Library builder

The success of a work of art hinges, more than anything else, on the strength of its composition. Here the term "composition” is used to mean "a whole comprised of parts.” A strong composition is one in which all its parts work to strengthen the whole. This is as true of a piece of music […]

Vernacular architects have at their disposal not only what they have assimil­ated from books, travel and the work of their ancestors but a lot of hard-wired knowledge as well. Human beings have an innate understanding of certain forms. We are born liking some shapes more than others, and our favorites turn up frequently in the […]

What the subtractive process requires, more than anything else, is a firm understanding of necessity. Knowledge of universal human needs and the archetypal forms that satisfy them is a prerequisite for the practice of good design. This knowledge is available to anyone willing to pay attention. A vernacular architect who has come across a photo […]

Most of our new houses are really not designed at all, but assembled without much thought for their ultimate composition. Architects seldom have anything to do with the process. Instead, a team of marketing engineers comes up with a product that will bring in more money at less cost to the developer. The team’s job […]

A well-designed little house is like an oversized house with the unusable parts removed. Such refinement is achieved through subtractive design — the systematic elimination of all that does not contribute to the intended func­tion of a composition. In the case of residential architecture, everything not enhancing the quality of life within a dwelling must […]

1) Buy your materials and order your windows. Be sure the trailer will accommodate the weight of your house. Cut any extra vertical parts off the trailer, but leave the wheel wells intact. Remove all the decking you can. Leave no more than 24” be­tween the remaining boards. These gaps should be cov­ered with aluminum […]

My tools are pictured on the facing page. They are pretty much all I have needed to build a dozen small houses. Folks I’ve worked with tell me I’m a fool for not using a table saw, too. You might want to add one to your list. 1. skill saw, 2. jig saw, 3. plyers, […]

The only other special building consideration, after the foundation and bra­cing, for a little house on wheels is condensation. Unless they are insulated, sealed, and vented properly, small spaces are prone to a lot of condensation. It simply takes less time to fill the air in a small enclosure with the moisture caused by bathing, […]

Tumbleweed would have to withstand not only the normal wear and tear of everyday living, but also the occasional jolts and gale-force winds generated by highway travel. To prepare for this, I used what has come to be called the “screw-and-glue” method of sheathing. This means that a bead of construc­tion adhesive was squeezed onto […]

The Foundation and Framing With little exception, my first portable house was built by using the most stan­dard methods of construction. Like any other mobile home, my structure sit on a steel chassis — in this case, a 7’ x 14’ flatbed, utility trailer. I took most of the wooden deck off to save weight […]