In designing our house, we did not just seek to shelter ourselves, we wanted to experiment.  There are many assumptions that arise from our modern industrial/consumer culture.  Many of these assumptions are the basis for the fear of lack that drives consumption.  In building our own house and living in it, we sought to test and possibly dispel some of these assumptions, not only to eliminate these fears from our own life, but also to provide alternatives to those wishing to leave the consumer/fear of lack cycle.  The questions that follow are a sampling of those that we wanted to test through our chosen lifestyle.

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How much space do you need?

The larger the house, the more materials needed to build and maintain it, the more fuel needed to heat it, the more lights needed to illuminate it, the more stuff needed to fill it.  Houses are a reflection of ourselves, and to many, represent the success or wealth of the owner.  We wanted a house that kept us warm and safe, that made us proud to own, that provided the space needed  to do everything we wanted.  We also wanted a house that caused as little damage to the environment as possible, that cost us as little as possible to build and maintain, and one that fit into the natural environment.  We, like everyone, wanted a house that reflected our personality, provided for our needs and satisfied our souls.

Our 10x10', 1.5 storey design was dictated by the local building code and our zoning.  The at the time of design, local building code permitted buildings no larger than an exterior dimension of 10m²/ 107sqft.  to be constructed without a building permit.  Our zoning, classed 'Recreational' would not allow for a building permit without expensive zoning changes and variances. 

Additionally, we sought to build an off-grid (12V DC wired), non-toxic and environmentally friendly (as small as possible and with a composting toilet).  The local building code dictated that a house building permit must include 120V AC wiring, a septic system and have a minimum size of 1150 square feet.  The code also mandates toxic and environmentally destructive materials such as plywood, conventional insulation and concrete.  Furthermore, applying for a building permit legally obligates one to apply for (and pay for) all of the accessory permits such as electrical or septic, as well as costly inspections.  The initial variance just to qualify for a building permit would have cost us more than the entire construction of the house.  So, we designed our life to fit into a 10x10' (exterior), with a kitchen below, bedroom loft above.  The composting toilet was located in an outhouse and a temporary shower was built in a 4x8 woodstove-heated shed.  Technically, it is illegal to live in a building that is not classified as a `house` by building code standards without an occupancy permit (yes, there is a cost for that too).  Occupancy permits are sold by the same officials selling the building permits, so I would imagine that those building without permits by working within the framework set out by the code would have a difficult time obtaining an occupancy permit.

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What are the drawbacks to living in a tiny house?
When I told my Grandma that we were going to build a 10x10`house, she said, `But where will you go when you two fight?` Well, that has not proved to be too much of an issue.  Many people have noted the size of house, saying that we must have a really good marriage.  Well, we do.  Whether that be as a result of living in a tiny house or not, I cannot say.  But, for better or worse, living in a tiny house does require good communication skills and certainly is not conducive to protracted fighting.
One of the drawbacks that was discovered in this lifestyle was the lack of living room space for having guests over in.  Not that several people could not fit into the 10x10 kitchen.  They certainly did. In fact, one memorable day had nine good friends packed in during an outdoor party-turned-miserable storm.  But, many people who are more accustomed to larger houses are reluctant to move around in a smaller space.  So, it was good enough for close friends, but not conducive to neighbour visits or parties. 
Secondly, heating the shower house proved wasteful of fuel.  We had to heat the shed for about an hour to make it usable in the winter, and after a 15 minute shower, the rest of the heat dissipated into the wilderness.
After three years of living in this arrangement, and with mounting support and understanding for our lifestyle, we decided to build a 13x13' sun room addition.  Since building codes only really account for conventional buildings, this went into a grey area of legality as to whether a building permit was needed.  Because we still didn't qualify for a permit and had even less money to buy variances or otherwise bribe the township, we sought out other loopholes.  Two that would apply were discovered, so we proceeded with the build.  First, buildings are defined as being enclosed and having a foundation.  Our 'sun room' has removable windows forming the walls, making it easy to un-enclose, if necessary.  Second, our sun room was intentionally left connected to the soil, leaving it open to be planted with a living floor, and thoroughly disqualifying it as having a foundation.

How inexpensively can one build a permanent home?  Well, our original Honeymoon house cost us $600, including roofing, woodstove, chandelier and doorknob.  This was possible because we designed the house to be framed with the lumber we had—some scraps collected from neighbours shed clean-ups and the balance salvaged from a dilapidated bunkie on the property.  About $200 of the overall cost was invested in new wood for loft floor planks and roof planks.  The infill was cob, a material made from clay, sand and straw that is mixed by foot, laid and sculpted by hand. A cost of $50 was incurred  for the purchase of a 4x4x5` straw bale because it was purchased out of season before we had local contacts.  We ended up using only a third of the bale in the construction.

