one made from the trash you can find in the woods. However, I have never seen such a simple and effective DIY water filter as this one. It’s so simple to make – simply choose the right branch, in this case, they use white pine, securely wedge it in the end of a pipe and you have an effective low-tech water filter.

The one downside to this simple water filter is that it can only filter around 4 liters of water a day, but they are so quick and easy to make, you could easily rig up 2 or 3 filters and leave them to filter the water whilst you are doing other things. Find out exactly how to make a tree branch filter over at ‘The Ecopreneurist’ How To Make A Tree Branch Water Filter That Removes 99% of E. coli

(Image from: Ecopreneurist)

How To Make A Bio-Sand Homemade Water Filter To Filter Collected Rainwater

Most people who collect rainwater, do so for watering their garden and crops. The thing is, rainwater collected from the roof of your home etc is perfectly drinkable if it is first filtered, to take out any toxins and bacteria etc. You don’t need a high-tech expensive industrial water filter system to do this; you can easily make something known as a bio-sand filter, which can all but be made for free…

Below is some additional information from Wikipedia

If you are interested in setting up your own bio-sand water filter, to run your collected rainwater through, check out: How To Make A Bio-Sand Filter To Filter Collected Rainwater

(Photo from: The Prepper Journal)

Purifying Water By Boiling In A Plastic Bottle

It’s a sad fact of life that no matter where you go off the beaten track, you always seem to find someone else’s trash – soda/beer cans, plastic soda bottles, and food wrappers seem to be everywhere…

Whilst finding trash in the wilderness is a great shame, it can provide the opportunity for survival in emergency survival situations – soda cans can be used to carrying and boiling water, plastic bottles can obviously be used for transporting and storing water too, but I bet a lot of you didn’t realize that you can also boil water over a fire in a plastic bottle. To find out the correct way of doing this, check out the post below from ‘Willow Haven Outdoor’.

I am sure some people will point out the dangers of plastic chemicals leaching into the water. These chemicals may or may not be dangerous after prolonged, repeat exposure to them, but the fact is dehydration WILL kill you within days, and it will kill you even quicker if you drink unboiled water and get sick. Find out more here: Someone’s Trash Can Save Your Life: Purifying Water In A Plastic Bottle

(Photo from: Willow Haven Outdoor)

Build A CHEAP DIY Berkey Water Filter: Homemade For 1/4 The Cost

Berkey water filters are pretty much the most popular water filters for home/family use. Berkey state that the filtration on their products is so effective, virtually no other system can duplicate this performance. The problem is you have to pay a lot for this performance…

But here’s the thing – a quick look on Amazon shows that it will cost in the region of $250-$300 for a family sized Berkey water filter, BUT it also shows that you can purchase a pair of Berkey Replacement Filters for around $55. It is the filters that make the water safe and you can fit these into two five gallon (food grade) containers and add a tap in around five minutes (watch the video!). You pretty much now have a fully functioning Berkey water filter system for the cost of the replacement Berkey filters, a tap and two food grade five gallon buckets, which add up to around a quarter of the price of a complete Berkey system.

Note: In the video above Steve is using the standard Berkey filters. When I checked on Amazon, judging from the reviews there is clearly an issue with these at present, so I have linked to the Berkey Ceramic filters as these seem a safer bet at the moment. I am assuming that these ceramic filters will fit in the same way as the standard filters, as they both fit the Big Berkey system.

This really is a super simple project and an excellent low-cost way to ensure your family has safe drinking water should disaster strike. With this system, you could filter rainwater collected from a rainwater harvesting system, or rivers/lakes etc.

Pressure Cooker Still – How To Make One!

July 6, 2016

There are typically two things you can do with a pressure cooker still – distill alcohol and make moonshine etc, or to purify unclean or salty water to make it safe for drinking. The purpose of this post it to focus on the latter!

When used to purify salty sea water, once heat is applied, water vapour is produced, the water vapor escapes and condenses in the copper pipe, before running out into the bucket. The salt is left behind in the pressure cooker, with the water in the bucket now being salt-free, and safe to drink.

