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This reminds me of the Segal Method of housebuilding: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Segal_Method

Two of the core ideas are that the majority of the work can be undertaken by a single person with basic carpentry skills, using readily-available materials in standard sizes so there is minimal cutting and waste.



Having built a couple of smaller structures, I don't see why these can't be done today. Ignoring the current trend of building for curb appeal instead of practicality, you can build a house using standard size materials (8/10/12/16 foot). Even studs come in 92 5/8" to accomodate for top/bottom plates in 8 foot walls.


I'm always intrigued by the Segal method, but it's so closely tied to the sizes of construction materials available at the time and I can't help wondering if anything has changed since.


I'm sure it requires a bit of rethinking here or there, but there's a group of houses in Brighton, UK, that did it in the late 90s, a long time after Segal's original ideas: https://www.granddesignsmagazine.com/grand-designs-houses/he...

I've been thinking about doing this, and my main thought is that the insulation standards were probably effectively non-existent at the time, beyond "as few draughts as possible"!

Edit: not sure if these will be geo-blocked, but there are a couple of programmes about that project here:

Build: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs/on-demand/...

Revisit 10+ years later: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs/on-demand/...


On https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Segal_Method it says it can achieve passivhaus levels. So I would say, insulation to modern standards is within its scope


Oh, absolutely. It's just that I've seen some of the original buildings in south east London and they looked absolutely freezing - single glazing with metal-framed windows. The walls looked like thin painted plywood, but I don't think that can be the case. It looks like they've updated them now: https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/1615




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