unconventional construction: 2×4 walls
PurpleThumb
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Conversation turned to unconventional building practices, and I remembered a roadside shop I stopped at in Arizona about 30 years ago. The walls were made of short scraps of 2×4 laid flat side down like bricks and ( I guess) nailed together. Nothing over 12-14 inches. At the time I thought that someone had salvaged from a mill or a subdivision site. Lately I’ve been thinking that this might have been a Depression-era technique of making do with what you have. Anyone ever see anything like this?
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Drove right past the Unabomber's cabin on my way to Lincoln.
And you didn't turn him in? : )
Didn't know about him back then.... evidently, neither did the FBI!
We used to pick huckleberries and raspberries in his neighborhood, even went xcountry skiing down the road past his cabin. Kinda creepy when we finally found out about him.
I think scrap wood buildings would last quite awhile if you kept them painted or otherwise sealed. I imagine you'd want a large overhang if you weren't in the desert. I didn't see any that were sided over.You're unique! Just like everyone else! Scott Adams
I've seen several old buildings here using the technique mentioned. The twist is, these are octagon shaped and every other course runs past on the corner, so it looks woven together. Just weathered old grey boards on the outside. Neat looking buildings, seem to be granarys or storage sheds.
Imagine what it would look like if they had all been painted different colors before being assembled. Talk about your 60's flashbacks.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
I'm assuming these structures have external sheathing and siding, right? Seems they would weather quick, especially anywhere but the dry southwest. Although log cabins can last a long time...
When I lived in Montana in the early 70's, I was told that grain elevators used to be sheathed that way. They had a conventional frame, so the 2x4's weren't the entire structure, but by laying them flat, they could span greater distances between the vertical frame members and not have the weight of the grain bow the sheathing.
That technique is also used in boat building, but I can't remember what they call it.
I'd forgotten, but I worked in such a grain elevator in Iowa when I was in high school. Shortly after I quit, they had a dust explosion and it was damaged to the point of having to be taken down.
It had a great old counter-weight man-lift in it. Used to have to clean up spilled grain up high, scoop it into bags and bring 'em down. Of course, that overloaded the counter-weight and you could really get screaming before you got to the bottom. Early small town thrill sports, I guess! ; )
BTW, hope you had a good birthday celebration for your 50th! June, right?You're unique! Just like everyone else! Scott Adams
>> ... hope you had a good birthday celebration ...
Pretty low key, but not bad. Thanks.
I grew up in north dakota in the 70's and one of my uncles used to work for a big construction co. used to travel 200-300 miles in north dakota alone , had a old school bus he converted to a camper he used to pick up every scrap piece of lumber he could find , he finally built a 3 car garage with all the scraps he found with 9' walls then convential roof on top no sheathing on the walls. I think he collec ted wood for 5years.
A bar out in the middle of nowhere Mohjavie desert.
mostly pallets and lienolium...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....
WOW!!! What a Ride!
back in the early to mid 80's, a new, upscale development was being built on a little patch of farmland near my parents' house in denver. along the street side some nitwit (i'm guessing an architect- because nobody with experience in fencing would ever do this) thought it would be really cool to build about 150 yds of 6' tall privacy fence the way you describe. if memory serves, they used about 4' lengths of 2x4 material, staggered, and the posts were spaced about 10' apart. i can't say for sure what wood they used but it doesn't seem like it was anything special like cedar or redwood- looked pretty much like generic 2x4s- and i also don't know/remember if there was much in the way of a finish.
as you might guess, in about six months it merely looked like total crap- after two or three yrs i was amazed that it was still standing because it was so warped and wobbly. they must have used a ton of fasteners in the layers. what boobs...
m
a house built with carpet tiles stacked for the walls
saw it on CBS Sunday Morning
damn cool looking....
carpenter in transition
Boy, that brings back memories of my fort building days with my old buddy. We'd salvage anything over 2' in length from the building site scrap piles, pick nails up off the ground, etc. Over our 6 year tenure in fort building we mangaged to build 2 above ground forts (1 with 2 stories), and 2 underground forts (1 with a working fireplace). The most difficult part of the deal was hauling all this on our 1-speed bikes, and finding a hidden building site (hence, the two underground forts came about after finding our above ground abodes in shambles).