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Design a house I can afford

 

I couldn't afford to buy anything local, but had enough to buy some land (jointly with my cousin) plus mortgage deposit. By designing it myself I could get a house that I could build easily myself. I had read about the Walter Segal method and wanted a totally environmental dwelling. Estimated costs put the build at around £70k. The specification was post & beam (adapted to my design - laminated beams using simple overlapping of stock timber lengths), grass roof (only 15% run-off), no joinery or specialist technicians required, dwelling built on concrete piers (can be lifted from site with minimal environmental impact if required), insulation to 3-4 times national standards, Heat Recovery ventilation system, water recycling facilities, efficient interior space with lobbies at front and rear to control heat egress when opening/closing outer doors, full height triple glazed windows for passive heating and underfloor heating in case I would sell the dwelling (there would be enough passive heating within the house, but the house would not sell without some specific form of additional heater. I sold the plot before building to return to education.