Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

KaleidoskopicVision · 06-16-2010, 10:26 PM

Andrew have you seen dome homes built from sandbags and plaster? They're so easy to construct, I'm building a few

Green Home Building: Natural Building Techniques: Earthbag

I love the idea of building a town of these in the center of a desert. They'd be great for indoor farming, well shelters and of course houses. Probably even better than the Hopi and Pueblo ways of living in the desert!

desertrat · 06-16-2010, 11:23 PM

You can use a large hevy bloone 20-30 ft. in dia. and gunite it , a type of concreete. I dont know if it is relly eco friendly . There is also ramed earth. You compress dirt and rock in forms and than plaster it , you end up with real thick wals . One guy took his air stream trailer to Alaska , wraped it in plaxtic then foamed it with a foot or so of inslution . When he needed to move it he plealed off the insuation. Not rely eco but I wanted to include it.

Honeywith4bees · 06-17-2010, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

I've seen those in Southern Illinois. They are mostly wonderful to live in when properly constructed. The only negative that I can think of is resale value. They tend to sell for a very reduced price compared to a "regular" house with the same interior dimensions. If the builder or buyer stays in the house for a long time they are very nice.

We do plan on living here for the rest of our lives, but I know what you mean. We had a bit of trouble re financing because some banks won't finance a berm home.

Do you live in Southern Illinois Gene?

Honeywith4bees · 06-17-2010, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

Andrew have you seen dome homes built from sandbags and plaster? They're so easy to construct, I'm building a few

Green Home Building: Natural Building Techniques: Earthbag

I love the idea of building a town of these in the center of a desert. They'd be great for indoor farming, well shelters and of course houses. Probably even better than the Hopi and Pueblo ways of living in the desert!

Gorgeous!!!

Gene · 06-18-2010, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeywith4bees

We do plan on living here for the rest of our lives, but I know what you mean. We had a bit of trouble re financing because some banks won't finance a berm home.

Do you live in Southern Illinois Gene?

Yes, for the moment we are living in a small town about 230 miles straight South of Chicago. The name of the town is Oblong and the village has a population of 1600 people with the county having 22,00. It is small town America!

Jaiysun4 · 06-18-2010, 08:19 AM

Wow that's some nice looking houses you got there.

Andrew Gubb · 06-18-2010, 03:19 PM

@KV

Wow!! Thanks for the link! You are actually building some right now?

Honeywith4bees · 06-18-2010, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

Yes, for the moment we are living in a small town about 230 miles straight South of Chicago. The name of the town is Oblong and the village has a population of 1600 people with the county having 22,00. It is small town America!

Nice! You are about 200 miles North of my Mothers former home town of Irving.

Gene · 06-18-2010, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeywith4bees

Nice! You are about 200 miles North of my Mothers former home town of Irving.

Have you visited Irving?

Honeywith4bees · 06-18-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

Have you visited Irving?

Spent many a lovely summer there as a kid. Some of my favorite memories!

KaleidoskopicVision · 06-18-2010, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Gubb

@KV

Wow!! Thanks for the link! You are actually building some right now?

Yup, currently gathering materials and picking which hill I like best out of a 200 acre place. Then I have to sketch out the blueprints

I want to eventually dig out part of the hill and have a few huts aboveground with the majority of the house being under a hill, hobbit style.

Hern · 06-24-2010, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Gubb

This site is VERY interesting, both for the house which they've made and the higher level ideas about sustainable living they bring up.

Enjoy and discuss!

A Low Impact Woodland Home

Thank you for this! I have been trying to find resources for building a home in about 10 years. I want to go Green, however most people in the Philippines think anything that is wasteful boast how wealthy your family is. I really hope that changes!

Hern · 06-24-2010, 03:48 AM

By the way, does anyone know of a web site on Tropical Low Impact Housing? Other than just building a dirt floored Nippa hut!

desertrat · 06-24-2010, 04:46 AM

I think you can still buy books on "earth shealtered " . I have an idea of using some of thoes ocean going shipping containers buired underground , you tar or concreete then so they dont rust . desert rat

mityno · 06-24-2010, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hern

By the way, does anyone know of a web site on Tropical Low Impact Housing? Other than just building a dirt floored Nippa hut!

