Im 14 and i am about to build a shack.....?

Question

i'm currently designing a shack and am gonna make it in our field. i need help with what materials to use and wat joints and stuff like that

im not rich so i cant get a crane or anything like tht. its all going to be made out of wood as well so please help.

Answer 1

Oh wow, thats a great idea!  How about finding four fence posts, hammering them in the ground, then find loads of long bits of wood and s******g them together to make the cube, remember a gap for the door of course, then getting some tarp for the roof, tie it down and there you have it, a nice cheap shack.

Answer 2

ray mears would probably be good at this sort of situation

ask ray mears to help you

Answer 3

If youre doing this on a budget and don't intend to store anything valuable,

Use 8ft by 4ft sheets of sterling board or ply as the sides.

concrete or pot fix in 4inch by 4 inch wooden posts (8ft in lenght 1 ft 6 inch in ground) at a distance that will allow the sheet of ply to just cover the posts.

this can be done for the 3 sides, get the timber dealer to cut some sheets down to 2 ft to make 6 ft total.

s***w 4x2 inch timber just underneath the top of posts to increase strengh and make fixing ply roof easier, also run some 4x2 down the width of roof at every 12 to 16 inches, for strengh/fixing.

for the front add an extra post in the cenre of 8 ft gap, cut ply sheet down and fix 1 solidly to 2 posts, fit 3, 6-8 inch tee hinges to one side of other piece to s***w on one post for door, the door will have to fit between the 2 posts, where the other front section has to overlap.

cover the roof in felt roll.

bear in mind this 8ft cube idea will still cost £300+.

5x 8ft posts

50ft 4x2 sawn timber

8x sheets of ply

10x 25 kg bags of post fix

1x 20ft roll of shed felt

3x 6inch tee hinges

20x 1 inch screws

80x 4 inch nails

100x felt nails

tools needed

sharp saw

claw hammer

spade& fork for post holes

4 ft level

water for post fix

pencil for marking

tape measure

cordless drill& nesseary tips

1 strong mate

2 days, take your time and seek help from adults if needed.

Answer 4

You should investigate whether you need planning consent for this (hard to tell from the information you supply). If you don't check it out you may find you have to knock it down . You say 'field', so you may be on a farm where different rules apply, but worth checking it out. Also the threshold of when you need  Building Regulation (or the equivalent wherever you are). Different rules apply for habitable rooms (ie ones in which you live) so if anyone asks you should say it is a garden shed for keeping tools etc in.

Timber is probably the way to go on materials, you can use OSB or shuttering plywood which are remarkably cheap - or you could use adobe, or wattle and daub - check out details on-line: ancient forms of construction that are still relevant today (and virtually free). I am currently looking at a building by Henry VIII, which uses a timber frame and nothing much more than earth and willow panels in between - and it is still wind and weather tight  nearly 450 years later.

Answer 5

Ask your dad, or a lumberjack.