Materials and Cost of Building a Cabin
Materials and Cost for Building the Cabin
Click on image for larger view Original nails and brick from Thoreau's cabin Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods
Click on image for larger view Original brick and beam from Thoreau's cabin Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods
"I have thus a tight shingled and plastered house, ten feet wide by fifteen long, and eight-feet posts, with a garret and a closet, a large window on each side, two trap doors, one door at the end, and a brick fireplace opposite. The exact cost of my house, paying the usual price for such materials as I used, but not counting the work, all of which was done by myself, was as follows; and I give the details because very few are able to tell exactly what their houses cost, and fewer still, if any, the separate cost of the various materials which compose them:-- "
Boards........................... $8.03 1/2 mostly shantly boards. Refuse shingles for roof and sides, ..................... 4.00 Laths, ........................... 1.25 Two second-hand windows with glass, .................... 2.43 One thousand old brick, .......... 4.00 Two casks of lime, ............... 2.40 That was high. Hair, ............................ 0.31 More than I needed. Mantle-tree iron, ................ 0.15 Nails, ........................... 3.90 Hinges and screws, ............... 0.14 Latch, ........................... 0.10 Chalk, ........................... 0.01 Transportation, .................. 1.40 I carried a good part on my back.
In all, ................... $28.12 1/2
"These are all the materials, excepting the timber, stones, and sand, which I claimed by squatter's right. I have also a small woodshed adjoining, made chiefly of the stuff which was left after building the house."
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Henry's Cost for Building the CabinOriginal Building Materials - Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods
Activity
Henry’s Cabin Construction Costs
Henry itemized all of his expenses for constructing his cabin and kept a record in his journal. The total amount he spent is calculated on a spreadsheet. Compare the cost of constructing a replica of his cabin at today’s prices. Calculate the percentage of increase from 1845 to today. You will first have to research the price of materials using the Web or visiting a hardware store or lumberyard. Remember, Henry was frugal.
