Episode Information Lot: The Eco Cabin

Date Published:

12/06/2008

The Project

Mark and Deborah (Debbie) Sampson and daughter, Tilley, like to practice an ecologically sound way of life.

Deborah works as an aromatherapist, while Mark is a writer of training manuals for his livelihood but with ambitions to be a novelist.

Together, the family's over-riding desire is to make a statement about who they are and how they choose to live their life, and to be accepted for the way they are by the local people.

Budget And Build

The Cost

Budget: 146,000 euros (£92,000)
Spent: £116,000
Overspend: £14,000

Following a period of eight years living elsewhere in France, where they found it difficult to be fully accepted by their neighbours, the Sampsons decided to move to Martel in the Lot region in southwest France, where life's pace is relaxed, and start afresh.

Only in their case beginning anew means following their environmental principles and building a brand new house - out of straw and timber.

In the Deep End

With no previous construction experience whatsoever and a self-proclaimed building klutz, Mark took it upon himself to project manage the build, while Debbie set about establishing an aromatherapy practice in and around the nearest major town of Brive, treating an initially skeptical but later accepting and then encouraging local people. Home, while construction was underway, would be a caravan on the plot.

Having first been switched on to the possibility of building a house from straw after visiting Debbie's sister in Arizona, USA, where they saw two such properties, the couple were determined to build a light, warm and easy to maintain home.

A bonus would be balconies to two sides that would enable them to take advantage of the stunning panoramic views of the Lot countryside that the plot offered them.

Assisted by an ex-pat friend, Tim Mannakee, and with 'a slightly eccentric' French architect Gilles Faltrept's drawings (that mirrored Debbie's vision), the first job in the 10-month build schedule was to lay a concrete base on the plot's steeply sloped limestone ridge that would provide the platform on which Mark, with the help of his friends, would construct the family's dream single storey, open-plan home.

The concrete laid, Dave and Mike, two ex-pat carpenters, came on board to construct the timber frame, a job that posed no problems to them until they reached the house's mezzanine level.

Rising to the Challenge

Conceived by Mark as the serene space from where he could write the novel in him, Gilles' plans, in the carpenter's words, were 'conceptual not technical', providing a challenge that Dave and Mike rose to and overcame with a little improvisation before the winter months set in.

The weather, one of the region's coldest and wettest winters for years, was to be the family's greatest obstacle in completing the house on time, within budget and with their spirits intact. After a particularly cold spell, when living in the caravan became unbearable, Debbie sought and won the support of their neighbours, who offered them four months' free use of their gite until the springtime.

The neighbour's generous gesture was a huge boost to the Sampson's morale, and was an encouraging sign that the family, who were considered 'marginale' for their alternative lifestyle in the last town where they lived, was becoming accepted by the local people.

Others spoke in glowing terms of 'the straw house people', admiring their bravery in undertaking a self-build project, and for the way in which they had integrated themselves within the community.

With their confidence boosted and having found a more comfortable place to call home for the winter, self-confessed worrier Mark was able to concentrate fully on winning 'the battle of the missing roof tiles', a campaign that had been running for eight weeks with no end in sight. Until the mission was accomplished all work on the house would come to a standstill for the winter, preventing Mark and the team from making a start on installing the straw walls.

Spring Arrives

Eventually, the roof tiles, like spring, arrived and once fitted the work on the walls could begin in earnest. Assisted by Canadian Bret, a computer technician, Mark installed the straw bales, trimming, shaping and improvising as he went about the job, preparing the walls for the mesh and three coats of concrete render that would be applied to complete the external aspect of the build.

Final Touches

Internally, further underlining the house's ecological credentials, the recycled paper and gypsum board dividing walls were constructed to separate the three bedrooms, bathroom and separate shower room, floor tiles laid, and wood varnished.

A little over budget, only a couple of months later than planned and amazed at his own achievement, Mark, like Debbie, feels that it has taken the building of a house for the family to feel truly that they have found a place that they can call home.

How Green?

The whole project is founded on strong ecological principles, both in the materials used and the ongoing energy-efficiency of the house. Straw, timber, recycled paper and gypsum board are safe, organic materials that will reduce heating costs, energy waste and thus by-products that are damaging to the environment.