Man Builds ‘Hobbit House’ for Just £3,000

[bℓσωηG]

http://www.exohuman.com/wordpress/2011/09/man-builds-hobbit-house-for-just-3000/

Man Builds ‘Hobbit House’ for Just £3,000

FED UP with huge mortgage payments, one family decided to take matters literally into their own hands and build their home from scratch. Armed only with a chisel, chainsaw and hammer Simon Dale moved his family to a hillside in Wales and started digging.

The result is a fully sustainable house constructed in just four months, for an astonishing £3,000, using scrap wood for floors and diverting water from a nearby spring.

Nestled: The moon rises on the house which is roofed with grass and blends in to its woodland surroundings.

Cosy home: The house is heated by a wood burner and a solar panel provides power.

Sustainable: Simon Dale, who had no experience as a carpenter or architect when he started the project, used lime plaster and wood from the surrounding area.

And while Mr Dale, who has no experience in carpentry or architecture, was building the house his wife Jasmine Saville and their two children camped in the nearby countryside.

He said: ‘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 the convenience of the construction industry.

Woodland view: Mr Dale put the timber frame up first, then the roof, so his family could be sheltered while he carried out the rest of the work.

Hobbit house: The finished article sits in the Welsh hillside and is almost hidden from view.

‘Building from natural materials does away with producers’ profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.’

The owner of the woods they were building in was keen to have someone living there, taking care of the forest, so they didn’t have to pay for the land they were building on.

Starting by digging into the hillside, Mr Dale, with the help of his father-in-law, put the timber frame up first, then the roof, so his family could be sheltered while he carried out the rest of the work.

Woodland home: Simon Dale, with wife Jasmine Saville and their two children outside their home, just four months after starting work.

Growing family: The entrance porch and conservatory where the family grow their own vegetables.

Winter wonderland: The house snuggles deep in snow, with its wide window giving fabulous views of the rolling countryside.

The roof has a layer of straw bales for insulation, plastic over that to render it waterproof, and earth on top. Materials were gathered from skips, builders’ yards and donations. Then the family made a straw bale wall inside, with the bales stacked on rough dry stone walling and staked together with hazel sticks.

Once the walls were up a sub floor made from palettes was put down, with floor boards laid on top.

Window on the woods: The cosy sitting room looks out through the conservatory to the surrounding woodland.

From scratch: Simon Dale building his ‘hobbit house’.

Foundations: The house takes shape with palettes laid as a sub floor, ready for floor boards.

Helping hand: Simon Dale’s son helps out gathering wood.

Family task: Simon Dale moved his family to Wales and started building.

Through snow and falling temperatures Mr Dale inserted windows. Ms Saville, writing on her husband’s website, explains how the project started.

She said: ‘Some past experience, lots of reading and self-belief gave us the courage of our conviction that we wanted to build our own home in natural surroundings.

‘For us one choice led to another and each time we took the plunge events conspired to assist us in our mission. Looking back there were times of stress and exhaustion, but definitely no regrets and plenty of satisfaction.’

As well as being made from sustainable material the hobbit house, as it is dubbed by locals, has lime plaster on its walls instead of cement, a compost toilet, a fridge cooled by air from under the building’s foundations and solar panels for power. Running water is supplied from a nearby spring.

Mr Dale said: ‘This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology.’

Plans: Drawings for the hobbit house.

Insulation: Straw, membrane and earth make up the walls.

And since building the house in 2005, Mr Dale has moved on to his next project in Wales’s first eco-village. He is building the first home in the Lammas Village project, with the design similar to the hobbit house.

,

 

Edited December 10, 2012 by bℓσωηG

[Stillman]

thats awesome I would love to build something like that. Would never pass council regs in Australia but. There would be 20 grand worth of relaxation fees in that job. lol

[Evil Genius]

Great, now my girlfriend wants one of them too.

[Amazonian]

Would never pass council regs in Australia but. There would be 20 grand worth of relaxation fees in that job. lol

 

That's why you build far into the bush, and tell no-one, and have all the plant species you desire. .

[johnnyzero64]

This is awesome!

[Slybacon]

That is so cool. Wish I had the time to acheive this..... Fuck council regulations!!!!

[myco]

haha i want a hobbit house

[Rabelais]

He said: ‘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 the convenience of the construction industry.

True that. The majority of builders - not the designers - in this country (and I assume the UK by the sounds of it) are truly uninspired bogans. Many great architects/owners/designers coming up with innovative designs...but our builders have a 'fast food' mentality when it comes to construction and won't touch a design they can't quickly turn around...no craftsmanship.

Then there are councils...hoi

Bring on libertarian architecture - fuck the councils, fuck the builders.

