# Off grid eco.friendly house builds



## woodbutcher (14 Jul 2020)

I have been thinking of building an off grid (probably timber construction) single storey house . Just wondering if anyone has either first hand experience or knows of good source of reference literature 👍


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## TheDoctor (14 Jul 2020)

Have a quick Google for tiny houses. They're single storey, wood construction and designed to be easily built.


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## Drago (14 Jul 2020)

Completely - almost - unrelated, but Building Off The Grid on discovery is one of my favourite TV programmes. Seriously, its on daily at 4pm and well worth watching if this is your bag.


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## johnblack (14 Jul 2020)

Drago said:


> Completely - almost - unrelated, but Building Off The Grid on discovery is one of my favourite TV programmes. Seriously, its on daily at 4pm and well worth watching if this is your bag.


Was just about to say this. Since lockdown and enforced working from home, I have been watching Building off the Grid, along with Homestead Rescue and Barnwood Builders.

I have also purchased a number of check shirts, trucker caps and now go by the name off Billy-Joe Jim Bob.


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## Cycleops (14 Jul 2020)

If you can do it more power to you. How do the authorities there view these kind of initiatives?
In the UK you'll get some jobsworth from the local council come down with his plastic briefcase and tell you to remove it.


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## wafter (14 Jul 2020)

Can't offer any advice but kudos for you attitude; this is something I'd love to do, although sadly well outside my abilities it seems 

Personally I've always liked the idea of a semi-subterrainian lair built into the side of a hill, for its reduced visual / environmental impact, security and year-round temperature stability..


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## chriswoody (14 Jul 2020)

Ben Law is always one of the first names to spring to mind when you talk about these kind of houses. His house build was featured on Grand Designs and he has a whole business based on his woodland management and eco construction. 

https://ben-law.co.uk/product-category/books-dvds/


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## mudsticks (14 Jul 2020)

woodbutcher said:


> I have been thinking of building an off grid (probably timber construction) single storey house . Just wondering if anyone has either first hand experience or knows of good source of reference literature 👍



Google timber framing / France you'll find lots of references.

As in the UK, finding a plot and obtaining building permissions are the hardest bits for most people.

It used to be a lot cheaper in France, then all the Brits ( including my ma) turned up and pushed up the price of tumble down shacks which have technically got permission to build, or restore something residential.

Supposed to be building a similar type thing here , but time / life / other complications have got in the way.
Got the plot and the permission to reside under agricultural conditions, but maybe its just too easy living the trailer trash stylee .

Should crack on with it really - Ok CC Purdah - til its done - see you in about seven years time - or so - when there's a picture to show


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## slowmotion (14 Jul 2020)

There's a lot of stuff on YouTube. Type "Earthship" in the search box and plenty of interesting clips will pop up.


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## Andy in Germany (14 Jul 2020)

Look up the Lammas village: they are the first development under new rules in Wales that allows for self-built ecologically sound housing.

If I find a way to do it I'll try the same here. Still working on that though...


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## sheddy (14 Jul 2020)

George Clark on C4 sometimes shows interesting builds.


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## jowwy (14 Jul 2020)

Drago said:


> Completely - almost - unrelated, but Building Off The Grid on discovery is one of my favourite TV programmes. Seriously, its on daily at 4pm and well worth watching if this is your bag.


Just wish they would make more of them.....seen them all now


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## SafetyThird (15 Jul 2020)

go over to https://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php and have a read. Pretty much the home of off grid folks in the UK. As Mudsticks mentioned, you're biggest issues are going to be finding a plot and getting the relevant permissions. Doing something similar has been my dream since I was a teenager but the sort of building I wanted just wouldn't pass planning. 

Earthships, while lovely, won't get planning in the UK, there's only two and they're demonstration buildings that you can't live in. Very interesting though. Look for a film called Garbage Warrior, which is about Mike Reynolds who invented them and the struggles he faced along the way. Likewise look at earth bag building promoted by Owen geiger, plenty of stuff on YouTube as well. Oh for the open spaces of America and counties which don't require building to code.

