Build Your Own Green Home
Ranked #1,621 in Healthy Living, #31,455 overall
Many People Build Their Own Homes; You Can Too!
Every day all around the world people take acquiring the necessities of life - food, clothing and shelter - into their own hands. In many places it is the norm to build your own house and this event is often a community wide get together, after all, "Many hands make light work." Even in the United States, up until about 100 years ago more people built their own homes rather than pay someone else to build it for them.
The average person today however, gives no thought to the possibility that they could build it themselves. Of course there are some legal matters that come into play, but these can usually be negotiated with a little study and some patience. These being things like obtaining building permits and sometimes other kinds of permits.
This lens is meant to just highlight a few of the many green building materials and options available for you. There are many thousands more websites with interesting and important information out there. I suggest looking at a few of those here, deciding on the ones that interest you most, then running a search for more information.
You may also have to apply for waivers of the building code to do certain things. The building code was developed to make buildings safer and to help protect people from unscrupulous builders. Sometimes the code seems ridiculously cumbersome and outdated (and it is,really) but if you make friends with your building inspector, have your facts straight and present them in a reasonable manner, you can probably negotiate a waiver of some items.
A lot may hinge actually, more on your lending institution than on the inspector. If you are taking out a loan to build your house, the bank wants to know it can resell it if you default. Therefore they may require you to do things like install electric baseboard heaters when all you want and plan to use is a wood stove. Things like that of course will add to the cost of your home. For myself, I plan to build mine a bit at a time and not take out a loan if I can possibly help it.
Of those people that do decide to build their own home, many just go for off the shelf home plans and standard building methods and materials. Others tend to think outside of the box and explore alternative and recycled materials, passive solar heating and cooling, non-standard construction methods and floor plans.
Since I am very interested in building my own home which will do the following things, I am definitely in the second category!
photo credit, Cob Cottage Company
The average person today however, gives no thought to the possibility that they could build it themselves. Of course there are some legal matters that come into play, but these can usually be negotiated with a little study and some patience. These being things like obtaining building permits and sometimes other kinds of permits.
This lens is meant to just highlight a few of the many green building materials and options available for you. There are many thousands more websites with interesting and important information out there. I suggest looking at a few of those here, deciding on the ones that interest you most, then running a search for more information.
You may also have to apply for waivers of the building code to do certain things. The building code was developed to make buildings safer and to help protect people from unscrupulous builders. Sometimes the code seems ridiculously cumbersome and outdated (and it is,really) but if you make friends with your building inspector, have your facts straight and present them in a reasonable manner, you can probably negotiate a waiver of some items.
A lot may hinge actually, more on your lending institution than on the inspector. If you are taking out a loan to build your house, the bank wants to know it can resell it if you default. Therefore they may require you to do things like install electric baseboard heaters when all you want and plan to use is a wood stove. Things like that of course will add to the cost of your home. For myself, I plan to build mine a bit at a time and not take out a loan if I can possibly help it.
Of those people that do decide to build their own home, many just go for off the shelf home plans and standard building methods and materials. Others tend to think outside of the box and explore alternative and recycled materials, passive solar heating and cooling, non-standard construction methods and floor plans.
Since I am very interested in building my own home which will do the following things, I am definitely in the second category!
photo credit, Cob Cottage Company
Contents at a Glance
My New Home Will Have Or Do the Following:
*Passive solar heating and cooling* Grid Tied Solar Electric System
*solar water heating
*Be earth bermed/partly underground
*Be made of stone
*Make use of various recycled materials such as doors, windows, cabinetry, wood, bathtub, sinks and as many other things as I can find.
*Have a grey water filtration and reuse system
*Have a composting toilet
*Supply me with some of my food
* Have a rainwater catchment system
*Be aesthetically pleasing
*Be easy to clean and maintain
In other words, my new home will be as self sufficient and use the least amount of resources in building and in it's day to day use as possible. I would love to have a home with no utility bills at all, but there are a couple of things I just can't live without. I absolutely hate to cook on an electric stove and refuse to give up my gas range and since I'll keep that, I'll probably use gas as a back up to the solar water heater. And I may have to keep using city water, though if at all possible I'd like to see if I can have a well drilled that would supply all of my needs.
Cobb Houses
Here are some cobb cottages in western Canada. Cobb is basically mud and lends itself very well to free flowing sculptural designs. Being fireproof it can even be used to build fireplaces, fire pits and earth ovens for baking.
