Construction of the "Fox Hole" Housing in the ground.

Now about the disadvantages of “fox holes”:
1. The earth, like reinforced concrete slabs, has shielding properties, that is, it is an obstacle to natural cosmic radiation. People sensitive to subtle energy, they feel it as internal discomfort. Therefore, it is better for such people to build wooden houses, which are permeable to radiation;
2. The inability to look out the window, the desire to be on top of the earth are also serious psychological factors.
For me personally, these two shortcomings are very significant. That's why I live in a log house. For the same reasons, apparently, the inhabitants of all three inhabited burrows dream of moving to the surface in the future. While the settlers, who do not yet have any housing on the estate, dream of “fox holes”.
The oldest - Nina Ivanovna Fetkulova - was built in 2004, the other two in 2006. Backfill - from 0.5 m to 1 m. The experiment was a success: the owners are generally satisfied with their homes.

About waterproofing the Fox Nora house.
In all five cases (except for the Okulovsky summer micromink, I don’t know about it) we used roofing material or bikrost. It was placed under the bottom trim (for almost everyone, except Volodya Simakhin, it lies on the ground, and for him - on bricks), it was also used to cover the boards of the walls with
outside. To be honest, I don’t really like this option: it gets in the way natural balance humidity between the ground and the house (according to theory, loamy soil itself regulates humidity and maintains it at the optimal level). But I don't know any other options. Maybe plaster the walls outside
clay, dry and fill? Clay plaster protects wood from rotting.
Indoor humidity probably depends on the type of soil and the depth of groundwater. We have loam, water - at 5–7 m. Experience shows that dampness does not occur in a heated “fox hole”. Only Tanya Skomarokhova faced the problem of dampness: she has a cellar attached to her hole, and from there dampness comes through the door. She also noticed that the ceiling in the corner was getting wet and the boards were rotting: apparently there was insufficient backfill there, and the roofing material was damaged somewhere. And perhaps condensation? It may well appear on the roofing felt from the side of the boards if the room is humid from the cellar.
Tanya was also the only one whose mink suffered from the load of the earth. After a year of use, the ridge beam showed a noticeable crack, and it was necessary to support it with a post in the center of the house. The length of the beam is 4 m, the diameter is about 16-18 cm, there is a large knot at the break point. It must be said that the logs were used from burnt wood, which also affected the strength. (Nadya Rubtsova’s ridge beam with exactly the same characteristics is working properly).
The conclusions are as follows: use a thicker log with a minimum of knots. And, most importantly, rest the rafters against each other in order to redistribute the load onto the walls. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to quality top harness walls Although, according to our standard design, numerous wall boards (perpendicular to the ridge), as well as the soil itself, should protect the walls (parallel to the ridge) from moving away. It must be said that Tanya’s “fox hole” is generally a phenomenon. Our own settlers built there, but the work was poorly organized, there was no experience and no design. They did it, one might say, at random. Now I look and am surprised: the distance between the rafters is 133 cm, and the sheathing is made of inch wood (!). The Thumbelina bent under the weight of the earth, but it held! Of course, all subsequent ones are constructed more intelligently.
Are you asking about racks? Everything is alright with them! They're not going anywhere.
Different smart people It was advised to do ventilation through two vertical pipes. However, it has not been implemented anywhere, and no one has ever suffered from it. Although it is possible that it would be even better with her, including in such “clinical” cases as Tanya Skomarokhova’s. The windows in all our “holes” are from the facade, and the facade is from one of the gables.
Also, in two “holes” (at Nadya Rubtsova and Nina Ivanovna) skylights. Before installing the first one, we debated for a long time: is it worth it? They talked about fears about lakes of condensation, about rainwater flowing under the glass, under the frame, about hail breaking the glass, about how it would be swept away in winter anyway... They did it and saw: WORTH IT!!! There was no leakage of water, hail did not damage it either (the top glass is tempered), snow does not cause any inconvenience and is easy to clean. True, Nadya still had some condensation. But this did not overshadow the satisfaction from the window: a bright, but soft, pleasant diffused light from above from the side illuminates the house until sunset.

