Houses from henchmen. How to build a real house from improvised materials

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It is not necessary to spend a lot of money to make an apartment look stylish and cozy. Enough simple materials at hand, a little imagination and a desire for change. And of course, you can spy on interesting ideas for the house, which he shares from time to time site.

So, what can you do to decorate the interior inexpensively and tastefully?

1. Use tapes instead of rings and clips

2. Update curtains with edging

3. Hand paint flower pots

4. Draw a pattern on the lamp with a marker

A little patience and a marker that writes on different surfaces - and a modern lamp is ready. How to draw a drawing on a plafond is shown in this blog.

5. Decorate the lamp with scrap materials

6. Make a handmade watch

Original wall clocks in the best traditions of expensive decor stores can be made at home in a few hours. This is not as difficult as it might seem. instructions for creating a blackboard style clock. And it is shown how to make a pin-up watch.

7. Organize a real mini-bar from an old sideboard

The era of sideboards with tons of crystal is irrevocably a thing of the past. But many still have sideboards themselves. So why not turn your used furniture into a modern home mini-bar (not necessarily alcoholic). That turned out very well.

8. Use corner shelves

9. Make an additional shelf for spices

10. Use cabinet doors

11. Attach the magazine holder

12. Stick the fabric "wallpaper" on the door

Using a patterned fabric and cornstarch glue, you can decorate a boring door in an original way. Such "wallpaper" can be easily removed, so when the picture gets bored, it can be easily removed or replaced with a new one. You can see the process of decorating a door in this blog.

13. Paint the front door rug in unusual colors

The door mat can be interesting too. To do this, it is enough to paint it in bright, non-standard colors. How to turn a regular rug into an original thing, see this blog.

14. Make a bathroom rug from natural materials

Cork is an excellent natural material that dries quickly and retains heat well. It is pleasant to step on such a rug with bare feet. And its creation from wine corks will surely make you remember many good moments. You can see how to make such a rug.

15. Hang the wall panel

16. Arrange a photo exhibition

17. Add color accent to the door

This idea is perfect for cases when you want to revive the interior a little, but there is no way to change something radically. This trick can be done even in a rented apartment, in the end, you can always return it as it was. How it is done is shown.

18. Paint the old linoleum

19. Convert a desktop shelf into a wall shelf

Often there is not enough space on the table to store various little things. In this case, the desktop shelf can be easily turned into a wall shelf, moreover, a folding one. It will not only allow you to organize the space, but also decorate it. A simple instruction can be found.

20. Decorate clothes hangers

In this article: the history of adobe housing construction; what components are included in adobe; differences between heavy and light adobe; positive and negative characteristics of adobe; how to choose raw materials and make an adobe block with your own hands; adobe bricks strength test; construction of houses from clay blocks - details; which explains the popularity of green building in the world.

Building a house is an expensive undertaking. Building materials alone for the construction of walls will cost a significant amount, and you also need to involve craftsmen for their masonry and decoration. Yes, with all the costs for high-quality construction and finishing materials, you still need to make sure of their environmental characteristics - you must admit that today this criterion is important. Meanwhile, a full-fledged house can be built not only with your own hands, but also from a construction material created, again, independently and right on the construction site - no chemical components are required for the production of adobe bricks. Let's find out what adobe is, how to build a building out of it, and, finally, how comfortable it will be to live in such a house.

History of adobe houses

To shelter himself and his family from the bad weather, a person needed a home. Several millennia ago, people developed various construction technologies, primarily dependent on the availability of the simplest building materials - stone and wood. For many peoples who inhabited the Earth along the perimeter of the equator before our era, wood and stone were in great shortage, they had to look for other building materials. About 6,000 years ago, a solution to the problem was found - from wet clay mixed with straw, bricks were created, dried in the sun, and buildings were erected from this simple structural material.

For the first time, bricks molded and baked in the sun appeared in ancient Egypt - for their production, Egyptian builders extracted clay from the bottom of the Nile River. Subsequently, the technology of creating clay bricks was borrowed from the Egyptians by the peoples of Ancient Persia, from where it spread throughout Asia, and then, together with the Moorish armies, penetrated into Spain. By the way, it was the Arab builders who gave the name to the clay brick at-tob, after centuries changed by the Spaniards to adobe- in Russia its Turkic name "Saman" is better known.

The oldest architectural complex in Asia, made entirely of adobe, until 2003 was the Persian "fortress Bam" (Arg-e Bam), created around the 6-4th century BC. NS. the Achaemenid dynasty. Unfortunately, at the end of 2003, the ancient Citadel was completely destroyed by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, the epicenter of which fell almost on the territory of the old city. Note that the Iranian city of Bam suffered from an earthquake not only in the historical part, but also in the modern one - about 80% of buildings were destroyed.

