www.seccull.co.uk ~~EARTH SHELTERS & UNDERGROUND HOMES~~

NOVEMBER 2003 - PLEASE NOTE: I AM CURRENTLY CONSIDERING MOVING SERVERS, FOR FUTURE ACCESS PLEASE KEEP A NOTE THAT ALWAYS THE MAIN PAGE WILL BE www.seccull.co.uk IF YOUR OWN SHORTCUT LINKS SUBSEQUENTLY BECOME BROKEN

My Name is Andrew, I am 32 years old, and I live in Oxford, UK and wrote my 10,000 plus word dissertation during Sept 95 to Easter 96, during my last year at Oxford Brookes University on my BSc(Hons) Building degree course. I was introduced to the subject by my tutors in my 2nd year of studying, and throughout my industrial placement year at a Building Surveyors Practice, I decided I would do as much research as I could on the subject. I visited several sites in the UK including Caer Llan Berm House, Monmoth, Wales and Mole Manor, Tetbury, Gloucestershire and took extensive photographs of them inside and out. I kept every press cutting and article I could find, visited all sites and applications I could see and copy at planning departments, visited architects who were involved with these and I even jetted to Toronto for 2 weeks of which about half my time during the day I spent researching in book stores and librarys. I mananged to collate about 20 books on the subject.

I knew I had to write a dissertation which was full of fresh ideas, formalise my own thoughts and solutions and try and push on the boundaries of what already was said. Looking back, now a few years later, I feel I should have made many more copies and got them circulated, but alas after my studies I left a copy at University and I have my own copy, but nobody else has been able to read it which is a shame. Maybe after this I will be spurred into doing that!.

I enclose below the summary only of my findings - it may or may not make sense to you, depending on how much you already know about earth shelters!, but there are some pictures and photos!

Oh, and by the way my dissertation got a 1st grade! (91%) and I got an Upper Class Second BSc (Hons) 66.5%

I worked for nearly 3 years as an estimator for a local construction firm, pricing up buildings for tenders to try and win the contract to build them.

Since last November 1999, I am now a quantity surveyor for a practice of Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers, based in Oxfordshire. The firm's client base tends to be projects whose clients' of ours own or want commercial buildings or prestige houses constructed or refurbished, typically in Oxfordshire and London and costing £500,000 to £ 6 Million in construction costs.

Dissertation title 'The Potential For Earth Sheltered Houses As An Alternative To The Conventional'

(Note: Only some Illustrations are included,(in red) but all other are references kept in. There is a complete list of illustrations listed in a table at end)

There is no worldwide definition for an earth shelter but typically it is where the building fabric is predominately covered by soil. Often the design types are built into the existing landform features, so including some subterranean living space. This has been the mode for many of the American and few British earth shelters in existence. See Illustration 0.1 (below) for principle types of earth shelter designs. Therefore typically earth shelters include some underground living space, but it need not be conclusively designed that way. (Some photos can be seen in Section 2)

The main reasons found in textbooks for building an earth shelter are for their low running costs and reduced environmental intrusion. These are a resultant of the soil mass which; Creates regular internal ambient temperature, Little exposed building fabric and A 'natural' appearance. The boasts for energy efficiency whilst maintaining standards of comfort required however have had little impact to their growth in this country compared to numbers in America, China and regions of Australia and Europe. The aim of this dissertation was to find out why. To answer the dissertation title 'The Potential For Earth Sheltered Houses As An Alternative To The Conventional'

To successfully answer the dissertation title, a breakdown of criteria were analysed;

Chapter One: Whether earth shelters were a suitable construction type for the climate endured in the United Kingdom. (See 1 below)

Chapter Two: If earth sheltered housing could be adequately designed in housing estates for mass markets rather than single plots. (See 2 below)

Chapter Three: Whether indeed there is a housing market for earth shelters. (See 3 below)

Chapter Four: Responses to earth sheltered housing through the U.K. financial and the planning institutions. (See 4 below)

These areas were compared and contrasted to the conventional house model throughout.

