Survival Shelter: A Low Impact Woodland Home

[MikeE]

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.

I lived in the hills 40 miles W of PDX for 20 years. All the homes on our road were un-permitted and owner built, so yes it can be done. You need to be sure of your neighbors though. I like the earth sheltered idea, but drainage is issue #1. Also, critter infiltration, so it has to be tight.
Here is a cool little futuristic sci-fi story by the guy who designed the hexayurt:
The Unplugged - How To Live Wiki

 

[Gunner3456]

A Low Impact Woodland Home

Some key points of the design and construction:

Looking at that is just another reminder of how much freedom we've lost. There's no way in Hill that anyone could build that in Oregon. It's also a shock as to how much power corporations and special interests have gained.

I couldn't use a single stick of structural wood that hadn't been sawed, and then stamped by a certified lumber grader.

I'd have to build it on a code accepted foundation, dug below the frost line with two pieces of rebar in the footings.

Even if I thought it was poison, I'd have to use pressure treated lumber for the sill plate on top of the foundation, and that would have to be attached with J bolts imbedded in the stem wall when it was poured.

I'd have to pour a concrete floor with insulation under it, or stick frame the flooring and insulate that.

All of my dimensional lumber would have to meet code for size, depending on the span. If the span was too long, I'd have to go to I joists (BCI joists) and have a copy of the engineer's stamp for the span for that size joist. I might get away with engineered trusses but an engineer would have to sign off on them.

I'd have to have downspouts and gutters, plumbed away from the house, even if I had another idea just as good.

I could get away with some odd things if I could get an engineer to approve my drawings of it, and then inspect and approve it after I installed it.

The list is almost endless. The only way to legally build a house or even a new detached shop or garage is to do all of that and much more.

The sole exception is that I can build a small shed not to exceed 120 square feet, and it has to be portable - no foundation or cement floor, but rather on skids or something.