Design

Our Construction Features:

* Optimized active solar design
* Balanced super insulation/thermal mass
* Earth sheltering
* PV panels
* Solar hot water
* Daylight system
* Biogas supply
* Rain water catchment
* Energy-efficient appliances
* Indoor herb and flower garden
* Optional composting toilet and grey water recycling
* Wind fans

Near zero embodied energy construction when built with earth bags using recycled grain bags and other recycled materials, earth, gravel, scoria, earthen floors, earthen interior plaster, lime exterior plaster, pallet wood trusses , rice hull roof insulation, recycled content metal roofing.

Ultra-low cost can be attained by employing all these methods.

Our main goal has been to reduce the cost of housing, while also making the designs sustainable, easy to build and livable. Our houses are of sq.ft 1106.3,2497,2098.5 (G.F) 1528.5(F.F) respectively. We have tried to bring out houses to match up the present scenario in both environmental and economical aspects .People will never feel deprived or poor in these houses. In fact houses of these sq. ft. is spacious in comparison to many houses around the world. Our current attitude of larger is better needs to change to meet the reality of dwindling resources, lack of affordable housing and global climate change. Not only the houses are less expensive to build, they're also easier to clean, and have lower utility and maintenance costs.

Cost:

How much do these houses cost? Well, it depends on the size, features, construction details and how much work you are willing to do (versus paying contractors). The short answer is it can cost as much or as little as you want. A small, simple house made of natural building materials and also other basic constructional products could be built by a builder for about . This assumes doing most everything yourself and using the low-tech building ideas that we advocate. And just to be clear, $25 /sq.ft. doesn't include things like land, building permits and utility hookups. Note: it's much easier to build this way even in urban areas with minimal building codes.

A typical 1000񮭼 sq.ft. house made of natural and other building materials could be built by a builder for about $28,150-$89,103 (about $25/sq.ft.) and have the following features:

- Gravel-filled bags on a rubble trench foundation (with insulating fill material such as perlite or scoria in cold climates)
- Earth bag walls filled with soil or insulation, such as perlite, volcanic rock or rice hulls
- Earth-berming for improved energy performance
- Earth, stone or recycled brick floors
- Hollow blocks and gypsum bricks
- Earth or lime plaster
- Affordable roof options such as domes, spiral (reciprocal) roofs, green roofs, poles, pallet trusses, metal roofing for collecting rainwater, thatch, etc.
- Rᇁ roof insulation (cellulose, wool, cotton, rice hulls.)
- Non-toxic finishes and materials for cabinets, etc.
- Biogas supply
- Energy-efficient windows, doors and appliances, such as solar or on-demand water heating, etc.
- Active solar design
- Recycled materials throughout (sinks, tubs, hardware, tile, shelving, etc.)

Kitchens:

A great deal of thought has gone into the kitchens that we have designed. Even though these are affordable homes all of the kitchens are quite spacious and very efficient. All cabinets shown are standard sizes - 24" deep base cabinets, 12" deep uppers. The slabs used are of granites and the height of it is 42" and the plumbing work is also done efficiently to minimize water losses.

Baths:

Most baths are standard 6-8 feet wide. This enables a standard bathtub (recycled or new) to fit without modification. An efficient on-demand water heater can be added above the bathtub. Tile is ideal for the tub surround, floor and countertop. It's easy to find good prices on small quantities of tiles.

Floors:

We recommend floors made of earth stones and recycled bricks . We can save a lot of money and resources this way in comparison to wood framed floors or marble floors.

Plaster:

Most people use earth or lime plaster on earth bag houses. Some use cement plaster, but it's best to use plaster that allows moisture vapor to pass through the wall.

Mode of cooking:

we use Biogas supply for cooking because it is renewable, cheaper and environmental friendly.We also use induction stoves as it is cheaper and environmental friendly than the LPG gas stoves.

Windows:

All windows are standard sizes. Most windows are 24", 36" and 48" - the most readily available sizes - and which are often on sale. Most older windows are not energy efficient and could cost us more in the long run. This creates beautiful openings that enhance views and allow maximum light to enter. Square openings are easier to build.

Doors:

Exterior doors are all 36" wide. Most interior doors are 28" or 30". It's easy to adjust these sizes slightly to meet standard metric sizes. Some plans show curtains rather than doors. This is another way to save money and resources, and speed the construction process. If you do use curtains, I encourage people to build standard sized openings to make it easy to add wood doors at a later date. Also note, always use wood doors on closets with water heaters to reduce risk of fire.

Furniture:

The furniture layouts are merely suggestions.We have added furniture to make it easier to visualize the final home. Showing the furniture is important in homes to make sure everything fits as planned. Some furniture, such as benches, can be built-in to save money. For example, instead of buying a sofa and tables, you could build these out of earth bags and earthen plaster. Add pillows and you'll have comfortable furnituring.

Closets:

Closets have been carefully placed between private and public spaces to buffer noise. In some cases they are placed between bedrooms for added privacy.

Solar Equipment:

Many features such as solar panels, solar water heaters are shown and can be added according to individual needs.

Construction

Use Of Gypsum Bricks

Housing is a great problem in today's world. The most basic building material for construction of houses is the usual burnt clay brick. A significant quantity of fuel is utilized in making these bricks. Also, continuous removal of topsoil, in producing conventional bricks, creates environmental problems. A feasibility study was undertaken on the production of fly ash-lime-gypsum (FaL-G) bricks and hollow blocks to solve the problems of housing shortage and at the same time to build houses economically by utilizing industrial wastes.

Fly Ash-Sand-Lime-Gypsum (/Cement) Bricks / Blocks

Fly Ash can be used in the range of 40-70%. The other ingredients are lime, gypsum (/cement), sand, stone dust/chips etc. Minimum compressive strength (28 days) of 70 kg/cm2 can easily be achieved and this can go upto 250 Kg/cm2 (in autoclaved type).

Advantage of these Bricks over Burnt Clay Bricks :

* Lower requirement of mortar in construction
* Plastering over brick can be avoided
* Controlled dimensions, edges, smooth and fine finish & can be in different colours using pigments
* Cost effective, energy-efficient & environment friendly (as avoids the use of fertile clay)
* Hollow and dense cement concrete blocks known as hollow blocks, have been developed as an alternative to bricks. The products are widely used in construction activity.
* The hollow blocks are made of cement, stone chips, stone dust and sand are not only cheaper than bricks but have other specialities as well. These blocks have more tensile strength, the walls constructed from these blocks act as thermal insulaters because of their hollowness.

Manufacturing Process

Cement concrete blocks can be solid (dense) or hollow. Besides different sizes and designs can be given to the blocks. The blocks are made in the sizes of 12x8x4"; 12x8x3"; 12x8x6", etc. Firstly cement, stone chips, sand, etc are mixed in the ratio of 1:6 or 1:12. This mixture is put in vibrator machine. This is then poured into the desired size mould. After 24 hours of drying, the blocks are put in water tank for curing.

The process of curing continues for two to three weeks to give the blocks compression strength. The blocks are used in construction process after drying.

Downloads

The Estimates of the Power Usage are provided as downloadable Microsoft Excel file Here

The Design and Layout of the Houses are provided in Autocad DWG format Here