Big Lord of the Rings fan AND environmentally conscious enough to want to build your own low-impact and sustainable home? Then look no further than Simon Dale’s incredible low-impact home recently built by himself and his father-in-law in Wales which he’s detailed via plans and build photos for the world to share and reuse. Recessed within a small hillside, the home provides extremely stable shelter and insulation thanks to the mud and stone surrounding the home. All of this was designed and built by Dale for the EXTREMELY low price of around 3000 BGP (5,791.51 USD / 4,454.13 EUR). Talk about sustainable and interesting living, the home feature solar and wind powered electricity (hopefully CFL bulbs), earth cooled refrigeration and water supplied by gravity via a nearby stream.
Features of the low-impact home:
* 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.
Read more: Build your own low-impact home (Thanks Clemens)
Delicious this
9:08 pm CET on January 6th, 2007
I could so live there…
Imagine living in a perfect Nerd Shire - with all the other geeky but intellectual superior nerds growing their own front gardens with rare flowers, having slumber video parties in the low-impact living rooms and all wearing TeleTubbies suits for everyday use.
What a life! Sign me up now!!
9:35 pm CET on January 7th, 2007
Speaking as a Hobbit (I’m 4ft 10in tall on a good day) - Simon’s self-build looks absolutely ideal and very welcoming :o) Thoroughly inspiring - thankyou :o)
1:03 am CEST on September 19th, 2008
I Like your hobit house. Very inviting. Be proud of yourself. People put others down because their either not very grown up and on their own, or their spoiled and couldn’t survive one night in the woods alone, I like too study other peoples ideas and could benefit from yours. I wouldn’t want to get caught by the willow by myself.