[TheForge] Underground house

[Andrew Vida]

dann at wctatel.net wrote:
> My favorite "tornado proof" walls are foam forms with a poured concrete
> center.  The interior wall gets sheet rocked over the foam form, and the
> exposed exterior wall gets stuccowed.  R -factor of the walls can be in
> the R-50 range.  I watched and got to help a bit while the husband and
> wife built their own walls on an acreage that I sold them.

	I'm not a fan of foams and too much artificial materials in 
construction.  I prefer the basics - wood, even if composited, iron, 
stone, etc.  I am a big fan of earthen construction as well as of straw 
bales.  Straw bale construction is enormously strong, gives about R70 
insulation, and is surprisingly fire resistant when properly constructed.

	Stucco is one finish I do not care for, especially atop a weak 
substratum like foam.  But this is all just my personal tastes.

	My father told me that when he was a little boy he went to a party when 
his uncle Desmond became mayor of New White Lake in Hungary, perhaps ca. 
1938.  The outgoing mayor threw him a party and me dad related his clear 
memories of the old mayor's house.  Earthen construction with walls 
about 3 feet thick and with a straw roof with timber framing.  He 
recalled what a beautiful house it was - warm in winter and cool in 
summer.  While earth is not considered a good insulator, it is when you 
have enough of it.

	Back in 02 I was at OSU (Oregon) attending a talk on alternative 
construction methods.  There was a fascinating development being used in 
"third world" places that went like this...  A large heavy round plastic 
bladder is laid on the earth.  Rebar of a configuration I do not readily 
recall is laid upon it.  Concrete is poured over it and allowed to sit 
for some prescribed interval, and then the bladder is blown up.  The 
result it a domed structure of non-stressed concrete.  Once sufficiently 
set, the guys climb up with trowels and smooth things up.  I thought 
that was pretty cool.  Goes up in one day and produces a pretty large 
space.  As I recall, the houses were about 25 feet in diameter and 
easily 2 stories tall.