The hobbit house – built in four month with only a chisel and a hammer

When you look at this fantastic hobbit house, as it is called by the neighbors, you probably think that it took a long and elaborate process to build it and a team of architects. You’re probably going to be impressed to find out that the house was actually built by the owners themselves, actually by Simon Dale with some help from his father-in-law.

The hobbit house

He decided to build a house for his wife and kids and they wanted it to be in the middle of nature. So they chose this location. The owner of the woods found out but he was happy to have someone live there to take care of the forest so the family didn’t even have to pay for the land they were building the house on.

The owners had to build this home from scratch. At the beginning, Simon Dale only had a chisel, a chainsaw and a hammer. Nevertheless, he had a dream and he was decided to make it come true. The family moved to the hillside in Wales and Mr Dale started digging. In just a few moths he managed to build this fully sustainable house with a budged of only £3,000. He had no carpentry or architecture knowledge so it wasn’t easy. There was a lot of stress and exhaustion, but it was always followed by fun and satisfaction.

The hobbit house
The hobbit house
The hobbit house
The hobbit house

As for the materials, the owners used scrap from wood for the floors and pallets for the walls. At the beginning, Mr. Dale needed some help from his father-in-law who helped him put up the timber frame and then the roof. As soon they had a shelter, his wife and kids moved inside while Mr Dale continued the work. The roof has a layer of straw bales for insulation. It’s then covered with plastic that makes it waterproof. On top of everything, earth was placed.

The hobbit house
The hobbit house
The hobbit house
The hobbit house

The materials used to build the house were gathered from skips, builder’s yards and donations. The walls are covered with lime plaster instead of cement. The house also has a compost toilet, a fridge that’s cooled by the air from under the building’s foundation and solar panels on the roof. This is what makes the house fully sustainable and part of the nature. The running water comes from a nearby spring.

The hobbit house
The hobbit house
The hobbit house
The hobbit house
The hobbit house

The house has a very low impact on the impact and it allows harmony to be created between nature and the people living there.The hobbit house was built in 2005. After that, Mr. Dale moved on to his next project, the first home in the Lammas Village project. It has a design similar to the hobbit house.{found on dailymail and pics by simondale}