Does anyone have any experience in building an "Earth Shelter" ? I can't afford a "normal" home .

Question

Due to the rising costs of homes, I find the idea of buying a home is becoming increasingly out of reach. I have heard that an "Earth Shelter" could be a way to go. I live near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the winters are below zero, but I heard that the earth under the ground is warmer, and provides insulation.

Please contact me if you have built one, and can tell me what your experience has been, good links to visit, what the estimated cost is, etc....What are the pros, what are the cons ? I live in my van most of the time, and travel, because I refuse to keep paying off someone else's mortgage by renting when in the end it will never be "my" home.

What type of terrain should I be looking for ?

Im prepared to do this off the "beaten track", in the woods, solar panel, wood stove, organic garden, the whole nine yards, far from the Wars and slaughterhouses of madmen in the guise of politicians !

Answer 1

You can have an above ground home and still take advantage of most of the properties of an Earth home. Rammed earth still works. I am thinking that a combination of the two might be what you need. Dig down fairly deep. I don't know the exact depth you will need in that area, as I have not built anything in that region. Use the removed earth to make rammed earth walls, either as part of the home itself, or as windbreaks around it. If you can find a property with a cave already on it, that will make a good starting point. Careful with the ventilation please, that is allways a bit of a consideration when doing these things.

Recent improvements in solar cell technology give much better results than in the past, but for that area I am thinking wind power is the way to go. Look into the kind that work in higher winds. Storage of power is a problem, a large battery system will be required. A large room full of batteries and a system to see that they all get charged. the systems exist, so you will not be doing anything new. You can count on replacing some of the batteries every year after the first two years. You should just schedule it. Replace them BEFORE they wear out. You can either use the 12 volt system throughout the house, using inverters for some items, or convert the whole system to provide normal power. If canada works on the 220 volt system, that will be a heck of a drain... Feel free to email me and discuss it. I have also designed a "normal" looking house that takes adavantage of all the passive energy saving ideas along with solar and wind power. [e-mail]