I will try and make this short and sweet.
 My husband and I are wanting to build a 1000 sf house (hopefully with a small bacement). My father is a home builder and remodeler, and we will be doing most of the work ourselves. We all have little to no experiance with green building and a very limited budget. We will be barrowing the money so it will also have to be done in a timely manner.
 This is our first home and we want it to be as green as our budget will allow(about $50,000)
  I have researched alittle and I have some books coming from the library. We have allready drawn up a floor plan. The biggest thing that I would like to accomplish would be being self sufficiant. Maybe solar power.
  As I am writing this I have a sinking feeling that peeple are going to think this is impossible. So when your done laughing... Please any suggestions, hints, tips, websight, books, or personal experiances would be greatly appreciated.
 I live in North east Georgia so if anyone knows any local resources that would be great. My biggest thing is i dont want to get something thats green and then ship it half way across the US i want to work locally as much as possible.
 Iv allready looked into reclaimed wood for floors and cabinets. We live right next door to the granite city so we'll probably chose that for the small amount of kitchen counters we will need. And we have allready acquired a old claw foot tub, a wood stove and other things that my dad has salvaged working as a remodeler.
 So hopefully with alot of hard work, penny pinching, determination, good advice and research we will see our dream of owning a green home come true.
  Well crap so much for being short:)
I would also like to say that this is a great web sight and im sooo glad I found it.

MMWallace02,

I'll not laugh. I've been trying -- so far unsuccessfully -- to convince my wife that our retirement home does not need to be 2000sf.  So, I'm used to impossible tasks.

I've been reading up on cottages, and several books might be of interest to you (I got both online fairly inexpensively):

Jim Tolpin's "The New Cottage Home" is a very interesting book with ideas that you might be able to apply less expensively.  One of the homes is a "salvage-yard vernacular" cottage that's 1,259 sf on two levels using much material purchased from salvage.  (Salvage = cheap; two levels reduces shell costs.) Salvage material examples included the 30' metal trusses that support the roof, roofing, and siding.  It was built in 1991 for $50K.  Inflation and sweat equity might cancel each other out.  Tolpin goes beyond merely reporting on interesting houses to discussing what makes cottages appealing and basic design features to consider. 

Also interesting, but without the discussions that Tolpin added is Fine Homebuilding's "More small houses."  That book includes an interesting "garage as a starter home" that would be easy to adopt.  It was built in 1994 for $83(Canadian)/sf, and has 720 sf for a nominal cost of $60K(Canadian).  The concept was simple:  build a 2 car garage with an apartment above.  "A little house with rich spaces" shows a 900 sf house that high school students built at $45/sf; it's built in three levels (2 floors and a loft).  And "A small, affordable house" shows a 1,350 sf house built on piers (to reduce foundation costs) for $45 sf in 1994. 

And, if you've not read it yet, look at the extensive Building Science web site at buildingscience.com; it's the most worthwhile site that I've found on what to avoid in building a house and what makes a house work well; an example of one for a hot-humid climate is:

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/primers/plonearticlemultipage.2006-11-17.6022614454/section-2-the-basic-hot-humid-climate-house/

So, I don't really have much to offer except suggesting that a bit extra time reading before you commit to a floor plan or design might expose you to other ideas and to small details that would make the difference between mere shelter and a home.

Good luck, and remember that it's an adventure, not a penance.
Larry

A great Green DIY building block on the market is Liteblok from Cresco Concrete Products (www.CrescoConcrete.com). It is lightweight, interlocking, mortarless, and affordable so you will be able to build much of the house yourself.

HoustonGreen, what is an approximate cost per Liteblok block? And how exactly does it differ from autoclaved aerated concrete?

Jelly,

If I remember correctly, LiteBlok is shipped from Houston, Texas.  One advantage it may have over Hebel is that it is interlocking.  It may require less skill to build with it.  If price plus shipping costs are reasonable, then this product may lend itself to a do-it-yourselfer.  If so, that would save some money.

Alton, I'm surprised I've never heard of it in all my research! I guess it could be because they want to separate themselves from AAC, so it never came up in my searches. Don't understand why they don't want to be called AAC though. It would be great if no thinset or mortar was necessary. Does every block have a hollow core?

Jelly,

I have not used Liteblok but I do seem to recall that their light-weight blocks can have round holes already in them for rebar, tie-downs, etc.  Look at Liteblok 38 for residential use.

Liteblok is not AAC, it's unique. Each block has two holes. The details are on the website - www.crescoconcrete.com. AAC requires special skills, mortars, plasters, tools etc. Liteblok wall costs are a bit less than 2x4, I believe AAC is higher than 2x6.

