[TheForge] Underground house

[Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer]

The Paolo Solari ( sp) method is to use a skip loader to mound earth 
over the poured slab/foundation in the shape of the interior..surface 
and shape with a weak cement/sand mixture. Then lay the rebar etc 
reinforcing , inset the doors and windows with styro blanks and gunnite 
the exterior. The earth is pulled out the front door with the skiploader.
Updated method;The exterior is sprayed with foam, then stuccoed or 
otherwise hardfaced. KB Kellog used this method, with french drains for 
earth sheltered housing.

Andrew Vida wrote:
> 
> 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.
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