My Beautiful, Cheap, and Simple House Plan

If our dreams/goals ever happen,

and we get to move onto THE LAND ...

we will build two simple 26x26 open-floor plan buildings

with a 26x26 screened patio between them.

The two buildings would open up to the patio

which would be the outdoor dining and kitchen.

We will build with strawbale, and seal with earthen plaster ...

place bales in the attic space, for further insulative values,

and cover with a shed metal roof for rain catchment.

Very beautiful, and very cheap.

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By the way, I placed this entry on my website

but the drawings are small.

I know here on Blogger we can click on the pictures

to see a clearer/larger version of the image.

Sorry, these drawing are NOT by scale ...
just having fun sketching my dreams on screen ...
not real proficient with Paint, yet.

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Okay, STEP ONE:

Build a simple 26x26 strawbale building ...

load-bearing ...

seal with earthen plaster, or papercrete,

or regular plaster or a creative mixture of all ...

the point is to let the walls breathe.

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STEP TWO:

Acquire rain catchment containers or tanks,

and build a strawbale wall to conceal them and protect them.

In our case, I am thinking two, large above-ground swimming pools.

Those hold a lot of water! And they are cheap!

The shed roof can drain straight into them,

and covers are made for them to help keep junk out.

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STEP THREE:

Build the second 26x26 building for sleeping quarters.

The idea is to have a six-foot wide hallway

with floor-to-ceiling shelving, and four 10x10 bedrooms in each corner.

Each bedroom will have a 3x10 closet for personal storage.

There will also be a 6x7-ish storage space at the end of the hallway.

Notice how the rooms will be set up ...
with the six foot hallway, and the three-foot wide closets,
every bedroom will be buffered from noise
from the other rooms.

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STEP FOUR:

Add rain catchment to the sleeping quarters,

and build a strawbale wall for concealment and protection.

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STEP FIVE:

Build a short strawbale wall between the two buildings,

and roof it, and enclose it in with screen.

This 26x26 area will be an outdoor dining/kitchen and living area ...

complete with chairs, couch, large tables, rocket stoves, and whatnot.

I am entertaining the idea of having a root/storm cellar

placed in the middle of this area for easy access

from both buildings

in the event of a storm ... or whatever.

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STEP SIX:

Build a wooden fence

(preferably with branches from fallen trees on our property)

to enclose the garden straight off the indoor kitchen area.

This enclosed area will also house the little quail coops.

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STEP SEVEN:

Build another wooden fence off the indoor bathroom 

to enclose the OUTDOOR bathing/shower area. 

I'magine I will also hang clothes out here,

and also have container gardens spotted here and there.

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STEP EIGHT:

Build another wooden fence to enclose a privacy area

off one side of the bedroom building.

This area will have container gardens, and lounge areas.

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STEP NINE:

Build another wooden fence to enclose the other side

of the bedroom building ... for a private lounge area.

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STEP TEN:

THE BIG PICTURE ... THE FINAL DREAM

Add flower gardens, and tanks for tilapia,

and all the rest of the little things

that will pull everything together to make

it a homestead!

What you don't see in these pics

are the chicken coops, and compost bins,

and fruit trees, and solar dehydrators, and solar ovens,

and everything else that is in my head.

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That's it.

Real simple.

And I think it would be beautiful, too.

I know it would be cheap.

I've already found a wholesale strawbale supplier ...

I just went to a feed store

and asked where they got their bales from.

I can get 800 bales delivered for about $4200 ...

and that is more than enough

to erect two buildings, and add bales

to the space above the ceiling.

Why do I want to build with straw?

Well, first off, it is something I can do by myself ...

if I HAVE to.

Just stack them like Legos.

Plus it's natural, and it's sustainable.

And ... with two feet thick walls ...

not counting the layers of thickness

added from the plaster on both sides ...

Goodness!

I think of heating/cooling benefits,

pleasing-to-the-eyes benefits, 

sound benefits, storm benefits, and 

wildfire protection benefits.

Why wouldn't I want to build with straw?

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P.S. Little Nani lost ANOTHER tooth today.
That's three in a week.
She lost the other top one.
She is only four, and that is now a total
of five teeth lost since she was three years old.
She not even eligible to start Kindergarten
until 2011 ... eek!

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