Human-Sized Hobbit House That Costs Less Than $5,000 to Build

[TheWire]

Interesting and unique underground house. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/want-to-see-the-human-sized-hobbit-house-that-costs-less-than-5000-to-build/

[glenn kangiser]

Yes - that is a cool little house.  I saw it once before . Reciprocal roof as I recall. 

[rick91351]

I was so surprised and disappointed in the comments people posted about it in the comment section.  The house we want to build I think will get dropped in favor of something like that so I can upset someone!  My gad why not be happy for them, more power to them.  I sort of can't figure it out.  Are they really up set that they end up with a live-able, love-able and cute $5K home.  Or because it is not X by Y and Q in height?           

[tommytebco]

Please don't be offended, but I expected "someone" to say "It may not pass code"  <G>

The other side:
Mother Earth News used to feature a writer who consistently bashed code, engineering factors of safety and code inspectors.

After many years, I read "We regret to announce the death of XXXXX. His reinforced concrete roof fell in on him during a heavy snow storm"

Two sides to every...

Tom

[rick91351]

Reading through the comments I was referring too.  Not one I believe asked is it safe or is it build within legal limits?  I agree it most likely would not pass 'code' yet might be fully compliant.  I do not know anything about the building of this hobbit house nor the construction of it.  I was just referring to people had their hackles up that they only spent 5K, and used recycled materials and stuff out of the trash bin, and did not look like a 'flat'.     
     

[Alan Gage]

I was so surprised and disappointed in the comments people posted about it in the comment section.  The house we want to build I think will get dropped in favor of something like that so I can upset someone!  My gad why not be happy for them, more power to them.  I sort of can't figure it out.  Are they really up set that they end up with a live-able, love-able and cute $5K home.  Or because it is not X by Y and Q in height?         

Seems pretty normal on the internet. I don't let comments like that bother me anymore, I expect them and view them as entertainment. I really get a kick out of them.

Who are these people? You can bet they're not like that in person.

Alan

[Gary O]

There's some beautiful creations out there, and IMO this is one of them. I so wish my mind could go there. To take essentially nothing and bring forth something quite pleasing to the eye, is a mastery brought to actualization.
It's the trait of an artisan, of which I so hate, and am consumed with jealousy, as I take good wood, paid with hard earned cash, and create kindling........

Code?
Naw, they'd have to rewrite the book.

Sound building technique?
Maybe, but most ventures like this have their problems, and are addressed as time passes and the glitches become evident.

Critics? Who cares, unless they live with you.....

Thank you 'TheWire' for posting this abode.

Superb.

[NM_Shooter]

I think it looks pretty nifty.   But the areas where art and habitat intersect must respect safety.  If that is a sod roof, supported by a fairly spindly log and scrap wood structure, I would not want my kids in it.  Give it a couple of years, and that moisture above will weaken that roof.  One good rain to soak the sod after the wood starts to decay, and it is coming down. 

Perhaps there is a sealed shotcrete surface above the roof boards and below the sod?  I didn't read close enough to notice.

It is a cool structure.  But building codes exist to keep people who don't know better somewhat safe.

From an art perspective, I really, really like it.  From a habitat perspective, it should be condemned.   

[bayview]

Pretty cool!

I wonder how soon before child protection is called . . .

/.

[Squirl]

You picked up on my main concern shooter.  He said he built it out of only natural materials that were mostly scrap.  That made me suspect non-treated materials without a barrier in direct contact with earth.  At least he put a membrane down for the roof.  You get more detail in the British article.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2039719/Simon-Dale-How-I-built-hobbit-house-Wales-just-3-000.html

I'm not sure about its longevity.  He left the bark on all the wood.
This has been floating around the internet for a few years.  I'm surprised he is so public about it.  The U.K. is a highly regulated country. 

I'm not so dismissive of codes.  Many of the codes referred to such as height, spacing, and access are parts of the fire code.  They aren't just to keep the home owner safe, but to keep rescue personnel employed to save lives such as fire fighters safe.

I like the idea and many of the designs in it.

[Ernest T. Bass]

I was going to "comment on the comments" as well.. I couldn't believe how many people didn't like the look of it, or thought it was too rustic.. I wish my mind could work that creatively. I'd like to combine something like that with a Glenn-style underground someday. Just because you use recycled materials doesn't mean it has to be unsafe, if you do your math and use common sense. One thing that they did was use straw under the floor and under the sod.. Not sure if I'd do that. No mention of a VB under the straw in the ceiling, but maybe the sod insulates the bales enough to keep them over the dew point.

They aren't living there anymore, and I wish that he published some more "lessons learned" type of stuff. Seems a bit rose-colored in it's presentation.