Termites require toxic chemical protection of any wood used so wood is a very bad choice for a building material.

I believe the Philippines have Formosan Termites that tolerate all but the most toxic pesticides. Good luck.

Hern · 06-24-2010, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mityno

Termites require toxic chemical protection of any wood used so wood is a very bad choice for a building material.

I believe the Philippines have Formosan Termites that tolerate all but the most toxic pesticides. Good luck.

You are correct on that. I was thinking of a steel frame house. Most thoe homes here are built from solid concrete! Going to be a nightmare when an earthquake hits hard here. You would think it would be reinforced concrete, but no. Other thing I have decided I want is solar power.

My wife has 5 hectars of plantation land. I'm going to tear down the house and build another in a couple years as the money situation allows. Flat land so no hill house.

mityno · 06-24-2010, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hern

You are correct on that. I was thinking of a steel frame house. Most thoe homes here are built from solid concrete! Going to be a nightmare when an earthquake hits hard here. You would think it would be reinforced concrete, but no.

I don't know much about specific earthquake proofing techniques, but generally, the structure must be able to flex without breaking and its resonate frequency must be designed within specific parameters. I believe the Japanese have become among the world's best experts in earthquake resistant structural design. Perhaps you should look at modern Japanese architecture for ideas?

lifetimelearner · 06-24-2010, 06:55 PM

thanks for the link Andrew !

Andrew Gubb · 06-24-2010, 07:40 PM

Welcome!!

Andrew Brunelle · 06-24-2010, 09:12 PM

Those houses look like something from Lord of the Rings. Very neat and cozy. This could be the start of something big...

lspeirs · 06-29-2010, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertrat

There are all kind of eco. friendly homes , people lived in caves long ago . The one in that link is a variety of "earth sheltered " home (dirt on top) One major problem , most places dont have building codes that cover these homes .

Yeah this is true, but I think it's changing slowly. A house like this actually was pulled down in Wales by the planners I believe (or they were threatening to do so) several years back. But things have come a long way in the UK and you can even get a green mortgage to fund an eco home now.

I volunteered on a really cool green building project in Nicaragua last year where they are able to build whatever they want because there are virtually no building codes. They are now building with cob in a similar way to this website, using a lot of wood, rammed earth etc. Very experimental. You can volunteer with them and learn how to do it as you go. I have written about my experiences in my blog - my journey back to nature.

It was pretty inspiring.

stewartM · 06-29-2010, 06:48 PM

I saw this a few days ago...house made out of bamboo

Green Prefab Homes | Bamboo Living | 877-857-0057

lspeirs · 06-29-2010, 07:20 PM

Aah, here is the house that was involved in the planning disputes...and it seems that the owners efforts hase resulted in a change in planning law in Wales to allow these kind of homes
The Roundhouse

Hern · 06-30-2010, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewartM

I saw this a few days ago...house made out of bamboo

Green Prefab Homes | Bamboo Living | 877-857-0057

This is exactly what I am looking for. I just need to find info on Solar and the such to make it sustainable and as Green as possible without getting silly.

stewartM · 08-16-2010, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hern

This is exactly what I am looking for. I just need to find info on Solar and the such to make it sustainable and as Green as possible without getting silly.

Hi there's a lot of good information here...

Centre for Alternative Technology Home Page

elucidate · 08-17-2010, 10:10 AM

Ooooooh this is exciting...I just found this thread now. I WANT ONE!

Wouldn't it be grand to manifest a plot of land large enough to have a village for all of us to have our own hobbit dwellings built into the hills and earth. I'm salivating...really!

elucidate · 08-17-2010, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

Yup, currently gathering materials and picking which hill I like best out of a 200 acre place. Then I have to sketch out the blueprints

I want to eventually dig out part of the hill and have a few huts aboveground with the majority of the house being under a hill, hobbit style.

