Alternative and/or cheap building methods

[booger]

We need to build a house but, unlike most folks, we do not want to go into debt over it. So, we're looking for cheap and alternative building methods. If you know of any, please post them with a brief explanation, your experience (or second-hand experiences), and any links that you might have.

Here's just off the top of my head:

Above ground
Underground
Partially underground

Concrete pad
Crawl space
Basement

Basic stick built with siding
Concrete
Concrete block
Brick
Stone/rock ("normal" method or the quick method of using forms)
Metal

I'm sure there are others but those are just off the top of my head to give as examples. We were going to do metal but it was too expensive. Then we were going to do concrete underground (my favorite!) but it was too expensive. *sigh* So we're going to just go with a concrete pad and, at this point, we're leaning towards the quick rock method (building forms, filling with stone, and pouring in a thinner cement mixture) since we have many, many rocks here and can get the forms for free. However, we're still doing our homework to see if there are any other do-able methods or, at least, other methods we might use for part of the house. A stone house should be fairly economical for heating/cooling, right? We're also thinking metal for the framing since DH can get that as cheap as anything right now. We figure 30' x 50' at the largest, maybe as small as 30' x 30'.

Our goal is to keep the total under $5,000, including everything--wiring, interior, roof, etc, etc. We will be doing all of the work ourselves. Simple electrical needs, simple gratvity-fed water needs, graywater drained (also gravity thanks to our slope) to the future orchard, compost toilets as we have now, 3 small bedrooms, one big great room, wood heat/stove (will be searching long and hard for a good, used, cheap wood stove or smaller cookstove), no air conditioning.

Really, our needs are quite simple. We just need the basic structure but with old-time sensibility and dirt cheap costs. Not asking for much, eh?

 

[Christian for Israel]

well, monolithic domes are cool, but they're about the same price as stick built. here's a link: http://www.monolithicdome.com/

then there's ferro-cement. it's cheap and strong, although you may want a conventional siding facade because it's ugly, lol. http://www.solareagle.com/PREP/FERRO.HTM

then there's cob construction. the good parts are that the walls are load bearing, it's highly insulative, it's good shielding against radiation, and it's virtually free. the downside is it's a lot of work. http://www.deatech.com/cobcottage/

then there's alternate concrete methods like papercrete. http://www.papercrete.com/cheap.html

of course, you could always buy a surplus steel building, or a few shipping containers (they work well for underground homes as they're strong and cheap. http://mobilestorage.com/products/containers.htm

here's a site with other building methods also. http://www.papercrete.com/

 

[juco]

Ah! A topic near and dear to my heart!

DH and I are in the same boat as you, booger. After we bought our farmstead, we purchase a small, used (very used) mobile home for temporary shelter while we built our home.

Fast forward 6 years, and here we are, still in the even-more-used, small mobile home. Neither of us want to assume any debt for building costs, we are both capable of doing the work ourselves. Hubby is in construction and I was a painting contractor before the Lord called us to homeschool. We have drawn up 3 sets of plans now, starting with the "dream" home, a 2 story log cabin, intending to cut our own timber, ect. Even went so far as to construct a portable sawmill. Then, reality set in, and we accepted the fact that by the time we could actually get it built, we would both be too old to climb the steps to our loft bedroom.

Plan 2: a split-level, passive solar design, with a underground root cellar/saferoom. Lower level partially earth-bermed. No need for AC/with outdoor wood furnace. Problems encountered: rising prices of concrete and block are making it increasingly cost-prohibitive, when we drew up the plans and bid out the materials, it came in under 22K for 2,400 sq ft. With the price increases and the fact that we don't want to finance any of it, plan 2 has been scrapped.

Plan 3: This one is do-able, but not fancy. We're going with a 32x50 slab, 2 bedroom (don't want to leave any extra room for MIL to get any ideas ) metal sheets, which we already have-construction job salvage-for the roofing and maybe the siding, too. large kitchen, living room in the center of the house, wood stoves for heat/cooking at the front and back. DH sent out material lists for bids and looks like we can do it for 12K. That's with no floor coverings or paint. both of which are nice, but not necessary. besides, I think I have enough paint stored away to do the job, anyway. The plan is to get this built, move in and then as money and time permit, dig in the basement/rootcellar on the front side of the house and connect it with a glassed in, passive solar design room. (I'm thinking winter veggies, yeh!)
We can probably get the price down another 2 or 3 grand, we need to inventory our "salvage" materials and see what's what.
We need to get the plans approved and start soon, tho.
Concrete shortages are being felt in our area . DH can only pour concrete 3 days a week at his job, now. Guy at the plant told him that's the way it's gonna be for the undetermined future.

If you're going to go with a slab, do it as soon as possible.
Also, a good source for sheet metal is to cruise the industrial construction sites, scope out the guy putting up the butler buildings and catch him after work. Chances are real good he has a stash of slightly damaged sheet metal at home that he'll sell for a discount

 

[Onebyone]

IMO, if you have the labor for free the cheapest is "Rammed earth" construction.

