A QUICK AND INEXPENSIVE SOD IGLOO

Image Gallery I built my quick and inexpensive earth-sheltered home mostly from materials gathered close at hand. . . Here's the protected entry. PHOTOS BY BRIAN HENEHAN

REPORTS FROM THEM THAT'S DOIN'

How I dug in for the winter . . . to avoid leaving my new homestead in the woods of Vermont.

My predicament was starkly simple. With winter just a few months away, I had only a couple of hundred dollars, some basic tools, and my own two hands with which to build myself a temporary shelter for the cold season. To compound the problem, I wanted more than a mere refuge ... I hoped to create a dwelling that was not only warm and comfortable, but also structurally graceful and in harmony with the landscape of the northern Vermont forests where I make my home. After a good bit of research, I became convinced that I could fulfill all my expectations by building a semi-underground house: a sod igloo.

I first encountered this uncomplicated design in the classic book Shelter (Shelter Publications, 1973). Ole Wik's description and photos of his sod "iglu", and Keith Jones's article about the building of a similar house in Alaska, convinced me that such a dwelling could combine the elements of efficient design with a simple sort of grace . . . and could do so while remaining unobtrusive.

Of course, these crude earth-insulated structures aren't generally used as permanent homes. Most often, they're intended as quick, comfortable, recyclable shelters that will serve until something more conventional can be built . . . or — on occasion — as auxiliary retreats, hunting cabins, and such. But with winter approaching, I knew the sod igloo would meet my needs and fall within the limits of my financial resources. In fact, in 1978 (the year I built it) the materials for my earthen cabin cost around $150 . . . about the same as had the goods which went into the canvas tipi I'd lived in previously. (And as someone who has experienced cold weather when protected by both, I'll guarantee that soil beats canvas as an insulating material every time!)

WHAT I DID . . .

It stands to reason that a sod igloo would be inexpensive . . . since many of the raw materials that make up such a structure can be had free. The necessary earth was, of course, stockpiled as I dug out the outline of the house.

I obtained wood for the frame, roof, and walls from nearby spruce and balsam firs. (Many of the required slim, straight poles can be culled from stands of young trees growing too close together for proper development. Because such an overpopulated copse produces trees that are tall, thin, and straight, a single thicket can provide an excellent supply of building materials and the opportunity to give Mother Nature a hand by thinning out her overabundance.)