Build An Ultra-Inexpensive, Energy-Efficient House
A Few House-Building Safety Tips
Building a house is dangerous, especially if you've never built anything bigger than a small shed, as I hadn't before I started this project. Even though I generally worked cautiously and very slowly, I still came close to injuring myself a few times. In one case, I was just plain lucky not to get sliced open, because I didn't listen to that little voice that told me I was trying something risky.
I'm no expert, and this is by no means a complete list of safety concerns, but here are a few things I learned that I didn't appreciate fully before I started:- If you're not sure about how to do something that might be dangerous, get advice or help from an experienced carpenter. I had the benefit of free advice, but even if you have to hire someone, it's worth it; money comes and goes, but a serious injury could stay with you forever.
- Wear eye protection all the time. Get a good, comfortable pair of protective glasses or goggles, and just put them on automatically like you would your shoes. A bit of a nail or a splatter of concrete will come flying up at your face when you least expect it.
- Wear good ear protection when you use a hammer or power tools. I caught on to how loud a hammer is a little late, and my ears rang for months.
- Wear tough gloves when you're working with metal edges. Gloves with the little rubber dots on the fingers and palm will hold a sheet of metal roofing well and offer some protection against cuts.
- Take your time. Don't work when you're tired. Everything will take at least twice as long as you expect it to. If you allow for this, you won't hurry beyond the point of safety.
- Read and follow all safety instructions before using power tools. You might get away with using a circular saw the wrong way 49 times out of 50, but when that 50th time comes along, you'll wish a million times over you had heeded the directions and warnings.
- Realize that there are hundreds of problems, big and small, you'll have to address in taking on a project like this. I've tried to give you an overview and some specific tips, but there's a ton more to learn and to figure out. As long as no one gets hurt, it should be an enjoyable challenge.
Here's how the house turned out:
