Re: [Diggers350] Former art teacher building eco-homes for £150 each :-)

[Clive Menzies]

Thanks


I couldn't find the video link in the message but here it is: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC-7ZGe5cwA


Brilliant


Regards


Clive


On 24/02/15 16:34, Zardoz Greek zardos777 at yahoo.co.uk [Diggers350] wrote:
>
>
> Farmer builds a house for just £150 using materials he found in 
> skips... and the current tenant pays their rent in MILK
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513154/Farmer-builds-house-just-150-using-materials-skips--current-tenant-pays-rent-MILK.html
>
> By David Wilkes for the Daily Mail
> 11:32 25 Nov 2013, updated 02:06 26 Nov 2013
> Michael Buck used only natural materials or unwanted items to build 
> 'cob house' at bottom of his garden
> He said he wanted to challenge the notion that paying for a house 
> should take a lifetime
> He is now renting out the property to a worker on a neighouring farm, 
> who pays for her lodgings in milk
> It looks like something straight out of Middle Earth – and the story 
> behind it is almost as fantastical.
>
> This cottage cost just £150 to build, using only natural or reclaimed 
> materials, and is now rented out for a fee of fresh milk and cream.
>
> And with no mains electricity, gas or water, the bills don’t come to 
> much either.
>
> Scroll down for video
>
> Cob house: Michael Buck built this house at the bottom of his garden 
> for just £150 using natural or unwanted materials he found in skips
> Cob house: Michael Buck built this house at the bottom of his garden 
> for just £150 using natural or unwanted materials he found in skips
> Interior: Mr Buck rescued the floorboards from a neighbour's skip and 
> used the windscreen of an old lorry to create several of the home's 
> windows
> Interior: Mr Buck rescued the floorboards from a neighbour's skip and 
> used the windscreen of an old lorry to create several of the home's 
> windows
> Inside: Although the cottage has no electricity it does have free 
> running water from a nearby spring and walls painted with a chalk and 
> plant resin mixture
> Inside: Although the cottage has no electricity it does have free 
> running water from a nearby spring and walls painted with a chalk and 
> plant resin mixture
> Homely: The cottage has a kitchen and dining area, along with a 
> bunk-style bed to maximise space below
> Homely: The cottage has a kitchen and dining area, along with a 
> bunk-style bed to maximise space below
> Smallholder Michael Buck spent eight months constructing the house 
> using the ancient technique of cob – building with a mixture of sand, 
> clay, straw, water and earth. He taught himself the method by reading 
> a book, even shaping the walls without a single power tool.
>
> MORE...
> A bargain at £35MILLION: Owners slash £30m off the asking price of 
> newly built 11-bedroom mansion as elite property bubble bursts
> At £40million, a London home fit for the Beckham brood... complete 
> with hair salon, shoe room and bathroom TVs
> He also made the simple wooden roof frame and thatched it himself with 
> straw from his fields. The 300 sq ft of floor space features 
> floorboards rescued from a skip, while an old windscreen from a lorry 
> provided glass for the windows.
>
> With no central heating, you might think it would be a bit chilly, but 
> he says the cob walls and thatched roof make it incredibly well 
> insulated – and the ceiling is stuffed with sheep’s wool from a nearby 
> farm to help keep the heat in further.
>
>
> Take a tour inside the hand-made £150 COB HOUSE
> Resourceful: Mr Buck, pictured outside the cob house, said he wanted 
> to challenge the notion that paying for a house should take a lifetime
> Resourceful: Mr Buck, pictured outside the cob house, said he wanted 
> to challenge the notion that paying for a house should take a lifetime
> Thatched roof: Former art teacher Mr Buck taught himself how to thatch 
> in order to create the cottage's intricate roof
> Thatched roof: Former art teacher Mr Buck taught himself how to thatch 
> in order to create the cottage's intricate roof
> Welcoming: Cob houses are built according to a method thought to date 
> back to prehistoric times which uses only earth, clay and straw
> Welcoming: Cob houses are built according to a method thought to date 
> back to prehistoric times which uses only earth, clay and straw
> Isolated: The cottage, situated in the Oxfordshire countryside, even 
> has its own thatched outhouse complete with composting toilet
> Isolated: The cottage, situated in the Oxfordshire countryside, even 
> has its own thatched outhouse complete with composting toilet
> There is also a woodburning stove, strategically placed beneath the 
> mezzanine level double bed to ensure residents stay ‘nice and toasty’ 
> at night, while candles and lanterns provide light.
>
> The water supply is free as it comes from a diverted natural spring 
