Cash, that most basic element of our economy, can be in abysmally short supply for new young families scraping by on marginal jobs.
Sustainable housebuilding may not be foremost in their minds.
But one young couple in Wales managing on an annual income of just $10,000 went ahead and built their own cheap home anyway, sustainably, mostly out of materials from “a rubbish pile somewhere.”
They had wanted to spend as much time as possible at home while their two children were young. Their nearby woodlands ecological management work would have been impractical if they were paying a mortgage.
So they enlisted some help from family, and sometimes just from people passing by, and from any of their friends who stopped by to visit:
The result was their very low impact homemade house. A hand built unique setting for a charmed life for their two young toddlers. I’ll bet they’ll remember this first home for the rest of their lives.
Four months of hard work and they were all 4 moved in and cozy.
Total expenditure? $5,000. Tools? A chisel, a chainsaw and a hammer. Building expertise? Simon Dale says:
“My experience is only having a go at one similar house 2yrs before and a bit of mucking around in-between. This kind of building is accessible to anyone. My main relevant skills were being able bodied, having self belief and perseverance and a mate or two to give a lift now and again.”
Sustainable design and construction:
- Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
- Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
- Frame constructed of fallen trees from surrounding woodland
- Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally very easy to do
- Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
- Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
- Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture compared to cement
- Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
- Other items were reclaimed from “a rubbish pile somewhere”: windows, wiring, plumbing
(Maybe there should be a new LEED rating just for building so inexpensively: Sustainable Financing. This is one mortgage bill that’s not going to be haunting their mum and dad for years.) Inside there’s a wood-burner for heating – waste wood in the old-growth forest is locally plentiful.To get the most of the heat, the flue goes through a big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly releases the warmth.
There are just a couple of solar panels – just enough for for lighting, music and computing. It’s a simple life. A skylight in the roof lets in enough natural feeling light, and water is fed by gravity downhill from a nearby spring. There’s a compost toilet. Roof water collects in a pond for gardening
Says Simon: “Our house is unusual but the aesthetic appeals to lots of people and perhaps touches something innate in us that evolved in forests.”
Want to try making one too? Simon will show you how or check out other green homes for more ideas and inspiration like this post on building a cob house.
Images: www.SimonDale.net
Related stories:
Berkeley’s Homeless Build Paleolithic Barbecue Pit
Earthsheltered Home Construction Work Exchange
Wildfire-Proof Prefab Camp Closes Up When You’re Gone
Hard Lessons in Sustainable Living
About Susan Kraemer
I had a house to rent in Atlanta and placed an ad for an organic gardener, to see if I could get one as a tenant. A couple days later Keith shows up on his bicycle, and he builds a little bungalow in my backyard for $6, that was the cost of the hinges, everything else was discarded materials. But Keith is a master furniture builder, so the place looks like something you’d see in a frontier museum.
You could build 10 houses for free out of the dumpster from one LEED certified building! And if you are well behaved and make yourself an asset to the community, millions of people will let you live off the grid for free on their land. I offered Keith a wood burning stove but he preferred the simplicity of blankets (he grew up in Vermont, and says Atlanta doesn’t get cold even in winter).
I had a house to rent in Atlanta and placed an ad for an organic gardener, to see if I could get one as a tenant. A couple days later Keith shows up on his bicycle, and he builds a little bungalow in my backyard for $6, that was the cost of the hinges, everything else was discarded materials. But Keith is a master furniture builder, so the place looks like something you’d see in a frontier museum.
You could build 10 houses for free out of the dumpster from one LEED certified building! And if you are well behaved and make yourself an asset to the community, millions of people will let you live off the grid for free on their land. I offered Keith a wood burning stove but he preferred the simplicity of blankets (he grew up in Vermont, and says Atlanta doesn’t get cold even in winter).
bravo!! resourceful, and beautifully done. the future is held in the creative thinkers that are living, out of the box.thank you for sharing.
bravo!! resourceful, and beautifully done. the future is held in the creative thinkers that are living, out of the box.thank you for sharing.
How many are prepared for the lifestyle that living like this will entail.
No electricity or running water.No plumbing. Compost toilet. Try waking up in the cold and making meals like that for a while. Also remember all the work required to collect and cut the wood to feed the fire. This is a nice dream but a very impractical way to bring children up.
People brought children up in houses like this for far longer then they have in houses like we live in today. In fact more people today bring children up in houses like this or worse than in any other. We some how managed to thrive.