Well of course the website leaves a lot of questions unanswered - they always do. They call it aerated concrete. Maybe the difference is it hasn't been autoclaved? Does each hole in each block need to be grouted? Sounds like it has a lot of attractive features. I tried contacting them directly about price - haven't heard back yet.

At the top of the Home page it says that Liteblok is made with a foaming agent and regular concrete. That's very different from AAC which is made by mixing silica sand, lime, cement, and aluminum and heating it all generating hydrogen gas in the process. When the hydrogen gas escapes it makes it porous. AAC is so different that regular concrete mortars and plasters won't even stick to it. At the top of the Liteblok Products page it says that only "some of the holes" are filled with grout and rebar. It's important when comparing wall systems that you look at the total cost. Wall systems can have 5-15 components. For example, a stucco finished wood frame wall includes sheetrock, sheathing, insulation, framing, vapor barrier, wire, bonding agent, stucco, and lots of labor. You should also consider the performance of the wall system. Will it provide good indoor air quality? Will it protect my investment from strong winds or termites? Will it reduce my insurance or energy bills?

Hi MMwallace02--I've been trying to reach about the same target as you as far as budget and sq footage. Here are factors that I've found to influence the cost and design.
1. Is the lot level or sloped and what is the orientation as far as southern exposure for solar. If you want passive solar on the cheap then that affects your decision on how to do the foundation in order to inexpensively create thermal mass for the passive solar. You might want to do a slab on grade for that part of the house.

2. What would the basement be used for--a shop, an entertainment room. Do you ideally need a separate outside entrance?

3. Do you want to try and live in it while finishing the interior. If so, a basement is a big help.

4. I built my first house with a daylite basement with a simple rectangular 20x40 foundation with 4ft concrete walls and 4 ft of framed walls with window openings. I would have needed the depth for the concrete walls anyway to get below the frost line so the cost of make an 800 sq ft basement was only the cost of the slab and framing and windows, At the time probably less that 3000 dollars. Having a basement made installing the plumbing electrical and heating so much easier.

5. Figure out a way to do comparative costs on different options on the shell. I try to break it down into sq ft costs that include the interior and exterior finishes. SIPS cost so much per sq ft, framing with osb and insulation costs so much per sq ft, etc.

6. One of the areas where I think you can save big is to consider doing some kind of earth plaster inside and out. It is something you can do yourself and there are plenty of videos and green workshops where you can learn.

7. I'm running out of time here but I would be happy to share what conclusions I've arrived at in designing my new house that I hope to build in western North Carolina, My name is Randy and my # 970.708.0474

Check out this link www.notsobighouse.com - It's a good resource of good design ideas for smaller homes. You can green up any design and use any of the great building systems out there with any design. I liked the stuff I read about under RTR's post about using "Salvage" materials. In my opinion you have an awfully tight budget. 1,000 square feet for $ 50,000.00 = $ 50.00 per square foot. Most would say it can't be done. Thinking outside of the box and with enough time, you can accomplish anything.

We (wife and I) have lived in a 1500 sq ft home for 10 years, and it's really too big. To your questions: look at lake cabin designs for high space efficiency. Essentially a center hall design with rooms on both sides. Design at least for passive solar, with bldg orientation, shading and eave overhang properly designed. We live in northern MN and in dead of winter (-30F), sunny days, we need no heat in the house due to passive solar (face SW, 4' eaves). Yet no heat in summer due to sun height, tree shading and eaves. We also heat 100% from a free-standing wood stove in the LR. Living area stays at 70-75, bedrooms (furthest away) stay at 55-60 in the winter. Total heating bill last winter was $200 from electric while we were gone on a 10 day trip + a couple of weekends. Insulate all hot water lines. Use heat traps on hot water heater. We cut 50% off our DHW heat cost by dong this. Consider solar tube lighting for interior spaces. We have a 10" in our 8 x 12 interior bathroom, and it is as bright as day during the daytime without any additional lighting. Use CFL's everywhere; use motion detectors on any outdoor lighting (come on only when needed). Reduce your "stuff" to the minimum, as stuff can be the most un-green of all.

Glad to see Taunton press books listed at the top, and gladder to see my old alma mata, Fine Homebuilding, listed. Taunton put out a very good book called Green From the Ground Up by Davis Johnston and Scott Gibson. It's very good but with a couple of errors (don't use plastic in walls). I'd say go to www.finehomebuilding.com and look around there; I know there are tons of great articles because I developed them. Currently working on a website called greenbuildingadvisor.com, but releasing bits and pieces of info at www.TheGreenBuildingAdvisors.blogspot.com, shameless self promotion, yes, but helpful self promotion none the less.

