Build Your House For A Thousand Bucks? Really?

[stonecypher]

After stumbling on this website, I read it carefully and checked out the pictures in detail.

http://survivalnews.net/index.php?cid=238&id=187

Okay, this sounds too easy. "What's wrong with this picture???"

[ladycat]

That sure is interesting.

[Otter]

Nothing's wrong with the picture.

Just keep in mind that that $ amount is for the shell only. No; windows, flooring, doors, plumbing, fixtures, paint, cabinets, wiring, labor, know-how or permit costs.

Having said that, it's still a pretty cool idea for a desert climate and someone wanting to cut costs by doing work themselves. I'd build a shed first for practice if I wanted to do this for a home. Have fun with it!

[Danaus29]

Have you priced chicken wire lately? $20 won't buy you much. I think their prices are either for another country or several years old. You surely won't find anyone to bring a backhoe to your location for less than $500 here, and the sand I wanted to buy (21 cubic yards) was in excess of $700.

Nice looking houses though. Great insulation/thermal mass qualities.

[BeeFree]

Definately for a desert house.

[brewswain]

Originally Posted by Danaus29

Have you priced chicken wire lately? $20 won't buy you much. I think their prices are either for another country or several years old. You surely won't find anyone to bring a backhoe to your location for less than $500 here, and the sand I wanted to buy (21 cubic yards) was in excess of $700.

Nice looking houses though. Great insulation/thermal mass qualities.

wow! I just paid $100 delivery fees for one bulldozer and one trackhoe in northern Arkansas.
they charged $100 an hour using the machines.
no delivery charge for the dump trucks and $65 per hour using them.
we moved 2000 cubic yards of dirt, after that they created an 800' long driveway.
total costs $5200

[Steve L.]

Originally Posted by stonecypher

After stumbling on this website, I read it carefully and checked out the pictures in detail.

http://survivalnews.net/index.php?cid=238&id=187

Okay, this sounds too easy. "What's wrong with this picture???"

$1000 for ONE 14' dome. If the walls are only 1' thick, you end up with ONE 12' diameter room that's less than 120 square feet. That's still cheap - $8 a square foot. But that's only shell materials costs.

Also The $1000 doesn't include -

...four people working 5-6 hours per day moved 40 tons of earth with coffee cans to complete the bag work of the structure in 19 days...

That's 57 man days of labor - over $4500 in labor @ $10 an hour.

That makes it around $40 a square foot building cost.

[tn_junk]

Keep in mind that the plan on this is to do it yourself. With a little scrounging, I think his $ figure is reasonable, especially if you do some HARD WORK and do all the digging by hand.

alan

[Gary in ohio]

The numbers dont seem to jive with real world numbers.

professional backhoe excavation(2ft deep x 16ft diam) $150 2ftx16ft long run wouldnt take much time, but a round ditch would take a bit time to keep repoistioning the tractor. $150 seems low.

40 tons reject sand delivered $150 What the heck is reject sand? I havent priced sand but $150 for a truckload seems low

1000 bags delivered $250 25cents/bag isnt bad but most places sell for close to 30 cents/bag

homemade tools (compass, stands, pounders,etc) $ 75 fine not knowing what was made.

4-point barbed wire (2 rolls) $ 90 Not knowing how big a roll they had, but TSC sells rolls but there almost $80/roll.

plywood arch forms (reusable) $150 10 sheets you can do a lot.

straw for plaster/cob (20 bales) $ 35 Again we dont know the size but 50lb bales usually go for $2-3/bale around here.

chicken wire $ 20 Again, how much but a single role of 4ftx50ft will run you $20. I would think you would need a good amount of this in this style home.

[MushCreek]

And of course, that old bugaboo- Is it code legal?

[ldc]

The architecht mentioned in the referenced article was world famous for his houses 20-30 yrs ago. The prices are from then. We studied him and his buildings back then. They were for a desert climate! ldc

[texican]

Try Craigslist.

Once a month there's a free mobile on the site. About once a year, I'm offered a free mobile home... up until recently I had no way of making a tight curve... the curve has been rounded, so now, I could theoretically get a free home. I'd use it for storing feed and whatnot.

Scrounging is the Way to do 'er.

[Gary in ohio]

Originally Posted by MushCreek

And of course, that old bugaboo- Is it code legal?

Pretty much east of the Mississippi and west of the Rockies its not going to pass any code. heck just south of me a 2x4 framed home doesnt meet code.

[fantasymaker]

Seems like a lot of work and little in saveings for a very inconveinant building.of course if you just need one 14 fot dome....

[adamtheha]

Where I live you can build accessory farm buildings without a permit. Could this stand up in the Alberta cold? I wouldn't want to see what would happen to that mud roof in June!

[Beeman]

The prices are from years ago and must be in a foreign country there is no possible way they are any where near accurate. That said it's still interesting and doable.

[onthespot]

I wouldn't like living in that in California. Just thinking about an earthquake and those hunner tonner walls caving in on me just gives me the willies.

[palani]

I picked up a book from the '70s entitled the $50 Underground House Book. The author made a 400 square foot underground dwelling and lived in it for several years before upgrading to a 700-800 foot similar structure. It was built with lodgepole pine rafters and supports.

Good book if you can find it ... try bookfinder.com

[brewswain]

Originally Posted by palani

I picked up a book from the '70s entitled the $50 Underground House Book. The author made a 400 square foot underground dwelling and lived in it for several years before upgrading to a 700-800 foot similar structure. It was built with lodgepole pine rafters and supports.

Good book if you can find it ... try bookfinder.com

I was foolish enough to waste my money on that book recently.
Its commonly available.
His website even gives you his phone number so you can call the author to order the book.
That allows him to try to also sell you his video.
In the book, he admits he did not actually live in his hole in the ground during the winter, he spent winters in motels.
I seriously doubt if a single person ever copied his weird idea and I am POSITIVE no couple ever did.

I believe the concept of living underground is a very good idea, but his tiny hole in the dirt is unacceptable.

[texican]

Building a house depends on two things... Do you have more time or more money?

If you have a good paying job, it makes sense to pay someone to build, or, save up large chunks of money, and take some extended weekends and vacation time, and build... but with traditional (modern) materials. It's faster.

If you have more time, and not much money, the 'alternative' building processes are the way to go. Most alternative techniques are time intensive. You'll spend a little bit of money, but a vast amount of time. If you have valuable skills, the calculus equations might say you work those skills, and build alternative (if the material is cheap or free)...

I saved 1200$ and started building... ran out of money, scrounged, and found most of my kitchen, bathroom, a lot of the walls, spent a couple months working, saving 110%, and put a roof on it. Worked a little, bought windows and doors. Dried in for less than 3K. Worked a little, and fancied her up. Over a period of two years, I lived with parents and two sets of grandparents, working either to make money for the house or working on the house. Walked in at the end, mortgage free, into a 1400sq' two story. Figure at the time, I had around 7K in it.

I could build the same home now, for 4K. I've scrounged three times as much material as needed for an equivalent house... so I'm building my new place within my 'scrounged' and saved budget. I've been taking dead pines, oaks, cedar, and cypress to a local bandsaw mill for 15 years, getting stuff cut for cheap, or on halfsies...

I could build a house for 1K. Go to the lumber store and buy new, it'd be small, say 10x12. Scrounge a bit, invest some sweat equity, and that 1k would only buy hardware, such as hinges, screws and nails... of course, I have salvascrounged hinges, screws, and nails, too! sometimes still in the 50lb box! House could be relatively livable.