Sinoj, an employee of the health department, and his family are settled in a small house in Kodali (Thrissur). So what makes this house relevant in today’s time? In fact fact, it was made for a small family living on one person's income and most importantly without incurring additional financial burden.
The house was designed by Shantilal, a designer at Cost Ford, and a promoter of low-cost eco-friendly homes. The old house was gutted and many building materials were reused. So, cost-cutting happened. The use of local building materials (cut stone, soil, clay roof tiles) also helped keep costs down.
So, they could cover a sitting, living, dining, kitchen, three bedrooms, one attached bathroom, and one common bathroom within 1150 sq.
The foundation was built with granite. The walls are made of cut stone. Instead of cement, the wall was coated with a mixture of lime and soil. The roof was laid with filler slab-style clay roof tiles. The rest of the house was built with wood and then layered with clay roof tiles.
The inner walls of the house were plastered with a mixture of mud and lime. A very small amount of cement and paint was required. Moreover, due to mud plastering, the house remains pleasantly cool even in the afternoon.
Their budget was 13 lakhs. Due to the increase in construction materials, they had to shell out an extra two lakhs. Thus, a debt-free, peaceful house for Rs 15 lakh was achieved and the family couldn’t be happier.
At a time when construction materials are getting costlier by the day, they proved through this dream house that an eco-friendly, low-cost home was achievable.
Project facts
Location- Kodali, Thrissur
Owner- Sinoj
Area- 1150 Sq.ft
Budget- 15 Lakhs
Designer- Santhilal
Costford, Thriprayar
