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

Tue Feb 24 16:43:37 GMT 2015

Nice :)

Did you see also about the Right to Build Vanguard legislation?
http://www.self-build.co.uk/right-build-vanguard-councils-chosen
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Straw-bale-eco-village-planned-edge-Cambridge/story-26029293-detail/story.html

On 24 February 2015 at 16:34, Zardoz Greek zardos777 at yahoo.co.uk
[Diggers350] <Diggers350-noreply at yahoogroups.com> 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
>
>
>
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