There's a bunch of off grid and timber framed houses on Grand Designs if you look through their index. Ben Law's build is the most famous and very similar to what I designed for myself 30 years ago except I wanted to use post and beam, not cruck framing.

Going off-grid is very much a state of mind. Everything about the house and your needs must be rethought in relation to it. If you still want the modern toys of computers, internet, big tv and stereo etc, you'll need a big battery supply, which means a need to charge it whatever the weather. PV is so cheap now, put in lots, but it doesn't work if we have typically British weather. 

For heating, wood is great but only if you're home all day to stoke the fires, have a woodland to feed it and about 2 solid months each year to cut, move, split and stack the wood and the space for 2-3 years worth of it as it dries. This is how I heat my own house as we have no central heating. Wish when I renovated this place I'd dug out the floors and put in underfloor heating and a ground source heat pump, but that's expensive and needs mains power really to run the pump.

The absolute biggest thing you can do to make a house affordable and buildable is to design it to be small and insulate the heck out of it. An alternative would be to look for a place in the country you can buy and then renovate, which is what we did over the past several years. Stripped to bare shell, new windows, doors, new upstairs floors, new render inside and out, new wood stoves for heating, 6kw of solar on the roof, solar diverter for hot water, we have 7 acres of old woodland which heats the house and we work from home so we can light the fires first thing and keep the place ticking over all day in the winter.

Consider also building partially off grid. Get mains power in (it might cost £20k but worth every penny and about what you'd spend on an off grid system) but be off sewage and water grids. Rainwater capture is cheap and pretty reliable here and perfect for washing machines and flushing toilets which waste so much clean water. Sewage can be treated with traditional septic systems, reed beds, modern treatment plants or you could go the composting toilet route.

Looking at the bookshelf next to my chair as I type this, here's a few from my library to get you started:

The woodland house - Ben Law
roundwood timber framing - ben law
The old house eco handbook
Small homes, the right size - Lloyd Khan
Serious Straw Bale - lacinski and bergeron
Building with Straw Bales - Barbara jones
Building with awareness - ted owens (very good book on building a small modern off grid home cheaply)
The renewable energy handbook - Kemp
Cabin Porn
create and oasis with grey water - art ludwig
building a low impact roundhouse - Tony wrench (for information about how difficult building off grid is from a planning point of view)
The timber framed home - Ted Benson
Build a Classic Timber framed home - Sobon (definitely get this one)
Little house on a small planet - Salomon
Tiny Homes, simple shelter - Lloyd Khan
The good life - Helen and Scott Nearing


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## woodbutcher (15 Jul 2020)

Many thanks for that comprehensive advice and list of references. I have Ben Laws books and maybe they are what fired my enthusiasm for doing something like it myself.
We have a lot of land available including several hectares of forest , not sure quite how much.
We live in SW France Lot/Dordogne region. Planning here is a bit flexible to say the least and a lot depends on how good your relationship with the Marie is. Generally speaking eco friendly building is smiled upon in this region so l live in hope.
We have horses and l built several structures for them including a timber framed and clad structure with solar panels and a rainwater collection system so l have some experience, albeit limited .The main thing is that it didn't put me off having another go !


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## SafetyThird (15 Jul 2020)

Ah, I should have noticed where you were based, I'm guessing that will make things somewhat easier from a planning point. If you've built the things you've mentioned, a house isn't much different. Look at some of Lloyd Khan's books from the 70's such as Home Work and you'll see the things the pacific coast builders put together. It was a hippy ideal and they embraced it along with the back to the land movement. It turned out not to be as easy as they expected but there's some amazing building work done by folks with no experience.

