- Home -

- Forum -

The Simplest House of All

- The Dacha Series

(continued)

By Mark Stephen Chenail       

DACHA3:  THE DOUBLE DACHA.   This design consists of two equal-sized, shed-roofed structures that face each other across a 20’ wide open courtyard.  One structure has 3 sleeping spaces in it, two with double bunks and the usual drawers underneath for the children and the middle space, a double bed, intended for the parents.  The second structure has a large kitchen living space and an adjoining storage room with a toilet closet.  The central court can be fenced at either end to contain the children and keep them safe and it can be shaded by trees, an over head arbor or a canopy strung on wires that can be opened and closed.       

However, when the family has built a more permanent house, the double dacha is designed in such a way that it can be converted to a barn.  The high front walls of the sheds facing the courtyard can be used to support trusses, which in turn can support a roof over the central court.   The three sleeping spaces can be converted into stalls by removing the built-in bunks and the kitchen can become a workshop, summer canning kitchen or a space for processing dairy goods.  If the front posts on the original sheds are taller than the roof line and left to stand proud, like the false front of a store in the old west, there will be sufficient head-room when the court is roofed to allow for a hay loft.  The ends of the central space can be enclosed with walls or standard sliding barn doors.   The original homestead will now have a useful second life after the family has moved into a larger conventional home.

Every homesteader’s dream of a safe shelter for the family can be accomplished if they remember to keep the initial plans as simple and basic as possible.  That first house should provide all the bare necessities, but few frills. It can be built easily and economically if you follow these few rules.  The modified pole method will make it possible for even one person working alone to build a first home in perhaps a week's time, if they are sensible and diligent about the work.  Then the homesteader can stop and rest on the front porch in the twilight and dream about the big house they will build in the future. Meanwhile the family is safe, warm and secure.  Supper is on the table and all is right with the world.  What more could you ask for?

Previous    1   2    3    4    Home

News and Commentary at Salon.com