Earth-sheltered Homes

(Page 2 of 5)

October/November 2006
By Rob Roy 
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It is important to insulate between the home’s structural mass and the earth’s mass. Without insulation, the earth will wick heat out of the home and bring it to a matching temperature. In winter here, that would be 40 degrees — not comfortable, but a far better starting place for wintertime heating than sub-zero surface temperatures. But if we place insulation between the mass of the home and the earth’s mass, we can keep the home’s internal temperature at comfortable levels. Your climate determines how much insulation to use and how deep to place it. The entire earth-sheltered portion of Earthwood is wrapped with extruded polystyrene insulation, including under the concrete floor and around the concrete foundation footings.

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Advantages of a Living Roof

You don’t have to place an earth roof on an earth-sheltered home, but it has some compelling advantages in addition to the ecological benefit already mentioned:

Longevity. The properly designed earth roof is the longest-lasting roof you can build, because the earth and insulation protect the waterproofing membrane from the three conditions that eventually break down every other common roof surface: ultraviolet radiation, erosion and freeze-thaw cycling, which all damage exposed roofing over time.

Insulation. Solid earth is not good insulation, but 3 or 4 inches of light soil with vegetation growing in it has some insulation value. In winter, the cold, uneven earth roof holds snow better than other roofs, and fluffy snow is a good — and free — insulator.

Cooling. The plants growing on a living roof shade it, and the evaporation of moisture off the roof actively cools it.

Protection. Even a few inches of soil protects against fire, radiation and sound. Fully bermed sidewalls that meet the earth roof also add protection against earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes.

Aesthetics. The earth roof is hands-down the most beautiful roof you can build, particularly one planted with wildflowers or several different sedum varieties.

Effective building techniques

Within the larger field of earth-sheltered housing, I have specialized in building techniques that are appropriate for an owner-builder and involve moderate costs for materials. There is not space in a magazine article to cover the actual construction and technical details of all the various materials, but the following techniques have worked well for us on several buildings.

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