Advice needed: first-time DIY tiny home builder in NC

[tinyhomegab68]

Hey everyone! I'm new to the forum and I'm hoping to get some advice from those with more experience. My partner and I just bought a small piece of land near Asheville, North Carolina, and we want to build a small home on it, probably under 1000 sq ft, to use as a primary residence. We're trying to figure out the best way to go about this, and we're looking for opinions on a few things so forgive me for this long post.

First off, we've got a lot of trees on the property, so we were thinking of using some of the wood for the build to save money. We're also thinking of building with cob or straw bale for insulation, especially with the humid summers and chilly winters here. Which material would be better in the long run for this climate? We're on a very tight budget, under $5,000 for everything if we can swing it, so we're also wondering how feasible that even is and if there are good places to find free or cheap materials in this area.

We have a close-by RV hookup and were hoping to get power from that, but I'm not sure how difficult that process is or if it's even allowed. The property also backs up to a steep incline, and we've been daydreaming about digging into the hill to build a partially underground home. It seems like it would be great for temperature regulation, but is that a much more difficult or expensive process than a traditional stick-frame house?

I know it sounds a lot so if you can also help us prioritize and focus on what's most important, that would be a great help. Thanks and we appreciate it!

 

[eDJ_]

If you are thinking about semi underground homes do some research into the "Earth Ship" system. Totally underground homes have been nearly abandoned as a design as the supporting walls have to be so sturdy to support 3 to 5 feet of earth above them.

What you could do is build a concrete block basement with poured concrete floor. Have the south facing wall aligned to the south. The other 3 walls would be earth bermed and thus well insulated. Then a poured concrete patio slab. On this wall you could have a sliding glass door and an entry door. The sliding glass door to provide passive solar heat.

The roof could be built of trusses and finished like a normal house. Then you can finish the interior as you are financially able.

The advantage here is that if you are to find better paying work, you could sell this property which will now have some kind of building on it and take the profits to pay off any debts and move to a new site where you may not be so financially strapped.

 

[BigFoot8l]

If you have trees, milling your own wood could save you a ton. You'll need a chainsaw mill or portable bandsaw mill. Heads up, air-drying takes time, so start early. Also check with Buncombe County about using your own wood for building. You can use it for framing, siding, or furniture, just get it dried and graded right to pass inspection.

 

[eDJ_]

As an aside to this semi underground house, there have been builders who started with this type of build and later lifted the roof to build a wood framed upstairs finishing the exterior with vinyl siding. Once that is finished, the roof lowered in place to finish the above ground. I've seen this done in my area.

House movers (those who physically move buildings) were employed to lift the roof and they have some ingenious methods to do this. When the upstairs is framed the roof is lowered and the finishing of the upstairs can begin starting with the exterior & windows much like any other above ground build.

Over the decades people have become used to buying existing homes or newly built ones ready to move into. But it may be worthwhile for today's young people who look back to some of yesterday's solutions.
I've seen so many newly wed couples get a new home and the husband's good paying job lay him off when a recession came and they lost their new home to the real estate sharks. (and recessions which seem to follow booming stock markets are feeding frenzies for those sharks)

Those who built what they called Basement Homes usually had older family who advised them on this practice. In this way they owned what they had. And when they expanded they owned that too. No Shark Bait with them.

So if one starts with the Basement Home and builds upwards later they will be in good shape. Then they can have a garden patio on the south facing basement wall which will also provide some passive solar heating. I had a friend who lived in his basement thru the winter heating with a wood burning heater. If it got too hot upstairs in the summer he could go back downstairs and simply run a dehumidifier and enjoy the 55 to 60 degree temperature. In the spring and fall season he could enjoy life in the upstairs.

(now think of the Nomads who migrate north to south an back thru the year to live in comfortable temperatures)

 

[valak*]

Question though, have you checked the local codes and zoning? That's what I did first.

I think for Asheville's climate, Straw Bale may works best coz it provides the necessary insulation to keep you warm in winter and efficiently cool with an HVAC unit in summer. Cob is better as an interior thermal mass, like around a wood stove or for internal partition walls, surrounded by a good exterior insulator like straw bale. You can even combine them! EDj makes a good point.