Arthur Angaran

Hi Sonja, Flat brick is good for a base so long as it is true brick and not a cinder block type of brick. They tend to become a pile of pieces after some freeze thaw cycles. Water gets into the block and freezes. As it expands it can break the cinder block apart.

A cord of wood is about 4'deep x8' long x4'high.  So 2  4'x8'x6' is 3 cords of wood. I would make the side walls 6' long the back wall 16', and a 6' center wall. The height of the back wall 7' and the height of the front 8'. If you get nasty rains a lot you could attach a drop down tarp to keep the weather out and raise it on sunny days. Helps to keep the wood dry.

You will want to build the frame on the ground and lift it in place. 2x4s 2 feet on center should be strong enough if you are nailing slats to them. You could make the back wall in 2 pieces for ease of control while lifting. I would use 2x4s for the top and bottom plates of each wall. my flooring would be wooden slats set on blocks to facilitate air flow. For the top 2x4 on the open side make sure the 4 inch side is vertical for strength.

Hope this helps

Hi Elle, if you make your own beam there are a couple of things you need to be aware of. There are some glues and construction adhesives not made for joists or beams. Also screws have a low shear strength and I would use primarily nails for the strength, the screws to pull the wood together should be grk-rss screws.

Hope this helps

Hi, Your title is affordable housing crisis, and I ask affordable to whom? I'm not trying to rain on your parade, and there is no but here. Lets look at affordable housing in a different manner. I have friends from 146 different countries and most of them do not think we have an affordable housing crisis. To them we have a covetousness and greediness crisis. If a person makes a certain amount of dollars he can afford b dollars, yet he wants c,d,e,f,g,h...dollars and since he cannot afford all and everything it is called a crisis, most of my friends do not see it as a crisis. We here in America are actually wealthy even if we live in a 100 sq foot apartment. I ask why the landlords get to charge $1200.00 for that apartment and why do the taxpayers have to pay to help someone live there to support the greed of the land owner in certain cities?

I think what you really are asking is how to make houses better, for less money. I agree that the country is diverse in climate and topography and bugs. Every place should be allowed to devise what the bare minimum requirements are for themselves instead of a central government demanding what and how you have to build, which would make some things less expensive. We would also have more alternative shelters to live in. Did you know that Frank Lloyd Wright had an extreme amount of trouble getting his structures built because they didn't meat code. A small group of 300 people could alter local control over central control. Look up R.E.S.U.L.T.S. pac. 200 volunteers had the 2nd greatest influence in the US, and changed things in govt" because of the tactics they used. Maybe a Permies pac could do the same to make housing less expensive. If we are willing to put in the effort to change the mindset of the nation it can be done. Be persistent and it will take years, but finding the best building practices from around the world and having them introduced in the US means going against many of the people with money and power.

Hi, very interesting. The headline made me think of the vibrating compactor used for pavers. Then after reading the post I think about the vibrating rods used for cement walls when building. Its round, long, and might work if you can find one to rent. You might try putting sticks out of the mound as you pour dirt in and put a sander on it and it will vibrate a little. Don't know if it will work though.

Hi, I've seen tablets and laptops at the 2nd hand stores like Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Habitat for Humanity. They were all under 25.00 dollars. You might pick one up there.   Also try internet resale sights. It's just a thought.  My laptop cost 15.00 and is only 3yrs old.

Hi, My mac 4 runs fine. I'm with others on this post. Take the case off and clean everything physically. Only use alcohol on soldier joints. keep case off and  run the computer. If it works fine great. If not run antivirus and anti malware. Check majorgeeks.com for free ones. If it is still slow then backup all data onto external drive or thumb drives. Then delete everything and reload original operating system. If you are not tech savy a computer shop can help with this. Good luck

Hi, One advice is to only buy what you truly need and not what you want. If one of you is handicapped then you truly need large bedrooms for wheelchair access. Mostly the room is for sleeping and getting dressed, unless you need to read in bed. Otherwise a 9x10 bedroom is small but livable. Storage, what things do you need. Clothes, How many do you need not want. If you wear 10 shirts and 4 pairs of pants closet space as a walkin is not needed. Smaller bathrooms.

Right now prices are really high in some areas because people are moving out into the countryside, to get away from the cities. Properties are on the market for a few days.  Look in less desireable locations, meaning not vacation properties, or cities with higher than normal taxes to keep your price down. Check the cost of utilities in with your mortgage. Add 10%mo for repairs and save it.

Make sure you shop different banks and credit unions. Small local banks usually have better rates than large ones. Start working on your "Climate Change Score" and credit rating for a better rate.

It is estimated that food costs will be 10-15% higher at the end of the year just from inflation, and if the mileage tax is passed it will go higher because almost everything comes in on a truck, even if it is only your pickup truck at the local farm.
So do your math and buy right and sooner than later.

Hi,  UP here I would check with saw mills to see if they have anything and pricing, I might also check with a logging operation to see their pricing to cut my trees and limb them for me, and maybe trade off for giving them some trees for themselves. Thereby you get posts free and they get logs for the price of labor. You could have your posts inside of a week.

Tires with dirt and rocks might work as posts, If you find scrap metal, lumber to hold the tires in place while you fill them with maybe a backhoe. I couldn't be sure of this as posts as I have never tried it or seen it done. Ive seen photos of pens made from just tires with lumber bracing on top but then again not in operation.

Hi, I once put a cardboard box on a lit stove top. Smoke and burnt fingers. Thank God it was raining outside and it put out the flame.