Basically, the tutorial below demonstrates that several meters of copper tubing, a 5-gallon bucket and a pressure cooker equals a fully functioning pressure cooker still. If you live by the coast or an unclean water source, build one of these and you’ll always have emergency water for you and your family to drink. This method could also be adapted to work outdoors over a campfire or portable gas camp stove.

If you are prepping for a SHTF total collapse, building a simple pressure cooker still like this makes a lot of sense. It provides a method to purify all water sources and it gives you the means to distill alcohol, which can be used for consumption, medical use and bartering.

How To Make A Still With A Pressure Cooker

(Photo from: lemonie via Instructables)

Log Home Plans: 40 Totally Free DIY Log Cabin Floor Plans

October 1, 2015

A log cabin or log home is not only a versatile, endearing and cost effective living solution, it is also a great way of creating your very own retreat (especially with these free log home plans!) that you can pick up and place in a wide range of spaces, providing they have the capacity to accommodate your new it of course! See down below for the free log cabin floor plans.

Utilising traditional building methods, the art of constructing your very own DIY log cabin requires implementing unique, artisan skills that call upon a whole host of natural materials.

But best of all, log cabins are relatively simple to construct yourself, providing you have the appropriate tools, quality materials, manpower and of course, knowledge and some DIY log home plans (which we can help to provide). Trust us, there’s no better way to embrace sustainable living!

When constructing a log home from scratch, it’s important that you follow (and stick to) step-by-step instructions that detail and outline how to create a structurally sound DIY cabin, allowing you to create your perfect log home that is able to withstand the harshest environments. After all, it’s paramount that your DIY log cabin is safe, sturdy and resistant.

So here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best DIY log cabin plans available online, demonstrating every step of the production process, from start to finish. Outlining clear and concise construction methods, the plans will allow you to create a durable, rigid and accessible log cabin that is able to accommodate your exact requirements.

But, before you go any further, it’s important that you understand exactly what you want to get out of your DIY cabin. Log cabins, like any structural living space, come in all shapes and sizes. From intimate spaces through to cabins that are able to accommodate large groups, there are lots of options to choose from! Oh, and you’ll be amazed at the wealth of facilities, home comforts and unique features available.

Of course, this also means that when it comes to building your DIY cabin, difficulty levels vary and, although many are relatively simple to construct, others are far more complex requiring specialist skills and expertise.

So ask yourself, what will you use your log cabin it for? How often do you plan to use it? What type of environment will your log cabin call home? All of these factors will have an impact on your choice of design. After all, if you only plan to use your log cabin a few times a year, a more basic design may suit your needs better as opposed to a cabin that you plan to use every weekend, or every day!

Once you’ve made up your mind, the next step is to get building. Here are some of the best DIY log home plans that are available online, and best of all, they’re all free! So why pay someone else to build your log cabin when you can do it yourself?

Two bedroom contemporary log home with loft and basement

If you’re looking to create a spacious, family log cabin, then this two-floor two bedroom contemporary cabin, with loft space and basement, then these are the log home plans you’ve been looking for.

Offering ample storage, living and practical space, this accommodating cabin features a master bedroom, and an additional bedroom space that lends itself perfectly to being used a guest bedroom or a space for your little one.

Also featuring all the facilities that you would expect to find in a liveable home, this plan also features adequate kitchen, dining, laundry and living room space – making it ideal for entertaining or kicking back and relaxing.

But this design’s standout features have to be its loft space and outdoor porch area. The loft space offers more than enough room to store away sports equipment, your seasonal clothing and anything else that can leave your home feeling cluttered and unorganised. The outdoor porch area is also a great addition to this cabin, providing the perfect area to soak up the summer sunshine or snuggle around a roaring fire during the colder months.

You can download these free log floor plans here: http://www.todaysplans.net/CabinsAndSheds-Cabin1.pdf

One bedroom concrete block cabin loft and porch

I know – these are supposed to be log cabin plans, but this is concrete block cabin is another option to add to the mix.

Although this attractive one bedroom concrete block cabin loft and porch only offers one bedroom, it is perfectly equipped to accommodate larger family gatherings.

Offering a large family room, bathroom and dinette, this log cabin is great for accommodating short breaks and longer stays, it would also make a great family home for couples.

