The Bucket System: modular snow construction

I live in a place where it snows maybe twice a year. Recently we got a good five inch snowfall, which qualifies as a lot here. I decided to try my hand at building a snow building. I wanted something simple, and this is what i came up with.    

This is very simple. all you do is pack snow tightly into a bucket, and pop out the compacted snow as a cylinder. then you stand the cylinder up on the ground. you continue to do this, layering the cylinders like bricks to build a structure. then you grab some appropiriate junk from somewhere to make a roof, and your done. thats it. these structures last quite a while, and could even conceivably be used for extended periods of time in very cold places.

what i show here is a very simple structure, just to show the basics (there aren't many). Feel free to use this building system to create whatever your heart desires. All it really is is a bucket, anyway. 

Step 1 That Evil Evil bucket.

This project uses a bucket, so you need one. it is the most important part.  Go get a five gallon bucket. stare at it. Think angry thoughts at it. by the end of this project you will hate that bucket more than anything on Earth. Or, you could just go build my bucket and everything will be better.  

Comments

[wchbeast]

U r dog looks like a mini polar bear in this pic

[ilpug]

Yes, she does :P

[travw]

I know, you said not to ask, but... Did you use the sword to flatten that cylinder? =)

[ilpug]

yeah. it was a project gone wrong from a long time ago. not even sharp. but it's still fun to hit things with. earlier in the day i had decapitated some snowmen with it :P

[esemjay]

We used to do this all the time as kids. We got lazy though and used big blue laundry tubs instead of buckets.

[blkhawk]

If someone counts with a group of friends these could very well be a good refuge in case of a blizzard.

[ilpug]

yeah, it could conceivably be used as a survival structure, but only if the weather was very cold. i would not want to be in one of these in a blizzard, because snow could potentially pile on top of it and cause it to collapse.

[Kaptain Kool]

You still have snow!? You are so lucky

[ilpug]

no, this was a couple weeks ago. i am just fantastically lazy, so i posted it late.

[Kaptain Kool]

Oh okay, I'm less jealous now.

[ilpug]

This would be a lot better if my cursed internet would let me make photo tips.

[Kaptain Kool]

I built a fort like this a while ago. I actually used pine branches for the roof.