Do Some Research
There are hundreds of choices to be made at every turn of the owner-builder experience. From the building site and orientation, through materials and methods of building on to how the interior walls are finished, sources of energy, types of appliances, furnishings and decorations. You do not have to make all the decisions at once, but you do need to do some research. Once you have made some decisions about the overall materials and methods of construction you should delve more deeply into them.
Does the material and method you've chosen lend itself to the floor plan you have in mind or do you need to make modifications? Standard wood frame construction does not easily lend itself to organic free flowing floor plans the way cob (earthen) construction does. Is your chosen material easy and inexpensive to come by? Building a stone house where you will have to buy the stone will be exceedingly expensive. Building a stone house where there is stone all around you will be much less so.
Will your chosen material and method be strong enough and will it be able to pass inspection?
Does your building site have an appropriate orientation for passive solar heating and cooling? A site on the north side of a hill might be all right or even desirable in the hottest desert, but it's going to be mighty cold in snow country. And the reverse is also true, in the desert you will not want a west facing slope at all because your house will be very hot every summer afternoon unless you spend a lot of money on air conditioning.
How physically fit are you? Can you lift and carry 94 pound bags of cement? If not and you don't plan to get in shape to do so, you might not want to consider building methods (like stone, cord wood masonry and the like) that would require this of you.
How much time do you have? How many able bodied people are there to help? If you have to be out of your present accommodation in 30 days, are short of cash and able bodied helpers, you might want to consider some alternative housing to live in while you build a new home. Many people find a used mobile home to move onto the building site to live in while they complete the home of their dreams. Others just tough it out in tents or RVs. Or even just build a small rough shelter of what ever is handy, and make do while they complete their new home.
Does the material and method you've chosen lend itself to the floor plan you have in mind or do you need to make modifications? Standard wood frame construction does not easily lend itself to organic free flowing floor plans the way cob (earthen) construction does. Is your chosen material easy and inexpensive to come by? Building a stone house where you will have to buy the stone will be exceedingly expensive. Building a stone house where there is stone all around you will be much less so.
Will your chosen material and method be strong enough and will it be able to pass inspection?
Does your building site have an appropriate orientation for passive solar heating and cooling? A site on the north side of a hill might be all right or even desirable in the hottest desert, but it's going to be mighty cold in snow country. And the reverse is also true, in the desert you will not want a west facing slope at all because your house will be very hot every summer afternoon unless you spend a lot of money on air conditioning.
How physically fit are you? Can you lift and carry 94 pound bags of cement? If not and you don't plan to get in shape to do so, you might not want to consider building methods (like stone, cord wood masonry and the like) that would require this of you.
How much time do you have? How many able bodied people are there to help? If you have to be out of your present accommodation in 30 days, are short of cash and able bodied helpers, you might want to consider some alternative housing to live in while you build a new home. Many people find a used mobile home to move onto the building site to live in while they complete the home of their dreams. Others just tough it out in tents or RVs. Or even just build a small rough shelter of what ever is handy, and make do while they complete their new home.
Rocket Mass Heaters
Almost no emissions, reduce wood consumption by 75%
Rocket mass heaters are a very new and different kind of wood stove. While they metal stove pipe, it is encased in cobb or other fireproof thermal mass. A metal drum sticks up out of it to give you quick heat and even let you boil water. There's a hole in it where you put small limbs and sticks, the fire is down underneath the surface. Hard to explain but amazing to watch.
I have determined that I will have one in my new house. The stove pipes can be run under benches, bed platforms, even the floor for radiant heat.
I have determined that I will have one in my new house. The stove pipes can be run under benches, bed platforms, even the floor for radiant heat.
curated content from YouTube
Rocket Mass Heaters, Super Efficient Woodstoves You Can Build
Ianto Evans, Leslie Jackson
In addition to this great book, written by the inventor of the rocket stove, Ianto Evans, there are numerous YouTube videos, blog posts and websites. The one website I highly recommend this one, how a rocket mass heater works Excellent diagrams and information to help you wrap your mind around this new concept in green living.
Rocket Mass Heaters: Superefficient Woodstoves YOU Can Build
Amazon Price: $16.00 (as of 05/29/2012)
Ianto Evans is the inventor of the rocket stove, so what better book to buy than one from the original inventor? This is soooo on my wish list for the coming year! While there are a lot of videos available for free on the internet that will show you a lot about how to build one, I'm pretty cautious when it comes to stuff like fire and electricity. I like to have some good guidance about what I"m doing and why I need to do certain things a certain way. I don't want to go off half cocked and build something that's useless or becomes a health or safety hazard. I at least want a book written by an expert that will tell me all the really important stuff I need to know!
Cordwood Cabin
Most cordwood construction depends on a pole framework for load bearing, with the cordwood masonry used as infill between the poles.
