Survival Shelter: A Low Impact Woodland Home

[Father of four]

A Low Impact Woodland Home

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.

Nice job!!! Well done!!!

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[NativePride]

You should read Mike Oehler's books.

I was gifted with his set when I met him this july.

 

[TapRackNGo]

Thats pretty awesome.

 

[knuckle Head]

I think this is a similar hobbit house <broken link removed>

 

[Garg]

That is very cool.

 

[Father of four]

Its great to see what some people get to build in other countries. There is no way we could do something like that in this country. Way, way to many rules and regulations. Not enough freedom.

 

[mjbskwim]

I think this is a similar hobbit house <broken link removed>

Same guy

It looks really cool and is efficient,but I like more windows.

 

[Thebastidge]

http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Sculpted...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322333302&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Cob-Builders-...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322333302&sr=1-2

Amazon.com: The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling (9781931498128): Daniel D. Chiras: Books

I have all of these and the solar book is the best I've seen Not hippy dippy bs, but good rules of thumb and formulas. The cob building method also really fascinates me- I want to combine the two concepts.

 

[Decker]

http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Sculpted...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322333302&sr=1-1

Amazon.com: The Cob Builders Handbook: You Can Hand-Sculpt Your Own Home (9780965908207): Becky Bee: Books

Amazon.com: The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling (9781931498128): Daniel D. Chiras: Books

I have all of these and the solar book is the best I've seen Not hippy dippy bs, but good rules of thumb and formulas. The cob building method also really fascinates me- I want to combine the two concepts.

I like the idea of a sustainable/cob/hay/stuff-like-that house but how well are they going to hold up in an earthquake?

-d

 

[Thebastidge]

Put the cob house entirely on a concrete slab, use the correct portions of straw, and you should be fine. The concrete slab 'floats' the house, the straw forms a 3 dimensional matrix inside the clay/sand mixture and makes it pretty much a monolithic construction.

A 'traditional' home is constructed on dimensional lumber and achieves structural integrity through 90 degree angles. Stress the house more than a few degrees in any directions and it completely loses structural integrity. A cob house can achieve structural integrity through curves. A round, monolithic wall is much stronger than a 90 degree wall made of dimensional lumber, and withstands stress over a longer distance than a straight, flat wall.

Personally, I would not build a cob house more than two stories high. But the majority of houses aren't two stories high anyway.

Cob is also fireproof for all practical purposes, you're not going to shoot a bullet through 24" of cob/adobe, it'll be super quiet inside, and it has much better thermal mass for passive solar planning.

 

[PaulZ]

I think this is a similar hobbit house <broken link removed>

looks like that is the exact same house

 

[CommandoJoe]

This looks like an interesting method to heat a house like that

rocket stove mass heater

 

[PaulZ]

That does look interesting. Remember the "Russian" heating? they ran the combustion gases around a massive brick wall affair. I saw one on Vashon Island years ago

This looks like an interesting method to heat a house like that

rocket stove mass heater

 

[Father of four]

For a small survival shelter the woodland home could be done by 1 adult alone in only a few days with basic tools. A person could make a very primitive one in maybe just a day or two. I am glad I got to see and study how it was built.

 

[CamoDeafie]

or bust out the end of Cold War era US Army Training Manual (TM) on cover, concealment, camouflage and go to the chapter on making fighting positions; much the same idea; using rain proofs/ponchos/shelter half underneath sod and grasses matted over a log framework/roof material in makeshift bunkers and just enlarge it enough to turn it into a habitable dwelling

 

[Father of four]

The rocket stove would be another great survival tool. I have a couple rocket stove plans saved on my hard drive somewhere. (I should print them out and put them in a binder.) There are different ways to build them and can be easily researched on the web.

 

[Decker]

Perhaps something like this would work?

<broken link removed>

I'd love to build one of these to see the possibilities but sadly I don't think my backyard's gonna work.

-d

 

[Father of four]

Thanks Decker.

Yes, I had saved a copy of his stuff over a year ago. I too would love to try out that earth shelter plan of his. And try out some other things he shows us. Thanks for the link.

 

[Decker]

How about this?

Mirrorcube - The Treehotel Experience

-d

 

[Father of four]

A bit too UFO'e or Robin The Hood'e for me. Interesting though.