The addition of the covered porch also adds another dimension to this cabin, providing the ideal spot to kick back and relax season to season. You also don’t have to worry about storage, as it comes complete with a spacious loft space that will easily accommodate mass storage.

You can download the free cabin floor plans here: http://www.todaysplans.net/CabinsAndSheds-Cabin3.pdf

Log cabin plans for an“A” Frame cabin

This two-story “A” frame cabin house comes complete with two spacious bedrooms, a large living/dining room, a balcony and porch, as well as an accommodating kitchen and bathroom.

Offering a distinct rustic feel, this charming build is bursting with character, and will enable you to create a space that is finished to highest standards. Featuring durable wood flooring and a sturdy ladder that takes you up to the second floor, the frame of this log cabin is typical of many traditional structures.

You can download the free log home plans for this cabin here: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/AFC60E41-A8F6-4C45-ABE3-5D34AD0679B9/15503/24AFrameCabin.pdf

1 Bedroom Guest House

A log cabin lends itself perfectly to creating a guesthouse that is inviting, comfortable and bursting with character, especially if you are pushed for space in your home. Obviously, if you entertain guests on a regular basis, a guesthouse also offers far more privacy and space than guest bedrooms inside your home.

This spacious 1 bedroom guesthouse cabin will allow you to build a practical living solution that will make the ideal guesthouse.

Boasting a large spacious bedroom, a sizable main living area and bathroom, this plan will help you to build a practical living solution that is cost effective, durable and resilient. It can also easily be integrated into your property’s outdoor land. In fact many people position their guest cabins in their back yard! Of course, this set up is also perfect for other purposes, such as a cool hangout den for teenagers or a tranquil retreat for you to escape the chaos of the house from time to time.

Before embarking on any build, it’s also recommended to check your local building codes criteria!

You can download the free log cabin floor plans for this guest house here: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/aben-plans/5185.pdf

Pole Cabin w/Plenum Heating Log Home Plans

This 24/32, two-bedroom wood frame cabin is plenum heated, making it perfect for building a comfortable, warm family home.

Attractive inside and out, this inviting cabin boasts all the everyday facilities that you would expect to find in your home.

Featuring two spacious bedroom areas, which could easily accommodate two single beds in each room, a simple yet functional bathroom suite, as well as a large kitchen/diner area, this plenum heated cabin is great for weekend and full-time living.

You can download the free log home floor plans here to create this build yourself: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/BCB7C088-B906-4FF0-BA7A-3E05753AC194/15591/5997PoleCabinWPlenumHeating.pdf

Tourist Log Cabin Floor Plans

Log cabin living is extremely appealing to tourists, as it not only gives them the opportunity to experience a new way of living, in new and exciting surroundings, it also offers a comfortable retreat for them to relax and unwind.

In recent years, tourist cabins have continued to increase in popularity and, in response to growing demands, they have become more accommodating and functional than ever before.

This open porch tourist cabin is small yet highly spacious, making it the ideal, intimate retreat for couples, or even solo visitors looking for a comfortable space to collect their thoughts.

These design plans show an open plan space that features ample room for a bed, bathroom and closet space. However, one of the main advantages of this particular cabin is that it has its very own large porch area, making it ideal for those who enjoy the outdoors.

You can download the free log cabin floor plans for this cabin here: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/aben-plans/5184.pdf.

5 Room Log Cabin – Log Home Plans

Perfect for large families or group vacations, this spacious 5 room log cabin boasts 5 large bedroom areas that are all super comfortable and extremely spacious.

Bursting with the character you would expect to find in a traditional log cabin, this log cabin design features two bathrooms, a large kitchen and dining area, as well as a main living area with an open log fire – another dimension that creates a striking focal point.

Other interesting design elements include a cathedral ceiling over the living room, a large walk in closet, and an inviting porch area.

You can download the free log home plans for this cabin here: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/aben-plans/5506.pdf

Buffalo Run Series – Cabin Floor Plans

This impressive family orientated cabin offers an inviting, functional and comfortable living solution that is perfect for everyday family living.