The construction of buildings made of mud (i.e. clay) developed independently among the peoples of the American continent. The Anasazi (Pueblo) Indians erected multi-storey complexes of clay and straw in the southern part of North America, however, they did not make bricks - the prepared building material in a wet state was laid along the perimeter of the future building, as it hardened, a new tier formed on top, and so on. ...

An adobe house in Taliouin, Morocco, North Africa

In the state of New Mexico (USA), buildings built from adobe about 1000 years ago still exist and are used for living.

Adobe composition

This clay building material can consist of a variety of natural components, most often in its composition: water, which acts as a solvent; clay of medium fat, the base of the mixture; filler, the role of which can be played by chopped straw or fibrous plant stems, manure; other additives.

The goals of introducing certain additives into the adobe mixture, their list:

cellulose fibers provide increased tensile strength. Chopped straw (cutting length - from 90 to 160 mm, depending on the size of the brick), chaff, fire, wood chips, cattle manure are used;
to reduce shrinkage when bricks dry out, sand, fine gravel, crushed stone or expanded clay are introduced;
lime and cement will help increase resistance to water and accelerate curing;
to improve plasticity, liquid glass, bone glue, casein, molasses, slurry (the characteristic smell of manure completely disappears after the adobe dries up), starch can be introduced into the composition.

The adobe mixture does not require the mandatory introduction of the chemical components used in building materials into it - the clay, which forms the basis of the mixture, already has most of the characteristics that are common for modern construction and finishing materials. Construction chemicals are added as needed to speed up the hardening of bricks, to provide maximum resistance to microorganisms, rodents and the high temperatures that occur during a fire.

Heavy and light adobe - what's the difference

Light adobe is very well known to the population of the southern regions of Russia - the walls of the hut-houses are made of this material. A solution of light adobe contains a lower percentage of clay - about 10%, bricks are not created from it, since the mixture is applied directly to the frame walls along the reinforcing wooden crate or placed between the inner and outer wall cladding made of edged board or OSB board. The advantages of erecting buildings from light adobe are the high speed of construction work, a small range of building materials, the work can be performed by non-professional builders. Disadvantages - high consumption of wood materials, which increases the cost of construction.

Blocks and bricks from heavy adobe allow you to build a much stronger and more reliable house than when building from light adobe. In the process of masonry work, pre-dried adobe bricks are used, therefore, it is not required to allocate a lot of time for drying the walls, and their finishing can be done immediately after construction. The disadvantages of heavy adobe, as well as the advantages, are associated with clay bricks - the process of their manufacture is quite laborious, until complete curing, the products must be stored in large volumes, carefully protecting them from getting wet.

Characteristics of adobe

The exact characteristics of adobe and products made from it depend on the composition of the mixture and the percentage of light fillers in it:

heavy adobe has a density of the order of 1500-1800 kg / m 3, that is, it practically coincides with the density of building bricks;
the thermal conductivity coefficient is half that of building bricks - about 0.1-0.4 W / m · ° С. The more straw is contained in heavy adobe and the higher its density, the lower its thermal conductivity;
compressive strength is about 10-50 kg / cm 2, this strength range is close to the characteristics of foam and aerated concrete.

Advantages of adobe construction:

the cheapest construction material, since the raw materials for its production - clay and water - are found everywhere and in abundance;
absolute environmental friendliness of adobe buildings;
low heat transfer and high sound insulation of walls;
fire resistance;
the ability to absorb excess moisture in rooms.

poor resistance to moisture, especially at low temperatures - external plastering or overlapping of walls with facing bricks is required;
the impossibility of conducting construction work in winter conditions;
buildings erected in a temperate climatic zone dry out for a long time and gain strength;
adobe walls create favorable conditions for rodents, insects and fungi to live in them.

A house from adobe takes longer to build than houses from traditional materials - it takes longer for the walls to set their strength characteristics. However, the final estimate of construction costs will be at least twice as low as for a building made of building bricks of the same area.

Do-it-yourself adobe brick

First of all, you need to select the clay that will be used in the adobe mixture, having determined its fat content. This requires a clay sample and two planed boards 100-150 mm wide. Having placed the clay in a small container, add water to it and, stirring thoroughly with our hands, we achieve the formation of a homogeneous clay dough - its consistency should be steep enough so that the clay does not stick to the fingers. Then we take out a piece of clay dough, roll it in our palms to form a 50 mm ball, put the ball between the prepared boards, with even force and slowly press on the top board. It is necessary to squeeze the clay ball until cracks appear on its surface: the diameter of the ball before cracks appears halved (up to 20-25 mm) - the clay is oily; cracks with a decrease in diameter by 1/3 (up to 13-17 mm) indicate clay of medium fat content; if the ball crumbles to pieces at the slightest pressure - the clay is skinny, it does not fit for adobe.

