Civilization101Blueprint

Dwellings

The same need at every level — dry, standing, warm and free of smoke — met with better materials and more people.

Shelter Levels 1–5 6 steps written
1
Level 1 · Foothold · 1 of 5 in this track

A house from local earth, stone or timber

t1-dwelling Guide

Plan the house: sun, air, smoke and damp

Before the first footing is dug, a plan drawn to scale fixes where the fire and its smoke go, how many people sleep in each room, the wall weight for the climate, the house's turn to the winter sun, the overhang for its latitude, the openings for a through-draught, the floor height, and where the animals and the latrine stand.

Needs first: Shelter and body heat, Fire, and keeping it (Energy), Separate waste from water (Water), Choose the ground (Settlements)

  • Guide Engineering
  • Build none yet
  • Read UNHCR Emergency Handbook; Wikipedia, offline (Kiwix ZIM)
t1-shelter Guide ×3Build ×4Sheet ×11

Permanent shelter

Build something that lasts thirty years, from what is under your feet.

Needs first: Shelter and body heat, A cutting edge (Tools), Plan the house: sun, air, smoke and damp

Choose by what you have. Tick what is on or near the site. The options you can build move to the top; nothing is hidden.

Nothing ticked: every option is shown in the site's order.

  1. Adobe on a stone plinth Build: One-room earth house →
    claystrawstone

    Sun-dried blocks on a stone plinth, under thatch. The worked build is 4.0 × 3.6 m inside.

  2. Cob Stone and earth building: Building the walls →
    claystraw

    Built wet in lifts of 45–60 cm, each left to stiffen for days. No moulds, no kiln.

  3. Rammed earth Stone and earth building: Building the walls →
    gravelly soilformwork timber

    Damp soil rammed in 10–15 cm layers until the rammer rings. Usable almost at once.

  4. Stone in mud or lime mortar Stone and earth building: Choose the building system →
    stone

    Durable and fireproof; heavy and brittle in an earthquake without a ring beam.

  5. Timber frame with wattle and daub Stone and earth building: Choose the building system →
    timberclaywithies

    Light, and the safest system in earthquake country.

  6. Log house Build: Log house →
    logs

    Logs 250–300 mm, cut in winter and seasoned six months, on a stone foundation 300 mm above the ground, with saddle-notched corners and room over every opening for the walls to settle.

Unlocks Livestock · FoodWoodworking and the first machines · ToolsKeep watch and defend the settlement · SocietyMasonry house and chimneyBarn and byre · ShelterPlot, street and block · Settlements
2
Level 2 · Forge · 2 of 5 in this track

A fired-brick or stone house with a chimney

t2-masonry GuideBuildSheet ×10

Masonry house and chimney

Walls of fired brick or stone in lime mortar, a roof that does not burn, and a chimney that takes every trace of smoke out of the house.

Needs first: Permanent shelter, Brick and tile (Materials), Lime (Materials)

  • Guide Stone and earth building
  • Build Fireplace and chimney
  • Sheets 10 reference sheets on the step and its guides
  • Read A manual of face brick construction; Fireplaces and Chimneys; Essays; Political, Economical, and Philosophical — Volume 1 and 2 more on the step page
Unlocks Barn and byre · ShelterFramed and glazed buildingFire separation and the building code · Settlements
3
Level 3 · Mill · 3 of 5 in this track

A framed and glazed building

t3-frame Guide ×4Sheet ×10

Framed and glazed building

Frame a building in timber on a masonry plinth, brace it so it cannot rack, glaze its windows, and keep it dry, warm and ventilated.

Needs first: Woodworking and the first machines (Tools), Blacksmithing (Tools), Masonry house and chimney, Glass (Materials)

Unlocks Iron-framed and multi-storey building
4
Level 4 · Engine · 4 of 5 in this track

Iron columns, iron beams and brick walls

t4-ironframe Guide

Iron-framed and multi-storey building

Raise buildings of three storeys and more on iron columns, iron or steel beams and brick walls, with every load traced to the ground, cast iron used only where it is squeezed, walls no more slender than the code allows, and the iron protected from fire.

Needs first: Blast furnace and cheap iron (Materials), Framed and glazed building, Brick and tile (Materials), Cement and concrete (Materials), One metre, one kilogram, everywhere (Knowledge), Fire separation and the building code (Settlements)

  • Guide Engineering
  • Build none yet
  • Read Wikipedia, offline (Kiwix ZIM); Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition (1911)
Unlocks Steel frame and reinforced concrete
5
Level 5 · Current · 5 of 5 in this track

Reinforced concrete, steel frames and confined masonry

t5-concrete Guide

Steel frame and reinforced concrete

Build frames of reinforced concrete or steel, or confined masonry, that carry their loads with the steel where the tension is, the concrete mix, cover and curing the exposure needs, and the earthquake detailing the region needs, each stage inspected before it is hidden.

Needs first: Iron-framed and multi-storey building, Cement and concrete (Materials), Blast furnace and cheap iron (Materials), One metre, one kilogram, everywhere (Knowledge), Fire separation and the building code (Settlements)

  • Guide Engineering
  • Build none yet
  • Read Wikipedia, offline (Kiwix ZIM); Internet Archive

Everything in this track

Every guide, build, reference sheet and book reached from the steps above.