Boasting luxuries such as a large master suite, a huge kitchen and dining area, as well as spacious loft, this 3 bedroom log cabin features a total living area of 5714sq.ft – with the main living area being 3161 sq-ft and the loft and storage areas being 2553 sq.ft.

You can view/save/download the log home floor plans here: http://whispercreekloghomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/buffalorun_01.pdf

16 x 20 Cabin with Bunk Beds

This design features a 16×20 cabin that also accommodates 2 tier bunk beds.

Smaller than the other designs, this compact cabin provides ample home comforts, that make it a safe and reliable cabin, perfect for accommodating guests – particularly children who love the idea of sleeping in bunk beds!

Featuring a stove, wood flooring throughout, and a spacious living area, this cabin is great for overnight stays or short visits.

You can get the log cabin floor plans here: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/1741C101-A6C6-4C05-BF47-7B96E4B0F985/15610/600416X20Cabin.pdf

2 Bedroom, 1 Storey Log Home with Open Porch

This perfect family living solution features 2 large, spacious bedrooms with large closets, an inviting open porch and plenty of character.

With its 1 story design, this comfortable log cabin will open your eyes to compact yet spacious design that will give you everything that you need in a family home and more.

Boasting ample space to entertain and relax with family and friends, this endearing log cabin even features a large outdoor porch that is great for sitting out and relaxing on, whatever the season. Many people integrate a comfortable outdoor seating area into their design plans when building this log cabin, as a porch is often considered as an outdoor living extension of the home.

You can download or view these log home floor plans here: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/aben-plans/5507.pdf

Community Log Cabin Plans

This community log cabin lend is perfect for hosting large group gatherings, activities and events.

Its huge assembly room is one of its main standout features, as it provides the perfect opportunity to hold large groups in one space – great if you run community focused events – its versatility shouldn’t be underestimated!

The community log cabin also features integrated storage space that is perfect for storing sports and activity equipment, props, and arts and crafts equipment. However, if you do not require this, the storage can also be taken down.

Other features of this community log cabin include a large kitchen area, bathroom, and even an office space – providing the ideal base to work from. But that’s not all, this cabin even accommodates a dressing room and cloak room, so it’s great for hosting theatre performances or assemblies.

You can view and download the log cabin floor plans for this community cabin here: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/aben-plans/5602.pdf

30+ Different DIY Cabin Plans

Let’s get one thing out of the way quickly – the cabin in the photo above is not in the plans. It is the only nice looking newly built cabin, that I had permission to use! That said, don’t be put off for one moment as below you’ll be able to find 30 different sets of cabin build plans…

The list of plans below includes everything from small single room cabins, right through to full sized family home cabins. There’s also everything in between. Given that you can pay $100s for cabin build plans, this is a pretty cool resource. My recommendation is – if you see a cabin you like, download the build plans right away whilst they are free. It’s better to download the plans now, but never use them, rather than wish you’d downloaded them and not being able to find them in a year or so. Get them here: FREE: 30 Different Sets Of Cabin Build Plans

(Image from: Max Wolfe)

How To Build A 12×20 Foot Cabin For $2000

Want to build a low cost, quality cabin that would make accommodation for guests? Got a bit of land for your secret bug-out location which needs an affordable cabin? Answer yes to either of these questions, then you’ve come to the right place!

Below is an excellent step-by-step tutorial showing how to build a 12×20 foot wood cabin for $2200. It is a full build tutorial with details, measurements, and materials. The cabin has a door and window at the front and double windows at the rear. The cabin is also wired for electricity with lighting and power points. Find out more: How To Build A 12×20 Foot Cabin For $2000

(Photo from: coolbeansbaby68 via Instrutcables)

Traditional Log Cabin Built For Less Than $500

$500 for a quality, traditional wood cabin, that’s crazy talk, right? Well, that is what I thought until I watched the video above which tells the story about this DIY log cabin and how it was built…

It really does emphasise the power of community, and roping in friends and family to help out on a project. Sure the cabin took eight months to build using free labour, but the whole project cost just $500. Seems an awesome trade-off to me. Watch the video and see what you think.

(Image from: OutsideFun1)

How To Build A House With No House Payments Or Utility Bills

No house payments and no utility bills, that’s the dream, right? Well, maybe that dream isn’t as far-fetched as you might think!

