I've just started researching alternative housing for the same reasons as everyone else(limited income/building cheaply). I like what I see about passive solar homes(The Natural Home.com) although they seem on the pricey side. They say a lot of the work can be done on your own. Has anyone done this? Does anyone live in one of these? I'm open to suggestions on different types of housing that won't have us up to our eyeballs in debt for the next 30 years. Searching through all the muck without input from someone that lives in these different types of homes has me running around in circles. What's been your building experience?

-- Terri Bennett (mrs_swift_26547@yahoo.com), January 02, 2002

Answers

We have built two timber frame houses, heavily insulated, with few or no windows on the North side and huge double-pane fixed windows (all bought second hand)across the south side. The roof overhang on the south side lets all winter sun in but keeps summer sun out. East/West windows let in plenty of cool breezes in summer.

Not very high tech, but we stay warm and toasty on sunny days, and supplement with a wood stove on gray days and at night. We've done almost all the work ourselves, and used 2nd hand materials wherever possible. It has been very affordable this way.

Lots more details I haven't mentioned; let me know if you want more info. Hope it helps...good luck with your search!

-- (steph@windhamhill.com), January 02, 2002.

I use my attached sunporch to passive heat my house by opening the door and using the ceiling fans in the porch and a fan in the hallway to move the heat down and in the house. Today it is 31 degrees, the heat is off and my house is 65 to 68 F. I usually only run grid heat between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. sporadically.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 02, 2002.

The real problems are not so much building them (you can do a lot yourself) or having them built, but getting permits to do so in many places. Alternative housing is not tolerated everywhere (it does look odd right next to conventional homes), and can honestly be quite difficult to sell later (unless it is a custom architect job). If you finance any of this, then the bank is also going to have to approve it, and they will base their decision on how fast they think they can sell it if you default on payments.

And, like anything, do-it-yourself can range from beautiful architect quality to something patched together out of junk wood and windows (not that that can't look nice as well, if done with an eye for aesthetics, but most aren't). You might want to check into any available kits or plans--that can cut your costs, plus make it easier to get permit approval in some cases. Good Luck.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 02, 2002.

Thanks for the input-it's really appreciated. I like the idea of not having much in heating costs and hearing from people that actually are living in this type of house.(and can build it cheaply) That one site I looked at quoted 50 bucks a sf as a rough estimate of cost. I know with bargain shopping I should be able to cut that by quite a bit. I think we're probably going to go this route as other alter. houses don't seem as safe-straw bale, cordwood, cob etc. Fire safety is a major concern. Thanks again!!!

-- Terri (mrs_swift_26547@yahoo.com), January 03, 2002.

You might want to check out the webstite: www.aidomes.com They sell prefabricated dome homes made out panels of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) which is covered with a layer of reinforced concrete. The panels are engineered to fit tightly together, with the rebar overlapping from one panel to the next. This area of overlap is then filled in with concrete forming a tight seal, not like plywood panel domes. The EPS comes in standard thickness of 7" but can also be bought in 9" thickness. As this forms a monolithic seal the building is very airtight and at 9" has an "R Value" of 36. My catalog has a 34' dome shell selling for $13,318, and 1,424 square feet. Prices have gone up slightly since I got my catalog in 2000, but this is by far the strongest, least expensive, easy to keep warm building that I have found.

-- John Fritz (JohnFritz24@hotmail.com), January 04, 2002.

Terri; I've done a considerable amount of research in the alternative housing scene while in the hunt for a good piece of land, at a reasonable price. I took a timber frame (lots of joinery, and hardwood dowls, no nails) workshop a couple of years ago, and I highly recommend it if you can get large timbers, and are willing to aquire the chisling skill. The joints are really not that complex, once you lay the measurements out, and give yourself time. It is the safest support frame that I know of. Structures in Japan (Earthquake central) have been standing for centuries, with clay tile roofs on them. Or you could build a post and beam frame with spikes,and brackets but less joinery. If you overkill on the big spikes, and brackets, it could look ugly, and in an earthquake, the metal can snap, but if you are not in an earthquake zone, don't feel like aquireing the chisel skills, and have some access to big nails and angled metal, than I'd give that I whirl, if I was you. I don't know what Steph, and partner used to heavily insulate their house, but I do recommend doing that. Cordwood, and straw bale, are not fire hazards to the best of my research. I have built with cordwood in the past, and will in the future. Find cordwoodguy on this site to ease your worries. There has been numerous tests done on both, straw, and cordwood. Assuming that you use dry straw (wet straw can spontaneously combust through a chemical reaction), and encase it in some kind of concrete, or plaster, it should not be a combustion issue. If you blowtorch a baled rectangle block of hay the outside will scorch, but the inside does not provide enough flowing oxygen to sustain a fire I don't plan to use straw because I live in the coastal mountains of B.C.. There is very little haying going on in the coast mountains, so straw is expensive, and the rainy area does not make drying out bales easy. If I was in a situation more conducive to bales, I would go there for insulation. It is fast, and simple. If you have access, Order books aobut it through your library. If you have a camp fire, the last part of a log to burn is the ends. That is what is exposed in a cordwood; the rest is encased in concrete. It would be very difficult to have an accidental fire burn down a cordwood house. Most fires are caused by not cleaning the chimney, or inadaquately built wood stoves, and fireplaces. If you are worried about fire hazards, find out what the regulations are for having a wood burning device, and exceed them. My father is a retired fireman. He often spoke of what went wrong in a fire. People die more often from the inhalation of toxic smoke (burning rugs, curtains, paints, OF SYNTHETIC ORIGIN) than of anything else in a house fire. Another fire hazard is electricity; have your electrical system installed by a certified electrician-paying a little more for this service, will come back in dividends of peace of mind. Propane, can also be an issue. Make sure it is installed, and maintained properly. Fireproofing your walls with gypsum board might help ease your concern. Or build areas near your heatsource out of cob, stone, concrete, or brick. It would be a good idea anyway, as you wood be using the mass of these substances to conserve your heat. There are numerous techniques to look into. I have heard from a proponant of Cob, that it is a good insulater; I can't help but think that they are blinded by false information. There is thermal mass, but very little insulative qualities to cob. Use your common sense. Then go overboard on precautions. You should do fine. Check out the rest of this sites housing ideas, and expand outwards into the web before finalizing you decision. Keep in mind the cob situation in the last paragraph. Lots of ideas are on the web, but some of them aren't necessarily true. If you are anywhere near montana, there is a guy there named Thomas Elpel who self published a number of books on sustainable living ideas, one on affordable housing, which shows how he built his house. He may not have all the answers, and certainly I don't, but keep searching, you'll find what you need.

-- roberto pokachinni (pokachinni@yahoo.com), January 05, 2002.

We insulated our first little house with fiberglass, because we could do it ourselves and it is relatively stable. R19 in the walls and R30 in the roof.

Our second, bigger house was (professionally-one of the few pieces of the job we hired out)insulated with blown-in cellulose (that's recycled newspaper mixed with borax for fire retardation)in the walls and fiberglass again in the roof. We have been quite happy with both.

Of course critters are a problem in any type of insulation that I know of. Mice like fiberglass a lot, and ants seem to enjoy cellulose! Some friends had foam panels put in and discovered that wasps love the stuff!

-- (steph@windhamhill.com), January 07, 2002.