Clay lies near water bodies, in addition, the following external signs indicate the location of its layers near the earth's surface:

slightly swampy areas on the ground - the layers of clay located under them do not allow water to be absorbed into the ground;
well water level - if the water in the well is especially high, then clay layers lie here;
areas of soil with abundant mint or sedge, although there are no visible sources of water nearby.

Finally, the easiest way to find layers of clay of the required quality is to walk along the neighbors who built some time ago buildings from adobe or laid out a stove (fireplace).

It is easiest to make adobe bricks from clay of medium fat content, since it is easier to work with it - less effort will be spent on preparation. If only fatty clay is available, then you will need to change its composition to medium-fat by introducing 15-16 kg of sand per 100 kg, with thorough mixing of the resulting mixture. Only clean sand of a coarse fraction (about 2 microns) is needed - mountain sand is better, river sand is worse, since it contains silt particles that reduce the degree of adhesion of sand grains to clay.

The preparation of clay for the adobe mixture must be done in the fall, then put it in a heap up to a meter high and close it on top with a dense, 100 mm layer of straw. The clay heap is formed and left in the open air for the whole winter, due to which it will be soaked by rains and spring snowmelt, the low temperatures of the cold season will freeze out - by the beginning of spring its plasticity will increase, which is what we need. As soon as the thermometer is firmly established above the zero mark and there will be no more frost - remove the straw with which the clay pile was covered, and cover the clay with plastic wrap, pressing its edges with stones around the perimeter. Polyethylene flooring will allow the clay pile to thaw faster, while preventing dry crust from forming on its surface.

The straw for the adobe mixture requires either fresh, remaining after harvesting winter wheat and rye, or last year's dry, without traces of rot. In the absence of straw, hay from grass with a rough stem will do.

In order to have time to build the foundation, walls and roof of the house before the onset of cold weather, adobe bricks need to be produced in early to mid-spring, as soon as warm weather sets in. The site for creating bricks from adobe should be near the place of construction of the house - the finished bricks are weighty and rather large, it will be difficult to move them over considerable distances.

Before mixing the adobe mixture, prepare the platform and molds for the bricks. You should not mix the mixture on bare ground - debris and soil will definitely get into it, reducing the strength of the bricks. A molding platform is required - a dense flooring made of boards with a size of 2000x2000 mm or more, or a recess covered with a waterproof dense fabric. Clay is laid on it in a volume of no more than 2/3 of the flooring area, large clods are broken with a shovel, a depression is formed in the center of the heap, water is poured. Then the clay is stirred with shovels and crumpled with feet, in the case of its high fat content, sand is added, then pre-soaked straw is introduced, the mixture is again stirred and kneaded with feet until it becomes homogeneous in structure and looks like a thick porridge. Chopped straw will need about 13-15 kg per cubic meter of clay, the exact amount is determined empirically. At this stage, the preparation stage of the adobe mixture is completed, it is collected with shovels in a heap and left for two days to "ripen".

It should be noted that kneading the adobe mixture is only necessary with your feet, since any other methods do not work here - an attempt to knead the mixture with the help of a horse will be ineffective, since the animal will prefer to walk on the tracks already made by its hooves, and the attraction of a caterpillar or wheeled tractor will be accompanied the introduction of earth and mud into the adobe.

While the adobe mixture is gaining viscosity, we start creating molds for bricks. To do this, you need a planed board 30 mm thick, from which boxes without a bottom are knocked together, containing two, three or four cell-sections - their number depends on the overall dimensions of the bricks. The adobe brick usually has three standard sizes: small - 300x140x100 mm; medium - 300x170x130 mm; large - 400x190x130 mm. The larger the adobe brick, the longer it will take to dry, therefore its dimensions are determined primarily by local climatic conditions. During hardening, molded adobe bricks lose moisture, their linear dimensions decrease by 10-20%, therefore, the internal dimensions of the wooden-shaped cells should be 50-60 mm larger than the desired size of the finished brick. To simplify the extraction of the "raw" brick from the mold during the molding process, the cells can be slightly conical - the distance between the upper walls of the cells is 7-10 mm larger than between the lower ones. Each wooden form must be equipped with handles along the "narrow" ends - it is enough to nail bars with a section of 50x50 mm to them.

Before proceeding with the production of adobe bricks in the volume required for construction, it is necessary to test several samples of bricks for strength. To carry it out, make up several adobe mixtures in a small volume (based on two bricks), keeping the following proportions in each next batch: 3 parts of clay for one part of sand; 2 parts clay and one part sand; the ratio of clay to sand, as 1: 1; one part clay to 2 parts sand; one part clay to 3 parts sand. From each mixture, make two bricks, stand on a platform in the sun, then place under a covered canopy, placing them on the edge and keep them there for another week (do not confuse which bricks are from which composition of the mixture!).

