Stove

stove  

 If you are going underground you will want a stove to warm the house up and give ambiance to the place.

The full story can be seen in posts on imagineering-engineering.blogspot.com

On the 14/11/09 I was building a stove and had trouble with it smoking and not drawing, With some modifications it is working great so here is the final posting on the stove.
Click on the photos for a larger image.

The photo above shows the fire alight note the large timber in the fire.

This photo left shows the smoke coming from the stack.  

This photo above shows the stove in full flight with a good fire in its belly, the wood was damp.

Update and correction from a previous post

Just an update of a previous post with the correct drawing, spot the change in the half drawing?

Plans to start dig.

I will be digging a hole in the ground, I have found this place and will start digging when I set up some equipment and figure where to put the dirt. Remember this is going to be one of those stealth holes and I don't want anyone to find it. I will publish photos when they become available like the ones I did about the recycled boat on imagineering-engineering.blogspot.com
I think I will need a railway line to carry the dirt away that means building a trolley something like they had in the movie the great escape. Materials can be from shopping trolleys, fence pailings for the tracks.
Remember that to do a major undertaking like this means to be like the blokes in the movie and the enemy is the law and the council and family so I will publish photos that cannot identify the place.

Interior Design

I have thought about this for years and I personally like the hill side house with plenty of drainage. When the concrete slab is poored decide on the finish then as there is many ways to finish concrete, stamped with colour added  is my preferred choice.  Throw down rugs are used where needed. With water pipes laid into the slab for water heating using the sun via a solar hot water panel. Make sure there is a slight slope on the slab to the down hill side and a hole in the wall to let water out of the structure. In the roof slab put eye bolts so as to be able to hang beds tables and furniture from the roof. In each room there is a water tap for hosing the room down once a week. Might sound silly but it works and gets rid of all the dust and dirt as it goes out the holes in the walls. Plant appropriate plants to use the water preferably edible plants.

New political laws in NSW Australia

Let me prophesies for a moment underground shanty's are going to be a thing of the future and will be dug into hills and mountains and anywhere that people can. There is a new law out that the government in NSW Australia, that allows the government to confiscate your land and home to sell it to developers to make money from. This will make the Wollongong city council debacle a pimple on the big fat arse of the premier of the state of NSW.
So I will suggest that you learn how to make an underground shelter of modest size. Select your land probably on government land and dig a small hole and make it look like a drain or something with  a locking grate where you have the keys you have to be selective and when you go into this place you have to make it look like no one goes there. If you wear a track make sure that you have the track double back on its self as the curious will look and decide not to go any further when they see the perceived end if the track. When I was at high school we had a spot on the side of a creek and the teachers couldn't get the because you had to jump a creek twice to see the track we used to have to jump and jump again.  They used to walk to the waters edge and go back because they thought the end of the track was there if they only knew...This would have been a good spot for a underground shanty. This is going to be an extension to stealth camping the things I read about on the internet.Other ways is for groups of people to buy a section of land and devolop your own shelter in a gated comunity. They will plant all sorts of edible food and make the place look overgrown.
When you start to dig a hole get dressed in workers clothes with construction helmets and vests and if the locals see you tell them you work for the council and you are doing and enviromental servey and are looking for the endangered flabigasted worm. Ask them if they want to help you and you might be surprised when you get help.....Have fun and enjoy yourselves Cheers

Hoops to jump threw

Getting council permission to build underground may be a problem .
You will have to think with imagination and be quick with decisions and to think on your feet.
There will be challenges and hoops to dance threw as they change the rules as you go.
Be methodical in your first presentation and be quick to hand out a pen and paper and get them to do there sums as to the engineering of the structure.
This will show there talents or there foolishness to there objections.
If they don't have the figures on them just say to use the existing figures and work them back to the original results.
If they can not then they may not be capable and there fore ask for some one who can do the sums.
If they get really aggressive in there outbursts then ask for there qualifications as they may not have any.
Remember to always to be polite and courteous as they hold the whip hand and they know how to use it.

How do I know these things?

From experience with the Wollongong council when I tried to get a small cottage passed, and they cost me over $150,000 and nearly sent me broke. They actually sent my son broke with there incompetence.Names not changed to protect the identity of the offending council.
Extract from the Sydney morning herald.
Best of luck with your project.
The below article shows the extent of the problem of getting your project passed,

Housing shortage will hurt the poor

JACOB SAULWICK

March 12, 2009

THERE IS no lack of land in Australia, but a growing shortage of housing.
A housing advisory group set up by the Government warned yesterday that the country could face a shortfall of up to 1.5 million homes in 20 years if construction did not increase.

They didn't need to set up an advisory group I would have told the government that for free.
Cheers Stewart

underground house construction

I designed a underground house several years ago and the brief was to be simple to construct by normal contractors in the building industry. The sketch below shows how it works. There is two ways to construct the house first pore the Top slab as if it were going to be a suspended slab but with footing at the edges. Make sure that the bottom of the slab is pored onto form that is to be seen later in the build.

When the slab has cured the earth is dug from under it with a bobcat or dozer.  The spoils are placed directly onto the slab and it is only moved once.  The side walls are left with the natural batter and there is no way the slab can fall down as it is sitting on its own footings.

I got the sketch a bit wrong as the next slab (Middle) is formed and pored as the first with its own footings the same as the first slab.
The third slab as is done as  above.  Any inward movement is stopped by the compression of the slabs on its edges. Spoon drains are placed at the edges of the slabs.  Dry wall is used to divide the spaces as required and the area behind the dry wall is used for services. That is plumbing electrical  phone and music etc. The batter is sprayed with paint to stabilise the batter.  Remember that you only have to glue in the key stone which  may be a grain of sand..

