Hand-Build an Earth Sheltered House For $5,000

Building your own house is nowhere as difficult as most people would think - including me. My grandparents were from the generation that build their own house, it's still standing, though nobody lives there anymore.

I would imagine that the amount of money spent was insignificant, with the timber coming from their own land and basicly only locks, hinges, windows and nails being bought from elsewhere.

But in reality I've grown up in such a different world that I would be quite lost if I tried something like that.

It's funny how a few generations ago every man basicly knew how to build the house for their family, now we know of quantum physics, astronomy and geometry, but for shelter we need banks, mortages and armies of builders.

Another cool link and more in depth on woodland home building...

www.simondale.net...

reply to post by Toveri

Sas but true. My father built the house I grew up in. He hired a retired carpenter to help him. Nice, 3 bedroom. Cost $5000 in 1959. Can someone tell me what the hell happened? I wouldn't even know where to start on something like that. And wouldn't understand the answers if I knew who to ask. It's not that I'm stupid. It's just that I learned science intstead of practicality.

Originally posted by shipovfools

My first thought when I hit the straw part was, "Wow, this whole house is a fire hazard!"

Maybe that's not a concern for some people, but regardless, I imagine there are regulations and codes that would prevent this sort of construction from being "legal" (whatever that's worth....)

Well it goes like this.

Most so called modern houses have 2 x4's made of pine or douglas fir,
and they burn quite well.

Between the 2x4's and the risk of flame is .5" or less of sheetrock
or gypsum board or plaster, the straw ppl use adobe instead of
sheetrock.

The carpet in your house is HIGHLY flammable, yet ppl think they
are safe from fire.

Fireworks are banned in most major cities because the shingles on
their roof are ....you guessed it...flammable.

As for durability some structures in the UK were built hundreds
of years ago from cob, and they still stand today.

Cob buildings

So think of it as inferior if you like, but it has stood the test
of time to the tune of 5 centuries in the UK.

Hey guys, for those interested in building a straw house, here's a link to some documentation you can download on the subject:

rapidshare.com...

Hope ya'll find that helpful.

-Lahara

Originally posted by kettlebellysmith
reply to post by Toveri

 

Sas but true. My father built the house I grew up in. He hired a retired carpenter to help him. Nice, 3 bedroom. Cost $5000 in 1959. Can someone tell me what the hell happened? I wouldn't even know where to start on something like that. And wouldn't understand the answers if I knew who to ask. It's not that I'm stupid. It's just that I learned science intstead of practicality.

It is called inflation.

The federal reserve has made a dollar worth about 2 - 3 cents compared
to its 1913 relative worth.

When they created the federal reserve they knew what they were
doing was wrong and were scared so much that they sneaked to
an island to plan its creation.

Like Thieves in the night - planning the Federal Reserve

I do not know that things would be much better thou as we'd all
be making pennies an hour instead of dollars, but it does devalue
and savings you manage to save which is obviously a bad idea.

How do the people supporting these structures expect to go to the bathroom?

What will you use for a bathroom? How will you keep it from polluting the water supply and your gardens?

Originally posted by kettlebellysmith
It's a great idea if you live in a hilly or mountinous area, but where I live the land is as flat as a pancake. I would love to be able to buld something like this, if nothing else, as a work shop, or a root celler. (Where I live was swamp land untl one of FDR's alphabet soup groups drained it to make it easier to farm.)

You could do bermed or rammed earth, adobe would also work
for you as well.

You still get all the benefits if you have 3 foot thick walls.

reply to post by Rollinster


Im in the Mid-west. When are you thinking about doing this? How much land are you talking? are there any more takers? I know alot of you have talked about a "community", and what would be a better place to start...if your down. Keep me posted. This would need planning. I cannot just pack up and move away on a whim but with a proper agenda its possible.



[edit on 4-12-2008 by eyeforalie]

Originally posted by jsobecky
How do the people supporting these structures expect to go to the bathroom?

What will you use for a bathroom? How will you keep it from polluting the water supply and your gardens?

They used a compost toilet:

A composting toilet is any system that converts human waste into an organic compost and usable soil, through the natural breakdown of organic matter into its essential minerals. Micro and macro organisms do this over time, working through various stages of oxidation and sometimes localized pockets of anaerobic breakdown.

Source Link

-Lahara

[edit on 4-12-2008 by TheRandom1]

reply to post by TheRandom1


Also there waste would not resemble the average US citizens blend of pureed fast foods. I'm assuming they are vegans and eat a lot of what they grow themselves.


Gross but true,
Peace.

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


Find someone who is building a house and volunteer to help them for free in your spare time.

Then shut your mouth, listen, and do as you are told.

If you make it through a whole house as a helper you will have the very basics.

Originally posted by TheRealDonPedros
reply to post by TheRandom1

 

Also there waste would not resemble the average US citizens blend of pureed fast foods. I'm assuming they are vegans and eat a lot of what they grow themselves.


Gross but true,
Peace.

I believe a vegans waste is safe to use in a garden for fertilizer seeing how it has no meat in it, it would be like cow fertilizer I believe. Using S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) waste as fertilizer is very dangerous though, not too far from a town I lived in, in Texas, they tried using human waste as fertilizer, it killed a lot of people in that town (this was a long, long, time ago, back in the cowboy days), needless to say that town became a ghost town.

I would'nt think that vegan waste would be harmful if used as fertilizer though, another reason to become vegan lol, put your poop to good use lol.

-Lahara

Originally posted by TheRealDonPedros
reply to post by TheRandom1

 

Also there waste would not resemble the average US citizens blend of pureed fast foods. I'm assuming they are vegans and eat a lot of what they grow themselves.


Gross but true,
Peace.

I believe a vegans waste is safe to use in a garden for fertilizer seeing how it has no meat in it, it would be like cow fertilizer I believe. Using S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) waste as fertilizer is very dangerous though, not too far from a town I lived in, in Texas, they tried using human waste as fertilizer, it killed a lot of people in that town (this was a long, long, time ago, back in the cowboy days), needless to say that town became a ghost town.

I would'nt think that vegan waste would be harmful if used as fertilizer though, another reason to become vegan lol, put your poop to good use lol.

-Lahara

Wow! great find!
I personally would not mind living in a home like that. The fact that they had enough for lighting, music and computing is really more than enough for me. (Though I'd trade in the music and lighting for the ability to be able to cook/have a fridge heh)

Very interesting thread Grover... S&F

Line two.

youre never homeless when you have a shovel

reply to post by grover


Great find! Dunno how permiting it will go, but it looks like a great way to not have a morgage!

reply to post by eyeforalie


I was going to start looking after the first of the year for a house with enough property to grow my own food. Even hoping to get it in an area where the zoning would permit chickens and such.

Now, with this I will focus on land only and should be able to locate something where I can have the above zoning on a couple acres. This is Cali so that alone would cost me a couple hundred grand.

My location is actually perfect. Whatever you have pictured in your mind right now, unless you've been here, is probably incorrect. Then again...

I am 45 minutes from the beach (Newport, Huntington), 45 minutes from LA, right up against Mt. Wilson. You can see it in the background from this picture taken at California Speedway.