Lloyd Khan is something of a hero to me, you can learn a little of him here. He took up longboard skateboarding in his 70's 


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kPzMSvdDA


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## SafetyThird (15 Jul 2020)

Oh and if/when it goes ahead, please blog about it so we might live vicariously


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## woodbutcher (15 Jul 2020)

SafetyThird said:


> Ah, I should have noticed where you were based, I'm guessing that will make things somewhat easier from a planning point. If you've built the things you've mentioned, a house isn't much different. Look at some of Lloyd Khan's books from the 70's such as Home Work and you'll see the things the pacific coast builders put together. It was a hippy ideal and they embraced it along with the back to the land movement. It turned out not to be as easy as they expected but there's some amazing building work done by folks with no experience.
> 
> Lloyd Khan is something of a hero to me, you can learn a little of him here. He took up longboard skateboarding in his 70's
> 
> ...



I hadn't come across this guy before, l just love his natural positive enthusiasm . Thanks for introducing me to his stuff !
Just to give you an idea of where l am , this is a photo l took about half an hour ago of one of the fields where we have our horses. The forest surrounds us ,in the Lot/Dordogne region . It is very secluded and full of wild life from wild boar to red deer and lots more between .


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## woodbutcher (15 Jul 2020)

SafetyThird said:


> Oh and if/when it goes ahead, please blog about it so we might live vicariously


Will do , no problem !


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## mudsticks (15 Jul 2020)

woodbutcher said:


> I hadn't come across this guy before, l just love his natural positive enthusiasm . Thanks for introducing me to his stuff !
> Just to give you an idea of where l am , this is a photo l took about half an hour ago of one of the fields where we have our horses. The forest surrounds us ,in the Lot/Dordogne region . It is very secluded and full of wild life from wild boar to red deer and lots more between .
> View attachment 536138



Nice - with all that woodland i hope you've started planking up some trees already, for building timber and cladding ??

I've known a few folks do that - and extract the timber by horse too - proper back to the land stuff


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## slowmotion (15 Jul 2020)

If you like Lloyd Kahn's stuff, you'll probably like this classic from the 70's. I'm not sure if it's still in print but you can get secondhand copies on Ebay etc.


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## woodbutcher (15 Jul 2020)

slowmotion said:


> If you like Lloyd Kahn's stuff, you'll probably like this classic from the 70's. I'm not sure if it's still in print but you can get secondhand copies on Ebay etc.
> View attachment 536141


I promise l didn't get my avatar from this book It was used to describe what l did for a living by "so called friends" ( l was a furniture designer/maker 


mudsticks said:


> Nice - with all that woodland i hope you've started planking up some trees already, for building timber and cladding ??
> 
> I've known a few folks do that - and extract the timber by horse too - proper back to the land stuff


There is a proper old fashioned timber yard near me and they have cut stuff for me in the past , really cheaply as long as you pay with the folding stuff


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## mudsticks (15 Jul 2020)

woodbutcher said:


> I promise l didn't get my avatar from this book It was used to describe what l did for a living by "so called friends" ( l was a furniture designer/maker
> 
> There is a proper old fashioned timber yard near me and they have cut stuff for me in the past , really cheaply as long as you pay with the folding stuff


Good news.. "proper, old fashioned, nearby"

The holy trinity of useful local tradespeople..
My tractor mechanic same, for when I'm flummoxed.

He can make unobtainable parts out of something that's lying around the yard.

Quite a few folks have those mobile sawmill 'woodmiser' thingies round our way too.

The barn here is clad with eastern hemlock, processed with one, from woods not so far away. 

I'd imagine if you're trained in furniture making you'll have no probs crafting a small house. 

I'd guess the harder part for you would be letting go of the perfectionism, and entering into "that'll do well enough - as an invisible bodge" mentality.

The shelf here is groaning with the last thirty years worth of Walter Seagal, and 'handcrafted homes' books. 

But the elusive time, and motivation to get around to it, must be gathering dust, somewhere hereabouts too. 

