Back in the 50s, my great grandfather built the house where my mother and my grandmother grew up in all by himself. It took him 6 years, but he had no help. He started digging into the ground with a shovel. He was a carpenter and bricklayer and used his spare time and skill to do it. This house is still standing and my grandmother still lives in it.
That's awesome! My grandfather was in construction and built the house my mom grew up in, starting with plans sketched on a napkin. I regret not spending time with him in his shop when we still had him with us, now that I'm doing all sorts of remodeling on my own house. But, to be honest, the PTSD from WW II left me afraid of him. "Don't disturb grandpa when he's sleeping or he might think you're an enemy and kill you." RIP Bob.
That is sad. My Grandfather also built their family home, a feat which I'm still in awe of to this day. As one who builds things that live in a computer, but still has a messy visceral requirement of a roof over a head, imagine building a house! What an achievement. If I was born 20 years earlier I imagine I would have become a carpenter and been very happy.
The good old days. I wish this was still possible today. Unfortunately, with every last screw, bolt and wooden panel dictated by regulation, it seems it's not possible anymore.
Primitive Technology is an awesome channel, one of the marvels of youtube. To anybody who decides to follow his videos: please do not skip reading the description of the videos. He's not just making some primitive-looking stuff with crap he finds about, he actually often tries to replicate what actual primitive peoples did, and explains the historical period and some other details. There are those other channels that copied the concept, but they are just bad copies, half naked men doing silly things for the views.
That guy is amazing. I've watched all of his video many times over.
For the new to the channel, he does all commentary via subtitles so if you want explanations of what he's doing and why turn them on!
Some people seem to like watching them without the commentary as it's relaxing, others want to know what and why. I watched 5 videos before I realised there was explanations.
I hope he goes back to his furnaces and metal, I'd like to see some metal tools from nothing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGNuhyfyF6k&list=PL8eqcjvgrQ... April Wilkerson's series on building a shop, she does it mostly on her own, but with some help when needed. She's got a great channel for woodworking, some metal working, and home repairs.
As someone who has no real building experience but has recently done a kitchen remodel (everything except the countertop, most of the cabinets I ordered, the pantry I'm building), youtube is an amazing way to get educated on the specific tasks. I replaced the subfloor, new oak hardwood floors, plank tiles, drywall, texturing, painting, removed a wall, electrical (including inspections), range hood ducting to outside, plumbing, cabinet installs...
Youtube is like that scene in The Matrix where Neo jacks in and then comes back out "I know Kung Fu!" I've spent many nights jacked in downloading Master Vila's knowledge of pressure treated lumber. (obscure Robotman reference)
My father rebuilt a 16th century house by himself on Saturdays. He used electricity and the house has modern features such as piped water and internet but no modern materials were used (concrete, aluminium, steel, etc.), only "old" granite and wood. It took him almost a decade but he builds houses for a living so it's not exactly a hobby despite the fact that he considered it as such.
Do you think people would like to watch videos about such things? My youngest brother now works for my father and he is tech savvy so it's something doable but would be in Portuguese.
I'm a fan of building, a fan of Portugal and a fan of portuguese literature (I plan to learn european portuguese), so you have one person interested here. I'd appreciate English subs though.
Nit-picking, but concrete is not modern, it's 2,700 years old. (similarly, indoor plumbing is 6,000 years old, but obviously was a luxury and not common throughout most of history)
I think there is a huge interest in such things. People forget where things come from, just make sure you subtitle the videos and they'll be a hit I'm sure!
I mean, the short answer is, does it matter? If you enjoy making the videos, and you aren't spending much time or money making them (beyond the time and money you're spending on the original activity you are recording, that you'd spend anyway), does it matter much if your audience is 10 weirdos around the world or an adoring mass of thousands?
Its fascinating how different building Houses is in USA and Germany. The typical US Woodhouse is easy and fast to build. In Germany it can take a Year to build a "Massiv" House:
Dick Proenneke's Alone in the Wilderness is a wonderful TV show to watch if you're into this sort of DIY building joy. He starts with only a few tools and builds himself a little cabin in Alaska, narrating and filming the whole thing. Quite peaceful and inspiring.
