Alternative & low-impact building techniques

I've always fancied building my own house but always thought it would be beyond me. However, fired by a visit to Grand Designs at the NEC yesterday, it seems that methods such as straw-bale building and cob are accessible to the rank amateur with training and professional support.

So now I am fired up with exploring the possibilities. The ultimate dream would be to build a holiday dwelling of some sort for me and my sisters, in Wales. Plenty of bales there!

Is anyone else interested in this sort of thing? And does anyone know where I could get training and experience of relevant techniques?

 

I've been to this place a few times and been inside their straw bale buidling (and there's a great pub in the village) but the bale building courses are over for this year

Straw Bale Building & Lime Rendering Course

 

I had never heard of the straw buildings before, but it sounds interesting. Let us know how you get on...


PS I found a friendly site about small building projects
http://www.small-house-building.com/

 

for something different, in Africa, there is a tree called Boabab

some people build homes/pubs in them



and here is a newspaper article about a pub in boabab .... I have frequented this pub a few times


Fancy a pint in the world's only bar that's INSIDE a tree? | Mail Online

 

Hi MD,

I built my own Gaff,

 

I'd love to build my own gaff. I'm lucky enough to have the land for it, except for one minor little problem. Beaurocrats. There's a handful of busybodies that call themselves the national park authority who say you can't even build a small shelter for livestock on agricultural land, so not much chance of me building on my land unfortunately.

I say this not out of bitterness, but as a cautionary note. I love my piece of land, despite the restrictions, but if someone was looking to buy a piece of land for the purpose of building on it, I'd strongly advise them to look carefully into the likelihood of getting approval before buying the land for it.

 

Well I've seen some monstrosities that somehow got past them. Maybe things have changed, though.
I also think there may be more lenient policies for low impact buildings but that would have to be checked, of course. If all else fails, we've got the option of putting a bl**dy caravan there, that would be OK no matter how ugly or environmentally unfriendly.

Ziggy- is that a form of log cabin you have there?

 

Sort of, its called a timber framed building

 

Are you sure it's a Pub.
I looks more like a Convenience Store.

 

Just do a "Dale Farm" build it, then get EU UMAN RITES Mob onto it
Jobs a good un :-)
Or declare your self Romany, or NON BRITISH

Jack McH

 

Compaired to Italy the bureaurocracy in UK is a breeze...

 

That's not yours Zig, that one's got a wall out the front

 

african style:

these homes are built from mud/clay with thatched roofs and has been the traditional homes in Africa for centuries ... these are common in the rural areas

the interior floors are either dried cowdung or brick or tiles .... there is loads of clay in the UK and these are extremely cheap and fast to build




and inside some of these in a game park/lodge that have these (traditional Rondavels)