Build a House for $8.33 per square foot

Not everything is about size, but some things are.

“You can build your own cob house with little money, but with lots of time and enthusiasm,” according to Kent at Tiny House Blog.   This is Ziggy’s cob (a mixture of straw, clay, and sand similar to adobe) with a footprint of 360 square feet built for under three thousand bucks. (Yes, that is $ 8.33 per square foot.)

Here’s what you need:

* sand (just over 30 tons total) – $507
* gravel (about 13 tons total) – $177
* straw (16 bales) – $36 (most straw I used was free)
* black walnut scrap lumber – $100
* misc. lumber – $20
* windows – $220 (two casement, one double hung window)
* electrical – $28
* galvanized wire – $30
* nails – $100 (I couldn’t believe how expensive nails are)
* raw linseed oil (for floor) – $72
* EPDM pond liner $622
* polycarbonate for skylight $400

Oh, yeah, and 9 months of full-time labor!

What do you think? Tempted?

Read more about it at The Year of Mud:  Building a Cobb House.