This couple built a 1,500-square-foot home out of Lego-style polystyrene blocks: “It seemed too easy”

Buying a home can be incredibly difficult these days, thanks to soaring prices and the extensive renovations many properties require. British woman Hannah Bird and her husband, Charlie, found themselves facing exactly that dilemma in Burnham-on-Sea, a seaside town in southwest England. But rather than purchase a house in need of major work, they decided to build one themselves. After two years of labor, the couple is finally preparing to move into their new 1,500-square-foot home, a project that has cost them roughly $240,000.

At first, the couple had planned to renovate an older property, but the homes they found were selling for around $255,000, and some didn’t even have a roof. Buying a newly built home wasn’t a viable alternative either, as the price of a modest two-bedroom house could climb as high as $480,000. Everything changed, however, when Hannah, who works as a travel blogger, discovered a construction system at a trade show that uses interlocking blocks. “It’s like Lego. It’s idiot proof,” she told British outlet Metro.

The system is known as ICF (Insulated Concrete Framework) and relies on polystyrene blocks that lock together before being filled with concrete. The result is a strong, durable wall structure that also provides excellent thermal insulation. Although the method initially seemed straightforward, Hannah and Charlie soon began to wonder whether they were doing everything correctly. “It seemed too easy to start with,” Hannah recalled. To address their concerns, they turned to instructional videos on social media and sent their plans to the manufacturer, which provided guidance on how to assemble the blocks properly.

The project began in June 2022, when the couple purchased a little over a quarter-acre of land for approximately $90,000. Before construction could begin, they had to clear the site, install fencing, and prepare an access road. They also carried out the necessary excavation work to connect water and electricity services, while making room for a home office and a spacious garage.

Once they started putting up the walls, the speed of the building system left them amazed. “For what a bricklayer took a week to do, together we could do in an hour,” Hannah said. The couple estimates that they have completed roughly 80% of the work themselves. Building a home, however, involved much more than just raising the walls. They also had to prepare the site, lay the foundations, and tackle countless other tasks required to bring the project to completion.

While putting the finishing touches on their ambitious build, the pair have been living with Hannah’s parents. Their work as travel bloggers often takes them around the world aboard a sailboat, but they will soon have a place of their own to return to between adventures. After two years of hard work, they are on the verge of moving into a home that they built largely with their own hands, using a construction system they discovered almost by chance.

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