Buying a home is a serious commitment, and it’s almost guaranteed to be a stressful process along the way. There are costly fees to worry about, renovations to be made, and of course, you’ve got to choose the right neighborhood. It’s no wonder that so many people wish that they could just build their own perfect dream home themselves.
Well, if you’re in the market for one and you’re interested in avoiding all of those dreadful hassles, then you might want to give Queensland, Australia native John Plant a call. He runs a popular YouTube channel based around his astounding ability to quite literally build something out of nothing.
The channel is dedicated to successfully building various things while only using primitive, age-old methods. John isn’t a caveman by any means, but his ability to complete projects using only natural materials is almost second to none…
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While most other people would probably turn to an experienced contractor with modern tools to complete the job, if John needs an axe to cut some wood – he gathers materials and builds one himself! Need fire to cook a meal? John will create friction between two sticks and gladly light one up for you.
John does not actually live out in the wild like the cavemen of old did, but he treats every survival project he does like it’s a new challenge for himself. “By limiting the resources to only what is available in the wild, you become more inventive,” John says.
Video footage of his incredible talent has gained him quite a dedicated fan base online. You may be wondering to yourself, though – why are people so quick to watch some guy sitting in the woods? To understand fully, you really just have to see it for yourself.
For one particularly special project, John began by cutting down some wood with his naturally created tools – in this case, a stone axe and chisel of his own design, which was made completely out of materials that he had found in the woods. Once all of the lumber was cut, the next step was to stick the pieces of wood into the ground, and then bound them all together using natural cane strips.
Next, he made a small kiln out of mud in order to collect and produce natural clay tiles from the banks of the nearby creeks.
What could he possibly do with them, though? As John began to steadily place and secure the tiles around his previously made wooden frame, it became apparent that he was attempting to build a small shelter out of what he had collected in the forest. In total, just the roof of the hut alone took 26 firings, 450 flat tiles, and 15 curved tiles to complete!
This was clearly going to be a reinforced hut with a solid foundation, but you may not expect some of the additional features that John was able to add in as well. For example, he knew that he would need some type of heating system for the cold nights that he’d be spending outdoors, so he built his own heated floor by using a trench created underneath the tiles, which featured a hand-made firebox, and a chimney on both ends.
Last but certainly not least, John needed to somehow complete the exterior walls of his new structure. He decided to use a combination of both mud and stone, which he then packed down around the frame of the small shelter, eventually transforming it into a liveable outdoor hut!
It only took John and impressive 102 days to build everything, and that was mostly due to the unseasonal rain that occurred throughout the project slowing things down. He had started out confident that he could create a liveable shelter without spending hundreds of days doing it, and by all means, he had achieved his goal. The finished product was wind resistant, rain resistant, and could even house a small fire to boot.
Whatever people are choosing to build, John is just happy that his hobby has “increased the desire for people to build things themselves” and “increased the likelihood that people will want to engage in this type of activity.”
(Could you build your own shelter if you were stranded in the woods? Let us know down in the comments, and then take a moment to like this story. Don’t forget to subscribe for more amazing content just like it!)
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