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…

Reclining lounge chair

Detachable Deck Chair: Reliable Design Without Fasteners

On a sunny loggia in a city apartment or on a green lawn of a country plot, it is pleasant to sit in a comfortable deck chair. Its design, proposed by the Hungarian magazine Ezermester, differs from traditional deck-chair schemes in that the chair is not only foldable but also detachable. In fact, it is Read more…

Greenhouse tent

Pavilion greenhouses: budget frame, anchors, cover

As is well known, in the temperate climate zone farming is often associated with risks. Late spring frosts one moment, “acid” summer rains the next, or early autumn cold snaps… In short, you cannot do without a greenhouse on a homestead plot. Otherwise neither cucumbers nor tomatoes will ripen there. Of course, if we are Read more…

Play structures in the yard

Yard playground: DIY modular play structures for children

How can you equip a children’s playground in the yard? You can simply install a sandbox, a slide, or carve figures of fairy-tale and cartoon characters from logs. But that is not the best solution. We offer craftsmen another option: to turn it into a play and physical-activity area with their own hands. Building such Read more…