The video above shows how one guy built a cabin for $2000, drilled his own well and installed a solar power system which provides for all the electricity needs which cost an additional $3000. One thing to note is that the land he has, which is a little less than an acre, was gifted to him, although he does go on to say he has purchased similar plots of land for around $400. Finally, the last thing to note is that this video was uploaded in 2009, but even if you increase the costs in-line with today’s costs, this really is a great demonstration of what can be done with a minimal budget and a bit of hard work.

How To Build An Earthbag Roundhouse

A while back I did a post: How to Build an Earthbag Dome this was a windowless dome building which would make a great root cellar or storage shed. Today I am sharing a tutorial to build an earthbag roundhouse, complete with windows and doors.

This is very cheap and easy way to build a one room dwelling. The cost per sq foot of living space is just $11.50; anyone in the construction business knows that is crazy cheap….

The finished house looks beautiful, inside and out. The outside is plastered and whitewashed and it has a thatched roof, have a look and see how nice it looks. I can’t see why you couldn’t build several of these alongside each other to create a larger multi-room home. Check out the photo tutorial: How To Build An Earthbag Roundhouse

(Photo from: Owen Geiger via Instructables)

How To Build A Dirt Cheap House

If you have always dreamt of building your own house or bug-out house/retreat, but you have been put off by the high build costs etc, this could be right up your street…

The post below explains that by using, and knowing how to build with, locally available natural materials such as earth, small diameter wood, and straw, you can keep expenses to an absolute minimum. In fact, build costs can be as low as $10/sq. ft. With build costs this low, it opens the doors to the possibility of many more of us being able to build our own houses. Find out more: How To Build A Dirt Cheap House

(Photo from: Owen Geiger via Instructables)

Amazing Forest Home Built In 6 Weeks For $4,000

This might just be my favourite cabin ever! Can you imagine if this was your weekend and holiday retreat? It would be amazing, I feel less stressed just looking at the photo, let alone spending time there…

The cabin is absolutely beautiful inside and out (check out the sink!), and the crazy thing is that it was built in just six weeks for a budget of $4000. I wish I could share all the photos of the cabin here, so you can see how beautiful the inside of the cabin is, but I can’t. But if you click through to ‘Tree Hugger’ via the link below you can check out all of the awesome photos there. I love the hillside, treehouse style rear porch! See them here: Amazing Forest Home Built In 6 Weeks For $4,000

(Photo by: Herrle Custom Carpentry via Treehugger)

How To Get Rid Of Wasps: Includes A DIY Wasp Trap!

July 17, 2015

There’s nothing as terrifying – and painful – as finding yourself surrounded by the buzzing of wasps or hornets. If you’ve spent any time in your yard or enjoying the peaceful serenity of nature, you’ve likely had an encounter with these flying demons. Regardless of where you’ve had this encounter, the overwhelming desire to never have to deal with such creatures is universally strong.

Before learning how to get rid of wasps and hornets, it’s important to learn about these creatures. There are distinct differences between these two bugs. Understanding these differences can help set up effective and long-lasting remedies.

Wasps | A Basic Overview

The terms “wasps” and “hornets” can be quite confusing as they are often used interchangeably. However, a wasp is its own species of insect, which is strikingly different than hornets. Unlike bees, which survive on a diet of pollen or nectar, the majority of wasps live on a diet of other insects. Wasps are social creatures, and much like bees, live in a colony.

As winter gives way to spring, wasp colonies begin to flourish. A colony is started with a single queen wasp that survived the winter. Worker wasps build their nests out of paper, which they naturally produce by chewing on wood, cardboard or scraps of paper. In the beginning, a wasp colony is small. However, as summer progresses, the number of wasps rapidly develop. By the end of summer, a social wasp colony can be in the hundreds.

When fall approaches, only a handful of wasps remain. These typically include several fertile females, which are potential queens, and several males. As the temperatures turn cooler, colony is abandoned and the fertilized female wasps scatter in search of shelter. The remaining male wasps die with the cold weather.