1.The advantages for using soil with its performances, abundance and cheapness make earth shelters extremely beneficial against the climate of the United Kingdom.

i)Soil can landscape the wind flow over the structure, minimising the erosion, weathering and heat flow snatch. See Illustration 1.1

ii) The depth of soil berm over the structure can ensure a constant internal temperature all year. See Illustration 1.1

iii) Adequate daylighting is ensured by providing South facing glazing and overhead skylights. See Illustration 1.5 (Not shown here)

Conclusion : Given a suitable site location, earth sheltered homes can outshine a conventional house, but it is realised that useful sites will be less forthcoming than in the universality of a normal house.

2. Earth sheltered houses can be created as alternatives to some conventional estates, whether they be terraced, detached, in the country, the edge of a town or in the city.

i) Case Study One; Thames Street, Oxford showed how a terraced earth sheltered estate was possible even in a city centre location. (not shown here)

ii) Case Study Two; Churchill Gate, Woodstock, for cluster/cul-de-sac developments. (not shown here)

iii) Privacy can still be maintained when building in earth shelters. See unique "Fruit Tree" design I discovered and created through my research. See Illustration 2.6, (below) (note illustration redesigned since dissertation)

iv) Desk study to find optimum road layouts to maximise South facing orientations See Illustration 2.5 (Not shown on website) & 2.6, (below)

Conclusion: There is potential, against text book and earth shelter precedents, to build earth sheltered housing estates of varying densities.

3. There is no favourable market for underground houses but some potential for above ground, grass bermed properties.

i) Questionnaire undertaken with a mixed cross section of the population was the basis for these facts;

ii) Results showed that 63% of those interviewed were intrinsically against the idea of living underground.

iii) However, 55% said they would consider living in a conventional house with a turfed roof.

Conclusion: The apparent limited interest in underground houses suggests that hybrid designed schemes would be more favourable in the market, and earth shelters should not be designed for the speculative market unless built as show houses or bought by local authorities

4. Although the cost to build an earth sheltered house is similar to a conventional house, professional property valuers employed by financial lenders are not prepared to back these innovative styles, as their performance cannot be proven.

i) Results from questionnaires sent out to finance lenders revealed all firms would not consider backing for an underground house.

ii) The reason given was there is no published historical data to validate the construction form. Also the form cannot be built without finance. ("Catch-22")

iii)Some mortgage firms revealed that financing had been released for homes with turfed roofs and buildings with basements. [Its the more unsusual and removed from a conventional house concept they don't like, as it creates more risks]

Conclusion: Hybrid or combination earth shelters have the most potential for raising finance

5. There are no common policies with Planning Departments on earth sheltered housing, so each application like all other building types is based on its merits, opinions and suitability.

i) Published Information on the statistical records for planning applications kept by the British Earth Sheltering Association.

ii)Conflicting data shows no correlation in pattern for permission to build earth shelters; i.e:

Note: Information obtained from records 1974 to 1994, featured in "SOD IT" by Peter Carpenter, published by Coventry University 1994.

Conclusion: The planning system is shown to be impartial and an uncertainty. Soil berming does seem to be of advantage to success rate over conventional building requests

To answer the project titled objective; 'the potential for earth sheltered houses as an alternative to conventional housing' has found that the concept can excel in design, compete adequately in mass construction, but lacks market demand and financial backing to build in the United Kingdom.

The findings of this project therefore suggest that earth sheltered designs be crossed with the conventional house footprint to produce a hybrid or combination design. These have the flexibility of being above ground house sites whilst retaining much of the energy efficiency in using bermed soil methods. The market, public opinion and mortgage approval have also been favourable to this half-and-half approach. Statistically, these appear to be met with also more planning leniency due to the less environmentally intrusive nature of the concept. The advancement in the combination design may well lead to underground houses becoming more acceptable in the future, but whatever your opinion is on the use of soil berming it can be a beneficial building material if used in this manner for the conservation of energy.

NEWS! A SELECTION OF THESE PHOTOS WERE USED BY LION TV FOR BBC1 'HOMES UNDER THE HAMMER', AUTUMN 2003!

These were taken on the last open day held by then owner/self-builder Stuart Bexon in 1994. The property has since been sold privately to a new owner and is now no longer open to arranged visits, so any new photo opportunites are impossible to the public at large.

