Underground House

[Rifleman]

I want to build a house out on my 40acres. I have been running all kinds of designs through my head but can't settle on one. I would really like a underground house, but I am having trouble finding very much information.

The house my dad built is a partial underground. All of the first floor is underground on it, with the front exposed. All of the upstairs is exposed, and if you go out the back door upstairs then you are on the ground. If you go out the front upstairs then you are on a balcony.

I just want to build a single story house, and I think I would like it all to be covered except for the face of it. I know ideally the exposed face should be on the south, but here the weather isn't so extreme that I don't think it would matter a whole lot. The terrain I have to work with would make it easiest to have the exposed face to the east.

Just want to see what your thoughts are and if you have any information about them.

[nell67]

My sister-out-law boght an underground house,the house itself was made from concrete,then coated with some type of rubber coating several times before being covered back over (to prevent ground water from leaking in) and it was open on the face only,they had a very difficult time getting insurance for it because it had only the one door,no back door to use in case of fire.
But it was a really nice house,stayed cool in the summer and didnt use a lot of wood during the winter to heat.

[Rick]

Hey Rifleman - go to Davis Caves home page at:

http://www.daviscaves.com/index.shtml

They have quite a few pictures on homes they've constructed. I've thought about the same thing for a long time. I would like a home that is as close to self sufficient as possible as underground seems like a good choice for temperature control. You can google underground homes or earth bermed homes. You should find a lot of ideas with the results from either search.

[mbarnatl]

Here is an article to read "Understanding the ups and downs of building underground
". This best sums up concerns that I have researched for two years on underground homes.
I have narrowed down my next house to be an underground or a dome house. Maybe a combo of the two. Take the time and do research.