Wasp Quick Facts

Wasps are typically smaller than hornets. These insects measure less than 1 inch.
The nests of wasps are both found suspended in the air or on the ground. It’s not uncommon for a nest to be built underground. In general, a single nest can hold anywhere from 100 to 5,000 individual worker wasps.
Wasps can range in color, which makes it difficult to suggest a single primary coloration.
Wasps prey on other insects. While some wasps may feed on pollen or nectar, they are not pollinators. They often scavenge for sweets and proteins.
Unlike popular belief, the average social wasp is not an extremely aggressive insect. This is quite different than yellow jackets, which are extremely aggressive. A social wasp is only likely to sting if it feels threatened. When compared to bees, which generally die after a sting, a wasp can sting multiple times without perishing.

Hornets | A Basic Overview

Hornets belong to the Vespa genus and closely resemble social wasps. Because of this, many confuse these two insects as being the same bug. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are over 20 different hornet species, which can be found throughout Europe, North America and Africa.

Much like wasps, hornets are social insects. They construct hives by chewing wood and transforming these shavings into a paper-like pulp. Hives flourish through a fertile queen hornet, who primarily gives birth to asexual female workers. There are very few male hornets. The few males born have a very specific job – mating with the queen. After their sexual task is completed, they die soon thereafter.

In the same vein as wasps, hornets thrive during the spring and summer months, only to die during winter. The majority of worker hornets do not survive the colder months; however, fertile queens survive by finding shelter under tree bark or sneaking into your home. As soon as winter gives way to spring, the fertile queen begins laying eggs and a new hive is born. Before the queen dies, she gives birth to several queen hornets and males. This ensures the next generation of hornets is healthy, strong and capable of building a new nest.

Worker hornets defend their hive with venom-filled stingers. Unlike yellowjackets, which are quite aggressive toward humans and animals, hornets only attack when they feel the nest is threatened.

Hornet Quick Facts

Hornets measure anywhere from 1 to 1.5-inches in length. They are typically larger than wasps and other stinging insects within the same genus.
The nests are constructed out of a paper-like pulp and are globular in shape. Nests are elevated above ground, such as in trees or along the gutters of a home. The colony size of a hornet nest is much smaller than wasps. The average hornet colony houses anywhere from 100 to 700 workers.
Hornets feature two distinct color variations. They are either black and white or feature a brownish-reddish color.
Hornets feed off other insects. They rarely go after pollen and typically don’t scavenge for sweets or proteins. This is why the majority of hornets are immune to general traps that use sweets.
If the nest is undisturbed, hornets are not likely to sting. However, if the nest is disturbed or the hive feels threatened, hornets can be extremely aggressive. A single hornet can sting an individual several times in a row, which leads to severe pain.
The venom in a hornet sting can lead to serious allergic reactions in some individuals. The quantity of stings sustained in an attack may result in life-threatening reactions to those sensitive to its venom.

How To Get Rid Of Wasps And Hornets

Wasp Trap | How To Get Rid Of Wasps Safely

Now that you have a more thorough understanding of these insects, how do you get rid of wasps? Of course, you have the option of hiring a professional pest management service, but these services are often very expensive and use harmful toxins to control wasp and hornet colonies. If you’re searching for a more natural way to eliminate these insects, you may want to look into homemade wasp traps.

By the time wasps or hornets become a concern, it’s likely because a colony has grown to exponential numbers. As a general rule of thumb, if the wasps aren’t causing a problem, such as a nest far away from social spots or areas of your yard where you and friends congregate, it’s best to leave the hive alone as it’ll disappear during the fall and winter months.

The most effective way to safely eliminate wasps and hornets from your property is to limit the number of potential nesting spots. Seal all openings in hollow tubing, such as the interior piping of children’s playground equipment. Of course, if you’re dealing with a large, active nest, you’re going to need more proactive measures.

While there are many insecticides on the market designed to kill wasps and hornets, these can fill your yard with poison. The toxins used in the majority of commercial insecticides are dangerous for the environment, pets and humans. Perhaps the most effective form of pest control is making a homemade wasp trap out of materials you likely have around the house.

