The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects: 76 Useful Things You Can Build to Create Customized Working Spaces and Storage Facilities, Equip the Garden, Store the Harvest, House Your Animals, and Make Practical Outdoor Furniture
Ebook
Overview
Gardeners, small farmers, and outdoor living enthusiasts will love this compilation of 76 rustic DIY projects. From plant supports and clotheslines to a chicken coop, a greenhouse, and a root cellar with storage bins, most of the projects are suitable for complete novices, and all use just basic tools and easy-to-find materials. You’ll find techniques to build whatever your outdoor world is missing, with additional tips to live sustainably, happily, and independently.
Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How.
Foreword by Carleen Madigan
Introduction
Chapter 1
Tools, Materials & Skills
My Go-To Hand Tools
Safety and Safety Equipment
Lifting and Moving Heavy Stuff
Woods and Plywoods
Glues and Caulks
Exterior Fasteners
Drilling Holes and Driving Screws
Tool Sharpening and Maintenance
Digging Holes and Setting Posts
Circular Saw Basics
Measuring, Leveling, and Squaring
Paints and Finishes
Chapter 2
For the Garden
Two-Wheel Garden Cart
Cold Frame
Compost Bin Trio
Critter-Proof Fence
Shadow Box Fence Panel
Deep Irrigation Basics
Simple Hose Guides
Garden Marker/Stepping Stone
Super-Simple Path
Sitting and Kneeling Garden Stool
Five Raised-Bed Gardens
Five Simple Plant Supports
Bent Rebar Pergola
Golf Cart Garden Dolly
Rain Barrel Basics
Potting Bench
Hoop Greenhouse
Rustic Trellis
Chapter 3
Harvesting & Food Preparation
Harvesting Tote
Foldaway Countertop Rack
Harvest Trug
Shoulder Bucket Yoke
Outdoor Workbench
Multipurpose Produce Rack
Fire Pit Grilling Station
Root Cellar
Root Cellar Storage System
Flowerpot Smoker
Chapter 4
Storage & Workspaces
Overhead Storage Cradles
Sawbuck Bench
Firewood Storage and Splitting Station
Knockdown Sawhorses
Stand-Up Tool Rack
Patio Storage Chest
Wall-Hung Tool Rack
Mini Tool Shed
Modular Shed
Homestead Emergency Cart
Ultimate Yard Shed
Hose Headquarters
Chapter 5
Animal Shelters & Feeders
Nesting Box Buckets
Rabbit Hutch
Bat House
Animal Shelter
Chicken Ark
Outdoor Outlets, Switches, and Lights
Rain-In Shelter
Classy, Classic Chicken Coop
Coffee Can Bird Feeder
Top Bar Beehive
Chapter 6
For the House & Yard
Boot Scraper and Jack
Leopold Bench
Firewood Cradle and Carrying Sling
Lawn Bag Stand
Backdoor Storage Locker
Punched Tin Jelly Cabinet
Clothes Pole Trellis
Spice Planter
Rustic Garden Table
Concrete Planter
Seedling Rack
Outdoor Shower
Pickin’ and Grinnin’ Chair
Solar Window Heater
Recommended Reading
Resources
Index
“Whether you are raising livestock or just a small bed of herbs, there are plenty of useful projects in this collection. ...This well-balanced book fits very nicely into the series, and the projects are accessible to homesteaders of all levels. A great purchase.”
"Master carpenter Spike Carlsen shares 76 plans for making a self-sufficient life easier and better organized.”
- Title: The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects: 76 Useful Things You Can Build to Create Customized Working Spaces and Storage Facilities, Equip the Garden, Store the Harvest, House Your Animals, and Make Practical Outdoor Furniture
- Author: Spike Carlsen
- Series: Backyard Homestead
- Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
- Print Publication Date: 2014
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Pages: 296
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781603428460, 9781612120850, 1612120857, 1603428461
- Resource ID: LLS:9781603428460
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T07:17:58Z
Spike Carlsen built a tree house at the age of 8 and has been swinging a hammer ever since. He worked as a carpenter and contractor for 15 years, then as an editor with The Family Handyman — the world’s leading DIY magazine — for another 15. He’s the author of the award-winning A Splintered History of Wood, Woodworking FAQ, and The Backyard Homestead of Building Projects. He’s written for Men’s Health, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, American Woodworker, and other publications and has appeared on HGTV, Modern Marvels, and CBS’s The Early Show. He and his wife, Kat, divide their time between their home in Stillwater, Minnesota, and their cabin on Lake Superior.