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Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

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Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby Kylon » Wed 02 Aug 2006, 20:04:44

I was thinking, the ground temperature tends to be pretty stabilized in comparison to surface temperature.

It generally has a mix between the winter temperatures, and the Summer temperatures.

So you could essentially live underground without having to worry about life-killing heat waves.

What do you think?
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby Novus » Wed 02 Aug 2006, 21:28:29

Sounds like a good idea to me.

In the early days of America many pioneers lived in dugout houses of Sod. In Kansas it can get to 100 degrees plus in the summer and well below zero in the winter. Some how the pioneers survived without modern heat or air conditioning.
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby TommyJefferson » Thu 03 Aug 2006, 11:57:19

I researched this extensively a few years ago. My conclusion: It's a good idea in theory, but totally sucks in practice.

It costs a fortune to build living space underground that doesn't leak or have mold problems.

It can be done, but it's much easier to move to a place with moderate temperatures and good siting for winter sun and summer shade.
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby kam30en » Thu 03 Aug 2006, 13:29:16

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t costs a fortune to build living space underground that doesn't leak or have mold problems.

It can be done, but it's much easier to move to a place with moderate temperatures and good siting for winter sun and summer shade.



I lived in a basement (a deep one) all growing up, for about 15 years. I remember never needing air conditioning, even when it was 90 outside. There was some mold, but this can be solved with a dehumidifier. As for the flooding problems, it used to leak into the basement sometimes, but not that much. Just keep the concrete floor (rugs are a bad idea in a basement) or throw down some linoleum. The benefits FAR outweigh the drawbacks. When I think of all the energy that goes into heating and cooling homes, and than think of all the energy it would take to run dehumidifiers and flood/bathroom pumps, there is no comparison. Now if you could run the dehumidifier, pumps and lighting off solar/battery, than your talking sustainable living. In the long run, the amount of energy you'd save would be insane, perhaps tens of thousands of barrels of oil. And in the future, when 110 degrees is the norm and the power grid is collapsed or unreliable (as it is already becoming), basements may be the difference between life and death. In a perfect world, there'd be 100 millions people, all living in basements powered by solar/battery going to work on light rail public transport also powered by solar.
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby SinisterBlueCat » Thu 03 Aug 2006, 13:48:17

personally, for me, depression would be a huge drawback! I love to see the weather out of my windows. While I am sure it would be great(relativly speaking) in summerI would think that winter underground would really blow.
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby nwildmand » Thu 03 Aug 2006, 14:34:11

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kylon', '
')What do you think?


well its sure a hell of better idea than using the sahara as a nuclear waste site, being a whale parasite, mind control or changing your digestive track so you can live off of grass or most of the ideas you have shared here.

there is alot of information already out there on underground housing.
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby kam30en » Thu 03 Aug 2006, 14:52:07

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'd')epression would be a huge drawback


Well, if and when there's nothing left to burn, you'll have the choice of being depressed or freezing to death. Personally, I'd rather be in the basement depressed and not dead. I would say this is Kylon's best idea and could make places like Arizona and Florida somewhat livable post-peak (if you forget about the water problem).
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby lotrfan55345 » Fri 04 Aug 2006, 03:03:11

j u m e r i a
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Re: Idea Living in Underground Hobbit Hovels-

Unread postby azreal60 » Fri 04 Aug 2006, 04:08:00

Honestly, I don't know why you guys see underground housing as this hovel like hobbit existance. There are some absolutely gorgeous underground homes that get more light than most above ground ones do. Simple good design plays a huge part. The other huge part is you don't have to live completely underground to reap the benifits. Just a bit of earth berming against the walls or more extensive say against the north side really has all the benifits of underground housing without the downsides.

One of my favorite sites and the author that got me started on my interest in building.

Earthwood building school's website

I really love his Mortgage free book. Great stuff.
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