How to Design a Sod House on Graph Paper

This recontructed hut gives a view of the brick-like nature of the sod.

The sod house, or soddy, is said to have been "dirt cheap," literally. Large rectangles of sod were dug from the ground and stacked like bricks, grass side down, to form the walls of the house. The traditional sod measures 12 by 15 feet on the inside, so your drawing will need to be larger to compensate for the two foot thickness of the walls. The only cost of a sod house was the addition of doors, windows, and wood roofing materials for the roof. Most roofs were thatched and covered with sod. Since the technology is minimal, designing a sod house on graph paper is relatively easy.

Things You'll Need

• Graph paper
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Determine the size of your sod house. A typical house was about 12 by 15 feet with walls two feet thick. If your sod house is to be a playhouse, consider making it smaller; if you plan to live in the soddy, give yourself more room.

2. Choose your scale. If 1 square on the graph paper equals 1 square foot, then your 12-foot by 15-foot sod house would be drawn as a rectangle that measures 12 squares by 15 squares. This is your interior wall.

3. Draw the exterior wall by taking into account the thickness desired for the sod house. An original sod house of the 1800's and earlier had walls 2 feet thick, but it was not unusual to have 3 feet thick walls. The thickness is what keeps heat in during the winter and heat out during the summer.

4. Determine the placement of the door and windows. The door should be along one of the long sides of the sod house, just slightly off from center. This will give you the option to create a second room down the middle, if desired. Windows are best arranged in the center of the walls. Some houses would have only two total windows while others would have one on each wall. With thick walls, you will want the light to open into as much of the house as possible.

5. Plan how tall you want your walls to be. Most should come just tall enough to stand upright inside with a little clearance. The higher the wall the more material you'll need. Sod generally is about 4 inches thick, so a 6 foot wall will take 24 layers of sod all the way around the house.

The roof

1. Drawing your roof can be done in a number of ways, so a second page of graph paper may be necessary to fully plan out your design.

2. 

   Look over a few historic photos to see how you wish to represent your roof. Some sod houses have the standard triangular roof, but those were expensive for the time period and, therefore, less popular.

3. 

   Create a simple flat roof that is sloped to one side to make the cost of lumber considerably less. To do this style roof you will need one side of the sod house to be higher, and include an angle at the top of the two side walls in your drawing.

4. 

   Design a dome or igloo shaped roof for the sod if you want to only make the roof with sod. Because sod is very heavy, you would want to include a few brace boards inside to support it.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do plan a two room sod house, be sure to illustrate a dividing wall at least 1 foot thick.

Resources

• More information about original sod houses.