by Kevin Mason
I’m a degree qualified engineer and have been involved in a number of industries over the years. I’ve passed numerous caravan parks in the UK full of static caravans. Basically, I always felt they looked like countryside slums and I always figured I could make something which looked a lot nicer from the outside, but I never had the space or the money to do such a big project. I always loved small whitewashed cottages and felt I could replicate one.
Anyway, nothing happened for a few years until by chance I stayed in a friend’s pub on our famous coast to coast walk and he was looking at camping pods to generate some income from his camping field. I now knew people wanted to stay in small houses, at least for their holidays. I could therefore afford to try these out.
I wanted to build something which was rot proof, well insulated, and would last pretty much forever. I decided on glass fibre with foam insulation incorporated into the structure. I also went a little further with the ‘hobbit’ like house and designed this so that it would eventually have a turf roof and maybe some ivy growing up the walls. Although this is still to come I stuck some fake flowers and stuff on it to get some idea of what it could look like. I think I managed to get the white ‘rendered’ finish to look pretty good and it should never need anything more than a wash to keep it in good order.
The article needs more details, info, and pics !!! What was the framing used ?, what was the fiberglass and foam applied onto ?, what is the base or floor built out of ???,… etc. etc. etc.
Hi, Sorry about the lack of detail before. I’ll try and cover everything here rather than going over the same stuff several times.
The houses have no frame; they are of stressed skin construction, a little like modern day cars which take out loads through the body structure rather than a separate chassis. The ‘thatched’ house has 3” kingspan insulation panels skinned with GRP both sides which are then coated with gel coat. The ‘hobbit’ type one had foam poured and expanded between two GRP panels, after which they were again covered with gel coat. I prefer the first method . I wanted to experiment with a ‘knobbly’ type wall on the second house but I can now do this using ready made foam sheets. In both cases there is no exposed foam – it is totally encapsulated. Both houses have ¾ ply floors bonded in place and again skinned in GRP. Foam would not like the point loadings you get with furniture and feet.The roofs also have grp tubes bonded in as load spreaders so you can jump around on them.
There are timber frames in the rooflight apertures which are campervan type and are pretty good for ventilation and light. Also a 3×2 timber bonded into the wall is used to take out the door loads.
Because I wanted both houses to be towable by car to their sites, I was constrained by weight considerations and maximum UK towing widths so one has an 8’x8’ footprint and the other a 12’x8’ one so that I could meet the 2.5 metre width restrictions.
Regards
Kevin
last pretty much forever = not able to recycle
pretty much last forever (could)= able to be used indefinitely
I hate this throw away society and I like the idea of something lasting forever. If someone gets sick of one of these I suspect it would get relegated to garden shed status and most people have a permanent need over here for a shed. If the alternative for the next 100 years was 10 wooden sheds I would be thinking this was a pretty green thing.I accept the disposal argument totally but I think it’s only part of the argument.If I’d had a house built which needed rebuilding in my lifetime, the fact that the remains could be easily disposed of probably wouldn’t console me.
Regards
Kevin
I would be very worried about ventilation in the examples you’ve shown. Foam insulation always brings up the risk of out gassing of some pretty nasty vapor, and fiberglass rubs off particulate glass if you just look at it crosseyed. Have you found a way to render these inert? The small space occupied argues for a much higher long term danger of chemical induced cancer as well as silicosis of the lungs.
There is no exposed foam. It is sheathed both sides with resin and matting and then coated with gel coat. It has camper type roof vents.
Regards
Kevin
Hi again, Sorry I missed out on a couple of points.
I can’t really see where the chemically induced cancer or silicosis would come from. To my knowledge, I have an extremely inert unit here.If there is anything Ive missed please let me know.Can’t find anything on health risks of cured GRP.
Regards
Kevin
As a former boatbuilder, I’d have to argue the same as Joseph. In addition, knowing the cost of fibreglass and resin here in the states, and seeing how much more things cost in teh UK, I simply can’t imagine that it was less expensive than a similar-sized cob structure or timber-framed with a wattle-and-daub infill. And, as many trash landfills can attest, if there comes a time when the structure is no longer wated, or is damaged by the elements, there is no way to allow the elements to return to the earth – fibreglass is forever. I applaud your intent to create a small affordable structure with minimal maintenance, but I’m not in agreement with the metrhod. And I would argue that a structure that needs some attention for it’s longevity will be better appreciated than a structure which stands aloof from our care. It’s like a pet, in a way, and the care engenders a relationship that will foster the longevity of all partners in that relationship.
Hi greg, Thanks for the interest. I really wanted to use materials which would allow me to sink the structure below ground level or at a later date possibly even bury something so all you would see was a grass covered arch. I figured GRP was a natural choice. It wasn’t cheap but you can pay £6k for a camping pod over here!
Regards
Kevin
I thought these were supposed to be short term rentals that would replace ordinary caravans. If so, it seems like they’re made of the same materials as a caravan, just in a different style. It would definitely be better to have low maintenance structures for rentals. The only thing I’d suggest would be more windows in these things, for light and ventilation but also just so you don’t feel stuck in a box, especially on rainy days. There may be a large window at the back, which would help, but style should NEVER trump function. The article doesn’t say what the inside is finished with, that could make a difference too. Condensation is a problem with fibreglass as well, not sure how that is addressed.
