So I camped in the woods again this past summer. I left in nov. but my buddies build a house out of tires that I wanted to share. I came back and lived in in for a month. Its pretty neat, about 18 feet in diameter with a loft that comfortably sleeps six. Its not totally done yet.


Tires courtesy of Le Shwab



building roof out of logs from the forest



Neat shape to the roof, they stand up on their own without being nailed in


roof done



cobbing (Mud, straw and sand) the front wall around the door. The whole interior is cobb



back porch view, We build this on someones land we met from craigslist



granite floors, this is taken from up in the loft


loft and roof. 40's in the ceiling for skylights!


kitchen with our water catchment




front door



Damn goats

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4/3/2012 10:03:30 AM

You may the best threads.

If you had a newsletter, I would totally subscribe.

4/3/2012 10:06:44 AM

damn. pretty impressive.


Questions:

After building this place, what do you and your friends do? Do you have jobs? Do you go to work everyday or do you just fuck around "in the wild"?

What was the water/electricity situation like? What was the weather like? What did you eat?

Any heterosexual banging go on in the house? I'm sure I have more, but that was just off the top of my head. Oh yeah...did the goats eat any of the house? Goats will eat anything. Did ya'll eat any of the goats?

4/3/2012 10:09:00 AM

Does anyone still live there?

How did they get permission from the craigslist owner? Does the craigslist guy retain the rights to the house?

How much did the house cost entirely to make?

Where was this?

I see a laptop, did someone have a mifi or way to get internet in your wilderness?

[Edited on April 3, 2012 at 10:11 AM. Reason : ]

4/3/2012 10:10:48 AM

awesome!

4/3/2012 10:11:18 AM

What is the roof made of to support those goats?

4/3/2012 10:11:50 AM

hobittses

but seriously, that's pretty cool - how does the water catchment work?

4/3/2012 10:11:59 AM

we all have jobs/careers. I do contract work. Im actually back in NC right now though. We don't own the land, so the house is going to go to the owners when everyone decides to leave, but they don't put limitations on us. The people that built it are actually going to Europe to promote a non-profit that they started having to do with sustainable building, when they leave, three other friends are moving in to finish it and live for the summer.

Sex happens in the woods or in a tent outside the house. No electricity as of yet, they are working on a windmill right now. We have water catchment that runs to the sink (the barrel above the sink) with a overflow tank outside. In the summers when its dry we hauled water from the river in the valley.

4/3/2012 10:13:17 AM

Nice. I really do like these threads

4/3/2012 10:13:36 AM

the roof is made of concrete soaked cloth. it cost about 2 grand to build (mostly for the concrete).

as for permission, I don't know if you remember but I camped out in the woods two summers ago. This summer we did the same thing (just posted on craigslist that we were looking for land to camp on). As we got to know the owners over the summer we popped the question of building the house. No formal agreement but when we leave the place is theirs with the understanding that if we ever want to visit again, we're welcome to stay in it.

4/3/2012 10:15:41 AM

I tethered internet through my phone. I do contract work, so I can work from anywhere and that netbook gets about 7 hrs battery life.

4/3/2012 10:16:28 AM

I forgot our wood burning stove and kitty.

4/3/2012 10:18:33 AM

that looks like my cat Frodo... i miss him...

i wanna go live outside

4/3/2012 10:24:51 AM

what a beautiful cat...

4/3/2012 10:28:07 AM

Do you have a pet wolf named two-socks?

4/3/2012 10:28:55 AM

yeah he loves that rock. sits there in the morning waiting for one of us to build a fire and warm him up. His foot just got bit by something and hes hobbling around on three legs right now. He still manages to eat about 4 mice a day.

4/3/2012 10:31:23 AM

Are smartphones banned?

I would feel like I was cheating the system living in a hand built mud hut and downloading apps and shit and updating my facebook status.

4/3/2012 10:40:35 AM

super badass dude.

4/3/2012 10:53:51 AM

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN WAS REAL

4/3/2012 10:56:09 AM

i imagine a lot drum circles going on at that place



but very impressive. add to my topics. post more pics

4/3/2012 11:02:12 AM

Quote :

"what if it rains, like, really hard? is the front door area gonna fill up with run-off water?"