After a week, before testing adobe products for strength, inspect their surfaces, try to pinch off a piece from the edges, break bricks with your hands:

if the product crumbles easily under the fingers, there is not enough clay and too much straw in the mixture;
if the surface of adobe is covered with deep cracks, then the mixture is too rich in clay or the clay is too oily, that is, there is not enough sand filler in it - increase the proportion of the sand content by one part;
if you managed to break a brick with your hands - there is not enough straw in it, you need to increase its content in the mixture by 1.5 times.

After conducting a preliminary inspection, proceed to strength tests using one of the two proposed options or both at once: 1st option - drop one brick from each batch from a height of more than 2 meters to the ground; Option 2 - Dampen 120mm nails with water and hammer them into the remaining bricks. Broken bricks after a fall means that the composition of adobe was chosen incorrectly for them, the same applies to cracked and crumbled samples when trying to drive nails into them. In high-quality adobe, a nail enters the same way as in dense wood (for example, in oak) and just as firmly adheres to it.

Having chosen the most successful proportion of the adobe mixture, we proceed to the production of bricks in a large volume. The operations of adding components, kneading, kneading and holding the batch are carried out according to the scheme described above - to create 1000 adobe bricks, about 10 m 3 of clay will be required. It is necessary to prepare a site for preliminary drying of products a day before molding - cut off tall grass and protrusions on the ground, remove debris with a rake in several passes, ensure the outflow of water in case of rain, cover its surface with a layer of straw.

The ready-made adobe is taken from the flooring with shovels and placed in the mold cells, pre-moistened with water along the inner walls, sprinkled with a mixture of fine straw cut and sand - a measure that facilitates the extraction of raw bricks from the mold. The adobe is put into cells in excess, after which it is rammed with a shovel and a board, after tamping with the same board, excess material is cut off and returned back to the batch. Then the wooden form is lifted, transferred to the drying area, the form is carefully turned over, 4-5 through holes are made in the extracted bricks with a wire of 1-1.5 mm diameter along the central axis of the products - they will relieve the stress in the material caused by drying. Products remain on the site for 24-36 hours - they must dry and harden so that they can be transferred under the shed. After a day or two, they must be turned on the edge, leaving in place for further drying.

From above, the molded bricks are covered with tarpaulin or roofing felt - the coating will protect them from rain and uneven drying in the sun. The adobe products at this stage should not come into contact with each other, it is necessary that the air freely penetrates to their walls. Then the bricks are transferred to the shed or under the shed, where they are stacked on top of each other in pairs on the edge (in the "well") with a distance between them equal to the thickness of the products - the room for storing adobe bricks must be well ventilated. It will be correct to lay adobe on wooden pallets that absorb excess moisture. The full drying time of adobe bricks, depending on the weather, will be from 10 to 15 days - the finished product has a uniform color throughout its entire thickness, does not break when dropped from a height of two meters, does not lose its shape after being kept in water for 48 hours.

The nuances of building houses from adobe

Exposure to the destructive effects of moisture imposes a number of conditions, which must be observed during the construction of an adobe house.

Foundation. For an adobe construction, a strip foundation is optimal, the width of which exceeds the width of the masonry walls by 200 mm - to protect the fences of the house from splashing water and to be able to apply a thick layer of plaster. Concrete, rubble stone and brick are used as the material for the foundation, the basement is brought out to a height of 500 mm and above. It is important to lay a waterproofing layer between the foundation and the walls - for example, several layers of roofing tar paper or roofing felt.

Walls. Thickness of external walls made of heavy adobe should be at least 500 mm, internal - at least 300 mm. Along the perimeter of the openings in the walls, above the lintels and in the areas where the walls join (step 500 mm vertically), you need to lay reinforcement from reeds or brushwood. The masonry is carried out according to the technology usually used for the construction of walls from blocks, with seams about 10 mm thick. It is required to lay no more than two brick rows per day (no more than 400 mm high) so that the solution grasps and dries out overnight - following this technique will speed up the drying of the walls and somewhat reduce their shrinkage, allow you to start plastering the walls immediately after construction. Masonry mortar is an adobe dough in which the ratio of clay to sand filler is one to one or four to three. If necessary, you can reduce the size of the adobe brick using a conventional hatchet. Erection of walls and roofing must be carried out only in dry weather; work must be completed before the onset of autumn frosts.

Wall decoration. Adobe walls without external finishing will quickly deteriorate, so it is extremely necessary to complete it. The plaster layer should be 50-100 mm, which will reliably protect the walls from bad weather and protect them from the penetration of rodents and insects. For plastering walls, acrylic, lime and silicate compounds are suitable - the plaster layer should be waterproof, but permeable to steam. Cement plaster is not suitable, as it practically does not adhere to unbaked clay. You can veneer the outside walls with bricks, boards or other materials, while it is imperative to maintain an air gap of 50 mm between the adobe wall and the cladding, otherwise the adobe will get wet. The ligation between the outer cladding and the adobe wall is made with 150 mm nails. Interior wall decoration is performed with gypsum plaster, can be tiled using gypsum-based adhesives.

