In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Going Underground

Discussion in 'The DIY Room' started by LodgedTree, Dec 6, 2017.

  1. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I have had it...last night we had another powerful windstorm and blew the chimney off the house, knocked out the power again, and kept us up all night. Now part of it is where my home is located; in the middle of a big field with a view some 150 miles away from atop this hill. Its a good place for a wind mill; not so good for a home!

    We are not ready to do this now, we have 4 young daughters and I am not going to subject them to a new lifestyle, but we have been thinking about going to an underground home for about a year now; going so far as to draw up blueprints. I have not made a scale model yet, but will soon I think. I like doing that with anything I build as it really gives a sense of 3D depth.

    Our general plan is to give the kids this house, downsize to an underground one about 24 foot square for just the wife and I, a little deeper in the woods, and maybe even a better view of what we got now. Still on-grid, still fully applianced, just smaller in scale, Mike Oehler style, with access to both the front and rear of the home for light and EGRESS. Our general thoughts are to have a more quiet home, energy efficient, and just plain smaller in size. We would build it ourselves of course, using as much materials as we can from off the farm. Just something small and comfortable.

    Any thoughts on underground houses?
    (This is a separate thread of one started a few weeks ago)
     
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  2. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    I have seen some nice earth sheltered houses that are buried into a hill, usually with a southern exposure for solar gain. I have one friend with a straw bale house and that's very cozy and seem's to heat real easy. I know your a "smaat fella" and seem to have a diverse background, check into a super insulated small house. I have built several times using more "conventional" methods (above ground) but super insulating with mainly "2nds" or used rigid polyiso foam paying strict attention to "air infiltration" and building in "thermal breaks" in your framing. Our small house heat's up cooking supper or baking a pie.:thumbs:
     
  3. Jack Straw

    Jack Straw

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    We have a raised ranch and spend a lot of time in the basement. It’s cool in the summer and warm in the winter cause that’s where the stove is. The problems are: we have to run a dehumidifier all summer because it’s damp, it’s cold down there in the spring and fall and it’s tough to heat because it’s actually too warm out to run the wood stove.
     
  4. shack

    shack

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    I know people who have done this, been involved in a couple of builds, and have been pretty active in this direction. Most people find it much more affordable to do heavy earth berming rather than going totally underground, much easier and economical to put a traditional roof on (metal is my choice). I have seen and been in two of this style that take advantage of high thermal mass and southern exposure...both about 900 sq ft and they are heating with basic wood stoves (one is a small smoke dragon) the only 'modern heat' they have is an electric baseboard in the bath room...here's the thing...they heat only with wood and they each go through less than 1 full cord a year!...smart, simple, economical design and function.
     
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  5. bushpilot

    bushpilot

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    Do your research, it would be a nightmare to have a cold, dark, musty house. But I think it is a great idea!
     
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  6. leoht

    leoht

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    LodgedTree there are a couple of towns here in Australia that the majority of homes are built underground, Coober Pedy in outback South Australia and White Cliffs in outback New South Wails. Both are Opal mining towns and the people who live there build there homes underground to escape the heat. In Coober Pedy there is even an underground hotel and a underground campground.

    Now moisture is not a problem for them building underground as both towns are dryer than a dead dingoes donger.

    Close to home I know of only one house that is built semi underground. It appears that they dug out a section of the hill side then built the house and covered the top with soil leaving the front wall only exposed. I was told that the main intent for building it that way was for protection from bushfires. It's well in to the bush and escape may be impossible if a fire got going so the house is basically a bunker, actually I cut firewood last year less than a mile from it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  7. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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    Look into a heat pump water heater...they will dehumidify in the summer, and it will love the heat from the wood stove in the winter, just makes it run less...I will be looking at these real hard when my electric water heater fails...
     
  8. Steve

    Steve

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    Definitely poured as opposed to block walls. Have you considered a monolithic dome with a stem wall? When these are built they instantly qualify as FEMA shelters. They can be built mostly underground too.
     
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  9. Gasifier

    Gasifier

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    :sherlock::popcorn:
     
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  10. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I looked into Monolithic Domes for my sheep barns at one time, but never considered it for an underground house. I like the idea though...
     
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  11. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    Katie and I drew up plans for our underground house and we came up with about 900 square feet as a size. Pretty much because before my current house got its 5 different additions, that was what size it was; a 24 x 24 garage. We did add on pretty quickly, after a year or two, and we are glad we did at the time, but now would like to downsize after the kids are gone. The interesting thing was, when my second wife found out she was pregnant, she decided our 24x40 house...which was fine for an adult that was 65 inches long, and 72 inches long, was NOT big enough for a 21 inch addition to the family.

