A low impact woodlands home

**greencat** · #1 07-16-2010, 01:45 AM

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.
A Low Impact Woodland Home

jostar · #2 02-14-2011, 10:43 AM

this is so beautiful!!! like something out of a fairy tale. Honestly, I can't even begin to describe how much i love this. how does it all work? do you have heating? how does that all work/

Sweeper · #3 10-08-2011, 05:51 PM

Love the architecture! Looks like a Hobbit house from Lord of the Rings!

Wood heat? I see the smoke hole at the top, very reminiscent of Native American architecture....

OliviaJ · #4 12-15-2011, 10:15 AM

That's fantastic! Oh I'd love a house like that! And just like Sweeper, my initial thought was you'd made a Hobbit house - did you get your inspiration from that?

BooneyLiving · #5 12-16-2011, 07:40 AM

You are truly a talented person. It's absolutely beautiful. I love alternative building methods but the county I live in is kind of particular about this kind of thing.

I really envy you!

OliviaJ · #6 12-22-2011, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BooneyLiving

You are truly a talented person. It's absolutely beautiful. I love alternative building methods but the county I live in is kind of particular about this kind of thing.

I really envy you!

Particular? Wouldn't you be allowed to build a house like this, or would there be a lot of red tape to get through just to get permission?

BooneyLiving · #7 12-22-2011, 11:28 PM

It's really kind of strange. We live in the Southern part of Oregon which doesn't seem to be as receptive to this kind of building.

I know of a family that just build a post and beam straw bale home but they had to go through a lot of red tape to get it approved.

A beautiful home like the one above would certainly not be approved without certified engineered drawings and a bunch of other hassle.

Some friends of ours bought a piece of property and they wanted to install a yurt on it but the county wouldn't allow it.

It's really too bad.

rogerd · #8 01-18-2012, 08:26 AM

Wow, Lord of the Rings, Hobbits. Those were the three words out of my mouth as soon as I saw the picture on top. And you get to live in it! It is one of most beautiful homes I ever seen in my life. You must be so proud. Do share you experiences about - heating needs and insect control and other issues. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on coming up with such a wonderful idea for a home.

kcgreenenergy · #9 04-10-2012, 08:53 AM

Hello ,
You seem to be very creative.This design is pretty good and beautiful.