Overlapping. They are mounted on wooden beams inserted on the walls by more than 150 mm. The beams must be treated with waterproofing impregnation (for example, two or three layers of drying oil) or wrapped with tar paper, then embedded in adobe walls. In order to effectively distribute the load under each floor beam, a board is laid, the areas at the support points of the beams are also reinforced with reeds or brushwood.

Jumpers. Window and door lintels are made of a board, the width of which is equal to the width of the wall, and the thickness is 50 mm. Jumper boards must be impregnated with waterproofing compounds or wrapped in tar paper.

Window and door frames. It is best if these frames are made of wood, which will reduce the risk of condensation accumulation. When installing boxes of windows and doors, a waterproofing layer is laid along the perimeter of the openings.

Roof. It is better to arrange a steep roof, at an angle of 35 or 40 ° - in this case, the expanding load on the walls will be lower. The minimum length of the overhang, capable of well protecting the walls from rain streams, is 700 mm. Lightweight materials are more suitable as roofing - metal tiles or sheet roofing. If an attic is arranged under the roof, then 50 mm hard mineral wool must be laid under the roofing material. Insulation of the attic space is carried out with light adobe or other materials of natural origin.

Floor. Finished with ceramic tiles on a soil base previously insulated with expanded clay or light adobe.

The growing interest in the construction of houses from adobe or from straw, which has been established over the past decades in Europe and America, is explained not only by the fashion for ecological housing, but also by the constantly growing cost of buildings made of modern materials. Why get into debt bondage to banks and developers, if you can save money and build a full-fledged house from natural materials, literally lying under your feet?

The almost complete absence of building standards for such buildings is not connected at all with their low operational characteristics, but rather with a reluctance to develop these standards, with the traditions of erecting buildings of stone, brick and reinforced concrete, common for the XX-XIX centuries.

How to build a small house from scrap materials

Many summer residents, along with the purchase of a land plot, acquire the opportunity to build a small cozy house, which will have everything you need to create comfortable conditions for living and resting. The structure does not have to be large. With your own hands, you can make the house the way you dreamed of without significant financial costs.

The project of a small wooden house made of boards

For this, all the materials at hand that are at the disposal of the owner of the land will come in handy. The main thing is that the most unusual fantasies are realized here. Decor for every taste gives the building individuality.

Scrap materials used in construction

To start building a house, you need to decide what exactly you are going to build from. There are always unnecessary containers, wooden boxes or pallets. Old window or door frames, slats or bricks will come in handy.

In addition, an inexpensive building material can be made by hand. The cost of homemade clay bricks is small, and the products themselves are quite warm.

The material at hand is cheaper than straw. The original decor makes the building attractive in appearance. Using only straw in construction will not work.

The original project of a small straw house

To build a house, you need to build a solid frame. To make the structure stable, a bar or beams are used.
You can also make a thatched house with your own hands using frameless technology. The one-story structure with a light roof is made of tightly pressed straw blocks.

Let's take a closer look at the current options

The owners of summer cottages choose construction projects that are less costly in terms of the consumption of building materials. At the same time, the speed of construction of a dwelling is of great importance. If the summer resident considers a frame structure suitable for himself, then it can be made to order in a construction company.

After manufacturing, the parts are delivered to the address you specified. Then all construction work will take one week. This speed is typical for many cottages.

Features of thatched residential buildings

Straw blocks are excellent energy efficient materials.

Construction of a summer cottage from straw on a pile foundation

The cost of straw is lower than timber. Blocks are formed from cereal straw, or they are made from hay.
In addition to the low price, the straw house has other undeniable advantages:

Straw blocks are characterized by low thermal conductivity. Therefore, the energy consumption required to heat the home will be minimal.
DIY construction is done quickly: there is no need for a solution or special equipment. For the construction, a simple columnar foundation is considered suitable.
The environmental friendliness of straw is due to the lack of chemical treatment.
The novelty of the project and its original decor guarantee an effective result - a unique structure.

Among the disadvantages of a thatched house, it should be noted that mice or insects can start in it.

When the materials at hand have a moisture content above 20%, the straw can rot. Pressing helps to avoid both problems.

An example of finishing a dwelling made of straw

High-quality bale forming is carried out using a special baler.

However, the denser the blocks, the more difficult it will be to install: their weight increases. It is recommended to add slaked lime to the plaster. A straw bale has practically no air at all inside, so the risk of fire is less than that of a log house.

Is it difficult to make a dwelling from a container

The use of a container for a future home opens up great opportunities for creative design and quick arrangement of a residential building. Anyone who dreams of building a beautiful home with their own hands in the shortest possible time should not ignore this option.

In this case, everything depends only on your needs and fantasies. If you require a large house, then simply combine several containers together. All the work to be done is to decorate the home inside and outside.

