The home that was made for less than $5k dollars

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take a peek of the photos and build progression

http://ciracar.com/build-a-house-for-less-than-5000

You are looking at pictures of a house that Simon Dale built for his family in Wales. It was built by him and his father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting they were moved in and cosy. He estimate 1000-1500 man hours and $5000 put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m excluding labour).

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.
 
Pretty cool. I'd like to have one. Imagine making your kid a clubhouse that looked like this. I would've crapped my pants if I had this as a kid back in the day when we were building forts up in trees.
 
I built Marla a screenhouse with my own two hands a couple of years ago. Every bit of the labor was my own. I'm guessing between total construction and landscaping around the outside, it took me a total of just over 1000 hours. My cost for materials came to around $8000. The floor is 13' x 14' with a large overhanging hip roof.

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I can see his home is bigger than my screenhouse, but looking at the materials he used, I'm a bit surprised he even spent as much as $5000.
 
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that looks awesome Ken! Is the floor inside made of pavers, or concrete, or..? For the other house, you have to figure plumbing, electrical, straw bales, wood burner, .. he has a kitchen..
I know he recycled a lot of goods, but he just said it was under 5k.
 
That's true. I guess the electrical/plumbing systems added some expense, although I didn't figure the kitchen appliances were included.

The floor in the screenhouse is composite lumber, which was about $1000. I also installed electricity in there too (outlets, switches, lights, ceiling fan). The "skirting" around the outside is western red cedar 1 x 6 boards.

If I exclude the cost of the wall blocks and other landscaping materials, then that removes about $2000.
 
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wasn't even thinking about composite. Good choice for longevity and maintenance. If you get close to the building, can you still smell the cedar?
 
Wicked idea and build. It looks like a house from the Shire.
 
That house is better looking than my apartment! I'd totally live in it.

Sweet screen house Ken.
 
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