As for cutting wood this structure
will hold heat in incredibly well. You stoke the fire before bed and your good. A little uncomfortable but not bad. Give me some discomfort for freedom from banks any day.
I grew up doing this. It was wonderful. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and it teaches kids a real work ethic, not one based on money but on actually connecting with your basic needs. You would be amazed at how a person can find solutions to these inconveniences. I miss it actually. City living has made me soft.
Join us at http://facebook.com/naturalhomes where there is a lot more about this type of natural building including a profile on Simone Dale and his new home at Lammas.
How many are prepared for the lifestyle that living like this will entail.
No electricity or running water.No plumbing. Compost toilet. Try waking up in the cold and making meals like that for a while. Also remember all the work required to collect and cut the wood to feed the fire. This is a nice dream but a very impractical way to bring children up.
How much for the land? Or are you “feeling sorry” for those of us who cannot afford the land the awesomeness it was built on. Get off your “I’m rich but don’t wanna be” ass and try to contribute something to society for a change.
Get off your self and wake up to the world,
The Rest of Of!
How much for the land? Or are you “feeling sorry” for those of us who cannot afford the land the awesomeness it was built on. Get off your “I’m rich but don’t wanna be” ass and try to contribute something to society for a change.
Get off your self and wake up to the world,
The Rest of Of!
I want one.
If I had my druthers, this is exactly the sort of house I would live in.
Really.
I hope that the young couple know some Jedi hand tricks for when the building inspectors come around. Around here, even once the issue of siting is dealt with, the issue of permits is usually fatal to such a project. Oh, you can build in such a site … but you have to build a more or less conventional house with a ‘real’ roof and, rather than counting the earth berm as structural support, it would be counted as lateral load.
My heart goes out to these kids … and I envy them deeply.
I want one.
If I had my druthers, this is exactly the sort of house I would live in.
Really.
I hope that the young couple know some Jedi hand tricks for when the building inspectors come around. Around here, even once the issue of siting is dealt with, the issue of permits is usually fatal to such a project. Oh, you can build in such a site … but you have to build a more or less conventional house with a ‘real’ roof and, rather than counting the earth berm as structural support, it would be counted as lateral load.
My heart goes out to these kids … and I envy them deeply.
Nice idea, but give it a couple of years and the structure will fail.
P.S.: I hope you don’t mind mildew.
Nice idea, but give it a couple of years and the structure will fail.
P.S.: I hope you don’t mind mildew.
cool!!
cool!!
More than cool
More than cool
StumbleUpon needs an I LOVE IT button.
As for those whining about cutting down trees, This couple used far less trees than it would to produce lumber for a conventional home. As for those looking for resources, Try Mother Earth News, and the Fire Fox series of books.
StumbleUpon needs an I LOVE IT button.
As for those whining about cutting down trees, This couple used far less trees than it would to produce lumber for a conventional home. As for those looking for resources, Try Mother Earth News, and the Fire Fox series of books.
Aesthetically awesome, but how did it get past the building regs – oh, I see…
I’d be a little concerned about sleeping in it for long periods:-
1. Wet soil will weigh a ton, and seems to be supported by timber of unknown structural qualities.
2. The sheet of perspex wont do much to stop the earth bank if it decides to collapse.
But full marks for the visual impact.
Aesthetically awesome, but how did it get past the building regs – oh, I see…
I’d be a little concerned about sleeping in it for long periods:-
1. Wet soil will weigh a ton, and seems to be supported by timber of unknown structural qualities.
2. The sheet of perspex wont do much to stop the earth bank if it decides to collapse.
But full marks for the visual impact.
Well I am trying to build a house for free. I love your house plan and am very inspired by it. Many thanks
See http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=47046386275 for my site
Well I am trying to build a house for free. I love your house plan and am very inspired by it. Many thanks
See http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=47046386275 for my site
Here in North America the govt would come take your babies from you for living in an “unfit” home and push your work over with a bulldozer.
Bet the mice like this house too. Sure is pretty though. I do wish we had the choice to try innovative builds like this.
Here in North America the govt would come take your babies from you for living in an “unfit” home and push your work over with a bulldozer.
Bet the mice like this house too. Sure is pretty though. I do wish we had the choice to try innovative builds like this.
it looks so fake like nothing iv ever seen.
its so pritty and i would so live there!
it looks so fake like nothing iv ever seen.
its so pritty and i would so live there!
