I built the earth sheltered house using a kit from Performance
Building Systems, http://www.earthshelter.com . They offer several different size kits. I ordered the kit for a 32' wide by 28'
deep open ended dome. It included a steel frame and metal grid with heavy burlap. Rebar was ordered
locally and bent and tied over the burlap mesh layer which holds the cement in place while it cures.
I had three other men help to erect the steel frame. Two of us tied the rebar on over the burlap mesh
for about one and a half weeks full time because we couldn't use a rebar tieing tool on it. After curing
the shotcrete cement for about one month, the entire structure was waterproofed and covered with earth, which was covered
with foam board then a pond liner then more earth then plastic sheets and more earth before being planted with grass
seeds. This layering is a method of insulating the earth by
surrounding the home to create a larger thermal storage mass, as described by John Hiat, http://www.axwoodfarm.com/PAHS/UmbrellaHouse.html.
By using his method,
I should be able to abolish the need for additional heating once the home reaches core temperature in about two
years. The south facing wall was wood framed and contains many windows to allow for passive solar heat to
enter.
The interior walls are plastered with natural plaster that was fabricated
onsite using lime, pigment and gaging plaster. The exterior retaining walls are stuccoed with pigmented cement
based stucco.
The dome home contains one bedroom, a loft that could be a second
bedroom, one bathroom with a jetted tub, a utility room with a washer and dryer, a kitchen and a living room.
The kitchen has custom cement counter tops and a built in eating area. The stairs to the loft has
a custom oak hand rail and spindles. The floor is a deep red cement slab with radiant heat. The home
is about 1100 sq. ft. In an article in the May 2006 Dwell
magazine, Frances Anderton writes about house size;
"The McMansions that are so popular today provide
status in a society that measures worth by wealth and the scale of one's home, but it's not clear that these palatial places
provide either comfort or inner security. There is something innately appealing about holing up in a womblike space, a cozy
cottage, a petite trailer home, a tent.
"Small houses have many virtues, ranging from efficiency to a conservation
of resources. But in the end, they offer something far more profound: emotional satisfaction."
I believe the trend
toward extra-large traditionally built homes is a huge waste of resources- not only in building materials but
in the heating and cooling that will be required to keep them comforable through the years. In light
of our current environmental and energy crises, the fact that this home will ultimately use little or no energy for heating
or cooling and therefore will produce little or no green house gases is a decreased burden to the earth and should be an example
to home builders around the globe. In addition, the efficient shape of this earth sheltered building
system allows less use of concrete compared to other earth sheltered home designs. The intrinsic value (energy for
production) of steel and concrete may be higher than some other methods of building, but this building will outlast and
outperform other buildings. An earth sheltered home is also be the perfect fit for this particular piece of land
due to its sound proofing qualities- we are not far from the Accord Raceway.
As far as what I would have done differently, I probably would not build
this type of house as a house to sell on speculation. It is more expensive to build than a conventional house.
In particular, the excavation on this house was alot. I now think I would build a wood frame house and super insulate
it or perhaps use SIPS panels. Straw bale also still holds much interest for me.
Contact Me:
Noah Gullickson
ngully@earthlink.net
