The Birth Of A Wooden House. Extended
4,576,714
Published 2016-03-08
This is a documentary movie uncovering the process of building a wooden house with mostly hand tools from (as much as possible) local natural materials starting from forest till the living space.
"I built my house from trees that I felled in winter time (-20C) with an axe and two man crosscut saw in my own forest. I did it following the research of old carpenter's calendar that coniferous trees should be felled in January's first days when the new moon rises and the deciduous trees should be felled in the winter time during the old moon. In winter time trees are sleeping and the juice and moisture content is very low in them. As time passes timber felled in winter becomes light and strong.
In the building process I used mostly traditional carpenters hand tools - axes, hand saws, timber framing chisels and slicks, old Stanley planes, augers, draw knives and mostly human energy. All the ground work for fundaments and the basement earth digging was done by hand with shovels. The foundation consists mostly of bigger and smaller rocks and boulders. Lime, sand and concrete mixture are using only in small amounts - to hold the boulders together. The visible part over the ground level - boulder mosaic has been masoned with hand split local granite.
The House has been built based on the western part of Latvia - Kurland/Kurzeme (German influence) historical wooden architecture typical technique - Timber Frame construction with sliding log walls between the posts. House is two carpentry technique union - Timber Frame (that is typical in France, Germany, Great Britain, North America and other countries) and traditional Latvian log building technique, between the logs using moss from the local swamp.
In the walls, timber frame and roof construction there I used only wood joints and wooden pegs to hold the main construction together - no nails, screws or steel plates. Walls are insulated with 250mm thick dry pine and larch shaving layer (leftover from the local cabinet makers workshop). Overall exterior wall thickness is 50cm. In the walls (except wind vapour breathable membrane over the roof) has not been used any plastic or modern synthetic materials.
To preserve the wood from the spoiling, fame posts, sills, top beams and final cladding boards are treated with fire and pine tar mixed with Tung oil. This wood preservation technique was adapted from the Japanese traditional wood preservation technique Shou Sugi Ban (焼杉板).
Exterior cladding boards recoating each 10-15 years with Tung oil and pine or birch tar mixture, the house can last more than 500 years. As an example is taken Norwegian stave churches that stands more than 500 years until nowadays.
Roofing is three layer white oak shingles (each 10mm thick, 120mm wide and 720mm long) laid in two directional technique. Overall amount of shingles used is 15 000 pieces. Roof walls are insulated with ecological wood fibre wool and wood fibre panels. Over the wood fibre panels are plastered natural plaster - mixture of sand, clay powder, lime, linen fibre, salt, wheat flour. Overall thickness of the plaster is 20mm and over all amount of plaster used on the walls are 5000 kilos. It works also as thermal mass and improves energy performance.
Exterior measurements of the house is 6.5 x 13 meters. Living space in both floors are 120sq/m. The house is being heated with clay plastered brick bread oven and smaller oven made of clay tiles in the kitchen. To heat up both floors of the house, when outside it is minus 10 degrees (Celsium) only small oven is heated once a day. When freeze gets below -15, -20 C, we heat up the bread oven. Once it is heated, because of it’s thermal mass of 5 tons, it keeps the warmth 2-3 days. To heat up all the house (120 sq/m) in the winter time we use not more than 4 m3 (1.1 cord) of dry firewood. This is 2nd winter we are living there and we still heat up the house with the leftovers of lumber from the building process. And it will be enough for 3 more years.
I have fulfilled my vision to a build natural, ecological house with high thermal efficiency, low energy consumption, sustainable, using local materials such as - wood, stone, old and new clay bricks, moss, linen fibre, clay, water, lime, wheat flour, salt and wood shavings."
