My Mother’s House Part 1: Planning and Building Our Earth Sheltered House

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This view from the southeast end of the earth sheltered house shows the location of the root cellar. (The window to the left was later filled in to allow further backfilling.)
This view from the southeast end of the earth sheltered house shows the location of the root cellar. (The window to the left was later filled in to allow further backfilling.)
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A masonry saw was used to trim blocks for special fits.
A masonry saw was used to trim blocks for special fits.
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A representative of the Bonsal company demonstrates the use of the firm's convenient block-leveling wedges, which can be seen more closely in the inset photo.
A representative of the Bonsal company demonstrates the use of the firm's convenient block-leveling wedges, which can be seen more closely in the inset photo.
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Surewall surface-bonding cement — a substance similar to stucco but with fiberglass threads that add strength — is applied to the dry-stacked block walls.
Surewall surface-bonding cement — a substance similar to stucco but with fiberglass threads that add strength — is applied to the dry-stacked block walls.
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A length of five-eighths inch reinforcing rod was placed in the V-grooves of the block as each course was laid.
A length of five-eighths inch reinforcing rod was placed in the V-grooves of the block as each course was laid.
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Plan for the main floor of the house.
Plan for the main floor of the house.
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The location of the future expansion joint in the earth sheltered house is visible in the middle of the rear wall.
The location of the future expansion joint in the earth sheltered house is visible in the middle of the rear wall.
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Cross section of the earth-sheltered house. 
Cross section of the earth-sheltered house. 
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Plan for the house's smaller upper level.
Plan for the house's smaller upper level.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a seven-part series of articles. Read the rest of the “My Mother’s House” series here: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.)

As regular readers of this magazine know, there’s been a team of alternative-construction specialists working on a variety of innovative buildings at MOTHER EARTH NEWS’ Eco-Village property–and gaining expertise as they do so–for the past few years. Under the direction of Jack Henstridge and Rob Roy, the crew (often with assistance from seminar attendees) built three cordwood structures including a stackwood dome. Furthermore, two of Bill Coperthwaite’s wooden interpretations of the Mongolian yurt now grace the property.

Until recently, however, our team hadn’t gotten the opportunity to put their experience to the test by building a full-scale, energy-efficient dwelling. But in the early part of this past April–with the summer’s open houses and seminars rolling rapidly toward us–we finally started our earth-sheltered house construction project!

In this issue we’ll describe the initial phases of the undertaking. For the benefit of folks who might use our successes (and mistakes!) to get through the building of their own energy-efficient homes, other articles in the series report on subsequent stages of construction. 

Western North Carolina’s topography and climate lend themselves quite well to the earth-sheltering approach. Our area is blessed with an abundance of rolling hills–which provide plenty of sites where a home can be backed into a slope without the need for any particularly difficult excavation–and soils that have little expansive (prone to slippage) clay. Therefore, although drainage needs to be carefully considered, actual earth movement isn’t often a problem hereabouts.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1981
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