Some Links to Alternative Building Sites To Kick Off Your Research
These links to just a few of the sites available on the Internet, you will discover more as you look around. Since most people have never even heard of some of these alternative building materials and methods I wanted to highlight them here.
- What is cob?
- Cob is a term for building with mud. Actually a mix of clay and straw, many homes in Europe, some built as early as 1500 AD are built of cob. Cob is also used to build earth ovens all around the world. Cob's plastic and sculptural qualities add to its appeal
- Straw Bale Building
- Building with straw is nothing new, but the form has changed. With the advent of mechanical baling equipment you can use straw bales like giant building blocks. Once sealed inside and out they are water, fire and bug proof. A great material to use if you live where straw is cheap.
- Stone House Building
- A description of the building of a 2300 square foot home, built of stone beginning in 2005 for less than $10 a sq. ft.
- Cord Wood Masonry
- Cord wood masonry is using short logs laid up like stones with mortar. A great technique to use if you have a lot of trees and are short of stone. Also an alternative to using regular log cabin techniques as you don't have to lift huge logs into place to form the walls.
- Earth Ships
- Earth ships are built mostly of recycled tires, the tires are filled with earth and plastered over. As organic and free flowing as cob building with a little less work. The thick tire walls act as thermal mass for passive solar heating.
- Rammed Earth
- Rammed earth construction is where you pack earth between forms so hard it keeps it's shape when the forms are removed.
- Build A House Of Paper
- Yes, that's right, a house made of paper, Papercrete that is! A mix of Portland cement, sand water and shredded paper, papercrete can be formed into blocks or poured straight into forms. A great way to recycle paper in areas where there is no recycling program!
A Tour of an Earthship
The Earthship concept is that there are no utility connections, not even for water. The home generates it's own electricity, collects it's own rainwater for potable use, recycles, reuses and cleans all of it's waste water as well as heating and cooling itself. In addition the entire home is built of recycled materials, including large numbers of used tires, glass, plastic and aluminum cans.
curated content from YouTube
More Affordable Earthships
While custom designed and built _for_ the owner Earthships may cost a small fortune, there are smaller and simpler designs available. I am beginning to lean strongly in the direction of an Earthship made of cast off tires, pop cans and plastic bottles its building will create very little waste and living in it will create no pollution. Creating one is well within the capabilities of any healthy, reasonably fit person.
For more information check out their website: Earthship Biotecture
For more information check out their website: Earthship Biotecture
Here Are Some Books About Green Building
Many owner builders have written of their experiences with the various alternative building techniques. Some have even gone onto form companies for either building homes or teaching owner builders how to do it themselves.
Passive Solar Heating and Cooling
Besides the materials and methods of building you will want to think about other items like will you design your new home to take advantage of passive solar heating and cooling? Passive solar heating works on the principle of having south facing glass walls which let in maximum sunshine in the winter, with carefully calculated overhangs that shade the glass completely in the summer time. It also involves some sort of thermal mass like earth, stone or concrete floors and walls to absorb the heat during the day and slowly radiate it back at night.
One of the things to keep in mind is that for passive solar building your best bet is to put your insulation on the _outside_ of the house. That way you keep the heat or cool inside the walls and the interior will be less affected by the outside climate. An example would be to build a house of stone, but instead of then putting insulation on the inside of the stone walls, put it on the outside. Your walls then become thermal mass, collecting heat during the day and radiating it back at night.
Passive solar cooling involves burying large (18-24" diameter) pipes in the ground. These pipes need to be 50-100 feet long, emerging slightly down hill away from the house (so condensation does not collect and run into the home) with critter proof screening on their open ends. The other ends come up in the floor of the home. An attractive grate can be laid over them. These 'cool tubes' work because the temperature a few feet underground is a nearly constant 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit. By drawing air through the pipes it is cooled down to the temperature of the earth.
By having vents or windows at the highest points of the house and opening them on hot days, warm air will rise up and out through the vents. In doing so cool air will be drawn through the cool tubes, setting up a natural ventilation system to keep the indoor air cooler. In some areas additional mechanical cooling may be needed but the costs will be well below that of a building which depends on it for all of it's cooling needs. A great deal more about passive solar heating and cooling can be learned from Zero Energy Design
One of the things to keep in mind is that for passive solar building your best bet is to put your insulation on the _outside_ of the house. That way you keep the heat or cool inside the walls and the interior will be less affected by the outside climate. An example would be to build a house of stone, but instead of then putting insulation on the inside of the stone walls, put it on the outside. Your walls then become thermal mass, collecting heat during the day and radiating it back at night.
