http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/images/Survival28-v2.jpg
Note: I tried to connect the above jpeg drawing of how to build a good snow cave but it wouldn't connect using the photo installer provided tonight for some reason.end note.
Both I and my father have had experience with this. So I'm not talking to you only in Theory.
My father built many tree houses sophisticated enough to live in by the time he was 12 to 14 with about 10 friends. From these experiences building things: structures, cabinets, mining tables, rebuilding cars and truck engines etc. became his hobby starting in the 1930s during the depression. My Dad was 18 in 1934. I was 18 in 1966.Also, my Dad and I built about 5 homes together. Two of them were our families homes, one was for my wife and kids and the other his retirement home in the Southern California Desert. Also, my Dad was an Electrical Contractor in Los Angeles County, California. I started working for him summers when I was 12 until I was 17. It was a very good experience for me. Also, since I was 5 foot 10 inches tall when I was 13, most people thought I was a lot older.
SNOW CAVES
First of all, if you are in snow over about 2 feet deep you can consider building a snow cave (IF) your outside temperature is preferably below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and will still work marginally well in temperatures up to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit or so as long as there is no sun beating down on it directly. Obviously, it might be more work if you only have about 2 feet of snow to work with because you will have to shovel a big pile about 4 to 5 feet deep minimum and then pack it down somewhat. If it is Corn snow or powder snow this could be very problematic unless you have a tent. If you have a tent you can throw the snow against the side of your tent(as long as you don't collapse the tent) for added insulation. Also, it is important to consider breathing inside the cave or tent/Cave because fresh air is needed to breathe in small spaces. So if you enclose yourself entirely you really don't want to do this very long unless lives are at stake.(In other words don't seal yourself in and then never wake up from no oxygen 5 or 8 hours later). Also, even though candles are nice and give off enough heat to warm a snow cave and to light it and warming hands and feet, remember they consume oxygen too.
Another thing that is useful with snow caves is to round the ceiling upward toward the center. This does two things. First is keeps the ceiling from dripping constantly upon your sleeping bag and second a dome roof is much structurally stronger than a flat ceiling. So the domed ceiling solves two problems at once. Second, if you have time build a raised area up from the floor for your sleeping area as you will be a little warmer as warm air rises even in a snow cave. Also, you don't really want the inside air temperature much above 45 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit because it will begin to melt in big puddles on the floor and become another problem to deal with. But with proper clothes it can be 20 below zero Fahrenheit out and you can still be at 32 degrees to 45 or 50 degrees inside and be snug and warm until it gets survivable outside again. If you are out in temperatures much below 20 degrees Fahrenheit I would recommend having a thermometer so you don't try to go outside below Zero Fahrenheit except in dire emergencies. If you are not used to these cold temperatures in your home climate this is even more true. Personally, since my average year around temperature is around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I don't like going out in below 20 degrees without something to preheat my air I breath like a scarf or muffler of some kind. Just like I prefer not to ride a bicycle below 55 degrees or like I prefer not to ride a motorcycle at 65 mph below about 60 degrees unless I have to.
My personal experience with snow caves went something like this. Two friends and I when I was about 22 went to Mt. Shasta to spend 4 or 5 days in the snow at Horse Camp (a Sierra Club emergency stone cabin built in 1922) at tree line. It was built so hikers had a place to go rather than freeze to death on the way down after climbing. When we arrived no storm had been predicted. However, this was 1970 and weather reporting is at least 90% ahead of the information we had then. So it was lightly snowing when we set off for horse camp. There was already 3 feet of snow on the ground at Bunny Flats and a plowed paved road we drove up on. There was about 8 to 12 inches even on the road as we embarked at sunset up the mountain to Horse Camp. All of us had snowshoes on and a backpack and snow gear. After about 1/2 we got into a full on blizzard with a complete white out. However, since we were experienced summer mountain climbers we thought we were okay. We were not okay. We forged ahead with flashlights but could not longer see any contours of the land because of the blizzard white out. After an hour we came upon our tracks again and realized we were in serious trouble. One of us had just taken a course on emergency snow cave building and said that we had to build a snow cave to survive the night since we could not navigate in a white out.(GPS devices were not around until at least the 1990s for the general public). So we found a likely snow drift about 8 feet deep and began to dig a snow cave with our showshoes as shovels(skis can be used to dig snow caves too).
So we sealed ourselves in which only worked because of the powdery snow at the entrance I believe. If all the snow had been hard we would have had breathing problems. However, instead we had teeth chattering problems and convulsive shaking problems instead. The next morning I was laying in a foot of water which had been snow before it melted. So, luckily, my Levi jeans froze solid except for the knees when we dug out the next morning or I would have frozen to death right then instead.
Also, luckily the storm had abated after dropping about 5 feet total since we had arrived the night before in our car. Even with snowshoes it took about 30 seconds per step to pack down the snow because it was mostly powder. So whoever led the path got exhausted very easily. So we rotated when one of us got exhausted. If we went too fast the lead would fall down and have to be rescued by the other two out of the deep powder snow. When we reached the road we had driven up on we could not recognize it because about 10 feet of snow had drifted their off the severe drops to the road. We finally realized we had to dig down to be sure it was the road. After a painful digging we hit pavement and knew it was the road. If we had gone further down not knowing it was the road we might not be alive today. We then found my VW bug from its very highest tip of its radio aerial. Only about 1 to 2 inches of the aerial was all that showed above the snow. Since we could not drive obviously we were still in a fix and heard far away a snow blower and realized we would still survive this. The snow blower was chewing up the snow to the old Mt. Shasta Ski bowl at the end of Everitt Memorial Highway. Since then, the old ski lifts were knocked out by an avalanche and closed down. There is a new Mt. Shasta Ski Park near Snowman Summit on Highway 89 on the way to McCloud From Mt. Shasta city these days 2008.
