Naturally the search for free house plans is an inevitable consequence of the internet. It is most likely one of the most common search terms for people embarking on designing their own homes. As with most things in life there is rarely such thing as a free lunch! If it is you intention to find free plans for your dream home, then I wish you the best of luck.  You might even fare better than people who have forked out a fortune to architects...

I have often heard it said from people that design and build their own homes that you don’t really get it right until you build your third house! Now that would be a luxury wouldn’t it? To get three chances to design your own house. There is also a saying among builders “Measure twice – Cut Once” The point about this is that you need to really plan beforehand. By planning I don’t mean a set of elaborate plans...

Shannon and Dean Acheson are a Canadian Couple who operate a the blog www.akadesign.ca. They are DIY addicts who like to share their thrifty ideas for interior design.   They recently wrote an eBook entitled Welcome Home. WELCOME HOME – Tips, tricks & ideas for creating a beautifully cosy home is  full of tips, tricks and ideas for creating a beautifully cosy home. Click here to visit Welcome Home ebook. Much like other books,...

With the depletion of the world’s fossil fuel resources, more and more people have been coming up with alternative ways to generate their own home energy. But more importantly people are coming up with simple ways of generating their own electricity and are not only supplying their own modest energy needs but supplying power back to the grid and joining the growing numbers of people becoming “energy independent” and potentially...

The bark of plants which contain fibres which can be used for cordage or matting are referred to as bast fibres. Among Bast Fibre crops are Jute, Flax, Ramie, Kenaf, nettle and of course Hemp. Hemp as a foodstuff is contained in many products. Hemp can be used in the manufacture of a range of clothing and accessories. But is as a natural building material that the use of hemp is growing in popularity. One of those responsible for the revival in...

Wood has been used as a source of energy literally since the invention of fire. Wood has been used in our stoves and fireplaces. While use of timber as a fuel declined with the advent of fossil fuels recent years have seen wood as fuel become popular again. Technological advances in the processing of wood and combustion systems have made it more economical than ever to consider timber as fuel.  . Pellet fuel is a standardised fuel that has the...