There is house a located in the Hill country in Austin. The house is made of Cob. Cob is a combination of earth, straw, and mud. The owner spent 25k to build this beauty. Which of course you can build a house way less than this and just as beautiful. More information can be found here at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/greathomesanddestinations/31away.html
My husband and I love these homes. Love that you can make it anyway you want, and reflect YOUR style. Our dream is to live a free life. One without a mortgage and with land. This possiblity will become a reality in a matter of time.
What are the advantages of building with cob? Information from
1.Energy Efficiency - A cob house provides a large amount of thermal mass. This helps keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I'm not certain if anyone has tried to build a double-wall cob house, but for cold climates, some sort of cob-insulation-cob wall might be more appropriate.
2.Inexpensive - The walls of the home are made entirely of natural resources that are available under your feet. This brings up a good point about natural building in general; use the natural materials that are prevalent in your area. Clay is abundant in most areas of the world. Why not build with what you've got?
3."Buildability" - Cob homes are owner built. There is obviously, quite a bit of labor involved but if time is not a factor, a house of this type could be built with just a couple of workers. Basic carpentry, plumbing and electric skills are required.
4.Fun - If you like playing in the mud, this is the house for you. Seriously, this is an excellent style of house to build for those with imagination. You can be very creative with the walls of your house.
Also this house above has 2inch thick bricks that allow the house to stay 15 degrees cooler than outside. We want to make our house 3 inch thick bricks.
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