Some advice/links please...

jessimeredith · #1 10/21/07, 11:03 AM

We're on our way!

By this time next year, we hope to be deep in the building process on our new land in MO. DH and I both have basic construction skills and my Dad will be helping *he's got more skill than we do, lol*. What we would like is to hear from you more experienced self-builders.

Found a few floorplans that will work well for us with a few minor adjustments and we want to go as "green" as possible from the get go. I've looked into enertia style building and like the concept, but I'm not sure how well it will work in the limestone hills of MO.

We'll be doing as much of the work as possible ourselves *with Dad's help of course* and as money permits. Consider us exceptionally green, pretend like we know absolutely nothing about building....what advice would you give? Links to good sites on everything?

Thanks and I can't wait to get started on this adventure!!

CJ · #2 10/21/07, 12:47 PM

Hi JessiMeredith, where in MO will you be living? We're in Douglas county, and will be building our home ourselves, and plan to build a non-load bearing strawbale home. We're in the process of putting a road and well in, and hope to start construction next year.

We really like the idea of strawbale for various reasons, ease of building, insulation, and aesethic beauty.

YuccaFlatsRanch · #3 10/21/07, 01:24 PM

CJ - I live in a Non load bearing strawbale home. It was built using a method called modified post and beam. If you want some hints on how to do it better (for instance without metal or wood stakes thru the straw) then PM me. I can send you pictures.

jessimeredith · #4 10/21/07, 02:28 PM

CJ~

We'll be living in the Potosi/Washington county area but building in Reynolds County. It's a haul to be sure, but we'll be staying with my folks until we find a place to rent while building the primary part of the house, digging the well and such. Since we'll be doing an "as the cash comes in" build, we're expecting it to take a while to get completely done BUT we're hoping to have something livable by Spring '09 at the latest.

Of course, mine and DH's ideas of livable are different, lol. I'm good with a well insulated shed...DH wants a bit more, lol.

Natalie11 · #5 10/21/07, 02:41 PM

I'm always pushing "Earthbag Building" as a green way to go. You don't see a whole lot of it, but I can assure you, it is well worth looking into. Very Green, Very Easy as far as skill level goes, and very Cheap.

A good book reference: Earthbag Building: the Tips, Tricks, and Techniques.

The internet has some limited stuff, though a lot of the photos and sites are poor examples of a great way to build a home, barn, shed, etc... The book gives the "right" way... Done nicely..

Right now we live in the town where the author of the book lives. Have seen MANY examples of their work. Fantastic, everything from homes to fences with earthbags. Strong, Sturdy and Simple. Treated well, will do very well in humid climates and dry climates.

Good Luck.

CJ · #6 10/21/07, 04:33 PM

YFR, I'd love more information if you're willing to share. We've got a number of books and DVD's on strawbale building, and can't wait to start, hopefully next year.

JM, we are also building cash as we go, which is why it takes forever to do anything, but it is nice to have it all paid for!

Natalie, I mentioned this method to my hubby, but he says earthbags won't have the insulation properties of the strawbales, which for us is a key issue.

Maura · #7 10/21/07, 05:34 PM

The book, "Building for a Lifetime" was very useful to us. We built our house, used infloor heating and love it.