[PositiveHAL]

That's why you build far into the bush, and tell no-one, and have all the plant species you desire. .

 

can't get away with that anymore, satellite photography is used extensively by councils nowadays

[santiago]

Coober Pedy is an example of this done mainstream for many many years. Mind you i have heard Coober Pedy aint a nice place to live. I think most people dream of a cave or a cellar type room/house. I know i have since childhood dreamed of a safe place under or in somewhere (not including sex : ).

WA has a big problem. My friend who has 5 houses just sold a shithole in Tuart Hill for 470K. It was one of 4 on the block so just a strata title basically. So for the average joe he on a typical mortgage will pay 1.5 million just to own that shithole in 30 years. To me there is something radically wrong with that logic. Our premier Barnett wants to advertise the riches of WA. At the moment the average rental is about $450 per week. When the renters turn up to try rent there are about 40 people trying to get a rental house. This is 2012. Apparently another million are going to be here within the decade. Where will they live. WA will not allow shanty towns like Brazil but 4 million people in or close to a little pimple like perth is similar to Sao Paulo but on a smaller and ego centric scale.

Where is the equality in life where in perth it is actually cheaper to buy and mortgage than it is to rent due to shortage. Isnt the point of renting actually the fact its a cheaper option. In my opinion something is radically wong and sooner or later something is going to pop. I dont know when but WA is unsustainable. There is going to be a serious bust soon. Personally i dream of that day. I couldnt give a rats ass if i have to live hard. I want this serious gluttony and greed to eat shit for once and soon.

Im lucky. I have owned a house before but i sold. I rent now for $350 per week a house and i know i have it good. But $700 per fortnight is alot alot of money. Way to much. I never wanted to but i think im going to have to swallow my pride and buy a shipping container and get a loan for a caravan and move to the back of my parents house with mu daughter at 38 years of age. I find that shameful. But mayby im going to have to swallow my pride and just thank god im alive and healthy and have a caravan roof over my head and my childs and stick my finger up at this fucked up monetary world we all glady bow down to and suck its dick. Fuck money i say, fuck greed.

I have paid $350 dollars per week for 6 years. 17000 per year. $85000 in total over 6. Cant get a home loan as im too poor cant get government assistance cos im too rich. I tell you what im not too far from living on the streets either. Mayby one bad break. Do you think $85000 dollars gives me enough street credit to be homeless? 17K per year and im nearly homeless........sheesh.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

I've visited a similar project in the riverina, nsw. they had storage containers dropped into the side of a hill and covered leaving one side as a porch/balcony with several skylights leaving through the earth (2.5ft) to provide lighting. It's a bush job, well hidden, and provided the couple with the best holiday house and views I've ever seen. All up from memory they spent $60k incl land (beautiful hilly forest). Hopefully from the above post I haven't said too much... Land was a private sale also...

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

Santiago, that sucks man. That maths just ruined my head ay, such stupid numbers of cash (profit no doubt) for a human necessity/right.

My sister is currently livin in Fremantle.. She pays 350$ by herself for a 2bed house. I almost lost my shit when she referred to it as cheap, even turned down my offer to move her back east into an appt with me for $115 a week, including water views, which she respectably denied :-( crazy prices for you guys.

Just remember you'll never lose your true pride mate, just the pride the system makes you think you have

[incognito]

U can alays move to where I am and rent a 3 bedroom house on an acre for under $200

Only prob is you have to drive 30mins to one hour

For

Work

But be warned its a bushranger town

[santiago]

Central west NSW hey incog? Can only dream of paying $200 bucks man. Life drags you under though. New job, child set in school, lifelong friends close by, family, familiarity....takes alot of guts or stupidity or a kind measure of both to flip that coin. I have alot of respect for coin flippers.

Mind you my real problem in WA is finding a gullible girlfriend. Not for the sex and companionship, simply to pay half the rent : )

[incognito]

Mind you I go halves with my nephew on a 4 bedroom house on 2 acres with a pool for 120 dollars a week......

I just couldn't pay those retarded city prices anymore. Though I guess the expense is made up for with fuel costs. I spend around 100 dollars Ifnot more on fuel getting to work and back each week.

I'm hopefully going to be buying a nice place next year, whether it be in the Brisbane area or here.

U can get a decent place on acreage here for around 150k. The only thing keeping me here is the cost of living and I'm lucky enough to have a good job. There aren't a hell of a lot of decent paying jobs around, but then again there aren't to many people around who are willing to have a go, so of you have a modicum of a work ethic you will do fine.

I guess lifelong fiend and family nearbye is priceless though... Ales a village to raise a child a they say. I'm at the start of a thought to move to Brisbane and starting again, to be closer to my child, it's the living expenses that has me scared, but then again living near and being part of your child's life doesn't hold monetary value. I'll be forsaking family, life long friends, a good career and familiarity but I hope to gain with more time spent with my kid.