About 30 years ago there was a book titled (I think) “The $20 Underground House Book” detailing how a young single Idaho man of very modest means constructed an earth-sheltered house using logs, salvaged materials, and even a bucket full of bent nails that he bought at a flea market and straightened. He used plastic sheeting on roof, walls and floor, covering the floor plastic with discarded carpet. He prospered, perhaps from sale of the book, and next authored one on how to build a more expensive UG house that a woman might actually want to move into. I think that one was a $100 house.
Well, you know how women are. Seemed like no time at all before she made him build a respectable UG house: $500!!
I also have Mikes book. He is around Bonners Ferry Idaho. He built his first below grade place in late 70s with salvaged materials and friends helping excavate. A few years later with kid and old Lady in tow he built a larger place in much the same way. His building method is one of many. Earthship and earthbermed. Cordwood and cob. Hempcrete and adobe, Quonset hut or Geodesic dome, yurts or tipis build what you know… Do not limit yourself to what The Man says you can or CANNOT do on your land. Do your thing.
Google Backwoods Home Magazine. Their philosophy demonstrates the DIY concept. I’ve been a subscriber for 19+years and read each copy from cover to cover. They have a great staff and well researched articles. Their only shortcoming is there are only 6 issues per year. Check out their website backwoodshome.com. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
About 30 years ago there was a book titled (I think) “The $20 Underground House Book” detailing how a young single Idaho man of very modest means constructed an earth-sheltered house using logs, salvaged materials, and even a bucket full of bent nails that he bought at a flea market and straightened. He used plastic sheeting on roof, walls and floor, covering the floor plastic with discarded carpet. He prospered, perhaps from sale of the book, and next authored one on how to build a more expensive UG house that a woman might actually want to move into. I think that one was a $100 house.
Well, you know how women are. Seemed like no time at all before she made him build a respectable UG house: $500!!
Wow I friggin LOVE it. His very own Hobbit dwelling. That is sooo cool.
Wow I friggin LOVE it. His very own Hobbit dwelling. That is sooo cool.
Not only are the motivations admirable, but the building itself. Its aesthetically pleasing.
Not only are the motivations admirable, but the building itself. Its aesthetically pleasing.
An impressive work, beautiful to behold.
Unfortunately there appear to be too many structural deficiencies to list. I’m afraid moisture will destroy it in short order. Plastic sheeting is totally inadequate to protect it. It will be wet, maybe flooded then moldy, soon the inadequate wood joints and foundation will rot and it will collapse. Luckily it will be uninhabitable long before then. Improve the structural design and drainage; with layers and levels of moisture protection. You won’t waste so much effort. Perhaps think of building an upside down boat or pool. Never forget both the roof and drainage must have long term dependability.
That’s really interesting thinking on your part since there are thousands of wattle and daub structures that have been standing for hundreds of years. I doubt very much that they have layers and layers of moisture protection. Similar inadequate wood joint construction though……
An impressive work, beautiful to behold.
Unfortunately there appear to be too many structural deficiencies to list. I’m afraid moisture will destroy it in short order. Plastic sheeting is totally inadequate to protect it. It will be wet, maybe flooded then moldy, soon the inadequate wood joints and foundation will rot and it will collapse. Luckily it will be uninhabitable long before then. Improve the structural design and drainage; with layers and levels of moisture protection. You won’t waste so much effort. Perhaps think of building an upside down boat or pool. Never forget both the roof and drainage must have long term dependability.
This home is so AWESOME. It actually brings a feeling of tranquility to look at it. Maybe its from my childhood memory’s of staying in a log cabin in New Hampshire.
This home is so AWESOME. It actually brings a feeling of tranquility to look at it. Maybe its from my childhood memory’s of staying in a log cabin in New Hampshire.
A couple of people have made comments indicating that they don’t think this house will last very long. I can’t find a date on their website ( http://www.simondale.net/house/gallery.htm ), but I think it was at least two years ago that I first saw pictures of this house, so it’s been around for a little while, at least, and evidently is still standing. There is quite a bit of information on their website.
The book that was mentioned above is The $50 and Up Underground House Book, by Mike Oehler, and he has a website, also. I have the book, and hope to use it someday.
A couple of people have made comments indicating that they don’t think this house will last very long. I can’t find a date on their website ( http://www.simondale.net/house/gallery.htm ), but I think it was at least two years ago that I first saw pictures of this house, so it’s been around for a little while, at least, and evidently is still standing. There is quite a bit of information on their website.
The book that was mentioned above is The $50 and Up Underground House Book, by Mike Oehler, and he has a website, also. I have the book, and hope to use it someday.