[speedfunk]

This place is probably my  favorite example of a natural shelter out there!!  Much more at home in surroundings then conventional buildings.  Hardly any waste, when its useful life is done it will blend back into the earth.  Will probably be around longer than any other 5k home!

Code does not dictate a house is sound.  The houses made out of sawdust and flakes of wood mixed with glue, are  they the  pinnacle of good home building?  Will these houses be around in another 100 years?  The great thing about natural building based on locally sourced ingredients is that they are stable in their environment.  They can be repaired with little overall cost b/c material is on hand.  That 4x8 sheet of OSB needs a lot of processing and at some point when the glues dry or moisture gets trapped in the glue and rots out the wood then what will happen?  When at the home improvement store a while ago I also saw osb 2x4's ,lol!! Our cookie cutter homes are meant to be banged up quickly for people that did not build it and don,t want to maintain it , the same mind set that makes throw away tools. 

I see this shelter and it makes me upset that in this "free" country I cannot live in such a place (legally) or risk losing my children. 

[speedfunk]

Here is the link to how the frame work was built for everyones info.

http://www.simondale.net/house/build.htm



This page goes into more detail about how he joined the logs etc..

http://www.simondale.net/house/frame.htm



Simon Dale now lives in a new eco village.  Lamas I think its called.  Here is pic of a community house they are currently building.

[NM_Shooter]

Here is the link to how the frame work was built for everyones info.

Yikes. 

This is a really good example of why inspectors and codes are a good thing. 

[drainl]

it was a reciprocal roof.  So load is on the outside posts (which look strong).  The piece of wood (post) in the middle is just a temp holder. 


Jeff

[Don_P]

It is a concept house to me, very interesting, not so practical in my world but it has things to think about and possibly incorporate.

Most of the "you couldn't build it here" comments were knee jerk. This concept build likely could not pass inspection but for most of those concerns you simply have to be able to show that a building can safely support the anticipated worst case loads. It doesn't say it has to be conventional or that it cannot be organic.  There is an alternative methods and materials section in the codebook. You could get a modification of this through inspections but probably not for his price.

We were talking about gut reactions on another thread, try this by gut reaction rather than how I did it. When I saw this build a few years ago it intrigued me. I read up on it and thought about how it worked for a bit then designed and engineered a simple reciprocal model. Indeed it held my weight. The question was, how accurate was the math. I had my wife start handing me books. With between 25 and 50 lbs in my hands the model broke. So that part worked. I read a little more and built DaVinci's reciprocal bridge as well, neat stuff.

http://thecarpentryway.blogspot.com/2009/03/model-carpenter.html

[speedfunk]

DonP:  Its good to know that there might be away to get this built through code.  To me it would seem hard where I am in NY b/c of energy codes.  How do you prove an R value through their simple software.  Obviously calling it a shed would be easiest, then slowly move in.  I I had this idea here if we ever wanted to live in a more organic house.  Use a trailer or house for a cheap "front".  Mail gets delivered,Schools are happy.  Behind it hidden somewhere is the real organic homestead.  The front could then be rented out to pay bills.


In my little experience with trees that spindly wood it pretty tough and tears more then cracks.  So rather then a sudden failure it would hint to failing, so you could fix if need be.   

Also note that the beams that support roof are arched , effectively taking the weak point of that beam ( the middle) and putting that load more on the post.  Also note the one time the beams sagged (in the rear of the pic against the bank) he re-enforced it with another post.   

Sizing of wood doesn't have to be as large as a dimensional square logs b/c of retaining more strength by being round.

[Squirl]

It largely depends on the inspector.  The one in the town to the west of you is a licensed engineer of 30+ years.  He has been great to work with as long as you can show him the calculations of how it works.  He is a stickler on the energy code.  You could build a hanging rafter system and fiberglass or cellulose insulation if you wanted.

The building code is pretty expansive and covers dozens of different building types, and allows for exceptions to many situations.  The difference in most situations is demonstrating the knowledge, not just "it feels right."

To get a house like this past inspection I would:
clean off the bark
do the calculations to show the beams can handle the loads
place rigid foam insulation between the roof and the earth layer
use PT wood in between were the wood contacts the earth or rocks
do the calculations to show the footing are large enough and the soil can handle the loads
use double pane windows
show the inspector the NM code and the ICC provisions for straw bale insulation

Yes it would cost a few dollars more, but it would look almost identical and be to code.  The big difference it would take a lot more work in planning and knowledge. 

[ridin434]

Why are people complaining about this guy? He took a small amount of money, and made a home for his family. No, it would not pass code anywhere here in the states but he isn't hurting anyone, and I haven't heard any tragic stories of buildings falling down because they didn't follow code.

Somebody has a unique idea and people want to rain on their parade....

[Native_NM]

The only ones complaining are the tax assessors who think of every home as another $5,000 in revenue.