Homemade Wasp Trap | Step-by-Step Instructions

The basic premise of this homemade wasp trap is quite simple. With a standard 2-liter soda bottle, wasps enter the bottle, get trapped and die. This is one of the most effective remedies to minimize the number of wasps; however, the only way to completely eliminate wasps is by removing their nest and killing their queen. This will be discussed in the next section.

Cutting the top of the soda bottle for the homemade wasp trap

Step-by-Step Directions for the Homemade Wasp Trap

Step One | Gather a 2-liter plastic soda bottle and cut the neck of the bottle around 4-inches below the bottle cap region.
Step Two | Remove the freshly cut neck and flip it upside down. Place it in the opening of the bottle you just cut.
Step Three | With packing or duct tape, tape these two pieces together. Make sure the tape is secure and there are no openings in the seams.
Step Four | Because wasps and hornets are attracted to protein, place several pieces of raw meat inside the bottle. While some suggest sugar water, this doesn’t always attract wasps. Rather, you’d likely collect an army of yellowjackets or other insects, such as honey bees..
Step Five | To prevent the wasps and hornets from climbing out of the bottle, coat the interior lining of the flipped portion of the bottle with petroleum jelly.
Step Six | Hang the wasp trap by attaching it to a string and place it away from where you and your family gather. A great spot is along the perimeter of your yard.
Step Seven | Once the bottle is full, which may take several days, pour boiling water into the bottle to ensure all the wasps are dead. Dispose of the bottle in an outdoor trashcan and replace with a new wasp trap.

Homemade wasp trap! Made in 2 Minutes!

Natural Wasp Nest Killer

Exercise extreme caution when messing with nests! Make sure children, pets and neighbours are out of harms way. If you’re unsure, you may want to consider a pest control company to destroy the nest safely.

As mentioned earlier, the only way to truly eliminate these pests is to kill the nest and all its inhabitants. Up until recently, the majority of products contained harmful poisons to accomplish this goal. However, there is a new product capable of safely eliminating wasp nests without the use of harsh ingredients.

EcoSMART Organic Wasp and Hornet Killer utilizes natural plant and tree extracts to safely and effectively kill nests and colonies. When used with the aforementioned homemade wasp trap, this is one of the most effective ways to keep these pests at bay.

When using this product, it’s important to keep safety in mind. You never want to try and kill a nest while standing close to it. Wasps and hornets get quite agitated when their nest is disturbed. So you only want to use a product with far-reaching jet spray. This product features an 18-foot spray, which allows you to be close enough for an accurate reach, but far away enough to prevent being stung. Locate the wasp or hornet spray.

Stand 15 to 18-feet away and thoroughly spray the nest with this product. Try to completely saturate the nest, but if the wasps come out and begin making their way toward you, immediately seek shelter and repeat at a later time. It’s best to do this in the early morning hours when the entire hive has returned from its day of seeking food and supplies. Repeat if the hive is not completely destroyed.

Wasp and Hornet Prevention | Keep the Insects Away

One of the most effective natural prevention methods is also one of the least understood. Homeowners and insect research alike aren’t sure why it works, but as millions will attest, it’s incredibly effective – and easy.

To prevent wasps, hornets and other insects from infiltrating your home or yard, simply fill a clear, sealable plastic bag with water and place 3 to 5 coins in it. Seal the bag and hand along the perimeter of your home and yard. Instantly, wasps, hornets and other flying insects will immediately leave your property.

While it’s not known exactly why this works, the most commonly accepted hypothesis is these creatures feel threatened by the hanging bag of water. They may believe that it’s another hive. The majority of wasps and hornets do not wish to nest near a competing hive. Therefore, they’ll leave your property and seek shelter in another location.

If you’re looking for a professional visual deterrent, then you may be interested in the Get Lost Wasp Deterrent. This preventative measure looks like a common wasp hive. It works by activating the natural territorial behavior of wasps. According to the manufacturer, it prevents wasps and hornets from building a hive within 200 feet of its location. Hang this product underneath decks, eaves or in tree canopies.

It’s suggested to hang several throughout your property to keep it completely free from wasp and hornet colonies. When combined with the water bag method, you can expect zero wasp or hornet nests. This is, by far, the most environmentally-friendly method of keeping these insects away. The goal is to not kill off these insects, but rather, prevent them from entering your space.