$50 and up Underground House

I recently discovered Google Reader and the first thing I subscribed to was Cool Tools. Lo and behold I find this old book from the '70's! -- The $50 and up Underground House Book

I first heard of this book in my early twenties through Mother Earth News.
You can build a house for only a few thousand bucks --- underground.

Now before I hooked into this blogspot I had written a few blogs on my own website, one in particular was building a tent over a hole to live in. I even had detailed construction plans started. I had plumb forgotten about this old book, but this is the closest thing I'd seen to doing what I wanted to do with a tent.

It basically describes it as digging into a hillside, laying plastic between the earth and the poles & boards holding the earth back, then berming the earth up over the house. You see- plastic might not last long in the sunlight, but underground it can take a hundred years or more to decay. (Be sure to read Countryside Magazine's Article on the subject for more details.) So what better place to bury it than around your house to keep out the ground moisture?






I got a kick out of this place in Holland that was built without a permit. Evidently the building inspectors walked around it twice looking for the house and didn't see it. Now that's for me :-) My own Hobbiton!

Personally, I'd start with strawbales on the roof, (not quite as heavy as dirt) untied and spread out to allow decay, and plant a garden there. That would be the ultimate insulation, as well as efficient use of space, leaving the rest of the property as natural as you can.

And what's does an underground house look like inside?
This was taken in natural lighting - no flash.

Here's the website to review and order the book and - now, thanks to technology - the DVDs.
http://www.undergroundhousing.com/index.html
I'll be ordering mine.