Sheriff Hill
This led to the building of the first council housing estate in Gateshead. Alderman Hodkin laid the foundation stone on 27 October 1920; as work commenced the Alderman demonstrated the authority's concerns, telling the local newspaper that: "we can build houses, but we cannot build homes. Only the people themselves can do that and I hope that the spirit of ‘esprit de corps’ will prevail and this will be a model estate" Demand was highthere were 427 applicants for the first twenty eight houses builtand the council built further tracts of housing in a broad triangle between Sodhouse Bank, Ermine Crescent and The Avenue, although central government withdrew its promised funding. By 1936, most of the social housing available as of 2012 was in existence and provides accommodation to over half of the population of the suburb.
Earth shelter
Typically earth sheltered structures are more costly to build compared to a regular house. This is due in part to the cost of excavating the earth, having to use structural materials in the walls and the roof which withstand greater load, and increased expense on waterproofing. Many financial institutions outright exclude financing on earth-berm homes or require this type of property to be common for the area. However, as with other types of buildings the cost of construction varies greatly. For example homes built in the style of Oehler would tend to be significantly cheaper than regular houses since he emphasizes the owner(s) doing much of the excavation and work themself and using recycled materials for windows for example.