The second way to build is to excavate then  build suspended slabs on formwork and there is working at heights which will cost more and the hire of the formwork which is another expence. The dirt has to be moved twice as well. I personally like the first way myself.

The image below shows the basic design. Another way to build is to dump a load of sand on the ground and pore concrete over the sand and then dig the sand out, walla a dome.

As  there is only a slab of concrete on the ground  you might not need council approval just for a slab of concrete. If you use these ideas it is up to you to make sure that the work is done safely,remember they are only ideas.

If you have any questions put them in comments and I will endevor to answer them for you

design your own house

I have read stories from the web and have found that there is not much written about building the houses and where to get plans.
Imagination gets the plans done and it is up to you.

So how do you start?

Get a sheet of paper A4 and this is the plan.

Now measure the area you are sitting in and cut a piece of paper to cover the area say its two feet by two feet. Mark out a piece of paper 2"by2".

Now you cut the paper 2 inches by 2 inches.You know this is the area for a chair. Do the same for tables and baths and the like. Now you have the scale of your building because every 1inch is a foot and 2inches is two feet.I hope you are still with me ?

If you draw in some cupboards and a shower recess and now move your chair around the area and see if it fits between things, if it dosnt than you have a fault and if built you wouldnt fit either.
Sound simple it is. If it dosnt work get another sheet of paper and start again.
The A4 sheet gives you an area of about 11 feet by 6 feet if the scale is 1" = 1 foot,

Draw a border round the edge of the steet about 1/4 inch and this is the thickness of the walls. Draw in walls in double lines at 1/4 inch spacing as walls have thickness.
As can be seen in the  below image the plan looks ok with kitchen and bath room.

But when the person image or chair is overlaid on the image below, It dosnt work because it wont fit, its that simple.

sayings from the past

"Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind, large ones weaken it." - Leonardo Da Vinci
"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." - Hans Hofmann, Introduction to the Bootstrap, 1993
"Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge." - Winston Churchill
"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris
"Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves." - Edwin Way Teale
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo DaVinci

Concrete and timber

I built a suspended slab 100mm thick and spanning 8 feet  and 25 mpa with 60 steel mesh and the concrete was on six piers of bricks and a wall of bricks on the opposite side and put a 3,500 gallon water tank on this structure without any problems, "that's about three tons of water." So the previous posts cement thicknesses are probably an over kill. Cement likes to be in compression and if you design with this in mind you can use less of the stuff.

Timber is used in conjunction with concrete, I have seen where they drove the timbers into the ground and then built a concrete building on the wooden posts.This was a massive three story building...!

Underground house questions

 Questions About
  under ground Houses.

Often I am asked important questions concerning under ground houses. I have included answers to some of the most popular questions here so that you may better understand some additional advantages of earth sheltered living.

Q: What is the difference between "earth sheltered" and "earth berm-ed"?

A: An "earth sheltered" house is one in which the top as well as most of the sides are covered with earth. An "earth berm-ed" house utilizes a conventional roof or earth covered, with the sides of the house protected with earth pushed up around the sides.

Q: What are the advantages of an earth sheltered house versus an earth berm-ed house?

A: Reduced maintenance costs and increased safety from fire and high winds, earth sheltered houses are much more energy efficient than earth berm-ed houses. An advantage of placing earth on the roof of the house is that the roof is 3 feet further from the surface and is thus has a more stable temperature. Houses built with wood structural systems do  provide the same mass as a concrete shell but a way to stop the posts rotting is to burn the surface which is to be placed into the ground.

The temperature of the earth during the summer is much higher at the surface than at greater depths. Thus, an earth sheltered house. Will net much more energy savings due to moderate earth temperatures than an earth berm-ed house with a conventional roof.

Q: Can we expect good air circulation in a earth sheltered house?

A: Of course!  systems can be set up manually or automatically providing abundant year round fresh air without significant energy loss. 

Q: Can I get appropriate financing to purchase earth sheltered house?

A: YES!  number of houses constructed, have gained recognition and approval from lending institutions.
Q: How thick are the ceiling and walls if made from concrete?

A: All structural reinforcing rod is grade #60. The standard 8 foot high wall is about 8" thick and designed for a minimum of 54 lbs. per square inch lateral load.

The standard ceiling is about 12" thick and designed for a vertical load of 65 lbs. per square inch. This allows for a minimum of 3 feet of earth cover. Note these figures are an estimate and are not to be used for actual construction.

Q: Is it dark?

A:No

Q: How do you meet building codes?

A: With great difficulty. They can meet any building code.

Q: Are you able to add skylights?

A: Yes.But not preferable

Q: How is a earth sheltered house insulated?

A: They are insulated on the outside of the concrete between the shell and earth back fill. This eliminates thermal stress on the structure and provides mass within the heated envelope. Use Extruded Polystyrene insulation due to its superior quality for this application.

Most conventional basements have little or no insulation on the exterior walls. So, the walls are exposed to subfreezing air and ground temperatures. When the cold wall surface comes into contact with warmer, moisture-laden air, condensation and must odor may result.

Q: What about drainage and waterproofing?

A: If the correct procedure is taken then there is little problems

Q: What qualifications do you have?

A: I was a coal miner in NSW coal fields and was employed to stop roof falls and to recover machinery that was in areas with lousy roofs.