Jacob, carpenter, craftsman and founder of Northmen ( ex John Neeman Tools).
northmen.com/
www.facebook.com/northmenguild
www.instagram.com/northmenguild
All Comments (21)
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This is a good book. Does provide a step by step introduction to how to build things youtube.com/post/UgkxhgbP-6hUnXu_QRaoHgLztgsI0YF3H… , also does offer some steps. Includes pictures to give you ideas for layouts and such. If you are looking for a guide, this is not exactly what you want. But if you are trying to familiarize yourself with the way that pole barn building and other out buildings, are made, then this will work just as you need it to. A few things in this book are a barn (of course), detached garage, storage building, and coops.
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As a 70year old retired carpenter,you now see me cry.Thankyou for building your house and filming it too,both are out of this world,may God bless all who live there.
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I don't come back to many videos, but I've watched this maybe 10 times since it was released. It's not just the obscene amount of work, or the beautiful craftsmanship. It's the deep sense of peace you get while watching it; knowing the intention and thought behind every piece of the house. I love watching the different craftsmen coming in and out, the connection with tradition and previous generations, and most of all, the connection to family. Thank you for posting, Jacob.
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Every few months I look up this video and instead I find all sort of bushcraft or log cabin building, nothing like this video. When I can't find it I get a sense that it was taken down and it makes me so sad. I hope it stays up forever. It really gives me hope. Maybe not knowing if I will find it again makes watching it so much sweeter. Thank you for giving peace to so many people (I can see other comments feeling the same).
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Imagine these guys teaming up with the fella from Primitive Technology..
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im only 18 but this has been a goal since i was a child. this is amazing
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As an old 69 years carpenter, all my congratulations for your beautifull work. It is really art!! My salute from Argentina
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I was crying how beautiful show the harmony with the nature, family and traditions. Good luck for all of you!
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Man I'm going to tell you something I'm 70 years old I'm a Craftsman originally I worked with my hands Carver, worked with very very high-end furniture and such I appreciate such craftsmanship specially especially . I was really starting to believe there are no Craftsman left today thanks to YouTube I'm starting to see there's a lot of great young craftsmen today I feel much better when I see them ,,thank you very much that was an excellent job carry on and God bless you and your family
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I love you people that had the fortitude to start and complete something so complex and ultimately so beautiful. What a legacy for your efforts. What an example to young people of today to get back to traditional methods, that on the surface may seem "old school", but really employ ancient, energy efficient "tech", combining all the things many of us aspire to, insofar as the slow movement, environmental sustainability, and a rebuilding of our souls. Thank you, thank you, from an old carpenter who wishes he had done this himself. Maybe there is still time.
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More than just a house. That's art.
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I have designed and helped assemble a number of timber frame buildings, but I have never seen anything with this level of skill and beauty, inside and out, in a modern build. What a warm, grace filled home!
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I have never seen anything like this. My emotional response was a bit unexpected thinking I had just chosen a video on someone building a log cabin. What I encountered was absolute perfection. Beauty. Real men and women and children. A part of me feels that this is what we were all meant to be. I cannot even begin to comment on the craftsmanship....absolutely astounding! Thank you so very much for sharing this, as this is one of the most worth while and uplifting videos I have experienced on the internet. God Bless You.
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Best video on Youtube!
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It's the self reliance in their hearts, the old man shows he's far from relinquishing his spot on top. Respect for one another is also apparent. Old ways are not gone not yet..Eyes on.
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This made me cry. This is the most beautiful home i have ever seen
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Wow ... a very great house! The owner so I think is the happiest person in the imaginable - 100% sustainable! My "respect" for the craftsmanship that was demonstrated here in this video, which today no longer commonplace in our industrialized world! Best regards from Germany
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I didn't know someone could drool from watching a house being built, I just loved every thing about it! Thank you. :))))
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The cutscenes to the children playing in the fields encapsulates the wonder and innocence of such an accomplishment like building your own home. Absolutely incredible work. No doubt an unimaginable toll on your bodies and minds. But once its all built, living in that home must come with the most amazing sense of peace.
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The Real home. Build with a soul, thanks for sharing this.