I bring standard project the Fox Nora house, on which three currently inhabited “holes” were built (the other 3, built under the roof, are also very similar in design). True, I only drew the initial stage. Further it will be clear from the description. Our burrow sizes range from 2.5x2.5 to 4x4.
1. The hole being dug is larger in size than the planned hole. For a 4x4 hole, we dug a 5x5 m hole. Our average depth is 1.5 m.
2. Roofing material is laid on the bottom along the perimeter of the future frame.
3. Place 4 logs on roofing felt bottom trim, we connect them into half a tree, level them (with some error possible), adjust them until the diagonals are equal and secure them with brackets. As an option, you can place the bottom trim on bricks. In our area, the main soil is loam, so it can be considered reliable and the pillars should not be buried deep.
4. We install 4 pillars (length -180–200 cm) at the corners of the lower frame: for a good fit, we trim either the frame logs or the posts. Of course, we check it plumb. We fix it with temporary cuts, from a slab, for example (not shown in the figure).
5. We install central pillars (length 250–300 cm) in the middle of sides A and C. We fasten them with a slab with corner posts.
6. Install the ridge and beams. It is recommended to take longer than sides B and D according to the project in order to provide a canopy on the facade side.
7. Install the rafters. In our projects they rest on the ridge, but it’s probably better to rest them against each other. The distance between the rafters is 80 - 100 cm. When using a canopy from the facade, it is necessary that one pair of rafters be just above the logs and posts of side A.
8. Intermediate pillars are cut into each side. In the 4x4 project we had 2 of them on each side.
9. The walls of the resulting frame are sheathed on the outside with boards (25 mm) and roofing felt. The facade wall needs to be additionally insulated.
10. Lathing is placed on the rafters and roofing felt is placed. Our lathing is 25–30 mm, but it’s better to make it thicker or make the rafters more frequent.
11. Next are windows, doors and all that. Then the interior finishing.

It’s not difficult to build the Fox Nora house with your own hands, you just need to do everything “wisely”!

The “fox hole” type of structure itself is not new. While studying the history of architecture in different parts of the world in different eras, we came across one very surprising fact in our opinion. A fact that cannot be refuted. People of our time could not help but know about the “fox hole”. Scientists, architects, and historians could not help but know about it. The image of a “fox hole” is in the modern children's encyclopedia! It turns out that such houses were used to one degree or another by people of almost all (if not all, which could not be established with absolute accuracy) civilizations, including ours, civilization today…

Initially, man, having no vital need for all that we call the benefits of civilization, living in nature itself, did not build any structures, since there was no need for this in warm areas. But there were also cold ones. Imagine, if a person was born in a cold area or by chance during some disaster was forced to immediately stay in the cold, what can he build for an overnight stay and from what? Never mind.

If a person was born in a cold area, then he initially had to have the ability to withstand the cold, otherwise he would simply die out. Every creature always initially has the ability to live in the environment in which it was born. Note that nature gives life to everyone: birds, fish, animals, keeping them in balance called life. And has she really created some kind of dependent person who needs something else just to live? Cheated me. Why would she create such a mentally complex creature as man, endow all animals with the ability to withstand cold, and deprive man of such a trifle? Put yourself in her place and answer – where is the logic here? Or maybe we were lied to about human helplessness?

Man, born in nature, perceives the world as your home, your homeland. In nature, everything is interconnected, all creatures are closely interconnected, complementing each other and generally forming a single chain of life. Such a person was part of this circle of life; he could use the homes of the animals living around him at night: large wolf holes, bear dens, etc. Not all animals reuse their homes. So a person, without bothering himself, could use a dugout-den for overnight stay. NOTE, THIS IS A RESIDENCE FOR AN OVERNIGHT, NOT A HOUSE. The house is a living surrounding nature.

The temperature in such a structure is always from 0 to +5 degrees Celsius, i.e. It is cool in summer and warm in winter. Many may argue that the ground is damp. But if this is so, would a wolf or a bear then live in it? Do you really think that animals will live in uncomfortable conditions? Try leaving your dog in a wet kennel overnight? In fact, such dugouts from the inside are often covered with roots near growing trees, forming a beautiful pattern and blocking the access of the earth, creating a reliable strong support.

I think it’s with these “dwellings” – overnight shelters – that the history of the “fox hole” begins, which was used as animal dwellings.

It is worth paying attention to one surprising fact. Ask yourself: where does the moose spend the night (this is our “Russian forest cow”)? In the snow... Don't you freeze? He spends the night, which means he doesn’t freeze. Wolves, foxes, hares are also capable of withstanding even the most harsh winters, sleep in the snow? Then why do they need holes? Incredibly, observations of animals lead to the conclusion that they use their homes not so much as protection from temperature fluctuations, but as a temporary shelter from bad weather and the elements. If it rains, then life in the forest seems to freeze: everyone hides in holes, or simply remains in place without moving until the bad weather ends: snow, blizzard, rain, or just strong wind. No birds in the sky, no insects. This means that the fact that animals use any structures (burrows, nests) does not oblige humans to do the same. But people, apparently, used dwellings for this reason too.