But you inspired me to put in a call to the professional house drawing person, who makes things look acceptable to the planning dept.. So thanks for that


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## slowmotion (15 Jul 2020)

mudsticks said:


> The shelf here is groaning with the last thirty years worth of Walter Seagal, and 'handcrafted homes' books.


I went to a lecture about self-building by Walter himself in about 1975. He was very impressive. It was quite a long lecture and he started it with an unlit cigar in his fingers which he waved about. At various points in the lecture he paused and fumbled for his matches but then got excited and started speaking again before he could light it. He only succeeded when the audience started to applaud after an hour and a half.


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## mudsticks (15 Jul 2020)

Excellent, 

I wonder how many WS houses actually ever got built in the UK. 

I know there were a few small developments, but it never really went mainstream. 

Seems like such a sound low impact system. 

But building regs' over here like very solid foundations, blockwork, poured concrete, and so on. 

Walt was ahead of his time.


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## OldShep (15 Jul 2020)

I built a roundhouse using knowledge gained from reading Tony Wrench.
knocking the supporting timber out and letting the reciprocal roof lock into place has to be one of the high points of my life. I used 10 in number 5 metre 6” diameter logs so there was a big risk of being crushed to death if it went wrong.


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## mudsticks (15 Jul 2020)

OldShep said:


> I built a roundhouse using knowledge gained from reading Tony Wrench.
> knocking the supporting timber out and letting the reciprocal roof lock into place has to be one of the high points of my life. I used 10 in number 5 metre 6” diameter logs so there was a big risk of being crushed to death if it went wrong.



Ooo yes, I bet _that _was a moment.. 

I took tea with Tony and his good lady in said house about twenty years ago now. 

And it's still standing. 
Who says hippies can't build good sh*t

I liked the fact that the goats got reciprocal roof shelters about the place too.. 

Might call in on my way past on my Welsh bike ride next month.. There's a few new constructions gone up in the meantime.


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## woodbutcher (15 Jul 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Good news.. "proper, old fashioned, nearby"
> 
> The holy trinity of useful local tradespeople..
> My tractor mechanic same, for when I'm flummoxed.
> ...


You flatter me, and yes years ago when l was designing for Bloomingdale New York the world and life were different everything had to be workout and perfected to the ' Nth'-degree Now l do what pleases me and if others find that hard to take....it's their problem not mine 


OldShep said:


> I built a roundhouse using knowledge gained from reading Tony Wrench.
> knocking the supporting timber out and letting the reciprocal roof lock into place has to be one of the high points of my life. I used 10 in number 5 metre 6” diameter logs so there was a big risk of being crushed to death if it went wrong.


Good for you, that must have been so satisfying and what a relief . Just lifting one of those logs would probably crease me these days


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## mudsticks (16 Jul 2020)

OldShep said:


> I built a roundhouse using knowledge gained from reading Tony Wrench.
> knocking the supporting timber out and letting the reciprocal roof lock into place has to be one of the high points of my life. I used 10 in number 5 metre 6” diameter logs so there was a big risk of being crushed to death if it went wrong.



Just a thought, but next time maybe put a strop around the base of the supporting pole (the end of which you originally settled on two sheets of damp proof membrane or similar) and winch / tow it out from a safe distance - not so exciting maybe, but potentially less deathy, if it were to go wrong.. 

I know its a bit dull, but this more cautious approach may explain why I've survived thirty plus active years in the farming industry with only a few relatively minor scars to show for it


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## OldShep (16 Jul 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Just a thought, but next time maybe put a strop around the base of the supporting pole (the end of which you originally settled on two sheets of damp proof membrane or similar) and winch / tow it out from a safe distance - not so exciting maybe, but potentially less deathy, if it were to go wrong..
> 
> I know its a bit dull, but this more cautious approach may explain why I've survived thirty plus active years in the farming industry with only a few relatively minor scars to show for it



i survived 45yrs of farming only thing I lost was my sanity. 
That seems like a good idea but I’m not going to build another to find out if it works.
Only doubt I have about your idea is I think it needs a shock movement of the pole as the . A gradual pull might just drag timbers with it?
We could take your idea and yoke it up to an old Fergie 35 2000 rpm second low box and let the clutch go