The home I spent the majority of my childhood in until the age of 15 was built by a combination of friends/family and subcontractors. We were very poor and my parents had a hard time receiving loans to finance the build. The plan was to build a ranch-style 3400 sqft home. Due to the financial constraints, we finished the walk-out basement portion with a “mother-in-law” style suite (fully functioning kitchen etc.) We lived in this portion of the house and sealed the top portion until it was finished. Ultimately the home took 5 years to build IIRC. My father’s cousin was a contractor so my father worked a bit for him to learn the correct steps and the order to perform them in. It was a high-quality build with high-quality material due to the influence from my father’s cousin. Growing up around it was fun in the sense that it was such a unique experience. My parents got lucky as they sold it right before the downturn in the housing market. There will always be naysayers and those that believe things are impossible or are “strange”. This house and the equity accumulated in it allowed my parents just enough of an edge (among other factors) to currently be in a much better financial situation than most/all of our extended family. It’s awesome to see posts like this. Most people will never build their own home.
For those considering something like this, I would recommend the book Working Alone by John Carroll. He describes how to use clamps, ad-hoc frames and jigs to deal with sheets of plywood, roof beams, etc. without the benefit of a second pair of hands. Using his techniques I built a stand alone 10x12 storage structure (biggest that does not require a permit) that is the driest building on my property to this day.
As a developer, I'm so glad I didn't try to build my own house (even a tiny house) alone. Having just one extra person is worth so much. Building a house is a great project and one I hope to do again with my wife and kids some day.
Skipping ahead to the end, that architect is a disgrace. The walls bumping in and out, the front door hiding behind the garage, two halves of the house on different levels for no discernible reason, the false transverse roof, the hilarious 3rd-floor bumpout as if for a 13th-century princess's loo, this house is dense with really bad ideas. Some of them might be partially blamed on the goofy pie-wedges-around-a-pond subdivision lot, but better work could have been done even in this location. Also that lower floor is going to be dank. Hopefully they put real support studs in under the floor beams before they start installing appliances.
Building your own house seems like a pretty common thing from where I come from (Eastern Europe). Nonetheless, the timelapses he does look really cool.
Exactly. My father built one himself, like his father did and he never even considered this something extraordinary...
I can remember being a kid when he did it; too bad I would never be able to this myself. He's kinda proud that his kid won't have do physical labour anymore, but it makes me sad nevertheless.
In my hometown it was very common for people to build their own house twenty years ago, ignoring all kind of permits. A lot of people worked in construction or were plumbers, painters... they worked patiently in the weekends and with a little help from friends, only sprinting at the moment of the concrete injection.
Even if the houses were illegal (there's an interesting background on why people takes that risk) the quality of the build and regulations compliance were OK, since the process is the same and done by the same people that builds legal houses.
Now there is a political nightmare around this question, but that's another story.
I see you're Spanish, but it was the same in Croatia. People built houses over a few weeks. In the 70s it was fairly normal to get some friends, call in some favors and build a summer house - illegally of course.
The old generation of houses has been legalized so the government got a fast influx of money, but a lot of them are ecological disasters and still stand.
> there's an interesting background on why people takes that risk
At least in some cases, the reason was that paying the fine was quicker and maybe even cheaper than going through the municipal bureaucracy. People would even denounce themselves once the construction was finished.
There is another youtuber who is building a house[1] - it's not on his own but he is documenting every step and it is interesting to see what goes into it. At this stage the lot has retaining walls up, and basic plans for the structure itself have been drafted.
[+] [-] mrleiter|8 years ago|reply
This is him with his wife, my great grandmother: https://i.imgur.com/y7sXvaa.jpg
It was his greatest achievement. But unfortunately he only lived in it for a meager year before passing away.
[+] [-] linsomniac|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kstenerud|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ryan-allen|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pascalxus|8 years ago|reply
The good old days. I wish this was still possible today. Unfortunately, with every last screw, bolt and wooden panel dictated by regulation, it seems it's not possible anymore.
[+] [-] kafquaesque|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] linkmotif|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Jakob|8 years ago|reply
This man is building a house including the tools you need to build that house completely by himself:
Primitive Technology: Tiled Roof Hut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P73REgj-3UE
[+] [-] gkya|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ryan-allen|8 years ago|reply
For the new to the channel, he does all commentary via subtitles so if you want explanations of what he's doing and why turn them on!
