Using upcycled materials, to build your own house is one of the most significant projects you could try. Is it even possible? Can you build a house entirely from upcycled materials?
Your Design
First of all, you need to make sure that you have a rough idea of the design of your home. Without this, you are not really going to know what kind of things to expect. So you need to spend a good while on your design, making sure that it is realistic.
Start Collecting Upcycled Materials
At some point you are going to need to start collecting materials. In truth, it is never too early to start doing this, as the sooner you get going on this the sooner you are going to be able to find plenty of materials to use. The whole thing about using upcycled goods is that you really can use pretty much whatever you can get your hands on. So start collecting materials to work with.
Cleaning Your Upcycled Materials
You can’t actually use any upcycled materials until you have thoroughly cleaned them. You might be surprised at how much of an operation this can actually be, and it’s the kind of thing that you are going to need a lot of time for. Ideally, you will be able to get quite a few hands to help you here, because otherwise it could take forever.
Are There Any Parts Of The Home That Can’t Be Made From Upcycled Materials?
You might be wondering if there are any limits to the use of upcycled materials. The answer is yes – there are certain parts of the structure and internal areas of the home where you will simply need to use a new product, and that is something that is hard to get around.
So what are some of the parts of a home that can’t be made from upcycled goods? A good example is anything to do with safety or structural support. You will probably have times when you need joists for instance, or you need to use a few roofing boards that are brand new. If you need those, you can view more online and ensure you find ones from companies that are at least environmentally aware. But the point is that there are times when you can’t avoid buying new.
However, all in all, you should be able to more or less use only upcycled materials for most of the design of the house, even if it won’t be quite one hundred percent of it.
Keep It Small
One tip that can help a lot with this whole project is to make sure that you are keeping the project relatively small. As long as you do this, it’s going to mean that your house is a much easier project to complete. You will also find that it takes much less time, and that you are going to have the ability to spend a lot less money on it too, and you might well be keen on keeping your budget to a minimum as best as you can anyway.
To keep it small can be surprisingly difficult, however, because you might find yourself automatically trying to make it bigger and more exciting. But if you can temper that, you will probably be glad for it in the end.
Build For Warmth
As a general rule, you should always make sure that you are building your home for warmth with natural materials. After all, this is one of the main things that a home should be, and if you don’t have warmth then you are going to wonder why you are bothering to build your own home at all. However, if you have considered warmth as a very basic part of the process, that is going to mean that you are much more likely to have a home you are happy with.
Ask For Help
One final tip that could apply to any house-building project, but especially to a challenging one such as this, is to not be afraid to ask for help when you need it. If you are going to ask for help, it means that your project will be so much easier to achieve, and you are going to find that you can get so much more out of the experience. All in all, this is the kind of thing that you are going to need to consider.
Those are the main things to think about if you want to build your own house from upcycled materials.
