June 8, 2009: Hobbit House

Or should I say, another hobbit house... they seem to pop up every once in awhile.
Some are pretty crude but this one is very nice. Don't know how it will stand up to Wale's weather over time.

While Dale claims not to be an expert in literature, he also claims to be no expert in building or architecture – which is surprising given that he's built two family homes, and is planning more. But then, Dale's story is surprising. A photographer and graphic designer by trade, he knew from his teens that he wanted to build a home in the countryside. "Photography and graphic design were ways of getting a livelihood that were portable, and helpful for the move to the country," he says.

It was built by myself and my father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and £3000 put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m excluding labour).

It looks cool and it was cheap, but I have serious reservations about durability.:eyebrow:

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Try that around here and the building inspectors would go catatonic - right after their apoplexy attacks.

SPUCK;571619 wrote:

Try that around here and the building inspectors would go catatonic - right after their apoplexy attacks.

Its probably built a whole lot better than most of the crap they sign off on.

Want! want!

I would guess it will last quite as well as much modern crap thrown up by contractors who aren't going to live in it and just want to get it done as quickly and cheaply as they can get away with.

Although, as a "Hobbit" house ... I don't think Bilbo would approve. It should be neat and orderly, with perfectly round windows and doors. And I'm not sure about the portable stereo on the windowsill :p
ETA: and there are stairs! Harrumph. No stairs in Bag End, thank you very much.

Obviously hobbits don't bother to clean their stoves. I like it.

I keep looking for the monkeys sitting on all the tree branches,

I love it. I want one.

The Orkin man would love this! Wood with tree bark usually harbors incects. In the old Pueblo style architecture of the desert southwest they use a lot of tree trunks (vigas) and cross them with branches (latias) to construct the roof but they remove all of the tree bark before using it. I once worked on a project that utilized this method. The tree trunks were all stacked in a pasture adjoining the structure and an old man and his wife and 3 children came and began removing the bark with a type of home made spokeshave plane. It was prety incredible.

Looks nice - I'd love to spend a weekend there. After that I'd probably hate it so much I'd never return (yeah, I'm a city person)

My house looks a bit like that. And since it's going on 400 years old now, I'm guessing he's got a shot at it lasting a while.

Tudor construction methods were like that: build a brick chimneystack, tie beams to it and plaster in between. The plaster has to be renewed periodically, but it's pretty sturdy stuff.

Oh it's gorgeous!
I can just see it inhabited by lovely swarthy little Celts too.

(btw Bruce, correct Wale's then delete this line :))

I love the way the inside looks. I've always had a thing for log homes, but this is quite different. And I love the earthen roof. I can just hear myself saying to my wife "Honey, I'll be out mowing the roof." :D

I'm with chrisinhouston--leaving that bark on was a bad idea. Even if they managed to kill all the bugs somehow, it's still going to peel off and disintegrate in very short order.

We had a dome home built and really liked the shape of the spaces. Even if I could not actually hear the termites chewing and the spiders dancing in this house, I would be listening for them all the time. So perhaps a turf-covered dome, small scale, would be a good way to go. But I still like this little place. It could be a guest house.

Looking at the floor plans, there seems to only be one bedroom. That doesn't seem practical.

chrisinhouston;571668 wrote:

The Orkin man would love this! Wood with tree bark usually harbors incects. In the old Pueblo style architecture of the desert southwest they use a lot of tree trunks (vigas) and cross them with branches (latias) to construct the roof but they remove all of the tree bark before using it. I once worked on a project that utilized this method. The tree trunks were all stacked in a pasture adjoining the structure and an old man and his wife and 3 children came and began removing the bark with a type of home made spokeshave plane. It was prety incredible.

You mean ORCin, don't you?

FTR - we don't really have house-eating insects in this country.
I'm sure if you research you can find some, but in general, termites and such do not feature on our radar.

However, in some parts of the country (Scotland if my memory serves me right) there are plagues of mice due to the milder winters. And then can chew through all the wiring while the owners are taking a ski-break abroad. And no shadenfreude here either - skiing is a cheap holiday.

Err...we have woodworm. They'll eat a fair bit of your house.

DanaC;571800 wrote:

Err...we have woodworm. They'll eat a fair bit of your house.

Yeah but not like the termites Merkins have.
I lived in a cottage that had evidence of woodworm. All gone by the time we moved in. Termites scoff whole houses. Seriously.

Sundae Girl;571797 wrote:

- skiing is a cheap holiday.

Skiing must be cheaper there than here in Merka.:yelgreedy

James Bond would beg to differ.

Sundae Girl;571751 wrote:

(btw Bruce, correct Wale's then delete this line :))

OK, I'll make it Whale's. :blush:

Haven't the Scots and Irish been building houses with sod roofs for centuries?

Anyway, that one looks particularly cozy. I want one too.