The Hobbit:

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

"It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats--the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill--The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it--and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the lefthand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river."

"This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained--well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end." - The first chapter of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

The Story

I was browsing the internet over my Christmas break (whilst I was suffering from a life threatening cold) and came across this site.... A Simple Woodland Home I spent some time looking at it and, as I did so, the pieces started to fall into place.

I've been thinking for some time about buying or building a place of my own. I'm very happy where I am but I do want more space so that I can small-hold and I am aware that I can't buy any more books - no space to store them, you see.

It's also natural to want your own place - although renting in France is a sensible thing to do (loads of laws to protect the tennant and reasonable rents - I pay 200 euros a month for a one bedroom bungalow) - the thought of paying someone else each month when I could be paying a mortgage seems strange. I had been thinking about buying the piece of land just round the corner from me. This would cost about 12,000 euros (including 1 acre of land and three industrial/agricultural buildings and planning permission for a house). The three existing buildings could be converted into a nice 2 bedroomed bungalow and, as it is just 80 yards away, moving would be simple. However, it has (at the moment), no magic although I'm sure that that would come.

I did have a quick look in an estate agent's window, after work, today. There was one renovation project that didn't look to desperate (I know, it's difficult to tell from a photo and estate agents details). 3 rooms downstairs and one upstairs - it looked in almost habitable order (in other words, it had a roof and windows and had had electricity and water connected in the past). That was for sale for 30,000 euros. That one did have some magic - it would do me fine. Once I have costings for a Hobbit House, I'll have some hard decisions to make.

I suppose that I have now got my work cut out trying to cost the project so that I know how to proceed. I do know that if I go for the smaller model, it will be designed in such a way that it will be extendable at a later date. The end result will probably look more oval than as shown on the plan.

The Hobbit, et al.

I'm not really a Tolkein fan - I read Lord of the Rings when I was 13 and enjoyed it. I read it again, many years later and found it lacking. I loved the Hobbit, though. That can be re-read many times. I'm aware that I've read the later edition of the Hobbit; Tolkein re-wrote the book after he had finished Lord of the Rings to ensure a better continuity.

I love to read the original (first) edition but as these sell for at least $10,000, I don't expect I ever shall!

Summary

I have got a week off work (and two weeks work on the websites, to fit into it), next week and will be posting another article about the costings, fuel savings etc, that are associated with a straw bale semi-underground house (I've got loads of links to relevant websites) - I just need to cull the information and re-present that which is relevant, here.

The things that I've learned already are that a straw bale, semi-underground house can cost 75% less to heat than a conventional modern house. Houses made from sheathed straw bales are 2.8 times more fire resistant than conventional houses. Straw bales cost less, per square meter, than bricks or breezeblocks.

I've gots loads of thinking and researching to do but, what I find out, I'll detail here....

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