I’m finding myself more and more interested in sustainable living, so when I was surfing around the net the other night and I came across an image of an absolutely fantastic looking Hobbit style house, I had to read into it more.
As you can see in the image to the top right this house is simply stunning (more shots further down the page). Not only is it stunning, it’s also extremely low impact and built for sustainability. It more than adequately fits into the “Environmentally Friendly Homes” genre.
Simon Dale built this home in Wales, UK with just himself and a few friends. He is not a builder or carpenter and had very little building experience, however he had a dream and is now living happily in this home with a wife and two children. The project took around 4 months hard work and here comes the amazing part. It only cost him around £3000 (approx $5000)! An absolute steal in anyone’s books, especially with the prices of property these days.
Here are some more details about the home, how it is sustainable and how it cost so little to build:
- Using the hillside, the house is built in so that it does not adversely affect the landscape and is naturally sheltered from the elements.
- The stuff dug put of the hillside (dirt and rocks) were used for walls, foundations and other things during the building process.
- Most of the wood for the frame was found spare in the surrounding forests.
- Insulation in the floors and roof is provided by bails of straw.
- The roof is plastic lined but has a layer of mud and grass on top.
- Lime plaster is used for rendering. It’s much less untactful and easier to produce than normal plaster.
- Where possible materials were salvaged for reuse.
- Electricity is provided by solar panels.
- Water is provided to the house via gravity.
- Waste from the toilet is composted.
And that’s just a quick overview. You can find out tons more on the Simon Dale Website including links to resources that could help you build your own home like this.
I just think this is Karma at it’s best. He is not shunning the modern world completely as he is still using computers, cameras and modern equipment in his life but going back to the old ways (with a modern twist) to live more harmoniously with the planet and save a ton of money in the process.
This is not the first time I have heard of such homes. A few years ago an awesome programme on Channel4 in the UK, called Grand Designs, featured a house that was built in a very similar way.
Ben Law was a charcoal burner (if I remember rightly). He lived in a rickety old leaky caravan for many years and slowly collected the materials to build what became his dream home. He now lives their with his family and runs workshops froma studio on his property.
This home like the hobbit style home was built from local materials and has many eco friendly features such as straw insulation and composting toilets. I think his home cost around £25,000 (approx $42,000), which still isn’t bad for the fantastic place that he has.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ben Law at a music festival in Sussex and I must say he was a very pleasant man.
More info about Ben’s project can be found on his website Ben Law Woodsman.
Both Simon and Ben prove some very important things to us. If you really want to live in a fantastic eco friendly home then you can, and you can save cash doing it too!
However in both these examples they are out in the stix, the boonies or however you want to say it. Can this kind of eco-building / living be applied to the city?
I say, of course it can. The amount of buildings that are knocked down to be replaced with new ones is disgusting. Many people have homes that can be made much more eco friendly, from simply replacing the insulation to putting in solar panels. So much can be done and we all need to consider these options. In the long term the world and our bank accounts will thanks us.
What do you think about all this? I would love to hear from you.
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November 11th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Forest,
What a great article. I love the small sustainable style housing, especially when made with recycled materials. I have been researching sustainable living for over a decade now and am getting ready to make the plunge to the sticks as you put it.
There are many options for living in and out of the city and I have hundreds of great sources that I would be willing to share with you. If you or anyone ever wants to find somehting just drop me a note on twitter or at my site.
Other forms of amazing housing include Gers (Yurts), Adobe Homes, Straw Bale, Tire home, Monolithic domes, Tiny homes and…….yep the list goes on.
To live in the city it does become harder but is possible. It’s about creating community and sharing the cost of converting to an eco friendly home for several families (as one example). The problem lies in the bureaucracy and resistance from locals.
There is a apathetic view on tearing down homes. I get pretty mad about it too. Almost all of the material goes to landfill and much of it is toxic. The new homes aren’t built to last either, although they are often much more energy efficient (except twice the size so they consume more). It’s a conundrum because bigger isn’t better yet consumers are brainwashed to believe that it shows success and offers them comfort.
Tell me, how do you change this mindset? Rhetorically, I would say it’s about demonstrating what you are able to do – being the change you want to be.
Sorry for the rant and thanks for the great post.
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November 21st, 2009 at 4:10 am
Wow, this looks like a really cool way to live. Maybe I’ll find a spot on my property to build one someday.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
@Stephen, sorry to take so long to reply.. I have read your comment about 6 times and every time been distracted to something else!!
It’s an awesome comment and I definitely plan on writing more on this subject I will most likely be in contact. If you ever feel the urge to guestpost please let me know.
Also I would love to hear more about your moving plans.
@Joe…. That would be awesome. Please let me know if the idea every bears fruit!
November 30th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Forest you have found me my dream home!
I love it! I have been interested in the whole area of sustainable living for a few years now, though have not had the money or the health to even think about building one of my own, it is though, a dream I have been building in my mind!
I have signed up to Ben’s site, and I am hoping, (against hope) to persuade my husband to get involved with me!
Thank you for finding this wonderful resource, and I’m sure I will be able to use some of the information I get there in my current suburban living.
December 5th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
@Sue, Ben was a really really nice guy when I met him many years ago…. So if you could make it to one of his workshops that would be awesome.
These styles of sustainable house are absolutely awesome and it would be great to see these popping up instead of crappy housing developments.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Sadly, when I showed hubby he turned his nose up, and then showed me his ideal home, all concrete and glass! Shock Horror! I married an alien! Well alien to my ideals anyway! lol
I may well go to one of the workshops though, if my health holds up.
December 6th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Oh no
, You will have to build some kind of half and half hybrid home… With one side all modern and crushing to the local landscape and the other half nice and integrated, both parts could be built to be pretty eco friendly though 
December 8th, 2009 at 6:20 am
Forest I can’t see anyway in which anything made of concrete could possibly be environmentally friendly!
I think the best thing for me to do is win the lottery and build my own house, and then let him do what he wants! But then I’d have to play the lottery wouldn’t I? lol
December 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Ha ha, yes the lottery would sort it!
I don’t play any lottery games either..
No concrete isn’t really that envirofriendly… Unless they could find a way to reuse all the concrete they seem to be knocking down… Like bashing down a housing estate to build a new one (almost the same) on top! Always baffles me…