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## mudsticks (16 Jul 2020)

OldShep said:


> i survived 45yrs of farming only thing I lost was my sanity.
> That seems like a good idea but I’m not going to build another to find out if it works.
> Only doubt I have about your idea is I think it needs a shock movement of the pole as the . A gradual pull might just drag timbers with it?
> We could take your idea and yoke it up to an old Fergie 35 2000 rpm second low box and let the clutch go



Don't be silly, you wouldn't have taken up farming in the first place, if you'd had any 'sanity', so there was none to lose.. 

Yes that exactly re the tractor pull, a good preliminary yank - and she'd be free


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## Joey Shabadoo (17 Jul 2020)

Lived off-grid for about 9 months in a rented cottage on Arran. Water came from a hill tank, septic tank for waste, power from a water wheel charging a bank of car batteries. 

Pros - water tasted better than the piped supply. No electricity bill. Reduced Council Tax


Cons - power was 12 v with enough to run a small fridge, most of the houselights and a portable telly. However, the water wheel didn't work when the burn ran dry in the summer or when the burn ran high in the spring and autumn. To run the washing machine we had to fire up a generator. 

Cooking was done on the Aga in the kitchen which heated the whole kitchen and dining area. In winter, this and the bedrooms above were the only habitable rooms. All the other downstairs rooms were bitterly cold and very, very damp. The house was in a clearing in the forest, accessed only by a 2 mile forestry commission road - which destroyed car suspensions. I ended up with a Subaru pick up to take the bins out and collect the coal at the road end. The Aga also gave us hot water but this was limited so it was luke-warm shared baths while we were there. 

I loved it  but had to move to avoid a divorce.


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## Archie_tect (17 Jul 2020)

Another vote for Earthships... why wouldn't you build one? ... they do work, but getting enough used tyres may be an issue these days, especially in the South of France but you'd need good shade to prevent over-heating and a really good stack effect chimney system to ventilate rooms in summer... check out rammed earth houses too.

Good luck and have fun! Nothing is ever wasted and everything can be adapted- it;'s a life choice which can only enrich your life which is always worth trying. Labour is free and reusing things that would only go for scrap is the cheapest way to build. I envy you the chance.


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## Archie_tect (17 Jul 2020)

@woodbutcher, see what the cheapest local materials are for your area- could even be slate or limestone which you could build as an outer leaf with a highly insulated timber frame inside... so may possibilities, you can source the cheapest and start from there without any preconceptions.


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## woodbutcher (17 Jul 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> Lived off-grid for about 9 months in a rented cottage on Arran. Water came from a hill tank, septic tank for waste, power from a water wheel charging a bank of car batteries.
> 
> Pros - water tasted better than the piped supply. No electricity bill. Reduced Council Tax
> 
> ...


Thanks for your entertaining story. I already have a Toyota pick up so l guess it's a start ! My partner is a Swede and she is no stranger to chilly conditions. Having said that her family have a summer house by a lake in Sweden and it is completely off grid . Electricity is generated with solar panels , it is all pretty basic but l love it there . Maybe thats one reason l would like to recreate something like it here in France !


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## woodbutcher (17 Jul 2020)

Archie_tect said:


> @woodbutcher, see what the cheapest local materials are for your area- could even be slate or limestone which you could build as an outer leaf with a highly insulated timber frame inside... so may possibilities, you can source the cheapest and start from there without any preconceptions.


