My Earth-Sheltered House Plan

In my search for Earth-sheltered information, I came across the Earth Sheltered Technology company. Their website is poor but they have an interesting way of building concrete, earth-sheltered homes. Their homes are constructed of either 28’ X 28’ (inside dimensions) or 24’ x 24’ modules. Modules may be attached together or may be spanned with simple concrete sections of no greater than 15'. Each module has a domed ceiling. Because of the dome, no interior support walls or pillars are needed. They claim that the domed ceiling disburses light better than a flat ceiling. Also interesting is that each module is built using a single pour so there are no cold joints that might leak. Homes constructed using their method are essentially bunkers. Perfect for the coming Apocolypse.

Earth Sheltered Tech has some sample plans. Their small plan, Eagle View, is slightly interesting in that it has two exposed side walls allowing in a great deal of light. Oddly, the plan has small windows so the designer must not be interested in solar gain.

Most of their plans are too large and remind me of rambling, ranch-style houses. I found Meadowbrook interesting because it leans towards what I'm looking for in a house layout.

I'm a simple, single guy. I don't want specialized rooms as in this room is for my office, this room is for sleeping, this room is for watching TV, etc. I want a small number of multi-purpose rooms. That's because I wander from one activity to another and don't like dragging stuff from room to room as I go. The dogs get up and follow me, but nothing else, like the radio or beer supply, does. I know there are advantages to multiple rooms like better usage of space, but what I really want is an open loft. The Meadowbrook plan is somewhat close to that and demonstrates how to pull off what I want with their modular system.

Here is a plan I put together using 3D Home Architect:


click on the image for a larger view in a new window

The living area is about 1100 square feet. The plan consists of two 24’ x 24’ modules spanned by a 15' section. The left module is obviously the garage and small workshop. I'm considering in making this a 28' x 28' module to provide space for a large workshop. The right section is the great room with a sleeping section tucked in the corner. The middle section has a combination bathroom and clothes closet in the back on the left. On the right is the utility room containing a water heater, pressurized water tank (WT in the plan), washer, dryer, gun safe, bulk-food storage, etc. In front is the kitchen and what I intended to be a mudroom entry way where I could take off my dirty clothes and clean off the dogs. I'm not really happy with the way I have it now; it isn't space efficient.

Being alone most of the time, I rarely close doors, so all interior doors are pocket doors to reduce space consumption. If possible with their modular system, the kitchen wall on the right opens into the great room. What appears to be a dining room table in the plan would more likely be a work/clutter table. The outside door on the right opens out to a fenced area so I can let the dogs out in the evening without having to worry about them chasing raccoons or other wildlife. A doggie door would be nice.

The house would be dug into a slope and oriented so the bottom right corner points south. The great room will get sun all day and, with the large mass of the concrete floor, will contribute to heating. A masonary-type woodstove is used for additional heating.

Earth Sheltered Tech does not provide any information on their website about how much construction of the modules cost. Nor do they give estimates on what construction of their plans cost. In my experience, when a price isn't given, it's probably more than what one expects. In any case, sometime in the near future I'll contact them to get an estimate.