An example of the interior and exterior of a country house from a container

Special holes are cut for windows and doors.
Insulation is carried out inside. It will also serve you as a good sound insulator. For this purpose, a frame is assembled from wooden beams. This is easy to do with your own hands. The space between the bars is filled with any of the available materials:

foam;
polyurethane foam;
mineral wool;
mineral slabs.

There are no restrictions on the choice.
Bright colors and attractive decor can change the look of a standard container. If you like graffiti, then create a unique masterpiece. This decor will be noted by everyone: both summer residents living in the village and simply vacationers.

The process of installing and assembling a house from containers

The dwelling can turn into an outlandish castle or a watchtower, from which it is interesting to watch everything that happens. You can make a blooming garden that pleases with juicy colors in winter and summer. If you decide on a graffiti decor and want to draw a drawing yourself, then start with a sketch. It is recommended to first apply the contours of the image with a neutral color, and then fill it with the desired color and apply gloss.

To prevent the equipped container from being stolen, its lower part must be welded to the foundation supports.

Construction of a small hunting lodge at an affordable price

If you are an avid hunter, then you definitely need a building where you can stay overnight. The building should be budgetary and comfortable. It is enough for a hunter to have minimal conveniences. With the help of a bayonet shovel and a chainsaw, you can put up a small hut with your own hands.
For materials used:

Phased construction of a hunting hut

Construction starts from the foundation. For this, round timber, cleaned of bark, is used. A shovel will help with this. The material is dried for six months.
The land where construction work will be carried out must be leveled. The prepared material is laid around the perimeter.
The walls of the hut are built from logs. The wood is fastened with staples.

Project and layout of the hunting hut

The dwelling will turn out to be warm if you use moss instead of laying between the rows, of which there is a lot in the forest. The thicker the layer, the better. Moss is an excellent thermal insulation material that closes all voids that form between individual logs.

Round timber is also indispensable for the manufacture of floors. With a chainsaw, it must be cut into two parts. The ceiling is insulated with earth and moss, which is laid in several layers.

A pitched roof is best suited to the hut. For this, the logs are laid in such a way that one side rises. Then on the other you get a slope. The roof is made of sheets of iron or roofing.

If a stove is planned, then bricks are needed.

To make windows you need glass.

The flooring can be adobe. A special mixture is prepared. For the solution, take oily clay with sawdust or straw in a ratio of 1/3.

Arrangement of internal space and floors in a hunting hut

The resulting mixture is placed on the logs and compacted.

The decor inside can be reduced to plastering. The mortar is prepared from clay and sand in a ratio of 1/3. A lattice made of thin slats is nailed to the walls. The lathing is filled with mortar, which should be leveled.

Heating the hut can be carried out using a self-made stove without wells.

The decor of the hunter's dwelling is his trophies, guns and skis, which are required for hunting in winter. They are irreplaceable attributes. A fireplace in a hunting hut can be decorated with bricks in an original way. Antique dishes and pieces of furniture will help create a retro atmosphere.

The main result is to achieve a combination of traditional style with modern comfort. To provide optimal rest conditions for the hunter, you can use autonomous life support systems.

Rustic style - important design additions

Country-style home décor suggests simplicity and a minimum of sheen. An excellent choice would be items of light and warm colors. Rough wooden furniture looks great in a rustic atmosphere. Its surface looks authentic. Here, do-it-yourself wood sculptures will also be in place.

The interior will be complemented by handmade embroidery and textiles made in patchwork style. DIY baskets and boxes made of willow twigs can be filled with cones.

Flower vases are an important attribute. They can be put on knitted napkins. Scented field cornflowers or chamomiles are placed in vases.

Today, building a hut is an exciting experience. Building a house at the lowest cost allows materials at hand.

Option for the design and interior of a small house in a rustic style

At the same time, in terms of its external attractiveness, the building is in no way inferior to residential buildings erected with the help of new building materials. However, the cost is affordable for people with little income. Using everything that is at hand, you can build a solid home for yourself and your family members.

They acquire the opportunity to build a small cozy house, which will have everything you need to create comfortable conditions for living and resting. The structure does not have to be large. With your own hands, you can make the house the way you dreamed of without significant financial costs.

The project of a small wooden house made of boards

In addition, an inexpensive building material can be made by hand. The cost of homemade clay bricks is small, and the products themselves are quite warm.

The material at hand is cheaper than straw. The original decor makes the building attractive in appearance. Using only straw in construction will not work.

The original project of a small straw house

To build a house, you need to build a solid frame. To make the structure stable, a bar or beams are used.
you can also use frameless technology. The one-story structure with a light roof is made of tightly pressed straw blocks.

Let's take a closer look at the current options

After manufacturing, the parts are delivered to the address you specified. Then all construction work will take one week. This speed is typical for many cottages.

