Especially in these more challenging economic times, land owners – even those with just a small parcel – are trying to find more cost-effective ways to develop their land with outbuildings, or even set themselves up with a small-scale farming operation. It’s for precisely this kind of person that Building Small Barns, Sheds & Shelters was compiled. If you are, or are aspiring to be, a do-it-yourself builder for just about anything your small acreage will need (or even a large one), then this is a great way to familiarize yourself with the various options available and the steps involved in the process. Because the book was published in 1983 there may be some more recent building techniques that are excluded, but what is included is more than sufficient for its intended users.
The book starts off with a short introduction to the author and his building and farm experience. This is followed by methods for planning, an introduction to materials and tools, and then several chapters that each break down a critical part in the building process – footings and foundations, framing, siding and roofing, windows and doors, finishing details, wiring, and plumbing. While these steps will help give you some good ideas of how to build your own custom buildings, Monte Burch has also included a number of ready-made plans for outbuildings and agricultural buildings. If you need ideas for small barns, root cellars or storm cellars, carports, sheds, poultry housing, rabbit housing, pig housing, a smokehouse or fencing, then this is the book for you.
I originally picked up this book because I wanted a few more ideas for hog housing (having only built a couple of hog sheds in my life) and was impressed that a regular shed, finishing house, and a farrowing shed are included in the plans. While this was the only section of particular interest at this time, I also got some great ideas from the other sections for plans for our own future acreage and the buildings we’ll require then. When the time comes, I’ll no doubt find even more use in this old book.
Each section includes detailed pictures and drawings that clearly illustrate what the author is trying to teach. The text is clear and concise, and very clearly written by someone who knows this process inside and out. Even someone who has never built any structure in their life may find that their level of confidence goes up exponentially while reading through this book, and in lieu of a live guide this book can certainly be helpful.
To be honest, I really didn’t expect this kind of value for the low cover price, but Building Small Barns, Sheds & Shelters certainly far surpasses many other books of its kind that I have read. Unlike many “building books” that try to fill up space with numerous examples of various buildings in some unknown countryside, this book is chock-full of useful information, and a clear way to use it for your own buildings.
Bear in mind that this is aimed at someone with at least some land, and contains very little that might be of use for a homeowner with a large backyard. If you just want to build a little storage shed, doghouse, or privacy fence, there are certainly better options. If, instead, you’re trying to find ways to build storage and small-scale farm buildings, get this book first and then fill in any holes, if any, with other books. Chances are, this has everything that someone just starting out developing an acreage will need.
