I love videos like this with brilliant, thrifty ideas. Learn how to tap into treasure hiding in plain sight.
“Hi micro housers. Here is a tip on saving $thousand$ on your house. I will be using these in my build series so stay tuned to learn how to. When you’re done harvesting [gutting the RV for usable parts] you can use the shell for storage or as a guest house or sell it to recoup more of your money.”
Short video on the earthbag domes we built in the summer of 2012.
The cost of building a sustainable home is much higher in urban areas due to the stricter building codes, zoning and other housing regulations. Many readers dream of a simpler, healthier life in rural areas where there are few or no building codes and costs are far lower. But where’s the best place to live? Here are some lists to consider. You could compare the different lists and look for areas that are recommended most often. Everyone has different needs, however, and so you have to work out your priorities. Are you after the lowest cost land? Rural areas with jobs and growth potential? Rural areas with good weather? Minimal pollution? Lakefront land? Outdoor recreation? Good soil for gardening? Lowest taxes? Rural areas with like-minded people? The final choice will likely be based on some balance between these and other factors. Happy hunting.
In your search for rural land with few or no building codes, you might want to try out Land and Farm.com. Their search page enables you to narrow the search by state, county, zip code, type of property (farm, undeveloped, orchard, ranch, etc.), property size, asking price, price per acre, irrigated or not irrigated and quite a few other criteria.
Complete plans now available as a downloadable PDF. This PDF was actually finished about six months ago but somehow never got uploaded to our Free Plans page. Dozens of people wrote for the free plans. I mistakenly sent them to the preview page, which doesn’t have all the plans. Plus, the preview page had my old email address. (My new address is at the top of the page under About Us.) Sorry for the mix-up.
“This is Chris who’s building the 24′ reciprocally framed scoria bag dome in Crestone. It has a 12′ gothic arch out the front southside; a vaulted airlock entrance; a 100 square foot cool pantry; and loft. I have a few months into this, 90% solo.