Features of thatched residential buildings

Straw blocks are excellent energy efficient materials.

Construction of a summer cottage from straw on a pile foundation

The cost of straw is lower than timber. Blocks are formed from cereal straw, or they are made from hay.
In addition to the low price, the straw house has other undeniable advantages:

Straw blocks are characterized by low thermal conductivity. Therefore, the energy consumption required to heat the home will be minimal.
DIY construction is done quickly: there is no need for a solution or special equipment. It is considered suitable for construction.
The environmental friendliness of straw is due to the lack of chemical treatment.
The novelty of the project and its original decor guarantee an effective result - a unique structure.

Is it difficult to make a dwelling from a container

An example of the interior and exterior of a country house from a container

foam;
polyurethane foam;
mineral wool;
mineral slabs.

The process of installing and assembling a house from containers

To prevent the equipped container from being stolen, its lower part must be welded to the foundation supports.

Construction of a small hunting lodge at an affordable price

logs;
glass;
bars;
roofing material;
metal staples;
brick.

Phased construction of a hunting hut

The main result is to achieve a combination of traditional style with modern comfort. To provide optimal rest conditions for the hunter, you can use autonomous life support systems.

Rustic style - important design additions

The interior will be complemented by handmade embroidery and textiles made in patchwork style. DIY baskets and boxes made of willow twigs can be filled with cones.

Flower vases are an important attribute. They can be put on knitted napkins. Scented field cornflowers or chamomiles are placed in vases.

Today, building a hut is an exciting experience. Building a house at the lowest cost allows materials at hand.

Option for the design and interior of a small house in a rustic style

Ecology of consumption: The Earthship is an energy efficient self-contained structure that does not require a connection to a CHP plant and at the same time helps to eliminate many of the problems and costs associated with operation. There are no utility bills and no electricity bills, and the water is never turned off.

The Earthship is an energy efficient self-contained structure that does not require connection to a CHP plant and at the same time helps to eliminate many of the problems and costs associated with operation. There are no utility bills and no electricity bills, and the water is never turned off. And thanks to the use of alternative building materials, construction costs are reduced. You can add that the project is so easy to build that almost everyone can implement it.

How did it all start?

The Earthship is a symbiosis of life support systems and humans within a single living space. Since 1969, while still an architect, Michael Reynolds began experimenting with freestanding buildings in the state of New Mexico in the southern United States. Now Michael is no longer an architect, but a biothector. This term originated in connection with the direction in which the architecture of passive houses developed. A fighter of trash and toxic waste on the planet, Reynolds created a house-ship from the waste of modern society. This approach uses waste materials that are common all over the world, available even in the most remote corners of the earth: cardboard boxes, aluminum cans, old car tires, glass and plastic bottles.

The first building block was once made from aluminum beer cans tied tightly with wire. Subsequently, the banks began to be used one at a time, like bricks. But the most famous building block in this kind of construction is, of course, a tire filled with soil. After many years of operation, it was found that the tire structure also has high seismic resistance. And now the two-dome model of the Simple Survival house uses about 3,000 aluminum cans, 7,000 glass bottles, 1,800 plastic bottles, about 340 car tires and 300 cardboard boxes.

Construction

In order to start building the Earthship, you need a house plan. The plans are developed personally by Michael Reynolds and his team. Even a person without special education is able to build a ship. Everything is based on common sense.

One of the main elements with which the Earthship interacts is the sun. The house is placed along the trajectory of the sun, depending on the location of the site. Through the glass of the façade, the heat of the sun enters the room, thereby heating the thermal mass of the walls and floor, and the thermal mass plays an important role in the concept of the Ship.

Let's take as an example the Simple Survival model, which is U-shaped and does not exceed 5.5 m in width and 8 m in length. On three sides, the module is surrounded by an array of walls of seven levels of tires. The diameter of the tires decreases from bottom to top, starting from 235/15 at the very base, then 225/15 in the middle and 205/15 at the top. After laying the wall, it is covered with layers of plaster and metal mesh, and when everything is ready, a final layer of plaster made of natural clay or pigmented cement is applied on top.

After some time, the mass of the Earthship warms up to a constant level, and then a comfortable temperature level around + 21 ° C is maintained in the living space all year round. During the day, the thermal mass of the house accumulates heat, while cooling the room, and at night it gives off heat, not allowing the room to cool down too much.

The Simple Survival model uses a domed roof. To create a frame, up to 10 reinforcing bars 6 m long, a metal mesh with cells no more than 1.5 cm in diameter and wire are used.

This technique is also used in the "Flower" and "Hut" models. Others use a beam of 15 cm x 25 cm or logs. Outside, the walls and roof are insulated with a special coating based on EPDM and insulation. The walls are surrounded by a large amount of soil to create a powerful thermal mass.