In the experience of building this house and subsequently many outbuildings, we would say that one could build a permanent home for zero dollars.  Our stable, for instance, was built with natural materials that we harvested ourselves and scrap materials salvaged from tear-downs on other properties.  It has been our experience that decent materials are scrapped all the time, and all one needs to do is let people know they are looking for them and keep an ear open.  Particularly in the country, people have sheds, barns, and garages full of old wood and windows, saved years ago for a project they now realize will never be undertaken.
Furthermore, it is our strong conviction that the wood is an unnecessary hindrance in the construction of a cob house.  Cob can be fully load-bearing, if applied correctly, and it does not bond with wood all that well.  Although load-bearing cob is very thick, making a 10x10' exterior impractically small inside, it is entirely unrecognized by building authorities and therefore seems to reside firmly outside of the purview of building permits.  It is an amazing material in so many ways, which I will discuss later.
Roofing is one challenge of natural-material and free building, and thatch is the solution.  It does require determination to collect and skill to apply, but, done right, it is one of the longest lasting, strongest, most water-tight and insulating roofing options ever used.

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What conventions can be dispensed with? 
House styles have come and gone, and many aspects have changed over thousands of years of creating human dwellings.  One thing that one notices when investigating the different cultural traditions of dwelling construction is that until about 150 years ago, human dwellings around the world were created to reflect the specific needs of the inhabitants, mostly out of locally-sourced materials, and they particularly addressed the specific challenges of the local climate.  What one notices about modern North American homes is the stark absence of customization to suit the inhabitants.  Though materials do come in a variety of colours and styles, and some superficial features are customized by location (deeper or shallower foundations, for example), by and large, the design and construction of houses has become standardized.  Long story short: you build your own house, and it will be built the way you want it.  Hire someone else, and they will build it the way thats most convenient and profitable to them.   

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What reactions would an unconventional house elicit?
Well, the reactions have been surprisingly positive.  I never imagined that chosing to more or less drop out of society and live like a peasant in the outskirts of a small township would inspire so many people to visit.  When we do meet people, and after one or another telling answers to such common questions as`what do you do?`or `where do you live?`, we end up telling the whole story about our house and our life and suddenly we are making plans for them to come by and see the place.  No doubt many people are thinking `I could never do this`, but what most of them are saying is WOW!.

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Can a comfortable and energy efficient home be built using only non-toxic materials?
Well, it has been a challenge.  A dissapointingly few conventional building materials are non-toxic and to follow the conventional way of building, those materials are difficult to replace.  The key to building a healthy home has been to abandon modern conventions and look back to the past way of solving such issues as moisture control, draft stopping and heat retention,  Of course, the toxic building store materials are standardized for easy purchase and installation, making them temptingly convenient.  But, the natural materials are convenient in that they grow right outside our door, are cheap or free to harvest and when they need replacing, the old ones can go right back outside, no dump necessary.  There is another comparison that I hear made, and that is natural materials harbour insects and other pests and are subject to decay, whereas pests leave man-made materials alone.  This is true, but I interpret this fact differently.  I say be wary of any substance that bacteria and bugs will have nothing to do with.  They tend to know what`s good for them, and if they won`t eat it, there is probably a good reason to stay away from it.  Consider that if a material cost you nothing but a days work to gather, then it is no big deal if you have to replace it after ten years good service to you.  Plus, where building materials go when we are done with them is an issue well worth considering.

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What can two laypersons with time and determination do?
Well, we are both intelligent and strong people, and between us there was some experience in building and finishing a house.  But, more or less, we studied building from library books for about a year, tested cob for about a month, and applied our best common sense.  After about four months of building while living out of an old camper, we were able to move into the house we had built.  We used no tools but a couple of bent hammers, an old handsaw, a screwdriver (hand-powered) and a couple of crow bars (for salvaging nails).  Of course, there was plenty of work still to be done on finishing the inside (sculpting, staining, oiling), but we were out of the cold in just four months.  It was definitely a lot of hard work, but it was great experience, fabulous exercise and after those few months time, it was ours outright, not the banks.  Most of all, though, there is a wholly indescribable satisfaction in living in a house that your own hands built.