Hello!
So I'm fairly new to the idea of building a natural small home. And have been reading TONS on this web page, researching natural home building and such.
My husband and I own a small parcel of
land in the north ga mountains that we would love to put a primitive, simple, natural dwelling on. We do not want to live there permanently. We live in Atlanta and try to go up as often as we can. But we want to use our land and have a
shelter to camp at, or live temporarily if need be. We love being out doors and camping.
The land is on pretty steep mountain side, has an old unused (overgrown and steep) drive way to the top where there is a small flattened are that we can build on.
The idea is to at least be able to bring the 4 wheeler to the top, rather then spending a lot of $$ repairing the driveway (for now).
We are thinking of building into the side of the mountain like an earth sheltered home. having a natural roof and one side opened up to the outside where we can have an outdoor kitchen & fire pit. Love earth sheltered homes! We do obviously want it to be warm and
water proof. But do not plan on adding electricity currently.
My concerns are:
1) Costs. we don't have tons of $$ to build / buy much of anything. We own our home in ATL and the upkeep on that is hard enough! :O)
2) logistics. Several logistical things need to be kept in mind. Getting TO the land (up the driveway) without being able to bring in heavy equipment / materials.
3) Time. This will be an ongoing project... We don't get up there nearly as often as we like, but we really want to get some kind of shelter in place ASAP. This needs to be something that we can step away from for several weeks and not worry about washing away until the next time we are up to continue working on it.
4) Building concerns.
local codes? I don't know if they would even apply here. And of
course the wet & humid weather of GA. How can I keep my earth home from leaking, getting moldy, washing away? What about ventilation?
I LOVE
cob /
straw bail homes and seem affordable and fairly easy DIY house building project. But do those hold up here?? So my next thought is the earth bag or earthship (old tires??) type homes. And does it make sense if I want to build into the land? What do I use for the walls around the earth that doesn't cost an arm & leg and is fairly easy to build? Whats the best way to water proof?
I have so many questions, concerns and ideas! Am I in over my head??? Does anyone know if there is an established community of natural home builders here in Atlanta area that has meeting/ classes / workshops? (please no Yuppy expensive luxury rammed earth ideas)
I'd love to hear some of your thoughts! And if anyone lives locally in North GA and has built something, I'd love to hear what you have done, how you did it, how it has held up.
Thanks guys!