Primitive Technology: Bed Shed
Description
I built a bed shed, a small shelter with a sleeping platform built into it. It’s quicker to build than a large hut but can be extended later on when materials and time become available. It’s not far from the dome shaped grass hut I built earlier. The hut took about 2 weeks to make only because it's difficult to find grass in the mountain (if built in a field it would be significantly faster).
The hut is 2 m long and 1 m wide. Four posts were hammered into the ground, two 1 m high posts (1.25 m long, 25 cm underground) on the low side and two 2m high posts (2.25m long, 25cm underground) on the high side. Onto this, a sloping rafters was lashed on with fish tail wait-a-while, a spiky palm with a vine like habit. To remove the needle like spikes from the plant, the leaves are pulled off so that the frond sheaths come with them. This made suitable lashings.
Battens were then tied to the rafters and bundles of long grass from the mountainside were collected. Using vine from the bush, the bundles were lashed to the battens starting at the low side and continuing to the top so that the grass would shed rain. Cross bars were lashed to the frame of the shed at each end to support the bed. These were at a height of 1m above the ground.
The bed frame itself was made from four poles (two 2m long and two 75 cm long) lashed together to form a rectangle 1.75m long and 75 cm wide (the ends of the two longer poles extending further to sit on the cross bars in the shed). Lawyer cane was then wrapped length ways over the frame to create horizontal threads. Then more lawyer cane was woven between these threads to form a sort of bed spring net. The bed frame was then put on the cross bars and tested to see if it could hold my weight. A mat I made from woven bark in a previous video was used for bedding and a bunch of grass for a pillow. In a rainstorm it was possible to make a fire in the space under the bed.
This structure is quick and easy to build. The bed is 1 m above the ground and provides plenty of area beneath to store fire wood and tools out of the rain as well as a place to sit and make things. The bed is comfortable and keeps the occupant off the ground away from ground dwelling creatures at night. The smoke coming up from the fire keeps mosquitoes away while providing heat and light reflected back from the roof. In fine weather the fire can be placed in front of the shed in the open while during rain the fire can be kept under the shelter to keep it dry. If room is needed to stand up the bed can be folded up against the roof and tied to it using cordage.
This shed is literally one half of the standard rectilinear hut I usually build (2m x2m floor plan, 2m tall ridge line and 1 m high side walls e.g. from wattle and daub hut and tiled hut videos) and was built to be upgradeable. Later, the other side of the roof could be added on and then walls of some kind built around the frame to form a full hut.
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Video Transcription
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About the Author
Primitive Technology
Making primitive huts and tools from scratch using only natural materials in the wild.I also have this blog:
https://primitivetechnology.wordpress.com/ (I have no facebook page- ignore the fakes)
FAQ
Q.Where is this?
A.This is in Far North Queensland Australia.
Q.Do you live in the wild?
A.I don't live in the wild but just go into the bush to make these projects. Also I camp out here occasionally.
Q.How did you learn all this?
A.Researching books and internet plus trial and error. I'm not indigenous and have no army training.
Q.What about dangerous animals in Australia?
A.The only really dangerous ones in my area are snakes. Care must be taken when walking about and lifting things from the ground.
Q.For the mud huts what stops the rain washing the mud walls away?
A.The roof.
Q.Why don't you talk in the videos?
A.When I watch how to videos I fast forward past the talking part to see the action part. So I leave it out of my videos in favor of pure demonstration.
More articles from this author
- Primitive Technology: Stone Adze
- Primitive Technology: Palm Thatched Mud Hut
- Primitive Technology: Spear Thrower
- Primitive Technology: Making poisonous Black bean safe to eat (Moreton Bay Chestnut)
- Primitive Technology: Chimney and pots
- Primitive Technology: Termite clay kiln & pottery
- Primitive Technology: Planting Cassava and Yams
- Primitive Technology: Woven bark fiber
- Primitive Technology: Sling
- Primitive Technology: Forge Blower
- Primitive Technology: Stone Axe (celt)
- Primitive Technology: Wattle and Daub Hut
- Primitive Technology: Firesticks
- Primitive Technology: Charcoal
- Primitive Technology: Sandals
- Primitive Technology: Reusable charcoal mound
- Primitive Technology: Wood shed and Native bee honey
- Primitive Technology: Simplified blower and furnace experiments
- Primitive Technology: Tiled Roof Hut
- Primitive Technology: Mud Bricks
- Primitive Technology: Bow and Arrow
- Primitive Technology: Freshwater Prawn Trap
- Primitive Technology: Water powered hammer (Monjolo)
- Primitive Technology: Cord drill and Pump drill
- Primitive Technology: Barrel Tiled Shed
- Primitive Technology: Sweet potato patch
- Primitive Technology: Thatched Dome Hut
- Primitive Technology: Baskets and stone hatchet
- Primitive Technology: Grass hut
- Primitive Technology: Natural Draft Furnace
- Primitive Technology: Round hut
- Primitive Technology: New area starting from scratch
- Primitive Technology: Pottery and Stove
- Primitive Technology: A-frame hut
- Primitive Technology: Lime
- Primitive Technology: Yam, cultivate and cook
- Primitive Technology: Blower and charcoal
- Primitive Technology: Wood Ash Cement
- Primitive Technology: Iron prills
- Primitive Technology: Pit and chimney furnace