3 ms·

Build a house; specifically a wood/earth "natural house" and fit it out to be self sufficient (for monetary rather than eco reasons :)). Current road blocks: f

by ErrantX 16y ago

Build a house; specifically a wood/earth "natural house" and fit it out to be self sufficient (for monetary rather than eco reasons :)). Current road blocks: finding time to build, finding a site without NIMBY neighbours, planning permission (grrr)

djm 16y ago
I'm interested in this too and also for monetary reasons rather than the eco thing. Mostly what I've looked at so far are cob/straw houses. With these you are basically looking at a rubble/concrete base (which you can hopefully scavenge for free), clay/straw/sand for making the cob, and wood for the roof/window/doorframes etc. The best budget option for a roof seems to be turf, although that cuts down on the amount of rain water you could collect if you wanted to independant from a water company. The biggest obstacle in the UK seems to be finding suitable land and getting planning permission etc. I don't really know any solution to that. Over the past few weeks I've been reading 'building with cob: a step by step guide" which covers both the technical and legal aspects of building one of these structures in the UK. It's a great book.
- ErrantX 16y ago
  I know this is self promotion :) but I recently blogged about my reasons for wanting to do this here: http://www.errant.me.uk/blog/2010/07/why-i-want-an-eco-house/ http://www.errant.me.uk/blog/2010/07/why-i-want-an-eco-house... The best budget option for a roof seems to be turf What I have in mind is something of a sunken/earthworks house - so yes, turf roof which I would try and double as a grass terrace etc. cob/straw looks like a useful material from my research too - coupled with the sunken aspect for insulation reasons. The biggest obstacle in the UK seems to be finding suitable land and getting planning permission etc. I don't really know any solution to that. Most of the "first generation" examples I have seen build first and sort planning later. But there are newer projects that have applied successfully - and that is the route I prefer. I think planners are becoming more open to self sustained housing, thankfully :) Thanks for the book recommendation! I will track it down from Amazon.
- exline 16y ago
  I actually live in a stawbale house. It looks completely normal, except for 2' thick external walls and the stained concrete floors. I absolutely love it. My dad/brother built it. One practical piece of advice, keep any walls that you are going to hang cabinets on standard framing walls. This will save you an huge amount of time and effort to get them to hang properly and look good. Also be careful how /where you run your water pipes. Straw (and probably other materials) really don't like water if you get a leak.
tocomment 16y ago
Where do you buy the land? How do you find it? What do you look for in land? How do you even start to do something like this? I'd love to do this too but I'm overwhelmed by thousands of questions.
- ErrantX 16y ago
  I am at the early stages of this; so I can only part answer your questions. But, basically, land is fairly easy to come buy. There will be various land agents nearby (particularly in the countryside) you just have to track them down.b (I've also used this site before: http://www.uklanddirectory.org.uk/index.asp http://www.uklanddirectory.org.uk/index.asp) Alternatively find a nice spot and find out who owns it; make an offer. You might get a good deal this way - I had my eye on a pretty nice third of an acre plot which I agreed for under £15,000 (which is a steal). Unfortunately there was a couple of NIMBYs over the other side of a small copse (in huge houses I should say) who had me in mind as an eco warrior and, I guess, expected hippies, and drugs and whatever other stereotypes they could come up with. And so planning permission was looking like an expensive process. What do I look for in land (it is a personal thing of course!). I want a small amount of woodland - or access to woodland next door. I'd like a hillside so I can sink a house successfully. South facing plot (for build purposes). Road access. I'd like it to have a running watercourse. High water table so I can sink a well (that is a minefield of health and safety btw). Enough space to run a septic drain. Enough wind/sun to provide power [in the long term]. Close enough to have mains in the short term.
  - tocomment 16y ago
    I'm in the US but I guess the process would be similar. Would a small cabin be much harder to build, more expensive, less eco-friendly? It seems like there would be less planning approval stuff?

by ErrantX 16y ago

djm 16y ago

I'm interested in this too and also for monetary reasons rather than the eco thing. Mostly what I've looked at so far are cob/straw houses. With these you are basically looking at a rubble/concrete base (which you can hopefully scavenge for free), clay/straw/sand for making the cob, and wood for the roof/window/doorframes etc. The best budget option for a roof seems to be turf, although that cuts down on the amount of rain water you could collect if you wanted to independant from a water company. The biggest obstacle in the UK seems to be finding suitable land and getting planning permission etc. I don't really know any solution to that. Over the past few weeks I've been reading 'building with cob: a step by step guide" which covers both the technical and legal aspects of building one of these structures in the UK. It's a great book.

ErrantX 16y ago
I know this is self promotion :) but I recently blogged about my reasons for wanting to do this here: http://www.errant.me.uk/blog/2010/07/why-i-want-an-eco-house/ http://www.errant.me.uk/blog/2010/07/why-i-want-an-eco-house... The best budget option for a roof seems to be turf What I have in mind is something of a sunken/earthworks house - so yes, turf roof which I would try and double as a grass terrace etc. cob/straw looks like a useful material from my research too - coupled with the sunken aspect for insulation reasons. The biggest obstacle in the UK seems to be finding suitable land and getting planning permission etc. I don't really know any solution to that. Most of the "first generation" examples I have seen build first and sort planning later. But there are newer projects that have applied successfully - and that is the route I prefer. I think planners are becoming more open to self sustained housing, thankfully :) Thanks for the book recommendation! I will track it down from Amazon.
exline 16y ago
I actually live in a stawbale house. It looks completely normal, except for 2' thick external walls and the stained concrete floors. I absolutely love it. My dad/brother built it. One practical piece of advice, keep any walls that you are going to hang cabinets on standard framing walls. This will save you an huge amount of time and effort to get them to hang properly and look good. Also be careful how /where you run your water pipes. Straw (and probably other materials) really don't like water if you get a leak.

tocomment 16y ago

Where do you buy the land? How do you find it? What do you look for in land? How do you even start to do something like this? I'd love to do this too but I'm overwhelmed by thousands of questions.

ErrantX 16y ago
I am at the early stages of this; so I can only part answer your questions. But, basically, land is fairly easy to come buy. There will be various land agents nearby (particularly in the countryside) you just have to track them down.b (I've also used this site before: http://www.uklanddirectory.org.uk/index.asp http://www.uklanddirectory.org.uk/index.asp) Alternatively find a nice spot and find out who owns it; make an offer. You might get a good deal this way - I had my eye on a pretty nice third of an acre plot which I agreed for under £15,000 (which is a steal). Unfortunately there was a couple of NIMBYs over the other side of a small copse (in huge houses I should say) who had me in mind as an eco warrior and, I guess, expected hippies, and drugs and whatever other stereotypes they could come up with. And so planning permission was looking like an expensive process. What do I look for in land (it is a personal thing of course!). I want a small amount of woodland - or access to woodland next door. I'd like a hillside so I can sink a house successfully. South facing plot (for build purposes). Road access. I'd like it to have a running watercourse. High water table so I can sink a well (that is a minefield of health and safety btw). Enough space to run a septic drain. Enough wind/sun to provide power [in the long term]. Close enough to have mains in the short term.
- tocomment 16y ago
  I'm in the US but I guess the process would be similar. Would a small cabin be much harder to build, more expensive, less eco-friendly? It seems like there would be less planning approval stuff?