Two months, $250, two people, and then sides
(Page 4 of 4)
July/August 1975
By Ellen Kesinger Tietjen
Boards were then nailed to the rafters, tar paper laid, and we began the task of attaching the aluminum roofing (which meant folding the offset plates in two and fastening them shingle wise). A roofer lent us stirrups from which we hung a 2 X 4 scaffold that helped us as we climbed about on the slanted surface.
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Inside finishing consisted of laying the second floor, building a ladder to it, putting in windows, hanging doors, and installing insulation. On the outside, we nailed up tar paper and used clapboard from our $25.00 abandoned farm house to cover as many walls as we could. By that time winter was staring us in the face, and the wood heating and cooking stoves were welcome additions.
PROGRESS REPORT
The result of our labors so far is a circular type building with a center-peaked roof from which protrude three vertical windows. The inside is a spacious "round" room 25 feet in diameter, with an elm trunk bark and all in the center. The eye doesn't rest long on any one point, as in a square interior, but sweeps around the lines of the walls. There's a feeling of warmth and space. Upstairs is another room, quaintly lit, by its three many paned dormers.
If you're pressed for both time and money, yet want an attractive, durable shelter, you might find that a design something like ours will work well for you. A many sided house lends itself easily to the use of recycled materials because short pieces of lumber can be used for almost everything except the joists and rafters.
Such a building goes up quickly, can be constructed (for the most part) by two people, costs little, and will give years of comfort and rent-free living. That's a big return for two months' work!.
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