Passive solar cooling involves burying large (18-24" diameter) pipes in the ground. These pipes need to be 50-100 feet long, emerging slightly down hill away from the house (so condensation does not collect and run into the home) with critter proof screening on their open ends. The other ends come up in the floor of the home. An attractive grate can be laid over them. These 'cool tubes' work because the temperature a few feet underground is a nearly constant 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit. By drawing air through the pipes it is cooled down to the temperature of the earth.
By having vents or windows at the highest points of the house and opening them on hot days, warm air will rise up and out through the vents. In doing so cool air will be drawn through the cool tubes, setting up a natural ventilation system to keep the indoor air cooler. In some areas additional mechanical cooling may be needed but the costs will be well below that of a building which depends on it for all of it's cooling needs. A great deal more about passive solar heating and cooling can be learned from Zero Energy Design
Passive Solar Heating
Glass is all you need
This video from Zero Energy Design shows how south facing glass and some thermal mass are all you need to heat your home for free.
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Passive Solar Design
Here are some books to help you out with passive solar design.
Solar Power
Photovoltaics
You may also want to give consideration to a photovoltaic system to turn sunlight into electricity. In the past the costs of such a system could be prohibitive and not cost effective, except in remote areas where the cost of bringing in power lines was more than the cost of the solar system. Today however, there are many off the shelf grid tied systems which are simpler to use as they need no batteries.A grid tied photovoltaic system means that you can wire your house in the conventional manner for 110 volt electricity. The difference is at your power pole. Using an approved method you tie your solar photovoltaic system into the power companies network and sell the power you produce to the electric company. Your electric company continues to supply the energy for your house, but it's cost is offset by the amount of power your system produces. Of course rates, contracts and regulations vary from place to place and company to company. Best to check everything out thoroughly before deciding to go this route.
Your system may also qualify for state and federal tax rebates and credits, further reducing the final cost. You can find out more at these websites:
Energy Tax Incentives
Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Systems
Data Base of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency
Do It Yourself Solar Grid Tie Kit: 1050W
Building Underground
Building a house either totally underground or partly so (called earth bermed) is not much more difficult than building one above grade. Of course there are a few additional things to consider, such as cost of excavating (not really much more if you were going to have a basement anyway) and special underground insulation and waterproofing techniques.The advantages of an underground house are of course that the soil temperature stays a steady 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit year round. This alone can take a load off the heating and cooling systems. Couple that with passive solar design and in some climates you may find that your energy costs are almost nothing.
Of course your underground house doesn't have to look like a Hobbit house. It can look a little more conventional, like this one.
Underground House Building Books
Ideas, Inspiration and Information if you want to build underground.
A Living Roof
You might decide to cap off your new home with a "Living Roof". Even houses that are not underground can have a roof covered with soil and plants. Such a roof gives additional insulation from the elements and is not too difficult to build. Most living roofs seem to need only a few hours of maintenance a year and are extremely attractive. curated content from YouTube
Learn More About Living Roofs
I am Blessed!
Squid Art provided by Steve Thompson, aka tagsforkids
This lens has been blessed by Squid Angels! Thank you to each and every one, I am humbled that so many of you thought this was a worthy lens!
Squid Angels
For those of you who don't know, a Squid Angel is a lensmaster that reads other people's lenses and if they think that the lens is a good one may bless it. These Angel Blessings help move the lens up in the rankings on Squidoo.Thanks for Stopping By!
I hope you'll give this lens a thumbs up and share it with your friends. Have you built your own house? Tell me about it!
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KandDMarketing May 19, 2012 @ 2:44 pm | delete
- Great lens. It's given me some great ideas for the retreat I am planning to build for my wife and myself near our pond on the back end of our property.
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CorkFlooringTips
Apr 28, 2012 @ 1:37 pm | delete
- Super lens i would love to live in an earth ship i think there so cool.
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CF25
Apr 21, 2012 @ 8:39 am | delete
- You put a lot of great research into this lenses on building a green home.
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GregCunningham
Apr 20, 2012 @ 3:24 pm | delete
- Nice research. Thanks for the lense.
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KitandCaboodle
Apr 17, 2012 @ 8:00 pm | delete
- I would love to have a house like any of these listed. We try to update our existing house whenever we can to make it more energy efficient and green. Blessed.
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I write on a variety of topics, especially green living and organic gardening, and occasionally, art. Here are some more of my lenses that you might enjoy exploring.
by hysongdesigns
I've built my own (conventional) house in the past. As a freedom loving person I wish to be free of utility bills and bank loans so I fully intend to... more »
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