Hand-Build an Earth Sheltered House For $5,000
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.”
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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.
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
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!
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
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
This is really nice. I never thought of houses like this. Thanxx for sharing, i really liked it.
This dwelling certainly looks great and kudos on the
ingenuity and perseverance.However a house build like
this one is likely to have unsolvable problems with mold.
i’d like to take a vacation there. what a cool idea to build that home. congrats!!!!
Iwould love to do something like this but unfortunatly in the US there are zoning laws, building codes, code enforcement etc. This house would be condemned unless built where no one wants to live. It could not get a mortgage so it couldn’t be sold and I know of no place where an electric company would supply it without an occupancy permit. I could move to Wales. hmmm there’s a thought.