So I guess I'll save save save this year as money will give me options, the main one being to buy a house close to my kid.

Edited December 11, 2012 by incognito

[bℓσωηG]

Different couple, but told to pull down their hobbit house

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2382684/Charlie-Hague-Megan-Williams-told-pull-hobbit-home-entirely-natural-materials.html

Eco-couple told to pull down their 'hobbit home' made entirely out of natural materials . . . but without planning permission

• Family of three is made homeless by planning inspector's decision
• They built their home from scratch, but have been ordered to tear it down
• The couple admit they built it without first getting planning permission
• Their labour of love was branded 'harmful' to the countryside

Homeless: Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, with their only child Eli, have been left homeless

A young couple have been left heartbroken after planners ordered their unique 'hobbit home' to be bulldozed, effectively leaving them homeless.

Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, both 25, built the roundhouse from scratch with their own hands, using only natural materials.

But the couple lost their appeal today against a planning enforcement notice telling them to tear their pride and joy home down.

Charlie and Megan, who have a one-year-old son Eli, built the house on private land in Glandwr, North Pembrokeshire, last summer.

Locals nicknamed it the hobbit home, although most people did not even know it was there because it is so secluded.

But Pembrokeshire County Council ordered the couple to demolish their home because it was built without planning permission.

Charlie and Megan, who live a self-sufficient lifestyle, fought the decision claiming it had a low impact on the environment because of its unique construction.

Charlie, a sculptor and woodworker, said: 'We built this house to provide our son with a healthy environment to grow up in.

'We were born in the area, went to school here, and have lived here all our lives. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.'

The pair acknowledged their property was built without prior consent but said there was no other way for them to afford their own home.

Megan said: 'I know it’s not a possibility for everyone, and our situation here is unique, but if young people are to live and work in the area they need somewhere to live.'

The couple’s appeal was dismissed by planning inspector Iwan Lloyd, who ruled the development harmed the character and appearance of the countryside.

The inspector upheld the council’s enforcement notice, which requires the roundhouse and all associated work, including the timber decking, be demolished.

Middle Earth: Charlie Hague and Megan Williams' home has been compared to a hobbit's. The couple have been ordered to tear their idyllic dwelling down

The order gives the couple two months to return the land to its previous condition.

Mr Lloyd’s report stated: 'The character and appearance of the countryside should be protected for its intrinsic sake.

'The benefits of a low-impact development do not outweigh the harm to the character and appearance of the countryside.'

Friends said the couple were half expecting their appeal to be turned down but were still 'devastated' by the decision.

Unique: The couple's front room, complete. They started building their house using only naturally resourced materials last year

Treebeard: The couple have used a whole tree as a supporting structure for their home, fondly nicknamed the 'hobbit house' by locals

Killjoy council: The couple have been unable to convince the authorities of the merits of their eco friendly house

One friend said: 'They are heartbroken - the roundhouse is a thing of great beauty which they put their hearts and souls into.

'They are a young couple who should be applauded for solving their own housing issues by creating a sustainable home out of local materials.

'Instead they are now facing the prospect of watching it being razed to the ground.'

The couple have one last chance - they have applied for retrospective planning permission but their friends said they feared it was a lost cause.

Darkness falls: The lights will go out on the couple's home for good unless they can overturn the Planning Inspectorate's decision

Edited August 3, 2013 by bℓσωηG

[waterboy 2.0]

The couple’s appeal was dismissed by planning inspector Iwan Lloyd, who ruled the development harmed the character and appearance of the countryside.

The feckers...sounds like they couldn't get them on grounds of sanitary or safety standards, so it now harms aesthetics....fckn hell.

I really do have a dislike for Planners at times....I particularly dislike the inconsistencies of decisions made in some areas.

[Scarecrow]

Different couple, but told to pull down their hobbit house

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2382684/Charlie-Hague-Megan-Williams-told-pull-hobbit-home-entirely-natural-materials.html

fuck everything there is no hope

[ThunderIdeal]

The feckers...sounds like they couldn't get them on grounds of sanitary or safety standards, so it now harms aesthetics....fckn hell.

I really do have a dislike for Planners at times....I particularly dislike the inconsistencies of decisions made in some areas.

come on mate, be real about this. how is his neighbour supposed to have a conclusive wank driving down the street with that ditch in his field of view?

as any tolkien fan knows it's not called a hobbit-house, it's called a hobbit-hole. the word hobbit comes from rohirric for hole-dweller or hole-builder [/nerd]

[PositiveHAL]

I can see both sides of the argument here

Edited August 5, 2013 by NegativeDave