It is hard labor and very labor intensive but really the cheapest that I know of. It has very thick walls which means no need for air and heating costs are low.

You do need a somewhat dryer climate for it to work well. Not sure where you live so you need to check it out.

 

[Christian for Israel]

IMO, if you have the labor for free the cheapest is "Rammed earth" construction.

It is hard labor and very labor intensive but really the cheapest that I know of. It has very thick walls which means no need for air and heating costs are low.

You do need a somewhat dryer climate for it to work well. Not sure where you live so you need to check it out.

rammed earth is much like cob, but cob has been used in england, which is a very wet climate (some english cob homes are more than 200 years old).

also, papercrete has been used for slabs and foundations at about 1/20th the cost of regular concrete.

 

[Mrs Smith]

Have you considered a strawbale home? You can still have a basement, and putting sheet metal up for the roofing is inexpensive.

There's an excellent article in this month's Mother Earth News, and more info on the web. There's documentation of a still-solid straw bale home that's 70 years old (IIRC.)

 

[rafter]

I spent all yesterday afternoon on just the first page of google for straw bale houses. We are going to be building in the next few weeks and were considering it.

R-50 walls sound good and the price isn't bad either. My main drawback was how do you hang pictures?

I know to some that may not be a big deal for the trade offs you get, but it is something to think about.

 

[booger]

Thanks, everyone!

Mijuco, we sound eerily similar! We've tossed so many ideas, I've lost count. My DH is also in construction so he picks up scraps whenever he can. I may just annoy you with a PM in the next day or two.

We don't live in a dry area, unfortunately, so rammed earth is out. Not a wet area, either, just wet enough to ruin the rammed earth idea.

I looked into strawbale construction a while back and I seem to remember there were problems with moisture unless everything was done perfectly. We are not capable of doing *anything* perfectly. :sb:

Cob--I need to check that out, as I have not read much on the subject. Thanks!

Ferro cement and papercrete--I remember reading a bit about those but then got distracted by life so need to do some more reading.

We live in a tornado-prone area so I would also like strength. That, coupled with the cheapness, has been leading us to quick-form stone walls with a metal frame. Hauling all of those rocks, though, could take a lifetime! Maybe we'll end up with one wall being rock, one wall being cob, one wall being metal, and one wall tires or something.

Thanks again, everyone!! I'm going to show DH all of these links and we'll have a brainstorming session this weekend.

 

[Freeholdfarm]

I really like cob construction (really adobe all in one lump instead of individual bricks), but don't know if I'll get to do anything more than maybe a chicken house out of it here. (This place belongs to my grandmother, and when she's gone we'll have to move.)

Look into a book called The $50 and Up Underground House Book by Mike Oehler. That's the other construction method I've been thinking about. I would probably use half logs for the shoring between posts rather than the 2" lumber he uses, but other than that I like it.

Anything you can build mostly with what is on your property is going to be cheaper (though probably a lot more labor) than anything you can buy. And probably end up nicer, too.

Kathleen

 

[Christian for Israel]

i've been playing with a pic of a shipping container home, and this is what i've come up with so far. the benefits are that they're cheap, strong, and modular. you could even put them underground. the price for a used 8X40 foot container is around $1000.

 

[Mrs Smith]

The inside walls of a straw bale home are covered in several layers of plaster, so hanging pictures wouldn't be an issue. I think it's sturdier than you may be thinking.

 

[juco]

Mijuco, we sound eerily similar! We've tossed so many ideas, I've lost count. My DH is also in construction so he picks up scraps whenever he can. I may just annoy you with a PM in the next day or two.

Go right ahead! Next to Goaties, "salvage" construction is my favorite topic in the homestead area. My entire barn is built with construction job left overs. No, I take that back, we did buy some salt treated timbers for the posts, but other than that...
"freebies"! I love it!

When my older DD graduated from high school, we had a pig pickin' for her and one of the older gentlemen from the church kept walking around just staring at our "junk piles". My daughter, like most teenage girls, felt the need to make a good impression on him and apologized for dad's "junk". The older man looked at her with a disbelieving expression and said," Darlin, that's not junk, that's salvage!

 

[Patriot]

Just posted on another thread about this. used tires
They are usually free for the asking. Just pack the carcass with sand ram it in good and stack like legos. you can do straight wall construction or dome/arch. When structure is complete pour concrete w/wo rebar cove with wire cloth and cement.

http://www.touchtheearthranch.com/tirestart.htm

 

[Veli Hopea]

I also bought that book by Mike Oehler. It is great, although I haven't built anything yet.

Mike Oehler has also a web site:

http://www.undergroundhousing.com/

 

[Flagwaver]

I'd go strawbale if I lived in a more arid part of the country. I don't think they work in places where there is much humidity.