The contact sheet thumbnails below show I have an array of exterior and interior shots of the property, many of which can also be put together to form large panoramic collages too! Photos taken with an excellent sharp 35mm Auto focus, zoom camera.; (Nos. refer to Photocd index)

6 x 4" Glossy, £ 22.00 1 complete film of 38 exposures, mainly outside., 1 film of 12 interior shots.

Payment can be made via credit card/funds on PayPal. [www.paypal.com] * Contact me first to arrange payment/agree costs *

6 x 4" Glossy, - Currently I have mislaid the negs!, so print from print cost will be £2 each, discount for multiples of four different photos at a time available - please enquire. Meanwhile I'll keep looking for the negs!.

Payment can be made via credit card/funds on PayPal. [www.paypal.com] * Contact me first to arrange payment/agree costs *

Terms: Cheques (Sterling) banked before posted. No Refunds. Proof of posting becomes end of my responsibility for order. Additional cost for Post and Packaging. Postage cost will of course depend on your location and post method; air mail, surface mail, registered etc. Ask for details.

Cheques not in £'s Sterling (Foreign currency) will incurr an additional £8 charge on order, and cheque amount will be agreed by both parties before acceptance of order/chqeue posted.

A complete copy of my Dissertation printed out, including illustrations, findings, my original artwork, and references, all bound.

(Illustrations where colour will be in B/W, as colour where used upon request, will incurr a higher cost)

1.5 years work and research, travelling and time, all yours for only £ 40.00 + Post & Packaging (This will alter depending on your location, air mail, surface mail, registered post etc - Ask for details) Dissertation weighs approximately 500 grams, bound but without postage wrappers.

Housing layouts and ground-breaking estate arrangements

Architectural schemes

Real Case studies researched with full details

Access to all statistical information and research undertaken

Full data recorded from interviewing the public, financial and estate agents

Full workthrough answers to ALL the issues tackled in the contents of the dissertation (shown below) giving full back up of information to dissertation summery in Website Section 1.0.

Payment can be made via credit card/funds on PayPal. [www.paypal.com] * Contact me first to arrange payment/agree costs *

Terms: Cheques (Sterling) banked before posted. No Refunds. Proof of posting becomes end of my responsibility for order. Cheques not in £'s Sterling (Foreign currency) will incurr an additional £8 charge on order, and cheque amount will be agreed by both parties before acceptance of order/chqeue posted.

Below is the full front contents of my disseration 'cut and pasted' for your perusal:

'The Potential For Earth Sheltered Houses As An Alternative To The Conventional'

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Explanation Of Earth Shelters And Other Terms Used 1

CHAPTER ONE

ANALYSIS OF DESIGN RESPONSES TO THE UK CLIMATE FROM EARTH SHELTERED AND ABOVE GRADE HOUSING

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Comparison Of Orientation Performances 3