> which gurgles out of a pipe outside, while the ‘natural’ fridge is a 
> shallow well a few yards away from the front door and hidden from view 
> by towering cow parsley.
>
> The WC is a composting lavatory in a separate thatched outhouse with a 
> panoramic view of the Oxfordshire countryside, and the ‘bathroom’ is a 
> tin tub hanging on the wall outside which can be brought in and filled 
> as needed.
>
> Hard at work: Mr Buck spent two years gathering materials and 
> contructing the house at the bottom of his garden
> Hard at work: Mr Buck spent two years gathering materials and 
> contructing the house at the bottom of his garden
> Site: Mr Buck intended to build the cottage for no cost at all but 
> after 'some things went wrong' he ended up spending £150 on it
> Site: Mr Buck intended to build the cottage for no cost at all but 
> after 'some things went wrong' he ended up spending £150 on it
> Taking shape: Mr Buck said he wanted the house to 'fit in with the 
> landscape rather than intrude upon it'
> Taking shape: Mr Buck said he wanted the house to 'fit in with the 
> landscape rather than intrude upon it'
> Development: The cottage is built from locally-sourced materials 
> which, apart from the glass, are biodegradable, Mr Buck has said
> Development: The cottage is built from locally-sourced materials 
> which, apart from the glass, are biodegradable, Mr Buck has said
> Mr Buck said that a house 'does not have to cost the Earth - you only 
> need earth to build it'
> Mr Buck said that a house 'does not have to cost the Earth - you only 
> need earth to build it'
> The property boasts free running water from a nearby spring
> The property boasts free running water from a nearby spring
> Retreat: The house features the names of all the people who helped in 
> building it written on the wall, including three cows who provided the 
> dung to help build the walls
> Retreat: The house features the names of all the people who helped in 
> building it written on the wall, including three cows who provided the 
> dung to help build the walls
> Return to where it came from: Mr Buck says while the house could last 
> forever with proper maintenance, it could also one day disappear back 
> into the Earth if it was left
> Return to where it came from: Mr Buck says while the house could last 
> forever with proper maintenance, it could also one day disappear back 
> into the Earth if it was left
> Tradition: English cob was traditionally made by mixing a clay-based 
> subsoil with sand, straw and water before using oxen to trample it
> Tradition: English cob was traditionally made by mixing a clay-based 
> subsoil with sand, straw and water before using oxen to trample it
> Despite the somewhat Spartan arrangements, Mr Buck is renting out the 
> unusual property. But there isn’t a hobbit in sight – and the current 
> tenant is a worker on a neighbouring dairy farm who pays for her 
> lodgings in milk and cream. Cooking can be done on the woodburner, but 
> she has installed a small gas stove in the kitchenette.
>
> Yesterday father of three Mr Buck, 59, who lives in a more 
> conventional home nearby with wife Sheila, 57, said: ‘I wanted to show 
> that houses don’t have to cost anything. We live in a society where we 
> spend our lives paying our mortgages, which many people don’t enjoy.’
>
> Mr Buck originally aimed to build the house for nothing, but 
> miscalculated the amount of straw needed so had to buy more. He also 
> had to buy nails to keep the thatch attached. Friends pitched in to 
> help with the build and their names are written on the wall, along 
> with the names of three cows – Marigold, Crystal and Mist – whose dung 
> was used to make plaster.
>
> Mr Buck, a former art teacher, drew the plans for the house on the 
> back of an envelope and did not need planning permission as it was 
> classed as a summer house.
>
> Heat is provided by a wood-burning stove - and thanks to the cob walls 
> and thatched roof the house is surprisingly well-insulated
> Heat is provided by a wood-burning stove - and thanks to the cob walls 
> and thatched roof the house is surprisingly well-insulated
> Mr Buck carried a 10ft wide bundle of reeds draped across his back on 
> foot to avoid racking up a carbon footprint
> Mr Buck carried a 10ft wide bundle of reeds draped across his back on 
> foot to avoid racking up a carbon footprint
> Achievement: Mr Buck said he wanted to challenge the idea that people 
> had to 'spend their whole lives paying off their mortgage doing 
> something they don't enjoy'
> Achievement: Mr Buck said he wanted to challenge the idea that people 
> had to 'spend their whole lives paying off their mortgage doing 
> something they don't enjoy'
> Click here to see more on George Clarke's Amazing Spaces
>
>
>
> Facebook
>
>
>
> 




-- 
Clive Menzies
Political Economist


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