Son bought a underground house

[CrealCritter]

My son just purchased an earthen birm house. Build into the side of a hill and fully enclosed on three sides. His utility bills are expected to be almost nothing throughout the year both heat and air conditioning are from aa geothermal heat pump, it's basically uses a coil of pipe buried deep in the ground as a heat / cooling source.

It's a nice house and all don't get me wrong but there are only three tripple pane windows, the front door and a guarage door on one side of the house. There is one way in and one way out. He's been living there less than a month and has already had to move into the second bedroom because with no windows in the master bedroom, he was having a hard time sleeping and waking up. Actually earthen birm houses are pretty common around here but his is the first ever got to study. It's like a cement cave with framed walls and cement wall stuco type board. Kind of odd/different type of construction and not something I've ever had the opportunity to study before.

Its amazing how our bodies rely on the sun isn't it?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I practically live in the dark anyway - we haven't seen the sun in 17 years here!

 

[wyoDreamer]

I was researching the Earth berm homes a while back and really liked some of the layouts. My favorite had a greenhouse along the front with glass walls to the house. They were all situated to make the most of the winter sun and had skylights into most of the rooms. Above the greenhouse was porches for the upstairs bedrooms - yes it was a 2 story earth berm house. If the skylights are built at the time of construction, I believe they would have better odds to be leak proof. Most of them were built in the dessert areas so humidity wouldn't be such an issue, I guess.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh man. I would be claustrophobic!

 

[baymule]

I need windows. At the last job I had, my desk was in front of a window and I could see out. Got a new boss and he remodeled my office. He was going to take the window out, I told him that if he did, I would quit. I was not going to sit in a box all day. I got to sorta keep the window, he had installed a pane of glass. I couldn't open it, but I could see out.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That is cool! There's one that I know of in this area (actually about 40ish miles inland from me). Every time we drive by my DH is practically drooling because he wants to explore it. I like the idea but have never investigated it very thoroughly.

 

[GypsyG]

I need windows. At the last job I had, my desk was in front of a window and I could see out. Got a new boss and he remodeled my office. He was going to take the window out, I told him that if he did, I would quit. I was not going to sit in a box all day. I got to sorta keep the window, he had installed a pane of glass. I couldn't open it, but I could see out.

I didn't mind there not being windows in the bedrooms of the one I grew up in. I got really used to it and it took me a very long time after I moved out to get where I could fall asleep easily in a room that wasn't pitch black.

 

[perchie.girl]

Look up Earth ships. Thats the design with the green house. Big in the desert but Wyoming has a bunch of them.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I would like to build a round sauna with the cordwood technique, with bottles randomly placed through out. But our place has 9 buildings already, so its not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I like the look of cordwood houses. Maybe I'd get ambitious enough to do a SMALL storage building....

maybe a doghouse?