This Is What Happens When Architects Play With Snow

The day after Christmas Raleigh had a snow day.

not my house

To make the most of it, the hubby and I - along with his dad, mom and sister - built a snow cabin. Yeah, most people build snowmen or avoid the cold altogether, but we're not most people. Allow me to walk you through our insanity process.

snow bricks

The crew formed bricks on the driveway then used a skim board to deliver them to the job site. The bricks were made by packing snow into lightly greased tupperware. A quick shake was all it took to get them out.

leveling

We used bamboo poles (leftover from an old school project) to mark the foundation then I started laying bricks. I served as mason and then hubby came after me to stabilize and level everything.

spanning windows

Because building a house from snow bricks isn't crazy enough, we added windows - 3 on the back and 2 on the front. We spanned the window openings with leftover slats from our Ikea blinds.

ceremoniously placing the last brick

To support the roof we built up the short walls then we placed 3 bamboo "beams" - 1 at the ridge and 1 along each long wall to support the roof.

installing the roof

The roofing material was old bamboo mats we once used as a privacy screen at our apartment.

ta-da!

Leftover mats were used as an entry path. My father-in-law teased us for putting a tiki hut roof on an Eskimo house, but what could we do? The materials were free and light weight!

interior

All in all it took us roughly 6 hours and 600 snow bricks. It was hard work and lots of fun. Hubby is already planning our next snow structure!