Hello from the North West - Alternative Self Builds ?

[Jonathan Aspden]

Hi everyone, I’m a builder and also a student in my final year of a construction degree. I’m trying to gather information about issues, challenges and successes self builders experience when planning/building there own home. Mainly in gaining planning permission and complying with constraints that a project has?

My subject area and also passion is within alternative construction methods

(earthships, straw bale, hybrids etc.) and anything that has a low impact on the environment (renewable tech, eco design, energy efficiency). 

 

I also hope to have my own self build project on the go in a couple of years time (fingers crossed) so any information, experiences, stories or guides that anyone has would be gratefully appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Jonny

[ProDave]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

Many on here are (or have) built what we regard as low energy houses and using various forms or renewable energy.

 

Best to start some discussions about what people have done in separate topics not just this one.

[Jonathan Aspden]

Ah ok, thank you

[Jeremy Harris]

Welcome.

 

As @ProDave says, there are quite a few hear that have designed and built passive, or low energy homes, using a variety of construction methods.  Our house is timber frame (twin stud) built on a passive slab, with blown cellulose insulation in the walls and roof and airtightness that's a bit better than the PassivHaus limit.

 

[Ferdinand]

There are records of around 30 builds in the blog area. Worth a look.

 

I am not sure how many truly "alternative" build methods have been used by members though there may be some. I can't recall hobbit houses, or earth sheltered, or cob houses occurring too often. 

 

I think the weight of emphasis here is more on building houses to a good specification, whilst simplifying away some of the more gimmicky or specialist interventions. And I think that you may have more meat for your research in this kind of area ... eg do we really need grey water recycling, GSHP and complicated control systems? That is, straws in the wind for the practical consequences of high spec fabric first. Though there are exceptions - eg @Ed Davies is off grid in an A-frame house.

 

IMO the valuable insights to be gained here are perhaps as much about practical things that can be rolled out more widely, rather than revolutions that will upend all the apple carts.

 

Suspect that we are 5-15 years in advance of the norm, not 25-35.

 

Ferdinand

 

[ToughButterCup]

13 hours ago, Jonathan Aspden said:

[...]

so any information, experiences, stories or guides that anyone has would be gratefully appreciated.

 

Welcome.

You haven't read the forum then? Its ram packed with what you want.