To cool and ventilate such a structure, a 1.2 m by 1.2 m hatch made of durable wood is usually installed in the bow of the Ship on the roof. At the rear of the ship, an air flow channel is installed. Usually plastic pipes with a diameter of 10-30 cm are used. In winter and in harsh climatic conditions, full ventilation is not necessary: there will be enough air movement through the entrance doors.

Electricity

The most common type of alternative energy is solar, produced by photovoltaic panels. In addition to them, wind generators are used in Earth Ships: it all depends on the climatic zone in which the Ship is being built. Solar panels are installed on the illuminated facade of the Ship. Batteries are used to store electricity. Any qualified electrician will help you calculate what energy costs your Ship will generate.

Water

The Earthship collects and recycles water - rain and melt. Sloped roofs serve as gutters and direct streams to cisterns, where water is settled and filtered by a five-stage filter system. It is then distributed throughout the home for domestic use and drinking. The processing of "gray" waters is also envisaged: drains from kitchen and bathroom sinks, washing machine. They are also cleaned and applied in the greenhouse system.

It should be noted that in the Earthship, the use of hazardous chemicals will have to be a thing of the past: it will be necessary to switch to more natural cleaning and washing products. The same water is supplied for flushing in the toilet, from where it is sent to a septic tank, and then to an external compartment for irrigation of inedible plants. The water cycle is supported by pumps that are connected to an insulated solar panel. Another insulated panel serves the roof snow melter heater. Even in winter, you will be able to get water from a natural source.

Food

The Earthship has a place for autonomous food production. The greenhouse, in which edible plants grow all year round, is undoubtedly the main feature that distinguishes this type of biotecture. Where sub-zero temperatures prevail for a significant part of the year, it is recommended to build double or even triple greenhouses, while in tropical countries this area can be left completely open. In harsh climates, double glass panels are used around the perimeter, and in more moderate climates, acrylic panels can be used to reduce cost.

To create greenhouses, double-glazed windows are usually not used, since it means that the building will be accessible to everyone and can be built in remote areas where all building materials are not always available. Nevertheless, much depends on climatic conditions, and such nuances are taken into account directly when designing a building. Greenhouses not only serve for food production, but also participate in the water filtration system, as mentioned earlier.

In the Earth Ship, you can produce not only plant food, but also animals. For example, you can install a fish pool or chicken coop. It is useful to remember the principles of aquaponics: natural water filtration systems and fish farming at home. Aquaponics saturates the water with vital nutrients and fertilizers to maintain healthy soil for plants. Even in the harsh winter, bananas will grow in your greenhouse!

A primitive dugout? Not at all!

If you are confused by the seeming simplicity and asceticism of the idea, you needlessly worry. The Earthship can be equipped with all the latest technology, everything that your imagination can draw and your wallet allows. The World's Largest Ship Sunridge is owned by Dennis Weaver. It was built on a plot of about 10 hectares and has a living area of 3000 sq. meters. In 1990, the house was worth $ 1 million. Now its cost is four times more. But if you are a poet and romantic, and you don’t need a TV and you have enough simple but functional housing, then you can keep within 5 thousand dollars.

Where did the Ships anchor?

Resources for construction can be found even in the most remote parts of the planet. Therefore, the Ships as shelters for the victims of natural disasters are located in the Philippines, Haiti, the Andaman Islands, and work is already underway in Nepal. This is how schools were built on Easter Island, in Sierra Leone in Africa. In November 2015, a school ship will open in Uruguay. Earth Ships are already in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala, Honolulu, Malawi, Canada, USA, France, Great Britain, Scotland, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, China, Japan, Fiji. Projects are already planned in Cameroon and Germany. The concept of Ships as a new type of residence continues to spread throughout the world. Tested by time and different climatic conditions, it has proven its right to exist.

Energy efficient? Passive? Autonomous?

The point is not in terms, but in the fact that the goal of the project was to change traditional ideas about the house and create a building that meets the requirements of strength, durability, energy efficiency, functionality and comfort. You will have to give up the bad habit of consuming, regardless of resources: after all, it is she who can leave the Ship without water or electricity. The symbiosis of the Earthship and its inhabitants will change the outdated point of view on the way of life, will bring our civilization to a qualitatively new level of conscious, responsible attitude to the resources of the planet.

Who made this possible?

Biotector Michael Reynolds has listened to a lot over the years. He was called both crazy and an idiot, but despite this, he continued to live his dream. At first, the buildings were created from natural and scrap materials. Thanks to this, their cost was very low. After the construction permit was issued, it was decided to use some ready-made building materials, such as cement and insulation. This brought the cost of the Earthship closer to the cost of a regular building. However, it's up to you to decide how and from what you build and what systems to install.

For more than 40 years, the construction of sustainable homes has been developing in New Mexico. What was once a single building has turned into a settlement of more than two hundred houses. The press has already named the Greater World village the first eco-city. published by