Can I marry you KV

Weena · 08-17-2010, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elucidate

Can I marry you KV

Yeah, marry KV because you know i live in the "honeymoon State" and since i already know you're cool and I would LOVE to meet KV in real life... and he's a good bush tucker too so we can go "mushrooming" (I'm talking about culinary ones, not psy ones

). And if during the stay you feel like building one of those cool houses...no pressure of course KV, not on your birthday

(happy b'day though i wished it on your fb rather than here

).

elucidate · 08-17-2010, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weena

Yeah, marry KV because you know i live in the "honeymoon State" and since i already know you're cool and I would LOVE to meet KV in real life... and he's a good bush tucker too so we can go "mushrooming" (I'm talking about culinary ones, not psy ones

). And if during the stay you feel like building one of those cool houses...no pressure of course KV, not on your birthday

(happy b'day though i wished it on your fb rather than here

).

mmm...the perfect crime...er...plan

,

But seriously, it is my dream to go picking mushrooms...culinary or otherwise...just any mushrooms...with a big basket.

Jon Tore · 08-17-2010, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elucidate

But seriously, it is my dream to go picking mushrooms...culinary or otherwise...just any mushrooms...with a big basket.

My mom often goes picking mushrooms! She usually finds like.. many kilos!

Here's my house

OK.. that's our garden cosy place thing, but our wooden house is almost completely wooden

Love these hobbit houses!

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06-16-2010, 10:26 PM	#31 (permalink)
KaleidoskopicVision Family Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 2,296	Andrew have you seen dome homes built from sandbags and plaster? They're so easy to construct, I'm building a few Green Home Building: Natural Building Techniques: Earthbag I love the idea of building a town of these in the center of a desert. They'd be great for indoor farming, well shelters and of course houses. Probably even better than the Hopi and Pueblo ways of living in the desert!

06-16-2010, 11:23 PM	#32 (permalink)
desertrat Family Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 2,881	You can use a large hevy bloone 20-30 ft. in dia. and gunite it , a type of concreete. I dont know if it is relly eco friendly . There is also ramed earth. You compress dirt and rock in forms and than plaster it , you end up with real thick wals . One guy took his air stream trailer to Alaska , wraped it in plaxtic then foamed it with a foot or so of inslution . When he needed to move it he plealed off the insuation. Not rely eco but I wanted to include it.

06-18-2010, 08:19 AM	#36 (permalink)
Jaiysun4 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: uk Posts: 405	Wow that's some nice looking houses you got there.

06-18-2010, 03:19 PM	#37 (permalink)
Andrew Gubb Family Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Nationality: British Soul: Otherworldly Current Location: Barcelona, Spain Posts: 5,960	@KV Wow!! Thanks for the link! You are actually building some right now?

06-24-2010, 03:48 AM	#43 (permalink)
Hern Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Manila, Philippines Posts: 184	By the way, does anyone know of a web site on Tropical Low Impact Housing? Other than just building a dirt floored Nippa hut!

06-24-2010, 04:46 AM	#44 (permalink)
desertrat Family Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 2,881	I think you can still buy books on "earth shealtered " . I have an idea of using some of thoes ocean going shipping containers buired underground , you tar or concreete then so they dont rust . desert rat

06-24-2010, 06:55 PM	#48 (permalink)
lifetimelearner Legendary Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 11,359	thanks for the link Andrew !

06-24-2010, 07:40 PM	#49 (permalink)
Andrew Gubb Family Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Nationality: British Soul: Otherworldly Current Location: Barcelona, Spain Posts: 5,960	Welcome!!

06-24-2010, 09:12 PM	#50 (permalink)
Andrew Brunelle Family Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Home Posts: 2,578	Those houses look like something from Lord of the Rings. Very neat and cozy. This could be the start of something big...

06-29-2010, 06:48 PM	#52 (permalink)
stewartM Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 216	I saw this a few days ago...house made out of bamboo Green Prefab Homes \| Bamboo Living \| 877-857-0057

06-29-2010, 07:20 PM	#53 (permalink)
lspeirs Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 7	Aah, here is the house that was involved in the planning disputes...and it seems that the owners efforts hase resulted in a change in planning law in Wales to allow these kind of homes The Roundhouse

08-17-2010, 10:10 AM	#56 (permalink)
elucidate Banned Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 12,751	Ooooooh this is exciting...I just found this thread now. I WANT ONE! Wouldn't it be grand to manifest a plot of land large enough to have a village for all of us to have our own hobbit dwellings built into the hills and earth. I'm salivating...really!

Personal Development for Smart PeopleTM Forums

Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums