4 ms·

Things leak. It sounds like it should be easy to fix, but it really isn't. Not at scale, for a competitive price. There was a fad to build homes into the sides

by csours 4y ago

Things leak. It sounds like it should be easy to fix, but it really isn't. Not at scale, for a competitive price. There was a fad to build homes into the sides of hills. It turns out if you want to do this, you have to do a significant amount of engineering and work if you don't want to have all your furnishings, electronics, books, and clothes to be ruined. I'm sure people will have examples where it has worked, but there are at least as many where it has not worked. Similar for ground loop heat exchangers. It seems like it should be cheap and easy to put a pipe down and tap into that thermal mass, but it's just not cost competitive. It's not even a matter of externalities really - you can get better results by building with better insulation and more efficient heat pumps for the added cost. Things like this can work if it's a community investment, but that's challenging to coordinate. It sounds like it shouldn't be, but it is.

JoeAltmaier 4y ago
Not really true. My house is built into the side of a hill. We just bulldozed and dug and put good drainage around the foundation, inside and out. Pretty even temperature year-round. The floors are never, ever cold. HVAC costs around $90/month and it gets from -30 to 104 around here. Never had one tiny ounce of water problems, not in 30 years.
- csours 4y ago
  I'm curious if you were involved with the construction/original owner. Do you know how many layers of moisture protection were added?
  - JoeAltmaier 4y ago
    I am the original owner. There was tar put around all parts of the cement walls underground. Then gravel and sand, then dirt. Drainage was put around the base outside the wall, and underneath the floor. It ran out the front of the hill, 10 yards from the house. It's never significantly flowed. There's a 4" structural foam (the blue stuff) pad under the poured cement floor, nominally to insulate the floor but some moisture protection too I imagine. Under that, sand then gravel, a couple feet worth total. That's what I remember.
    - jessaustin 4y ago
      It ran out the front of the hill, 10 yards from the house. This is key. Your house is not "a mere 20 feet below the ground" as thread parent suggested, it's in the side of a hill. This works fine if done correctly, and lots of builders have the experience to do that. It would be difficult to find anyone experienced at the construction of living spaces below 20 feet of soil. Those who do so as amateurs, like that criminal Beckwitt, generally have poor results.
    - csours 4y ago
      Thanks for the follow up. It sounds like you built in the 90s? The houses I was talking about were in the 60s-80s. I think it's possible to build houses like yours, and I think it's possible for them to be economically feasible at scale, but it takes more early investment and competence, and that extra X% is hard for people to justify. I think about how people will look for a feature list because quality is hard to determine.
      - JoeAltmaier 4y ago
        90's

by csours 4y ago

JoeAltmaier 4y ago

Not really true. My house is built into the side of a hill. We just bulldozed and dug and put good drainage around the foundation, inside and out. Pretty even temperature year-round. The floors are never, ever cold. HVAC costs around $90/month and it gets from -30 to 104 around here. Never had one tiny ounce of water problems, not in 30 years.

csours 4y ago
I'm curious if you were involved with the construction/original owner. Do you know how many layers of moisture protection were added?
- JoeAltmaier 4y ago
  I am the original owner. There was tar put around all parts of the cement walls underground. Then gravel and sand, then dirt. Drainage was put around the base outside the wall, and underneath the floor. It ran out the front of the hill, 10 yards from the house. It's never significantly flowed. There's a 4" structural foam (the blue stuff) pad under the poured cement floor, nominally to insulate the floor but some moisture protection too I imagine. Under that, sand then gravel, a couple feet worth total. That's what I remember.
  - jessaustin 4y ago
    It ran out the front of the hill, 10 yards from the house. This is key. Your house is not "a mere 20 feet below the ground" as thread parent suggested, it's in the side of a hill. This works fine if done correctly, and lots of builders have the experience to do that. It would be difficult to find anyone experienced at the construction of living spaces below 20 feet of soil. Those who do so as amateurs, like that criminal Beckwitt, generally have poor results.
  - csours 4y ago
    Thanks for the follow up. It sounds like you built in the 90s? The houses I was talking about were in the 60s-80s. I think it's possible to build houses like yours, and I think it's possible for them to be economically feasible at scale, but it takes more early investment and competence, and that extra X% is hard for people to justify. I think about how people will look for a feature list because quality is hard to determine.
    - JoeAltmaier 4y ago
      90's