Some people seem to like watching them without the commentary as it's relaxing, others want to know what and why. I watched 5 videos before I realised there was explanations.
I hope he goes back to his furnaces and metal, I'd like to see some metal tools from nothing!
[+] [-] trumped|8 years ago|reply
Although primitive, the video that you linked to is also based on previous technology/knowledge...
[+] [-] linsomniac|8 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRZePj70B4IwyNn1ABhJW... -- Essential Craftsman (a great channel about manly stuff) series on Building a Spec Home, done by a guy with decades of experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGNuhyfyF6k&list=PL8eqcjvgrQ... April Wilkerson's series on building a shop, she does it mostly on her own, but with some help when needed. She's got a great channel for woodworking, some metal working, and home repairs.
As someone who has no real building experience but has recently done a kitchen remodel (everything except the countertop, most of the cabinets I ordered, the pantry I'm building), youtube is an amazing way to get educated on the specific tasks. I replaced the subfloor, new oak hardwood floors, plank tiles, drywall, texturing, painting, removed a wall, electrical (including inspections), range hood ducting to outside, plumbing, cabinet installs...
Youtube is like that scene in The Matrix where Neo jacks in and then comes back out "I know Kung Fu!" I've spent many nights jacked in downloading Master Vila's knowledge of pressure treated lumber. (obscure Robotman reference)
[+] [-] Ftuuky|8 years ago|reply
Do you think people would like to watch videos about such things? My youngest brother now works for my father and he is tech savvy so it's something doable but would be in Portuguese.
[+] [-] gkya|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] peterwwillis|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ryan-allen|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] saalweachter|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] icebraining|8 years ago|reply
Do they build old-style houses for clients too?
[+] [-] coinerone|8 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlnUVxqAzDU
[+] [-] xbryanx|8 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss
[+] [-] ctime|8 years ago|reply
Alone in the Wilderness - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss
[+] [-] kafquaesque|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] raintrees|8 years ago|reply
http://www.raintreeshouse.com/ournewoldhouse/TheStorageShed....
[+] [-] Xeoncross|8 years ago|reply
My brother and I built my 390ft (+ loft) fully equipped, 16' tall tiny house: http://tinyhousemansion.com/
[+] [-] mv4|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chrisseaton|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jessaustin|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hpaavola|8 years ago|reply
They are complete novices and make a lot of mistakes (and are honest about those), so don't take it as an educational channel. :)
[+] [-] iM8t|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xab9|8 years ago|reply
I can remember being a kid when he did it; too bad I would never be able to this myself. He's kinda proud that his kid won't have do physical labour anymore, but it makes me sad nevertheless.
[+] [-] Xunxi|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] narag|8 years ago|reply
Even if the houses were illegal (there's an interesting background on why people takes that risk) the quality of the build and regulations compliance were OK, since the process is the same and done by the same people that builds legal houses.
Now there is a political nightmare around this question, but that's another story.
[+] [-] dsego|8 years ago|reply
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5222778,16.4766439,3a,75y,23...
Or this guy in Bosnia that built a two-story house on top of a residential building.
https://www.fokus.ba/vijesti/bih/kako-je-safet-na-zgradi-u-z...
Ah, it's the Balkans after all.
[+] [-] rospaya|8 years ago|reply
The old generation of houses has been legalized so the government got a fast influx of money, but a lot of them are ecological disasters and still stand.
[+] [-] JorgeGT|8 years ago|reply
At least in some cases, the reason was that paying the fine was quicker and maybe even cheaper than going through the municipal bureaucracy. People would even denounce themselves once the construction was finished.
[+] [-] synack|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] overlordalex|8 years ago|reply
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGCC-_Cuhhw&list=PLRZePj70B4...
[+] [-] tostadora|8 years ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justo_Gallego_Mart%C3%ADnez
[+] [-] mkagenius|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lotsofpulp|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] erikpukinskis|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] worldexplorer|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gabriel34|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Markoff|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dugmartin|8 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/user/ArkansasHomesteader