You are looking at pictures
of a house I built for our family in Wales. It was built by myself and my
father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after
starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and £3000
put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly
£60/sq m excluding labour).
The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.
Some key points of the design and construction:
- Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
- Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
- Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
- Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and 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
- Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring...)
- Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
- Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
- Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
- Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
- Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
- Water by gravity from nearby spring
- Compost toilet
- Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.
Main tools used:
chainsaw, hammer and 1 inch chisel, little else really. Oh and by the way
I am not a builder or carpenter, my experience is only having a go at one
similar house 2yrs before and a bit of mucking around inbetween. This kind
of building is accessible to anyone. My main relevant skills were being
able bodied, having self belief and perseverence and a mate or two to give
a lift now and again.
This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology. These sort of low cost, natural buildings have a place not only in their own sustainability, but also in their potential to provide affordable housing which allows people access to land and the opportunity to lead more simple, sustainable lives. For example this house was made to house our family whilst we worked in the woodland surrounding the house doing ecological woodland management and setting up a forest garden, things that would have been impossible had we had to pay a regular rent or mortgage. To read more about why we did it and why this is an important option to meet the challenges of climate change and peak oil, click here.
Would you like to learn more about this sort of building and gain practical experience? Why not join us on another exciting building project. There will be opportunities for everyone of all abilities and areas of interest. Click here for more details.
Want To See
More?
Got questions or comments?
Please Help Us
We have spent the last two years working to the letter of Pembrokeshire's new low impact policy to get permission for a settlement of 9 low impact homes working 74 acres of land for their livelihoods. After an initial rejection on the grounds of insufficient information, our 100,000 PAGE planning application was resubmitted to Pembrokeshire Council five months ago. Despited a turn around target of 13 weeks for exceptional applications, they still have not heard our case. After a string of broken assurances they have now told us they will hear it in September.
Sadly during this time it seems that they have lost many of our letters of support. This is what happened last time and it includes hand delivered letters for which receipts were given. In case they have forgotten I would be really pleased if we could send them another batch of supporting emails. If you agree with our project, all you have to do is fill in your name and address below. If you would like to look over our planning application it is all online here.
Send a friend a link for this page
