: September 20, 2005, 01:06:39 AM »
Does anyone have any experience with earth sheltered homes.
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I thought maybe I posted here a few weeks ago, as my first post to fieldlines, but somehow I think it got taken down, or maybe I got confused about preview versus post. I asked on the newbies list about this, but it seems that I did nothing wrong as far as a moderator could discern, so I will try again.
I have lived in a earth-reinforced dome-home for about 7.5 years. The folks who make the type of home I live in are at
http://www.terra-dome.com.
My home was built by someone else circa 1983-1984. I bought it in late 2003. I am not a promoter of that particular home, nor can I say if it is better or worse than its competitors. I am neither wealthy in time or money, not do-it-yourself oriented, and so it was critical to me not only that my home be unusual and sturdy and good, but that it already be built. If this home had been different, such as geodesic, or a log cabin or strawbale, or what-have-you, I probably would have bought it anyway.... I just wanted something sturdy, well-built, would hold its value (I hope) and already built and consistent with my generally conservative approach to harnessing and saving natural resources like heat, light, water, etc.
Since I am not DIY oriented, and this discussion website seems to be somewhat oriented that way, my contributions to the thinking of those who might be thinking of building their own homes may be severely limited, or may be non-existent. I will try to say what little I know here and there.
I guess in nearly 8 years here, I've learned a couple of things, even if I did not build the place. Pictures that I put up soon after moving in are here:
http://www.herecomesmongo.com/td/Terra.htmlWhen I first moved in, I called Terra-dome and asked them if they could give me the low-down on what I should be worried about. They seemed to say (if memory serves) that a downfall of this type of house could be if water got beneath the lining and into the concrete roof because over time that could soften the rebar and ultimately ruin things. Other than that, there wasn't anything. So, I have kept an eye out for water, and the couple of times I have spotted it, I have moved to verify it came from a leak in an existing hole, which I plugged, and not through a leak in the lining. I have also (in one or two projects) had workmen verify that the home's lining (my word) seems to be in good shape.
So, I haven't had any really big problems with the two domes. I have had my share of a few functional things to fix (the solar hot water heater, the water softener situation, a garage problem (the separate garage is a conventional design and not terra-dome), and there are some remaining fixes, and there are also many things I'd like to improve, but none of those issues relate to the earth-reinforced dome-home aspect. that was not part of the terra-dome construction.
Rather than make this a giant initial post on this topic, I will stop here, and then perhaps add a few thoughts later, or make some attempt to respond to questions.
Thanks for reading,
jlsoaz