I want one, but larger. I’m going to build a homestead (bought the land) and I’m so inspired I may shuck my current plans and try to build a similar home. He said he would advise us.
He seems to be so happy and fulfilled; unlike so many of the cynical, bitter people who have commented on the article. The level of frustration and meanness is disturbing. I wouldn’t want to live next to some of you.
Life, like a homestead, can be good if we accomplish a little bit at a time. I encourage you to look at yourself. It seems that you are afraid to fail, so you do nothing but grow bitter and frustrated, both of which are choices – your choices.
Shut up, get mad at yourself and do whatever it takes to homestead. You’ll have failures like most of the homestead authors we read today. They are still learning because they are not afraid to fail. Are you afraid to fail? Are you your own worst enemy?
Homestead. Do it! Work your butt off, then sit down and rest and look at what all you’ve accomplished. Then hopefully you’ll provide articles to help others, and you’ll be happy and fulfilled.
There is no such thing as “waste wood” in a true old growth forest. Dead, decaying wood and fallen trees are an essential part of a healthy forest, and a micro ecosystem for all types of insects, fungi, and small animals. I don’t think taking wood from there, if it truly is an old growth forest which I doubt (the only one left in western europe is poland), is very sustainable!
There is no such thing as “waste wood” in a true old growth forest. Dead, decaying wood and fallen trees are an essential part of a healthy forest, and a micro ecosystem for all types of insects, fungi, and small animals. I don’t think taking wood from there, if it truly is an old growth forest which I doubt (the only one left in western europe is poland), is very sustainable!
Like everyone else, I think it is fantastic looking, speaks wonderfully of an independent spirit and excellent work ethic…etc.
BUT:
1. This sort of structure will only work in very limited climates. For those not in his sort of ideal location, look at their website for other styles in other locations.
2. Because the structural integrity of this entire building is based on freeform logs or trees that were tested or even fully debarked to look for flaws, it is very suspect for long term inhabitation. Very suspect.
3. The termites are gonna have a field day.
4. The mice are gonna have a field day.
5. The molds and mildews are gonna have a field day.
6. It can’t be insured nor can his contents be insured or the lives of those inside be insured since it isn’t a qualified permitted building.
7. His location may allow the building of something like this without permits, but most of North America wouldn’t let this be built and certainly would be sending child protective services to interview anyone who let small children in it. Sad, but true.
But yes, it is gorgeous and I agree, it would be wonderful if it worked for more than a few years. I give it a 6 year life potential before the repairs become untenable.
For 5k, why not rebuild in 5yrs? most people pay that in mortgage for an ‘average’ 250k home in the US over 3-4mos!!! I’d gladly rebuild every 2-6yrs for 5k! The rodents, termites, et al are not exactly prevented in our highly toxic city dwellings either…. and that is with pesticides! Anyone who’s ever been in a forest or country home knows pests will have to be dealt with; use red pepper, and they be gone! Non-toxic, too!
Like everyone else, I think it is fantastic looking, speaks wonderfully of an independent spirit and excellent work ethic…etc.
BUT:
1. This sort of structure will only work in very limited climates. For those not in his sort of ideal location, look at their website for other styles in other locations.
2. Because the structural integrity of this entire building is based on freeform logs or trees that were tested or even fully debarked to look for flaws, it is very suspect for long term inhabitation. Very suspect.
3. The termites are gonna have a field day.
4. The mice are gonna have a field day.
5. The molds and mildews are gonna have a field day.
6. It can’t be insured nor can his contents be insured or the lives of those inside be insured since it isn’t a qualified permitted building.
7. His location may allow the building of something like this without permits, but most of North America wouldn’t let this be built and certainly would be sending child protective services to interview anyone who let small children in it. Sad, but true.
But yes, it is gorgeous and I agree, it would be wonderful if it worked for more than a few years. I give it a 6 year life potential before the repairs become untenable.
Excellent article. I always knew the Welsh were the most inventive people on the planet
Excellent article. I always knew the Welsh were the most inventive people on the planet
Utterly fascinating! A home for hobbits and other folks who want some fascination in their lives. Can I have one?
George Polley
Sapporo, Japan
Cool! I wonder…is it damp to live in? How is the ventilation?
I oove the roof design.
-Cid
Cool! I wonder…is it damp to live in? How is the ventilation?
I oove the roof design.
-Cid
This is really nice. I never thought of houses like this. Thanxx for sharing, i really liked it.
This is really nice. I never thought of houses like this. Thanxx for sharing, i really liked it.