Different building materials for a small home?
Question:My husband and I have just brought a block of vacant land and are interested in ideas for a small but cheap home to build ...is there a site that lists all the different materials available. We are thinking something different to your basic brick home. We like mud brick if you have any info on that?
Answers:
look into log cabin homes...they are gorgeous! u can drywall the inside of them if you go with the split log. google log cabin homes..surely this would be an awesome compromise to brick. good luck
the mother earth news used to have all that info...but make sure that your town permits building with those unusual items.
Rammed earth or adobe? The mud brick is adobe and quite common in arid climates around the world and in the US Southwest. However, unless you make the adobe bricks yourself, they are not cheaper than traditional building materials. Not just any soil will work either.
Rammed earth is buidling a frame and packing the earth into the frame...There's one next door and it's holding up well. The outer coat is traditional stucco.
Another option is the foam core construction where foam forms are filled with concrete. Great insulation and rather termite resistant.
Post and beam construction allows for wide open interiors.
Straw bale construction is popular here right now. Bales are stacked and secured with rebar then stuccoed over.
I'm sure you can Google for more info on all of these.
To be honest, the isn't a much cheaper way to build than traditional wood frame on slab or block foundation. The biggest home costs are what you do on the inside. If you use very low cost flooring, cabinets, and fixtures, that is the cheapest way to go. Another big cost is labor. Most people don't realize how cheap a house can be built if you really do it all yourself.
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