In this funny and insightful talk from TEDxHouston, builder Dan Phillips tours us through a dozen homes he’s built in Texas using recycled and reclaimed materials in wildly creative ways. Brilliant, low-tech design details will refresh your own creative drive. Phoenix Commotion.com
Whole trees and parts of whole trees (naturally curved branches and wood) have 150% the strength of milled wood, are 100 times more abundant than millable old-growth forests, have similar weight to strength ratio as steel in compression and twice the strength of steel in tension, require almost no processing, and utilize wood that would … Read more
Earthbag House Plans
Shipping pallets are incredibly useful for building. They’re typically free, widely available and very strong. The wood is cured, and often hardwoods such as oak are used in pallets. There’re just good to waste. The two ceiling discussed here use short or longer pieces of pallets (or any wood, actually) that are cut to fit … Read more
Specifications: 256 sq. ft. 16’x16’ one room house plus 4’ wrap-around porch, Footprint: 24′x24′ Description: Do you dream of having a small place in the woods that can be built practically for free? The Forest House with its striking pyramid roof is made almost entirely of natural products that are readily available in tropical forests … Read more
This is the largest, most successful earthbag project in Haiti so far. They’re doing a great job in an extremely difficult situation. “At this village in Bongnol, Haiti, Haiti Christian Development Project has completed 10 of 14 planned earthbag houses for earthquake refugees at the cost of $2200 each. Men of the community were hired … Read more