Fireplace for bees

SKVU: winter hive heating and convective ventilation system

Research by scientists and beekeepers’ experience show that with adequate quality feed and careful management, flying honey producers tolerate wintering well even in severe frost. For a weakened bee colony in cold weather, the trouble is less the low temperature than high humidity, when frames and the inner surfaces of hives grow mold, and the Read more…

Improvised hammock

DIY fabric hammock: dimensions, fittings, pillow case

For most days of the summer vacation, people enjoy carefree family rest, often spent at a country house, on a homestead plot, or in a garden. It is during this time that everyone tries to make up for the fresh air and sunshine they did not get enough of during the year, enjoying them to Read more…

Lean-to shelter

DIY timber A‑frame shack: decking, ridge and wall lattice

A Russian folk tale, “The Fox, the Hare, and the Cock,” tells us: “The fox built herself an icy hut—from snow and ice, and the hare a bast hut—from tough twigs and little boards…” Still, truthful as fairy tales may be, a hare could not raise an entire hut from such material, because linden bast Read more…

Wood–air board

Wood-air panel from plywood offcuts

It’s a pity to throw away plywood offcuts, thin boards, and chipboard, even if you have nowhere to use them. However, I have a suggestion: make a kind of wood-air panel from the offcuts. You will need glue (PVA or epoxy), battens, strips, paint (or varnish), and possibly fabric (for example, an old sheet). The Read more…

Building a cottage

3-story cottage on 600 m² plot: plans & DIY build tips

Dacha plots… Just [~600 m²]. How can you fit a house, a separate kitchen-dining room, a utility block, a bathroom, and a garage on this tiny patch? And you still want to plant something… We present a compact three-story cottage house where, under a single roof, all of the above can be arranged quite comfortably. Read more…

Put packing tape to good use

Weave mats from plastic straps — DIY

I suggest that readers of the magazine make attractive, hard-wearing mats from plastic packaging straps from crates. You can place them in front of the entrance door of a country house or dacha, or in a city apartment—for example, in the bathroom; they are also handy in a car interior. The weaving technique is not Read more…

“Bulb” instead of lungs

Mini pump for safe fuel transfer in field conditions

To refuel a car tank in field conditions — for example, from a barrel or another vehicle’s tank — drivers often use a simple hose and the so-called “suction method,” creating a vacuum by mouth, which risks getting some gasoline into it. You can avoid trouble if you make a simple mini-pump. To do this, Read more…

Sunken greenhouse

Sunken cold frame: cheap as tunnel, comfy as greenhouse

Everyone has a general idea of a greenhouse on a garden or homestead plot. Building one usually takes a lot of expensive, hard-to-get material: load-bearing metal or wooden posts, film covering or a framed structure with glass — plus heating. Because of that, not everyone can afford such a structure, but working in it is Read more…