Build a Home for $10,000 in 10 Days!

By Chris Mcclellan
Published on December 23, 2008
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Build a home in ten days? Using William Castle's fast timber-framing method, that's all it took to put up the shell of this cabin for Castle's daughter.
Build a home in ten days? Using William Castle's fast timber-framing method, that's all it took to put up the shell of this cabin for Castle's daughter.
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Building this log cabin was a family project nearly 30 years ago.
Building this log cabin was a family project nearly 30 years ago.
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Although these logs look round, they’re milled flat on one or two sides.
Although these logs look round, they’re milled flat on one or two sides.
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This building technique uses an “insulation sandwich,” which is energy-efficient.
This building technique uses an “insulation sandwich,” which is energy-efficient.
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Joints are secured with half-inch lag screws.
Joints are secured with half-inch lag screws.
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Much of Castle's woodworking art is done by hand.
Much of Castle's woodworking art is done by hand.
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Castle's work includes custom carving.
Castle's work includes custom carving.
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Pollywogg Hollër, built by Bill Castle and his family, has grown from one cabin into an “eco-retreat.”
Pollywogg Hollër, built by Bill Castle and his family, has grown from one cabin into an “eco-retreat.”
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Castle uses thick slabs of wood cut on a custom-built mill to create artistic furnishings.
Castle uses thick slabs of wood cut on a custom-built mill to create artistic furnishings.

For half a century, William Castle has been building bridges, cabins, and shanties of all shapes and sizes. His favorite projects are right in his own yard. Woodland areas such as that of his native Belmont, N.Y., often have an abundance of “junk” timber that has little commercial value because of its small diameter, twisted grain, or other imperfections. The modified timber-framing method Castle has developed lets him build a home quickly and easily from this low-cost, local resource. His daughter’s cabin is a case in point. A crew of three to four adults and two children assembled the shell of the 1,000-square-foot house over an existing foundation in less than 10 days — for less than $10,000!

If You Build It …

Thirty years ago “Pollywogg Hollër,” as Bill and Barb Castle call their 30 acres surrounded by forest, began as a project to bring the family together. Bill had his own bridge building company, a seven-day-a-week work ethic and almost no connection to his growing children.

At Barb’s insistence, Bill began taking time off, and over the course of three summers, they and their three teenage children built a 20-foot-by-30-foot log cabin in their back woods. They dug the well and foundation by hand, dragged logs out of the woods with an old tractor, peeled the logs with a drawknife and placed them with the help of a homemade crane.

Other than mortar, hardware and roofing, all the materials in that cabin came from the land. Over time it became their home. Now, it’s a rustic bed and breakfast “eco-retreat” that they run with their son Mikael — complete with solar power, a sauna, bathhouse, picnic pavilion, wine bar, and wood-fired pizza oven. There’s even a stage for weddings and concerts. Most importantly, that cabin brought their family together.

As we walk through the enchanted village Castle has built, he points out the different local woods and the uses he puts them to: There are footbridges of larch (aka tamarack), which he calls “the poor man’s cedar.” Fence posts are rot-resistant black locust. Hemlock is used for sheathing; red oak, for floors; and fir, for log cabin walls.

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