Eco-building

I am no expert in this field. But it has always been my dream to build an eco-house for my family. I imagined a rustic log cabin, like those of the Canadian Rockies, decked out with solar panels, a slow-burn fireplace, wind generated electricity and geo-thermal heating. About six years ago I bought a piece of land. Two years after that we started building. Fours years later we're still at it.

An eco-construction company (Limecrete - the best eco builders in Britain!) from Norwich came to lay our foundation and floors with limecrete - meaning hydraulic lime. I am proud to say that our house does not have a drop of cement in it. We produced 70% less CO2 and in the lifetime of the house, because lime is breathable, our house will be carbon neutral. The stone walls that make our basement are reclaimed stones from an old Austro Hungarian building used as Tito's Barracks in Sarajevo. The wall plates are locally sourced oak. The body of the house is Douglas Fir, also locally sourced. We insulate ourselves with sheep wool. A whopping 30cm in our roof to keep heat loss to an absolute minimal. We're hoping to install the solar panels and bio-mass heating unit next year. With any luck, we'll be residents of our new house next year. So it goes.

I have a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for these types of projects. I have no doubt this will be the way of the future. Keep in mind, Bosnians buy 90% of their construction supplies from other countries. Our house is very close to being 90% Bosnian sourced materials. Supporting local economies. Sourcing local materials. Keeping the jobs at home. I'll be talking about this a lot more. If you have any questions or advice - man oh man, I am all ears. I love this shit! :)

The Bosnia Guy
crossmenu