1.3 An Assessment Of Wind Flow Performances 5

1.4 An Assessment Of Solar Radiation Performances 10

1.5 Solar Overheating 12

1.6 Chapter Conclusion 13

CHAPTER TWO

POTENTIAL OF EARTH SHELTERS FOR THE MASS HOUSING MARKET

2.1 Introduction 15

2.2 Housing Estates And Road Configurations 15

2.3 Two Case Studies Investigating Earth Shelter Estate Potential 16

2.4 Case Study One: The Existing Accommodation At Thames Street, Oxford 16

2.4.1 Earth Shelter Potential Of Thames Street 17

2.4.2 Results Gained From The Thames Street Earth Shelter Design 17

2.5 Occupiers Privacy And Earth Sheltering 19

2.6 Case Study Two: The Existing Accommodation At Churchill Gate, Woodstock, Oxfordshire 21

2.6.1 An Earth Sheltered Estate At Churchill Gate, Woodstock 23

2.6.2 Results Gained From The Proposal 23

2.7 Chapter Conclusion 26

CHAPTER THREE

INVESTIGATION WHETHER THERE IS A HOUSING MARKET FOR EARTH SHELTERS

3.1 Introduction 27

3.2 Marketing Earth Shelters And The Speculative Approach 27

3.2.1 The Implications Of 'Mole Manor' To The Speculative Earth Shelter Market 28

3.3 Speculation Of Client And Ownership Investigations 30

3.3.1 Questionnaire Results And Analysis 31

3.4 Chapter Conclusion 33

CHAPTER FOUR

INVESTIGATION OF FINANCE FOR EARTH SHELTERS AND AN OVERVIEW IN PLANNING RESPONSES

4.1 Introduction 35

4.2 The Cost Of Constructing An Earth Shelter 36

4.3 Viability Of Obtaining Financial backing For Earth Sheltering 37

4.4 Survey Method And Results Investigating Mortgage Likelihood For Underground Homes 38

4.4.1 Method 38

4.4.2 Questionnaire Survey Results 38

4.4.3 Analysis Of Survey Results 39

4.5 An Overview Of The Planning System Responses To Earth Sheltering 40

4.6 Chapter Conclusion 41

CHAPTER FIVE

FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusions 43

5.2 Conclusion 1. Suitability Of Design To Climate 43

5.3 Conclusion 2. Potential For Earth Sheltered Housing Estates 44

5.4 Conclusion 3. Whether A Housing Market Exists For Earth Shelters 44

5.5 Conclusion 4. Successful Financing Of Earth Shelters 45

5.6 Conclusion 5. Success In Planning Applications For Earth Shelters 46

5.7 Conclusion Summation 46

5.8 Recommendations 46

5.9 Further Research Proposals 47

REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX A: DEVELOPMENTS USED AS CASE STUDIES IN CHAPTER TWO

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY UNDERTAKEN

APPENDIX C: MOLE MANOR EARTH SHELTER BACKGROUND INFORMATION

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS & PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES (Below)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / PLANS

Ref / Title / page

0.1 Principal types of earth shelter designs 2

1.1 Conventional & earth sheltered house models 4

1.2 Windflow over a conventional house 6

1.3 Effects of topography on wind flow 8

1.4 Climate related problems and solutions in earth sheltering 9

1.5 Daily and seasonal sunlight for sky lights and vertical glazing 11

2.1 A ribbon and cluster development 16

2.2 Earth shelter alternative northern site arrangements 18

2.3 Privacy in conventional houses and earth shelters 20

2.4 The Architerra earth shelter concept 22

2.5 Reduced sized Churchill Gate site plans; existing & my proposal 23

2.6 Fruit tree estate arrangement for earth shelters 25

A2.1 Reduced sized existing Thames Street development plans A2

A2.2 Seward Town House earth shelter plans A6

A2.3 Proposed Thames Street earth shelters, elevations A7

A2.4 Proposed Thames Street earth shelters, plans A8

A3.1 Site plan of Churchill Gate A10

C1.1 'Mole Manor' earth shelter plans of design C1

C1.3 'Mole Manor' earth shelter floor plan layout C2

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES

A2.1A Aerial south view of Thames Street A3

A2.1B West view of Thames Street A3

A2.1C South view of Thames Street A3

A2.2A Seward Town House aerial view A5

A2.2B Seward Town House west view A5

A3.1A Churchill Gate east view A11

A3.1B Churchill Gate south view A11

C1.1 Mole Manor exterior photographs C3

1) Please indicate who you are, and where you are contacting me from in the world.

2) How you stumbled onto my site (e.g. search engine (which?) or link from other site - give its address please)

Please note: Sorry, I am unable to give specific advice on schemes/designs, plots of land etc, or cost advice to addressees.

REVISION	NOTES
Birth: July 1999	Constructed on Frontpage 'Express' freebee. Based around a cut & paste of Dissertation's Summary. Most original illustrations were re-drawn.
Rev A: Jan. 2000	Revised illustrations, photos, graphics, text paragraph alterations, hopefully easier to read!, added Sections 6,7 & 8.0. added dissertation contents (Removed excessive personal interests 2nd page.) Bought and used Frontpage 98! & Domain Name!
Rev B Oct 2000	Minor tweaks only & moved servers
Rev C May 2001	Minor text amendments and bibliography research material sold
Rev D Nov 2001	Illustrations 0.1 & 2.6 redrawn, costs adjustments, page links and more tweaks
Rev E Nov 2002	Mole Manor themed 'sister site' link added [link]
Rev F Mar 2003	Table showing diss. list of illustrations added
Rev G Nov 2003	Paypal info, top server note and minor tweaks added.