I’ve covered a couple of points elsewhere but ventilation is via camperhome type rooflights which also do a good job of providing light
Condensation can be a problem anywhere but the insulation level really helps here, and ventilation is good. Condensation would not damage the fabric of the building but I have yet to see any noticeable condensation on the walls/ roof.
Both interiors are finished with gel coat but so far only the small hut has been trimmed out (with carpet).
One of my original motivations was to make something which could be covered with turf or even sunken into the ground so GRP was the obvious choice of materials for me.This will again help insulation and reduce the visual impact of the house.
Regards
Kevin
Thanks, sounds like they work well for their intended purpose. I didn’t mean to be critical, just curious. Something that doesn’t rot in contact with earth is a major plus in the soggy Pacific NW where I live and if I remember England right, there too. They do remind me of some of the old buildings and I could see them in a really neat little camping village, complete with ale house.
It is beautiful – I love the door.
He claims to be an engineer who wanted to make it look good from the outside?????? Are you kidding me? This looks like something my 6 year old made out of a milk carton and paper mache.
I too had a chuckle at the hubris. Give me the ‘countryside slum’ any day 🙂
To me it recalled the little play house we made when I was a child by fitting a thin cloth manufactured “house” tent over a card table. I think it required a box or something on the table to raise the peak of the “roof”.
You’re entitled to your opinion with regards to the looks of these huts. It is my opinion that they look better than 100 identical steel clad frames lined up in a field but I guess we’ll never agree on that.
However, the ‘claim’ to be a degree qualified engineer is a matter of fact.The implication that the looks of my huts would suggest otherwise shows a complete lack of understanding of the role of engineers. They are not industrial designers, artists, or architects and concern themselves with more mundane things like the structural aspects of buildings rather than their form.
Actually I have a good understanding of what engineers do. At the company I work for I’m the person who works with them showing what we want the product to look like. As you indicated they do the mundane portion of the job to make the product function. I strongly respect what the engineers do. There is a joke here in the US that engineers are incapable of making things look better and it’s the skills of others that makes the engineer. So when I said he claims to be an engineer who wants to make it look better from the outside; I was saying- he claims to be an engineer who thinks he can make something look good! The reality is to make something that looks good and is structuraly sound takes both skills. Your hands on and art skills can improve with practice. Thanks for showing your work.
Fair comment.I used to work in the aircraft industry which is one of the few i can think of where form is almost totally dictated by function and therefore they do get to be designed by engineers with a little help from computers.
Regards
Kevin
Straw bales and clay render would be a much better option than chemicals and fibreglass. Better insulation and fire-retardation properties, also carbon neutral and cheaper too!
I appreciate what you are saying but in the UK , fixed structures attract both planning and, more onerously, building controls attention from local authorities. There are a whole raft of regs to satisfy and I’m not sure you could do this with straw bale construction. Some guys in scotland had lots of probs with an incredibly eco friendly rammed earth/tyre house. I think they let them go ahead in the end as an experiment. Rightly so.Stick a couple of extra wall sockets in a house now and you’re supposed to notify the authorities! I once fire-proofed a ceiling and had to re-calculate stresses and deflections in joists to prove the extra (minimal) loads were acceptable, even though the joists had lots of notches and holes in them to carry pipes etc.
The opther thing is that in the uk, mobile structures attract no council tax (min £10 / week). This is why they are so attractive for ‘glamping sites’Thanks for the comments anyway but I had a specific market in mind and decided to experiment with this type of construction.
Regards
Kevin
I like it …..at least he is doing somthing ….show us what you have built………
I have built an all wood frame tiny house with clay plastered walls, recycled windows and door.
Now show me yours.
What is GRP?
Google it Kyle.
Glass enforced poly.
Sorry. It’s glass reinforced plastic chopped strands of thin glass bonded together with resin. Usually just referred to as glass fibre – not to be confused with glass fibre insulation. A different animal alltogether really.
Regards
Kevin
I’m not sure why almost everyone seems SOOOOOO critical! Geeze… he built a camping hut… intended for short term camping… and a means of earning a little income off his friend’s property. Give the guy a break… it isn’t like he was trying to build a damned castle. I like it. Wish I had the skill to build something similar in my own back yard to be used as a studio.
I love it, and whatever the ‘gel’ is (I’m in USA) it seems to me this is well thought out and looks charming. I love the idea of a thatched roof.
Agree with Linda here–most of the negative replies here are ill-natured in language and approach flaming. Several of my favorite sites have, over time become overwhelmingly unpleasant as the better-natured consumers opt out.
INTERESTING BUT HARD FOR ME TO GRASP WITHOUT DIAGRAMS.
They sure are ugly… yuck
Kevin,
What a lot of response you have had to your structure! Congratulations to all those who made constructive comments. Aesthetically I would like to have seen an overlapping roof with guttering to catch water in barrels. But do keep going Kevin – seems so many are watching and learning with you!
From Christine, Andalucia Spain, where the local mayors have given so many licences for illegal houses that many Brits face the demolition of their homes (See what happened to the Prior Family from Vera – a real disgrace from Spain. They now live in their garage as their half million house pound was demolished in ‘error’. Supreme Court supported them, ordered compensation be paid but autorities say after six years it is ‘too soon’ to pay them. They are retirees who now live in their garage on the site . Let no one underestimate the value of small mobile houses, motorhomes, caravans etc. Just get the environment right, Nice parks, lots of screening. That’s the secret. Clean and screen.
Spain please note!!!
Kevin, nice job! Come to Hawai’i and build one here!
Aloha, Grace