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A Real Hobbit House :)

gnomexxxgnomexxx Member Posts: 2,920

This is awesome.  I want one.  Seriously, it looks very comfortable and homey.  I think I could really enjoy living in one of these. 

 

Low Impact Woodland Home

You are looking at pictures of our family home 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.

 

 

Some key points of the design and construction:

  • 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.

Main tools used: chainsaw, hammer and 1 inch chisel, little else really. Oh and by the way I am not a builder or carpenter, my experience is only having a go at one similar house 2yrs before and a bit of mucking around inbetween. This kind of building is accessible to anyone. My main relevant skills were being able bodied, having self belief and perseverence and a mate or two to give a lift now and again.

Would you like to learn more about this sort of building and gain practical experience? Why not join us on another exciting building project. There will be opportunities for everyone of all abilities and areas of interest. Click here for more details.

 

Want To See More?

Plans of the house

The building process, a few pictures and words.

 

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Comments

  • Jo-GamerJo-Gamer Member Posts: 120

    Looks good, nice to have a country home...  But where about is Wales?

  • MR-BubblesMR-Bubbles Member Posts: 649

    Originally posted by gnomexxx


     

     
     

     
     
     
    A very nice looking home i especially like the last image the use of such branches to create roof supports looks very refreshing.

    HeH i cna imagine this place at christmas with some naturall decorations.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Retired from: Neocron, Everquest, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, RF Online and Final Fantasy VII

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  • WalakeaWalakea Member Posts: 132

    Originally posted by Jo-Gamer


    Looks good, nice to have a country home...  But where about is Wales?

    Wales is right next to England.

    Considering how bad the weather is in Wales, I'd be very surprised if that thing could last more than a few days :P

  • xxthecorexxxxthecorexx Member Posts: 1,078

    meh.. dirty hippies

     

     

     

     

     

     

    i keed, i keed.

    add modern day plumbing to a septic system rather than crap in a hole, and a well where you can actually take a shower as opposed to bathing in a plastic bucket and i'd approve.

    ____________________________
    TheCore

  • GodliestGodliest Member Posts: 3,486

    Hehe. This is the perfect house for a hobbit. It looks exactly like I believe Tolkien thought a house for a hobbit would look. Looks pretty comfortable though, they maybe overdid that "forest feeling" a bit though.

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  • gnomexxxgnomexxx Member Posts: 2,920

    Originally posted by Godliest


    Hehe. This is the perfect house for a hobbit. It looks exactly like I believe Tolkien thought a house for a hobbit would look. Looks pretty comfortable though, they maybe overdid that "forest feeling" a bit though.
    I've always thought some adobe houses are pretty cool as well.  And they don't look quite as foresty.

     

     

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  • AdrealAdreal Member Posts: 2,087

     


    Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)

     

    But is it lickable?  

    Seriously, that is a pretty cool house. I wonder how much maintenance it requires though... Here's my grandmother's grandmother's old house: Cyfarthfa

    "Put your foot where your mouth is." - Wisdom from my grandfather
    "Paper or plastic? ... because I'm afraid I'll have to suffocate you unless you put this bag on your head..." - Ethnitrek
    AC1: Wierding from Harvestgain

  • Jo-GamerJo-Gamer Member Posts: 120
    Originally posted by Walakea


     
    Originally posted by Jo-Gamer


    Looks good, nice to have a country home...  But where about is Wales?

     

    Wales is right next to England.

    Considering how bad the weather is in Wales, I'd be very surprised if that thing could last more than a few days :P

    Ah makes sense, I thought It'd be somewhere in Europe.  Yes, not the best place to have a home in a wet country...  XD

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