Yestermorrow Year-End Guide to Giving

December 16, 2022
By Sarah Johnson, Outreach and Student Services Manager

 

We often get asked the question, "Who comes to Yestermorrow?" The answer is not as straightforward as you may think. Yestermorrow students are hobbyists and homeowners looking to deepen their knowledge, building trade professionals honing a new technique, and students and activists making meaningful change in their communities. Our students are office workers taking a break from the computer to work with their hands for a week, as well as lifelong craftspeople seeking community and collaboration. Whoever you are, whatever you make, you belong at Yestermorrow. This year, we've put together a Year-End Guide to Giving with some helpful hints for this holiday season, including gift certificates and official YM merch to fit every budget.

For the handy homeowner:

A well designed and built deck can transform a home. In this course students will learn how to assess site considerations, prep a site and frame a deck. Through the hands on experience of framing and decking a simple platform, students will leave this course feeling confident enough to tackle their own project. 

In the design course, students will learn in studio how to design cabinetry for their own projects.

The design course will lead into the building portion: a course intended for woodworkers who are interested in building professional quality custom cabinets and built-ins. Learn to build sturdy solid plywood cabinetry with solid wood face frames, doors and drawers combining the methods developed by production cabinet builders with custom techniques that make projects versatile and creative, often without requiring a professional shop. Students should be experienced with the safe operation of wood working hand tools and the safe operation of basic shop tools such as table saw, router, circular saw, and miter saw.

For the polished professional:

A two-week, intensive carpentry class focusing on framing, and exterior finishing in the context of new construction. The job site is your classroom throughout this hands-on course, and you will learn the basic anatomy of a structure, blueprint reading, floor, wall, and roof layout and framing methodology, exterior finishing, roofing, and window and door installation. In addition to conventional framing, you will learn to build curved walls and variable-pitched roofs on a non-invasive helical pier foundation while learning on-site techniques for laying out challenging designs. 

This online workshop will help you make the leap from standard market-driven construction to a quality "green" home. We will discuss site design, building envelope design, climatic design, durable construction detailing, energy-efficiency, passive and active solar strategies, resource efficient material choices, indoor air quality, high performance building systems, heating and cooling equipment, sustainable forestry, and the ineffability of day-light and beauty. This course covers a range of topics that inform the design of a healthy, delightful, green home. Green Home Design & Details is for home owners and those planning a new home or addition who want to refine their goals for energy efficiency and sustainable resource use. This course is also useful for professionals who wish to increase their knowledge of green design and construction.

For the curious student:

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to SketchUp Pro, a powerful, yet easy-to-use, 3D modeling program. Students will start by learning how to navigate 3D space and use essential SketchUp tools.  Then focus will shift to drawing efficiently and accurately, using SketchUp’s inferencing system. Students will also learn how to protect models using groups and components and techniques to move, center and reproduce entities.

In Design Your Own Home, you'll learn the ins and outs of architectural design to design your own home. Through a combination of lectures, site visits, and presentations, you’ll be led through the process of site planning, layout, material selection, structural and mechanical systems and so many more features that provide a customized expression of the occupant’s lifestyle. You’ll leave this class with floor plans, elevations, site plans, and an understanding of the design process that will equip you to confidently create the home of your dreams. 

Our Natural Building Certificate is a unique course of study providing hands-on exploration of earthen and natural elements and the means by which they can be used to create high-performance structures and shelter. Students will gain comfort and experience working with straw, wood, clay, sand, stone, water, and lime as they learn the proper application of these materials in any climate. The Natural Building Certificate provides the opportunity to develop a range of natural building skills for owner-builders and aspiring professional natural builders alike.

  • Beanie - a cold weather must-have!

For the community changemaker:

You will engage in the hands-on process of designing and building a full-scale community project alongside a nonprofit partner or local community member. Class kicks off with a client meeting where you will address a structural need. From there, your team will work within a budget, propose and develop a design, schedule the work, and ultimately build the structure throughout the duration of this two-week class. Students are given the creative freedom to design a project that meets the unique needs of their client. As a result, this course often produces unique and whimsical structures - a building style that Yestermorrow is known for. 

In the Yestermorrow Shipping Container Certificate students will experience and install all systems required to create low-carbon, high-performance buildings at the lowest possible price.  Students will work towards building a fully complete 560 sq ft. design – structure, insulation, doors, windows, mechanicals, kitchen, baths, and final finishes! Students will experience and install all systems required to create low-carbon, high-performance buildings at the lowest possible price.  

  • Baseball hat - an all-weather staple for getting things done!

 

Still not sure what to get? Yestermorrow offers gift certificates available to purchase in any amount, and can be emailed to yourself for gift-giving later. These can be used for any in-person or online course, as well as lodging and meals.

We can't wait to see you in 2023!