Though all my joints hurt for several years because of coming so close to freezing to death I'm basically okay now except for overdressing in any cold weather situation since then. After 4 days in a motel thawing out by taking turns in a hot bath we could function well enough to drive home. We were the people that survived the highest on the mountain that still kept all our fingers and toes. Everyone at higher altitudes lost fingers and toes. We were very lucky. The snow cave had saved out lives. I would not likely be alive today without having built that snow cave then in 1970.
After we dug a sleeping survival place 3 to 4 feet high and 6 feet horizontally in two directions we got in and began to seal off the entrance. We did not think to much about oxygen at the time because we weren't sure we were even going to survive this experience
Building a wood Shelter. A very Temporary wood shelter might consist of nothing more than branches with plastic over them to keep out rain or snow all the way to a full blown log cabin in the woods. So, depending on what you need and for how long many different solutions could be possible depending upon your needs and what tools you have available. With nothing more than a bow saw or axe it is possible to build a log shelter from 10 foot square to 18 foot square. The main problem with only an axe or bow saw is the roof. Another problem with a bow saw is that likely the blade will break sooner or later so an axe is better because even if your handle breaks you can make another one from strong nearby wood. And the metal part of an axe is close to indestructible as long as you don't chop boulders or rocks or other metal and an axe head(the metal part) can even be sharpened on almost any rock as a whetstone in an emergency. You might not get quite as good an edge on just any rock as a whetstone but the edge will be good enough to chop. It will just take a little more work chopping. Also, use good judgment when you are chopping. Make sure the axe head is on good, make sure you know what you are doing, and make sure all adults and children are out of your swing and any danger before chopping anything.
Also, make sure you are focused enough to chop. If you are starving or thirsty or are on the edge of hypothermia this isn't going to work so then just make a temporary shelter and build a fire to regain heat until you can regroup.
If you are building a log cabin and trying to use only what is available on your land this could be a problem. Weight is the biggest issue for roofs. The second issue is keeping it from leaking. An ideal roof that doesn't leak would be built with logs as roof joices covered with 1/2 inch to 3/4 plywood sheets and then felt roofing which come in rolls with the edges at least glued with asphalt roofing cement and tacked down. If you have insulation then you might get away with just a tin roof as long as the joints are either overlapping or cemented to prevent leaking. Also, so it doesn't blow away in a good wind it needs to be tacked down to either the roof joices or the plywood.
One could build entirely with local materials. However, this might take a lot of extra skill and time wise be cost prohibitive. Usually, simple is better. However, if you live where you own the land and have to get it inspected then you must read all the rules and get a homeowners permit (for an owner builder) before you start construction and then follow all the rules of construction in your area on earth.
If you are not building according to code somewhere on earth and just want a shelter and you don't even need a floor it could just be packed dirt. However, if this is a very rainy area I would not recommend it. Only the driest places would be good for a dirt floor. Most places I have been it would be better to build a pier supported floor. What this looks like is a flat stone with a cut off tree stump kind of looking thing on top of it. The stone acts as a moisture barrier and keeps the pier or cut stump sitting on a rock from rotting any time soon. It also discourages termites from coming up through the ground and directly into your house directly from wet dirt into the pier and then into the floor joices.
However, if it isn't practical to do this then one alternative is to put logs together on the dirt and adze them into as flat a flooring as possible. However, unless you get rid of the slivers or put rugs or floor coverings, slivers will be a problem for anyone barefoot in the cabin.
Also, on the square corners where your logs meet at the corner you need to notch them to fit together. One of the ways is to chop or saw half of one away at the corner and to match the other one coming the other direction. In this way all four corners have a piece out that matches the log meeting them so they all stay level. Each new level is stacked on top doing the same thing. Then any holes can be chinked with mud or little rocks or even grass so the wind doesn't blow through. A door can be anything from a hide to a blanket to a hand made door with leather hinges to actual metal hinges all the way up to whatever you want to make or can afford to make.
Also, if you need to find the level it can be done the most simply and easily with water because water naturally finds the level. So even with just a shovel, rock or stick one can dig a thin trench in the shape of a cross so you see the level in all four directions. It could even be in the middle of where you want to build. Fill the area with water and mark all the levels and work from that. If you have money then buy a clear hose about 20 to 50 feet long and fill the hose with water and if you and one other person each hold an end you can find the level between any two points where you are building.
I was watching a movie today called "Jeremiah Johnson" that was made about 1972. If you don't have a job, or place to stay, or food stamps etc. then this movie and what it says might be a last resort for your survival many places on earth. However, I think generally it is better if you are trying to survive for a week or more, if possible, to go into a city where there are public shelters and food or soup kitchens to help the homeless.
Mostly I'm writing this article so less people die of exposure worldwide whether that be too hot or too cold or too windy or too wet. Shelter and warmth in the cold or snow or wet or windy can really make a difference for human survival in these times on earth just like in past centuries.
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