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Earth Sheltered Homes

deliamey | Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on March 1, 2008 04:43am

  Has anyone had any experience with    earth sheltered (concrete) homes, or earth bermed homes. My wife and I were interested in  building a  hobbit home.   Primarily because we would like t o build  something energy efficient, but  also because we live in an area of the country that is becoming somewhat of a tornado alley.   Any advice on literature  or building techniques would be greatly appreciated.   I am traditional home builder/ carpenter with some concrete and concrete basement experience.                                 Thanks                                     

 

 There’s not a lot to know,  just a lot to remember. – Crouch                                                                                                                                                        

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  1. MikeSmith | Mar 01, 2008 05:00am | #1

    you're in luck... couple people here

    look for VaTom  and his PAHS

    Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
  2. DougU | Mar 01, 2008 07:11am | #2

    Also try filling out your profile, your address isn't necessary but location would be helpful.

    Doug

  3. RedfordHenry | Mar 01, 2008 07:21am | #3

    Here's a cool one, from Findhorn Scotland

  4. rez | Mar 01, 2008 07:29am | #4

    bump

     

     

    Peach full,
    easy feelin'.

  5. Pierre1 | Mar 01, 2008 07:34am | #5

    Not from personal experience, but from speaking with the builder of two earthships (as I like to call them) while walking through them.

    You will need to take into account your site's surface topography, geology, and soil percolation rate. Plan your ground and surface water management strategy accordingly. Having two lines of defence uphill/upstream, incl. diversions, is a good way to go. Downhill drainage is important too.

    Another thing is you will need to plan your air handling (HVAC) very carefully, as it is hard to get cross-ventilation in most earthships. Getting a good chimney draft needs planning too.

    Plan for the above and you'll have a dry, healthy home. Your traditional skills will serve you well.

     

  6. User avater
    popawheelie | Mar 01, 2008 07:46am | #6

    I think it would be a blast to build one. It just seems like a great idea.

  7. Hudson Valley Carpenter | Mar 01, 2008 09:41am | #7

    Try the Advanced Search, located at the top of the folders/topics column on the left.  Search for "PAHS".  VaTom is our resident authority and has written extensively on the subject, from personal experience.  He lives in a large earth sheltered home of his own design which he built himself as well. 

  8. stinky | Mar 01, 2008 02:32pm | #8

    Had a chance to purchase one several years ago...remembering how eerily quite and cool(in the middle of summer) it was. This house had three thick concrete walls nestled into a hillside. It was built like a bunker and  I would have purchased but it was to far from work.I looked for water penetration and found none, a really clean and efficient home. stinky

  9. VaTom | Mar 01, 2008 03:37pm | #9

    Somebody call?

    Deliamey, we live with a couple feet of overhead dirt.  Ours is hardly a hobbit house, more like a warehouse.  Click on my name, it'll take you to a link to a page on our place.  Which is why you should fill in a little of your profile.  You never know when what you're looking for is next door.

    I used commercial construction material, reinforced concrete and steel barjoists.  Twice, with a third started.  Works very well, inexpensive.  Certainly DIY-friendly, I'm not a GC, not much of a carp. 

    But there are lots of ways to go underground, including thinshell like Monolithic domes, and ferrocement.  I want to try earth-forming with thinshell, recently learned where to get the engineering.  Earth loads are substantial.  Good chance there'll be an example of earth-forming near Sacramento this summer. 

    Wood underground doesn't appeal to me, but there's a post&beam (block infill) underground house near here.  Minimal earth cover, lots of posts.  Owners love it, but get nowhere near our heating/cooling performance. 

    PAHS (passive annual heat storage) is the plan I followed.  Uses the earth mass to cool during summer, storing the heat for re-radiation the following winter. 

    PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!

  10. Clewless1 | May 30, 2008 07:32pm | #10

    Definately a good option ... energy and structurally.

    The key is controlling water on the roof and making sure you control water. There are lots  of materials to help you w/ this ... continuous rubber sheating and I think they probably still use a material called Enka Drain (sp?) ... for below grade walls.

    Design your south side w/ an overhang and you may need little cooling in the summer (RH control aside).

    Consider exposed HVAC ducts for the chique quasi industrial style. Done well, it can be nice! Or go for radiant hydronic slab to take the edge off cold floors.

    Design it right and you may need no interior finish on the concrete! Acid etch the floors and you have a reasonably economical approach (considering that concrete is an expensive material to build with). No exterior finish or maintenance, either ... so maybe the cost is more of a toss up.

    There are lots of books done in the 70's and 80s on design ideas ... some use the old fashioned passive solar approach (which in my opinion aesthetically weren't always nice). LOTS of options, though, still w/ earth sheltering ... I'm still itching to dig into such a project.

    1. deliamey | Jun 04, 2008 06:35am | #11

      Thanks to you and everyone else who has responded. Lots of good advice. The more info the better. I'm looking at all the angles before I start this project

                                         Thanks Scott

       

      1. Catskinner | Dec 28, 2008 09:05am | #15

        So have you started building yet?

  11. dovetail97128 | Jun 04, 2008 08:59am | #12

    Yes, I have .

    Not as involved as VATOM , but have done more than a few solar earth bermed projects and assisted one homeowner on a "solar earth covered dwelling.

    Not difficult to achieve basic aims, and if you have done much concrete you have it made.

    They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
  12. Danno | Jun 04, 2008 03:05pm | #13

    You may want to look into Earth Ships, as another poster mentioned. The main structure of them are tires packed with dirt and concrete and they seem to make good use of an otherwise hard to dispose of waste product (old tires). Think about how long a buried tire lasts and you can see why it would be a good thing to use for building underground.

  13. timby | Jun 04, 2008 08:45pm | #14

    Check out the following web site. This is what you're looking for.

    http://photos.itsa.info/thumbnails.php?album=14

    These folks even call their house a Hobbit house.

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