Earthbag Dome Home in Hungary

Earthbag dome home in Hungary
Earthbag dome home in Hungary

“Hello Owen, As you can see finally my first alone project has finished, hoorraayy!!. I want to say thank you for your guidance at the beginning and also I wanted to tell you that your book sometimes gave me that little help too because to reflect my knowledge and to see the things again in your book gave me a real help in times when I was not sure anymore what to do, not because I don’t know the things, because when my fear is coming up that I maybe can’t make it because it’s my first project with nobody around me who knows something about earthbag. So this was a quite heavy pressure for me because the people expected much and my building group knew nothing. In those moments your book was a real help because it was like talking with somebody who knows…

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Tiny House Owner Brett Sutherland in NZ Faces Eviction

We featured Brett Sutherland’s outstanding tiny house in yesterday’s blog post. Now it seems his beautiful, handcrafted tiny home on a pristine beach near Auckland, New Zealand is in breach of building codes. The problem? The Auckland council claims the land exceeds the housing density limit. But there are 7 acres and obviously plenty of space for his tiny house, with nary a neighbor in sight. Ah, the Council mucks things up once again for those who try to live sustainably.

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Whatever Happened to Rex’s Pallet House?

This drawing approximates Rex’s pallet house method.
This drawing approximates Rex’s pallet house method.

So where is Rex? How did his pallet house turn out? I’d sure like to know. When people send us owner-builder home projects that cost $4/square foot then obviously tons of people will be interested. Most likely Rex’s house is finished and he’s moved on to other things. If Rex happens to see this, please please email me an update of your house.

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U.S. Building Codes by County Website

“I am working on a Christmas gift of sorts for the natural building community and I could use some help.

What is it?
U.S. Building Codes by County is a website to collect, organize, and easily display building codes and permit requirements for building in every county in the US. (3,142 counties to be exact).

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The Owner Builder Facebook Page

Halftimber wood framing with light clay straw infill
Halftimber wood framing with light clay straw infill

How did I miss this site of one of my favorite magazines??? Maybe because I’m not a big Facebook fan? Lots of good stuff here. There’s a close-up photo of a bamboo splitter, rammed earth fireplace and lots of other interesting natural building projects. The photo above shows a good example of a lightweight building system that does not require intense physical effort.

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