Replies

1. 
   hasbeen | Mar 31, 2003 05:00am | #1

   Go a half step further and you could consider the "septic tank" house!  {G}

   It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.

1. 
   Guest | Apr 02, 2003 05:04am | #2

   Now, Now-it doesnt matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you're going in the right direction. This cement culvert idea fascinates me-800 square feet with high ceilings delivered! Sure beats one of those (sp?)yurts. I ran across a neat website out of Florida when I was surfing for concrete shelters where they sell a cement bunker-pretty cool stuff if you are interested in alternative housing or if you are wealthy beyond belief and want to buy your husband the ultimate birthday gift...:-)

1. 
   4Lorn1 | Apr 02, 2003 06:28am | #3

   Do you have a URL for the site featuring the concrete shelters?

1. 
   Guest | Apr 03, 2003 05:14am | #8

   Here is the url for the Florida company-their website appears to be under (re)construction-it had links to a photo gallery of bunkers and creative adaptations, schematics, etc. They supply the military but also sell these things domestically.

   http://usbunkers.com/

   I use ixquick.com to search for websites-tonight the results for (type in the box)

   concrete +shelter

   were double what I found from a month ago-the trend towards tornado shelters seems to be taking off or else its just a variance of the search engine.

2. 
   hasbeen | Apr 04, 2003 01:21am | #9

   If you are interested in that sort of alternative building, check out a copy of "The $50 and Up Underground House Book"  I think it was written by Mike Oehler.  May be out of print.It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.

1. 
   Luka | Apr 04, 2003 08:51am | #10

   http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com/50andupunhou.html

   Wishing I had the 17 dollars extra. Looks like an excelent book.

   Quittin' Time

1. 
   hasbeen | Apr 07, 2003 01:16am | #14

   Thanks for the link, Luka!  I'm glad to see that the book is still in print.  Drove over to see Mike Oehler's home in Idaho when wife and I lived in Montana 20 years ago.  I'm still interested in the idea.It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.

2. 
   Luka | Apr 02, 2003 08:16am | #4

   Glass blocks at all ends, for light. Or roundy windows. And a roundy door.

   Coat the whole thing in several successive layers of sealant, and the thickest nursery black plastic you can buy. (The cost of this will be more than offset by the lack of need of roofing for the life of the house.) Then bury it. Plant grass on top.

   This will have to be sealed right around. Even underneath. Be especialy excessive at all joints. Maybe pour concrete at the joints first, then seal the heck out of it.

   Pull it off right, and you can make a hobbit palace.

   Buried electric, right into the house. Meter near the road, if you have to.

   Normal plumbing/septic system, and electric wiring, etc... can all be run under the floor. You will have to make a level floor in the tubes, so there will be plenty of room under there for all that. Add an extra tube especialy for the furnace, or RFH, and the plumbing and electric housings.

   Weather erosion = nil. Just mow the grass. keep the windows and doors painted.

   I'm sure that someone like Junkhound or Cloud hidden could tell you how much you can cut away, without modifications. And they can tell you what kind of modifications would have to be made if you decide to cut more of the wall away. Probably just steel bracing of some sort. Epoxied/bolted in place ?

   I think that if you only put about 6 feet or so of dirt on top, it is not likely to need any severe bracing, no matter how you cut it. Plenty of drainage throughout the "Hobbit Hill", to keep the water weight to a minimum as well as keep the leakage factor at a standstill.

   Pilons moot.

   Would need super ventilation. Also would be very energy efficient. Especialy with RFH.

   Quittin' Time

1. 
   4Lorn1 | Apr 02, 2003 09:13am | #5

   If I understand the culverts your talking about most are designed to go under major highways and stand up to constant pounding by tractor-trailers and cement trucks.

   I would think that after a good membrane treatment and some padding piling both sides and underneath with gravel would take care of drainage. A foot or so of dirt and sod would finish it off.

2. 
   CapnMac | Apr 02, 2003 06:27pm | #7

   Set the culverts into the ground so the interior floor is about 8" higher than grade, then "berm" dirt up against the sides.  This way, you'd get the "compromise" between the expense of excavation versus the benefits of "earth sheltered" design.  If I remember correctly, 12" of grass covered dirt has a R value around 60 or so.

   If the concept is to use precast, they stock rectilinear sections, too.

   I spent some time living in tornado country (Texas Panhandle).  I "noodled" about with a concept of using buried precast sections for the private sections of a house, then setting the public sections above the precast.  Nice side benefit in having less exposed structure to air condition.  Also, the ability to sleep through the sirens secure (being already in one's storm shelter).  Moved before the idea got very much further.  Only snag would be egress requirements--which are often minimal in Texas, where basements are rare.  But, that might be addressed with stock manhole sections (rotated to the appropriate orientation).

3. 
   IMERC | Apr 04, 2003 06:08pm | #11

   How about clad windows? Can the painting.

   Slab floor over a crawl space [Mechanical]

   Slab over a basement. [Bunker, Mechanical]

   Remote windmill / solar / generator / battery system. [Electric, well, heat]

   Half round culvert upper. [living space]

   Flex grout or vulcuum the seams / joints.

   Build the basic construction similar to a road culvert.

   They hold up a herendous amount of concertrated weight.

1. 
   Guest | Apr 05, 2003 06:55am | #12

   I wish there was developing housing to meet the needs of single people-I don't want to live in a cave underground but also I don't need double garages, family rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, etc. We want the same thing any homebuyer wants-our own private space, where we are king of the castle, that we will have some hope in this lifetime of paying off. Resale value is simply not an issue for many of us. And condo's are not the answer-most of the smaller ones being built today are simply overpriced apartments.

1. 
   rez | Apr 05, 2003 07:42pm | #13

   Often times once the house building process begins the added cost of some additional space is so minimal it is almost wasteful not to add it.

    

    

3. 
   Ward | Apr 02, 2003 04:46pm | #6

   As an alternate, a guy out here in western KS built a guest house out of a round grain silo.  From the outside it looks pretty plain, galvanized with a door and entry cover.

   Inside looked very nice, 2 story, lots of space.

   Can't remember what town,  maybe CAG knows.