Field guides

Level 1
Stone and earth building

How to build a dwelling that stays dry and standing for thirty years from subsoil, stone and timber: choosing the method, setting out, foundations, walls, roof, drainage, and how to inspect, repair and maintain it.

 Level 3
Engineering

Turning the sciences into things that work: machines, structures, water in pipes and channels, heat through walls, and feedback control. Each result with what it lets you do and who first found it.

 Level 1
Wood and the forest

The forest is the first material store, the first fuel supply and the first thing a group kills itself cutting down. Managed, it is also the only one of the three that grows back.

 Level 3
Properties of materials

Density, stiffness, expansion and melting point for the materials the ladder makes, and what each number decides.

Builds

A single-storey adobe house in Romania at roof stage, before plastering. Sun-dried blocks laid in running bond, small openings with timber lintels, and a timber wall plate along the wall tops carrying the roof.
Level 1
One-room earth house

Sun-dried earth blocks on a stone plinth under a thatched roof, 4.0 × 3.6 m inside — the worked example for the building guide, from pegs in the ground to the first winter.
A Rumford fireplace: tall, shallow firebox with sides splayed outward, which throws radiant heat into the room and leads the smoke smoothly into a narrow throat.
Level 2
Fireplace and chimney

A fireplace that throws its heat into the room and a lined flue that takes every trace of smoke out of the house: the part of a house most likely to burn it down or poison the people in it.
A hewn-log cabin on a stone foundation, with a shake roof and projecting eaves. The stones lift the bottom logs clear of the ground and the splash.
Level 1
Log house

Where straight timber grows and there is no clay or stone, the fastest permanent walls an axe can raise: structure, enclosure and insulation in one piece.
Sundanese rice granaries on capped posts. Seed held back is next year's food.
Level 1
Raised granary

Keep a year of grain dry, cool and away from rodents — the single highest-return building on the site.
A turf-roofed stone root cellar built into a slope at Elliston, Newfoundland.
Level 1
Root cellar

Cold, damp and dark, without power — how a harvest survives to the following spring.

Reference sheets

Drawn overview sheets, each with its corrections printed under it. They orient; they are never the thing you identify from.

Nineteen panels from site to maintenance: choosing the site, materials, tools, an example plan, foundation, floor, three wall systems, laying walls, lintels, the roof frame, coverings, eaves and drainage, plaster, a cutaway house, foundation and corner details, stone bonding, the roof-to-wall joint, drainage and maintenance checks.
Permanent shelter: from site to maintenance On: Permanent shelter
Twelve panels in order: site, ground preparation, foundation, floor, walls, doors and windows, roof frame, roof covering, eaves and drainage, plaster, a cutaway of the finished house, and a final checklist with ongoing maintenance.
Permanent shelter: the complete construction sequence On: Stone and earth building: The order of work
Ten panels: a safe location, areas to avoid, sun, wind, shade and materials, soil types, slope and drainage, a homestead layout, orientation, clear space round the house, future expansion, and a site checklist.
Site selection and building layout On: Stone and earth building: Choose the site and set it out
Ten panels: why water control matters, eaves, gutters and downspouts, ground slope, drainage options, plinth protection, roof runoff, water management, common mistakes, and a checklist.
Rainwater, eaves and drainage On: Stone and earth building: Where the water goes
Nine panels: the trench, soil types, a gravel layer, the stone foundation, a cross-section, damp-proofing options, plinth and floor level, drainage round the foundation, and three common foundation types.
Foundation and ground moisture protection On: Stone and earth building: Foundations and plinths: the boots
Twelve panels: preparing the ground, the gravel base, the fill layer, surface options, a cross-section, finishes, the door threshold, damp-proofing, floors for different climates, common mistakes, and a checklist.
Floor construction On: Stone and earth building: Floors
Eleven panels: wall materials, adobe, rammed earth and stone masonry, cross-sections, corners and bonding, a thickness guide, openings, plaster, water protection, and common mistakes.
Earth and stone wall construction On: Stone and earth building: Building the walls
Nine panels: a typical door and window, lintel options, how a lintel carries the wall, construction steps for each, opening dimensions, common mistakes, and key checkpoints.
Doors, windows and lintels On: Stone and earth building: Openings, lintels, corners and arches
Eleven panels: roof parts, roof types, pitch and runoff, the frame, construction steps, eaves, the roof-to-wall joint, the ridge, covering details, common mistakes, and checkpoints.
Roof structure and construction On: Stone and earth building: Roofs: the hat
Ten panels: why to plaster, the three coats, material options, surface preparation, application steps, finishes, details and protection, common problems, repairs, and key checkpoints.
Plastering and weather protection On: Stone and earth building: When it goes wrong: diagnosis and repair
A labelled cutaway of the finished house (roof, eaves, walls, foundation, lintels, windows, interior, floor and site), cross-sections of the wall, floor and roof, and an inspection checklist.
Finished shelter: technical cutaway and inspection On: Stone and earth building: Maintenance calendar

Books and archives

Other tracks in Shelter & Architecture

Emergency and temporary shelterStorage and farm buildingsBuilding materials