Barn-Raising: More Than Construction

The time-honored tradition of barn-raising is alive and well in America's Amish communities. Before the days of construction equipment necessary to lift up the frame of a barn or other large structure, entire communities would gather to help one of their local townspeople bring a large frame from the ground into a fully-standing position within just a matter of minutes. Because the Amish do not utilize much modern equipment in their building techniques, the raising of a large structure requires the elbow grease and brow-sweat of 10-to-700 local able-bodied members of the community in order to get the structure off the ground. For many, this is not simply an act of construction, but a community effort to ensure the prosperity of their fellow Amish neighbors. Taking a walk around an Amish community, one is likely to find Amish structures that were raised hundreds of years before. For more information on the tradition of barn-raising, check out the Amish America blog. For the finest detatched garages, sheds, and other structures, consult the experts at Better Built Structures.

The Tiny House Movement Blows Up In a Big Way

Looking to move a larger house? During this housing crisis that wasn’t exactly helped by those seeking houses larger than their budgets could allow, there has been a fast-growing movement of those wishing to simplify their lives by minimizing their square-footage. Many are calling this the “small house movement” or even the “tiny house movement.” Some believe this move towards living much more simply than the average American homeowner is a direct backlash against materialistic excess and waste. Others will claim this move towards tiny living is for the more environmentally-conscious hoping to limit their carbon footprint. Just how tiny are these tiny houses? Some of these purposely-small house dwellers build 400 square foot homes while others scale their living spaces down as much as to a staggering 76 square feet! What possibly can the advantages of this be? Well, the answers can be fairly surprising.

Think for a moment how much of your house you supply heat, air conditioning, lighting, water, and other utilities to. Now, take a second to think about how much of that space you occupy at any single moment. Your dining room is probably a separate room from your living room. You probably read books in a different room than you entertain. Are you doing more than one of these activities at once? Well, the idea behind living in a tiny house is that one space has limitless possibilities for its usage. Want to entertain over a meal? Many tiny houses are equipped with a table that folds down from the wall and then folds back flush again; hidden from view. With the table out of the way, suddenly your dining room is a living space. With a much smaller living area, one must become more resourceful, but the savings from wasteful use translates to a savings from wasteful spending. Aside from the wasted space inside, there is rarely an issue with wasted space outside; as most forms of these tiny houses are built on street-legal trailers that allow the house to be taken to any destination.

Many of these tiny house-dwellers custom build their houses to their own specifications, but those who would rather leave the design and construction to someone else, there is exploding marketplace for smaller houses. For easily under $60,000, one can buy a fully-mobile, quality-built tiny house and have it delivered to their location. For no more than $700, one can buy the plans for a house of their choosing and build it with materials purchased from their local big-box hardware store at around half the price of a fully-built tiny home. For the best in house construction, bigger is now not always better. Expand your thinking of home living and take a look at living tiny.

For the finest constructed garages, barns, barns and sheds, stop by Better Built Structures and see how we build some of the best recreational buildings in the business!