    What we tried to do was get two different natural light sources (windows) in each room. Granted it was not hard to do with only 3 rooms. We thought that might get the gloom and doom out of the place.

    One big thing we would like to accomplish is get the sounds down to a minimum. We live on a hill now and when the wind howls like the 50 mph winds we had last night, it is just too much. Going underground sounds efficient and quiet!
     
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  12. Steve

    Steve

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    How about something like this:

    [​IMG]

    I'm sure you could source the material cheap enough :D
    Construction looks pretty straightforward, after a foundation has been laid. Here is a layout diagram:

    [​IMG]
    I'm thinking that the insulation value would be pretty good and the sound deadening would be excellent. I'd love to do something like this myself.

    Websources: pic #1: The Beauty of Natural Building in Cord Wood
    pic #2: Build Your Own Budget-Friendly Cordwood Cottage

    *Edit* Just pulled this off of der Google:
    The R-Value of Wood. A material's thermal resistance or resistance to heat flow is measured by its R-value. In a solid log wall, the logs provide both structure and insulation. The R-value for wood ranges between 1.41 per inch (2.54 cm) for most softwoods and 0.71 for most hardwoods.
    Energy Efficiency in Log Homes | Department of Energy
    Energy Efficiency in Log Homes | Department of Energy
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2018
  13. Gasifier

    Gasifier

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    How do they treat the wood so termites or other insects aren’t devouring your house?
     
  14. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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    Borax (borate) probably...
     
  15. bushpilot

    bushpilot

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    I am guessing that translates to "really dry" in American English? :rofl: :lol:
     
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  16. boettg33

    boettg33

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    Why not use ICF, Insulate Concrete Form? That would provide you with insulation along with structure to carry the loads you are looking at. ICF homes are known for eliminating swings in temperature when above ground.

    Another option I've read about is shipping creates. I've see people bury shipping creates and modify them to build elaborate homes. As for carrying the load of weight of earth by burying the units, I can't talk to that. Though I am sure there must be structural engineers that are able to help guide you.

    This is interesting concept, and I'd be very interested to see your progress going forward. If you decided not to follow through.
     
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  17. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I have always loved cordwood homes, and yes I have a few cords of wood to dedicate to the project. I have done some timber framing in my current house, so doing the roof would be nice looking and easy as well. I never really thought about its sound deadening qualities, and I bet you are right, that would be really good.

    Katie and I might be going in a different direction now though. As most people know, we have a few houses; (2) in Maine and (1) in New Hampshire. While the one in NH earns its keep as a rental, the other spare house in Maine sits vacant. It has a new kitchen and bath, but needs a lot of work elsewhere (it is a 1900, 4 square).

    The current house we live in is now done; a pretty big behemoth that if I keep building on, will just get silly, and in short...my work here is done. So Katie and I were thinking yesterday we would rent it out...then thought why not just sell it? It is on family land, but it has its own 3-1/2 acre plot. I built it mortgage-free over the last 25 years so why not take the $200,000 we would get out of it and move to our second house and start fixing that house up? We decided this at about 9 am, and talked to a woman at our church at 10 AM who we know was looking for a house. She has been here and loved the house, and she never asked the price, she just said she would buy it. She just sold her house, so she is well poised to buy it.

    The house we would move into is a wood framed house though, so not an underground one, but it does not change the long term plan much; in a few years when the kids are gone, we can build a smaller underground house and live out of that. That house only has 30 acres with it, but my cousin has 115 acres of land that he is selling, so we are thinking of taking some of the money from the house sale and buying that. I don't relish the thought of having more property taxes, but a couple more acres is always nice.
     
  18. boettg33

    boettg33

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    Wait wait wait, no underground house?
     
  19. Steve

    Steve

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    Wow, things can move pretty fast in life sometimes. Good for you guys LT
     
  20. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    Katie and I are not afraid of change. I do not look at anything as a real loss, just as a stepping stone to be in a better position. I have seen too many farms do the same thing again and again, even when it is clear it is not working, and run themselves right into the ground. This would enable us to shed 3.5 acres of land and the sweat-equity of my house over the last 25 years, and start a new house project and potentially get another 115 acres.

    I am not abandoning my idea for an underground house, we would just build this house up, and probably sell it to one of the kids so that we can build our underground house in a few years.

    I will admit, I did not expect to have this house on the market for 1 hour; probably not a record, but still pretty quick.
     
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