Thanks for your suggestions/ideas , by far and away the cheapest material here is timber , mostly oak and chestnut . The other material of which there is masses on our land, is stone . This stuff was used for generations to build the walls around vineyards then phylloxera happened and the vineyards were abandoned . Very weird to be clambering about in the forest and having to negotiate these ancient structures


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## Joey Shabadoo (17 Jul 2020)

woodbutcher said:


> Thanks for your entertaining story. I already have a Toyota pick up so l guess it's a start ! My partner is a Swede and she is no stranger to chilly conditions. Having said that her family have a summer house by a lake in Sweden and it is completely off grid . Electricity is generated with solar panels , it is all pretty basic but l love it there . Maybe thats one reason l would like to recreate something like it here in France !


To be fair, a modern purpose built off grid house would be nothing like our experience. This cottage was very rough and ready and built at the end of the 19th Century.

Water wheels and batteries aren't very good though.


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## mudsticks (17 Jul 2020)

woodbutcher said:


> Thanks for your suggestions/ideas , by far and away the cheapest material here is timber , mostly oak and chestnut . The other material of which there is masses on our land, is stone . This stuff was used for generations to build the walls around vineyards then phylloxera happened and the vineyards were abandoned . Very weird to be clambering about in the forest and having to negotiate these ancient structures



Are you totally determined to be off grid or is it non negotiable because of location?? 

The plan here is to have maximum size solar array for PV, but also solar pre water heating. 

Also a solid mass stove / chimney stack with back boiler for water heating as well. 

I'm a hot bath fan. 

But in conjunction with mains electric on site as well - in fact for running a farm and year round horticultural operation mains is pretty much essential. 

Plus you can buy 100% renewable electric if being 'green' is a principal 

I remember seeing years ago a built in situ ceramic convoluted flue that kept the building warm all day, with radiant heat from one flash burning of faggots. 

But I suspect that would be far more than you'd need in the south of France. 

All the people I've known recently who have self built super insulated houses here in the south west UK recently, seem to think that just their regular appliances, and own body heat, keep their houses toasty in all but the coldest weather. 

They seem to be saying that lighting the burner is more for looks, and cosiness, rather than a necessity. 

It's astonishing how badly most UK houses were built, in terms of insulation, for decades. 

Used to live in a cute, but damp and cold if the burner wasn't lit, cob cottage for seventeen years. Character building stuff for the kids 

Anyway, ramble ramble, I contacted the architectural draughtsman today, re drawing up some plans so you've helped me, even if I haven't helped you.. 

So reclaimed stone built plinth, with chestnut framed cabin on top for yourself maybe.. And a shingle roof too perhaps ?? that would be cute..


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## mudsticks (17 Jul 2020)

Archie_tect said:


> Another vote for Earthships... why wouldn't you build one? ... they do work, but getting enough used tyres may be an issue these days, especially in the South of France but you'd need good shade to prevent over-heating and a really good stack effect chimney system to ventilate rooms in summer... check out rammed earth houses too.
> 
> Good luck and have fun! Nothing is ever wasted and everything can be adapted- it;'s a life choice which can only enrich your life which is always worth trying. Labour is free and reusing things that would only go for scrap is the cheapest way to build. I envy you the chance.



There's an earthsheltered house in Brittany, that in part at least, uses earth filled tyres, but I think it's only a holiday let, not sure if it passes building regs for permenant dwelling. 

Not heard of them being 'allowed' in UK either.

The easiest way to get old tyres (I use lots for holding down weedkilling tarps) is to offer to pick them up from your friendly local garage - or have them dropped off - it saves them disposal costs. 

It's probs against regs for handling trade waste or somesuch.. So don't be telling on me OK??


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## woodbutcher (17 Jul 2020)

mudsticks said:


> There's an earthsheltered house in Brittany, that in part at least, uses earth filled tyres, but I think it's only a holiday let, not sure if it passes building regs for permenant dwelling.
> 
> Not heard of them being 'allowed' in UK either.
> 
> ...


No problem with finding old tyres, my local garage is awash with them and piles of old knackered vehicles which have been dumped and forgotten about !


