Join the Little Free Library movement by building your own. Thousands of people have already done so. Here's an article in our local newspaper about this one. The size can be anything from a cubic foot up, so there's lots of flexibility in design and materials.
The Little Free Library web site has good tips and plans for builders and I used those as a starting point. Mine is a little larger and has these design characteristics:
The Little Free Library web site has good tips and plans for builders and I used those as a starting point. Mine is a little larger and has these design characteristics:
- Looks like a Vermont covered bridge
- Weatherproof
- Uses recycled materials where available
- Accommodates tall books
- Has a shelf above the books to store papers
- All joints are glued and screwed
- Half sheet of 5/8" exterior plywood for walls, floor, and roof
- Recycled pine for trim, shelf, and braces
- Recycled asphalt shingles
- Recycled aluminum flashing
- Recycled mirror frame for door
- Hinges and hook for door
- Weatherstrip rubber foam self-stick tape for door
- Clear acrylic for door
- Push glazier points for door
- Box of #8 x 1-1/2" flat head brass wood screws
- Wood glue
- Caulk
- Enamel paint for exterior
- Translucent oil stain for interior
- Recycled 2x8 for base
- 4"x6"x8' pressure-treated post
- Lag screws for post, braces, and base
- Bag of gravel mix cement
- Circular saw. A table saw would be even better but I don't have one.
- Carpenter's square
- Tape measure
- 1/4" drill with Phillips bit, drill bits for pilot holes and flat boring bit to counterbore lag screws
- Phillips screwdriver.
- Paint brushes and rags
- Caulking gun
- Level
- Socket wrench
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Signing UpStep 1: Draw out your plan
Don't skip this step. Just thinking through the details and writing them down will save you a lot of mistakes and rework later. Trust me on this.
You don't need a professional blueprint--just a pencil and paper. A sheet of graph paper makes this easier. If you don't have one you can print one from the web.
I changed my mind about some dimensions along the way so my plan is mostly to scale. Notice a few design details:
You don't need a professional blueprint--just a pencil and paper. A sheet of graph paper makes this easier. If you don't have one you can print one from the web.
I changed my mind about some dimensions along the way so my plan is mostly to scale. Notice a few design details:
- The walls rest on the floor so their screws can go in from the bottom.
- The roof boards are at a 90-degree angle--easy to work with.
- The front roof is shorter than the back roof to give the door adequate clearance.
- Inside the peak of the roof is a 2"x2"x20-3/4" brace.
- The roof trim provides a more finished look and a tight fit onto the walls
- The door closes against a brace at the top and a brace at the bottom.
- The original design called for the base and posts to be made of logs.
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Myself on the other hand somehow see a beauty in the little free library being down-to-earth and low-tech. Maybe less data on it could be an attractive mystery.
But the concept has caught the imagination of others here in the Green Mountain State--it was just featured on the front page of our local newspaper!
http://www.dvalnews.com/view/full_story/19748114/article-Little-library-lends-literature-liberally
No affiliation it is just fun to watch where you books go.
Here's my BookCrossing I'ble. And yes, Little Free Libraries and BookCrossing are a match made in booklovers' heaven.
Beautiful work, Alan!!!
There is a free library in Lyall Bay, Wellington.
http://www.catchingthemagic.com/2010/10/my-kind-of-bus-stop-if-only-i-had-the-time-to-linger-there/
It is things like this that keep communities alive. Canât do that with a Kobo.
How about a little solar pathlight installed so the LED lights up the Library's selections. A little pencil and note pad for comments would be fun too!