HOUSE BUILDING

Suppose you want to build a wooden house with 4-inch walls and single-pane windows. The frame consists of 2x4s, 2x6s, and plywood. What lumber is recommended?

You will need 10 Douglas fir trees for the frames, 20 studs to make the walls, 1 sheet of plywood for the roof, and 6 sheets of plywood for each window. Firstly, cut down all 10 trees that are about 12 inches in diameter (or larger) at their base. Then cut the trees into 4-foot sections. Next, round them off with a chisel and a barbecue fork so that they have the same shape as a 2×4.
This is definitely not an easy task! Next, cut the 20 2x4s to about 12 feet long and then dig holes for them to be set in. (For this demonstration, we will dig 3 holes for each 2×4). Dig about 1 foot deep in soil for each hole. Then insert each 2×4 into its hole.
Then, cut eight 2x6s to the length of the house plus one foot. Dig holes for these 8 2x6s. Next, place two of the 2x4s on top of each other and attach them in a “T” shape as shown below in yellow. Note that these 2x6s will be used as the exterior walls of the house:
Now cut the roof out of one sheet of plywood. Make two cuts at a 90-degree angle to each other with a circular saw. Then attach the plywood sheets to make the roof. Attach some more 2x6s in a “T” shape on top of the plywood parts to make walls:
Then, lay out all six sheets of plywood on the ground and cover it with dirt to form a foundation. Next, cut out one sheet of plywood for the windows. Also, use the remaining two sheets of plywood to make flooring and a door:
Below is the finished house. You can see how dark it is because we made all of the windows with single-pane glass (you can read more about how to make double-paned glass here ). We need to put on some hardwood siding around the outside of this house for protection.