You don't need to use big ticket items to build a super efficient, durable, and good-looking home. An energy efficiency engineer I know likes to say "Solar panels are the badge ogf Honor that you get to put on an efficient home." meaning that you need to spend the majority of your efforts on a tight envelope and low electricity loads (right-sized AC, efficient lighting, tight ducts, etc). The advice about www.buildingscience.com is good, Joe is the best.

Good luck,
Dan

Thanks for all the great replys !!! I enjoy hearing from everyone. I was just fixing to post that I had finished the book Green from the ground up. It was great and very informative.step by step. I liked that. It gives you a good idea of what is a good, less pricey option for things. and it gives you good ideas for questions to ask. The only thing I did notice was the talked a lot about keeping a house warm and not too much about keeping a house cool. I live in the south so Im more worried about the best ways to keep my house cool:). Should I still put lots of windows in the south walls? In my plan that would be the living areas. I was thinking I would plant some trees on the south side that leaf out really pretty and big in the summer but that i can cut back in the winter for maximum light. I was thinking crape myrtles and cherry trees. So what would you guys opinion be on placement of the house in north east Ga.

MMwallace,

If you are in N. GA you need to talk with Chris Kavala [email protected]  1-877-321-SIPS.  He helped me with my home in FL, but himself is moving up to N. GA and is licensed in GA.  I would talk to him about contracting building a steel sip  home.  You could have his crew put  up the shell and it would be done in less than a day.  Or he can show you how to diy and let you provide the work force.  We did that with a 1900 sq. ft single story Duplex and with an in-experienced work crew, we were under roof in a day and half.  I had Chris put up my shell and get it trade ready and with his four man crew it took nine working days to be trade ready for a two story 4000 sq. ft under roof.

If you are borrowing the money then speed is your best freind!!!!!

Your main concern is to be energy effiecient.  In N. GA a steel sip home would be so effiecient you wouldn't believe it.  I live in central FL and my electric bill for total electric with 6 people averages 5 cents per sq. ft.  And that is for 3350 under air with 14 ft. gable ceilings up stairs and 10 ft. ceilings down.  In N. GA this would be less as you wont' have to run the AC in the summer hardly at all.  Just let in the cool night air and then it will hold the temp during the day.  During the winter, you wont have to run your heat as much as it will hold the temp way longer than anyhting else. If you used solar hot water I wuld bet your utilities bill would be less than $25 per month.  For a 100 sq. ft. home if you used wood heat stove you could build one fire a day and it would hold.  While I was building my home, with the temp electricity, I put a 5000 BTU window unit in a down stairs window.  It ran none stop but cooled my 1800 sq. ft floor here in FL.

Yes the steel sip will be a little more $ out of the pocket book at first, but what you save in time, which means less $ in intrest on that money, and then in long term residual, it will pay you back the difference in less than a year or two.  I know I did it myself and it works!!!!!!!
http://www.ntm.org/don_woody/photos.php?img_id=24183&category=Building+our+house

Just a note I did my home for $47 sq. ft in 2004 and that includes a lot of extras like high end high tech kitchen, wood floors etc.

Here is another money saving tip for all you DIY's out there. Where do you go every time you need 2 x 4 or piece of plywood or about six feet of pvc. Most of us drive to the local hardware or box store and pay for it. Well if you are around any place that is putting in new homes or construction you wouldn't believe what new Construction throws away. I would go 1/2 mile to the newest sub division and walk up to the formen and ask, "hey can i pick out some stuff from your dumpster". I have pulled complete bundles of 2 X 4's or half to 2/3 sheets of ply wood or steel framing studs. You name it. From new doors that didn't match the rest of the house etc. to rolls of pvc pipe to duct work it can be found in the dumpster next door and you do them a favor by hauling it off. They don't return this stuff and they don't take it to the next job they calculate at least 10% waste and just throw it away, so go and pick it for free!!!!!

Another good use for dumpster diving, and I know this sounds really cheep and lazy but it sure works. For all of you out there that like to add a nice piece of pine to your fire in the fire place just to give it a little bump in temp or to get the oak log burning well, here is another tip from the dumpster. One problem with burning pine logs is the high concentration of sap making suet in the chimney. Well at the house going up just down the street they had a bundle of 8 ft. 2 X 4's that needed to be cut back 18 inches. And you guessed it, the pieces are just thrown in the dumpster. This kind of pine is extremely dry, burns hot and stacks up so nice. Why labor to cut pine when all you have to do is load it up? This is also green as it saves trees that you would have cut down, saves gas and oil and usage on the chain saw and you don't have to wait a year for them to season to make them burnable.

I highly suggest going to OwnerBuilderBook.com. I'm planning my build and I've been hanging out at that website for a few months. For an Owner-Builder, it has the best advice I've found out there. What you are wanting to do is doable... Quite a few people on OBB have built for $50 a sq ft and had it appraise at $75 to $100 per sq ft afterwards.