Two Years Underground: Living in an Earth Sheltered Home

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PHOTO: MOTHER EARTH NEWS STAFF
Front view of Joyce Rinker's earth sheltered home

Joyce Rinker has experienced the advantages of earth-sheltered living firsthand, during…

More than a year ago MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine carried a story about a beautiful earth-sheltered home in Michigan. The dwelling was barely one year old at the time, so we asked Daniel Rinker (who had built the house for his daughter Joyce) to let us know if he was still satisfied with the structure after another round of seasons had passed.

Well, Mr. Rinker visited MOTHER EARTH NEWS’ offices not long ago and brought us some facts and figures about Joyce’s second underground year. We found the data fascinating and–whether you’re contemplating building an earth-sheltered home or not–we think Mr. Rinker’s information will interest you, too!

A Roof Full of Blueberries

As some of you may remember, the Rinker home’s roof is covered with an average of eight inches of sandy soil and landscaped with native blueberries and other forest vegetation. The insulation provided by this layer of earth, Daniel tells us, has proved to be more than adequate to meet the challenges of the very cold northern Michigan climate. For instance, when the outside temperature dropped below zero, Mr. Rinker reports, the air inside the dwelling would (with no heat source in use) fall only three degrees during the first two hours … and another three to five degrees in the next six to seven hours. Basing his figures on such experiences, Daniel has estimated the R-value of the earth-covered roof to be more than 100!

  • Published on Jan 1, 1980
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