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## woodbutcher (17 Jul 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Are you totally determined to be off grid or is it non negotiable because of location??
> 
> The plan here is to have maximum size solar array for PV, but also solar pre water heating.
> 
> ...


I'm not determined to be completely off grid but the location will determine what is or isn't available and water will be a challenge.
l will own up and confess that being totally off grid holds no real fears for me because more years ago than l care to work out l spent a happy (mostly) time island hopping the many uninhabited islands of the Philippine archipelago from the Visayas to Mindanao peninsulas , l managed it by befriending fishermen and who after a beer or two would take me on the pump boats and drop me off when l liked the look of an island. Come to think of it maybe its a story worth telling at some point !


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## mudsticks (17 Jul 2020)

woodbutcher said:


> I'm not determined to be completely off grid but the location will determine what is or isn't available and water will be a challenge.
> l will own up and confess that being totally off grid holds no real fears for me because more years ago than l care to work out l spent a happy (mostly) time island hopping the many uninhabited islands of the Philippine archipelago from the Visayas to Mindanao peninsulas , l managed it by befriending fishermen and who after a beer or two would take me on the pump boats and drop me off when l liked the look of an island. Come to think of it maybe its a story worth telling at some point !



Sounds great - i love to travel too - an inveterate (degenerate even) cycle tourist, backpacker - long distance hiker and hitch hiker too -

- ideal proclivities for a settled farmer eh ?? 

- Still - balance in all things ...

The off grid thing is fine so long as your needs are only domestic - a slower pace of life means handwashing and cooking on wood ( or gas) are no big drama. 

And in Southern France you are in that much warmer climes anyway.

Plus of course battery and PV technology is coming on in leaps and bounds - storage has always been the problem up til now - but that seems to be getting better year on year.

I've got plenty of friends who are living the van life even up here in the chilly north ( southern UK) and doing just fine on leisure batteries - often charged from a small solar panel - they do sneak round for the odd use of a washing machine or hot bath now and then - but beer and good company is, as you know - always a welcome currency of exchange 

I reckon you will be fine - i can see you cleaving those chestnut shingles as i type ..


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## woodbutcher (17 Jul 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Sounds great - i love to travel too - an inveterate (degenerate even) cycle tourist, backpacker - long distance hiker and hitch hiker too -
> 
> - ideal proclivities for a settled farmer eh ??
> 
> ...


We already use solar panels and batteries in the all purpose field shelter l built where we have our horses and they work well pretty much all year round for pumping water from a stream , running fans in really hot weather and lighting etc. 
Oh yes l do agree beer (or wine as it is here) and good company are always welcome. The prime example here is the vendange (grape harvest) no money changes hands we work all day and at night there is a huge feast with vast amounts of wine and believe me there is never a shortage of people willing to help !


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## mudsticks (18 Jul 2020)

woodbutcher said:


> We already use solar panels and batteries in the all purpose field shelter l built where we have our horses and they work well pretty much all year round for pumping water from a stream , running fans in really hot weather and lighting etc.
> Oh yes l do agree beer (or wine as it is here) and good company are always welcome. The prime example here is the vendange (grape harvest) no money changes hands we work all day and at night there is a huge feast with vast amounts of wine and believe me there is never a shortage of people willing to help !



For sure.. It's surprising who will turn up to help if you make it worth their while. Autumn squash harvest is the big one here.. 


Yes I'd imagine cooling would be more of an issue than heating where you are. 

There were weeks in May, when a siesta had to be imposed, even in southern England. 

Thankfully water supplies just here are fine, but I can see it becoming more of an issue over the years.

Planning on building a 'swimmable' reservoir too - just the thing at lunchtime during a hot days fieldwork.


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## jowwy (15 Dec 2021)

Have we got an update as to what happened with this build??


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## Cycleops (15 Dec 2021)

Not quite off grid but this type of living might be preferable for some that like more comfort.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...en-i-moved-into-a-motorhome-and-found-freedom


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