There is an inch of sand under the floor to help water run out. It flows under the door buck into the ditch. No flooding all winter, so so far so good. that runoff ditch takes car of everything flowing off the roof.

4/3/2012 11:22:06 AM

Whats the motivation for doing something like this?

4/3/2012 12:37:00 PM

^ They all wanted to build their houses primarily out of recycled/sustainable materials, this was just a practice run for them.

That, and it was fun. something to do in the afternoons besides browse reddit. And an excuse to drink a ton of beer (that whole front wall is beer cans)

4/3/2012 12:47:06 PM

how does that cat burn wood?

is it a wizard?

4/3/2012 1:06:28 PM

that's a dumb question...

all cats are wizards trapped in cat form by a curse from a witch

4/3/2012 2:57:35 PM

I wouldn't mind doing this for a while, save some serious $$ on rent.

4/3/2012 3:43:15 PM

^ Do it! I've lived outside 14 out of the last 24 months. I've save a boatload of $$.


Also my buddies are starting a nonprofit that helps people who want to build sustainable homes meet up with people who are building sustainable homes (similar to woofing), might be able to help you

4/3/2012 3:57:24 PM

That is so completely badass!

4/3/2012 4:33:29 PM

so...you have a door...how is this living outdoors?

jk, neat stuff.

4/3/2012 4:40:40 PM

every time you make a thread I hesitate to click on it in the expectation that what I'm about to read will make me jealous of the way I live my life. but, my curiosity always gets the best of me

good stuff, ibtza

4/3/2012 4:50:53 PM

dude that is so cool!!

so the roof has a huge hole in it? what is that for...sunlight?

do you cover the hole when it rains or do you just let the rain in and drain through the ditch?

4/3/2012 4:59:30 PM

damn yall put in work

thats an ugly footprint to leave behind though

cool as shit however

4/3/2012 5:03:45 PM

sparky Thats a skylight, there is glass there.

BigHit - The owners of the land are going to use it when we leave, so its not just going to turn to trash. Once its done it wont looks so bad from outside, the walls will have dirt up to the roof for plants to grow.

ibtza?

[Edited on April 3, 2012 at 5:45 PM. Reason : \/ Its cool, I think stuff like that should be taken into account when ever you do this kind of thin]

4/3/2012 5:38:39 PM

cool, i wasnt trying to knock i just dont have the foresight about it

i think its bad ass

4/3/2012 5:40:13 PM

ibtza - in before the zombie apocalypse...i.e. guns/forts/zombies/living off the land talk

4/3/2012 5:52:47 PM

Where is this located?

4/3/2012 6:00:16 PM

I would like to interview the builders on video

4/3/2012 6:14:36 PM

i so envy your life sometimes

you have the coolest stories and do the coolest things.


from this to the cup of coffee barter thread, kudos to you for being one of the most unique and interesting users on this site.

4/3/2012 6:15:19 PM

gunzz i've got a spare set of knee pads if you need them

4/3/2012 6:48:45 PM

^ I have plans for you tonight. You will need those knee pads, so you might want to hang on to them for now...

4/3/2012 6:50:39 PM

Didn't realized one needed knee pads to 69

4/3/2012 6:51:58 PM

that's awesome

4/3/2012 7:02:14 PM

Dang, that is really cool. The spiral log roof was awesome. Y'all should call it an eco-lodge and charge people to stay there.

4/3/2012 7:56:41 PM

Badass. Add to my topics.

4/3/2012 8:02:43 PM

God damn dirty hippies.

4/3/2012 10:29:55 PM

Quote :

"gunzz i've got a spare set of knee pads if you need them"

Ahahaha, this thread reached it's peak with this comment.

4/3/2012 10:55:09 PM

nice work!

4/4/2012 11:17:34 AM

Quote :

"sparky Thats a skylight, there is glass there."

f'n SWEET!!

4/4/2012 1:34:48 PM

Life outdoors at NC state. A hu huh

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

4/6/2012 12:17:10 PM

Very cool! I am impressed.


add to my topic

4/6/2012 3:14:14 PM