GO UNDERGROUND IN MICHIGAN

(Page 4 of 4)

November/December 1978
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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A lot of folks ask Joyce if the building is damp. And she can honestly tell them she's had no moisture problems at all. The pressure tank for the water pump has never even built up enough condensation to drip. I can't think of any better proof of low humidity than that.

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People also wonder whether burrowing and chewing animals might cause damage to our treated walls. Well, last fall Joyce watched a porcupine amble up to some of the treated wood in search of salt. He took a few nibbles, figured that there was a bellyache in that wood for sure, and sauntered away. We don't worry about animals at all any more . . . if a porky can't eat something, it plain can't be et!

Most everyone already knows that you can't beat underground houses for ease of maintenance and inexpensive temperature control, but I suspect that these structures are more healthful to live in than normal buildings, too. In fact, some doctors in New Mexico told me that they send children with respiratory problems to the earth-sheltered elementary school in that state because they think being in the building will help clear up the ailments . . . and my sinus problems always seem to improve when I spend a day or two in Joyce's home.

But the best feature of this house — from my animal loving daughter's point of view, anyway — is the "front-row seat" it gives her in the daily local wildlife show. The home blends in with the landscape (enough to be almost "invisible" from the back) and — since ground level is just below the windows — Joyce often can look out and see a squirrel or raccoon peerin' back in at her.

We may, in the future, add some solar equipment to Joyce's dwelling . . . if we can find a system that will work with the peekaboo sun that characterizes this area. But I'm pretty proud, and my daughter is very happy, with what we've done already. We figure that this below-ground home is head and shoulders above anything else we've seen.

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