In the historical encyclopedia we read: “Dwellings in the southern, dry forest-steppe regions were built deep into the ground - semi-dugouts. The walls were made of logs. Between the dwellings or in the dwellings themselves there were grain storage pits... In half-dugouts along the walls there were benches cut directly from the ground.” (“Big historical encyclopedia for schoolchildren”)

Of course, not all nations used half-dugouts; this largely depended on the lifestyle of the people. Naturally, nomadic peoples It’s easier to have a collapsible, lightweight, portable home.
Such houses were also used in the north by the Vikings: “As you can see, despite clay walls and earthen floors, the living quarters were quite comfortable... All the houses were built almost for centuries” (series “Encyclopedia “Vanished Civilizations”, “Vikings: Raids from the North”)

By historical facts in the future, only a turf roof is used: “In countries with a harsh climate, such as Greenland or Iceland, there was little wood, so local residents built the walls of their homes from stone and turf.”

Turf-roofed houses remain to this day. In this case, the turf layer eliminated the need to maintain the structure. A living roof (in the truest sense of the word) does not require repairs! Similar structures are found throughout the Mari El Republic (Volga region). In abandoned villages you can find storage facilities made in a similar way. They're standing!

Civilizations that did not know metal used ready-made animal dwellings, those that knew used half-dugouts and dugouts, which we now call “fox holes.” Because to build even the simplest “fox hole”, you need at least a shovel. This means that at first there was a dugout den, then a half-dugout, after which only a turf roof remained.

Several years ago, in one newspaper (unfortunately, it was not possible to determine the exact name and number) there was an article that in the area of ​​​​Mount Belukha, where, according to Tibetan monks, Shambhala is located, Old Believers (as they were called in the article) live in a village. They live in just such half-dugouts. According to them, people have been living in them for more than 500 years.

Why? Because beyond two meters earthen layer no magnetic or other waves with artificially inflated human fluctuations penetrate. A person in such houses is simply not subject to their destructive effects. On the outskirts of the settlement, a metal pyramid was built from scrap metal found by the villagers. In their opinion, it collects all the negative energy from the space in which they live and spews it out in the form of lightning. The author describes how he himself saw the pyramid in action. They do not create negative energy; it is evenly distributed throughout the earth from the source. For example, if you hit your hand, it hurts not only your hand, but your whole body. Considering the level of consciousness, the depth of knowledge of the world order, they cannot be called a primitive tribe. At the same time, they choose a dugout-hill as their home.

Foxy burrow. Part 2: Making a home.

In our time They started talking a lot about ecological houses, developments are underway, and projects of similar houses are being proposed. Among them there are many beautiful and comfortable ones, with autonomous systems heating and power supply from wind, solar panels etc., self-purifying water drains, but, nevertheless, all these projects are practically copies ordinary houses. It is necessary to add to this that all of them, as a rule, are much more expensive than ordinary houses, and also require further constant care, restoration, and connection to the surrounding space that changes over time. Within 20-30 years they become obsolete: both architecturally and technically.

Where is the way out?

We want to bring to your attention a well-forgotten design of a house that anyone can build, regardless of material well-being (if they have the desire); a home that becomes stronger and more beautiful over time; taking up virtually no space (which is very important for small areas); creating almost no shadow and being constructed from any known building materials or available materials available in the area.

This is a project earthen structure"fox hole" type.

Let us note that similar houses are being built to this day, for example, by Old Believers in Altai, and in almost any region you can find buildings of this type, if not residential, then economic.
Please do not confuse this building with a dugout, as they are not the same thing. “Fox Hole” is an earthen hill. Depending on the wishes of the owner, it can be built with any depth or even be located at the level of an ordinary house.
If the angle of inclination of the walls is 45 degrees, then it will practically not create a shadow, because... The angle of the summer solstice at the latitude of Moscow is approximately equal to this. A slight shadow is created in the morning and evening hours from the west and east of the building.

Why does it take up almost no space?

Yes, because the hypotenuse is always larger than the leg, and since the embankment of the house is earthen, it can be used for planting on all sides and on top (strawberries, raspberries, shrubs, flower beds, etc.). It is even possible to plant small trees if certain conditions are met, which, in general, creates unlimited possibilities when decorating the external design of your building and quickly and cheaply changing it according to your wishes. Imagine: a flowerbed house, it can be different every year. This is where there is unplowed field for imagination.

Why is it getting stronger?

Yes, because every year the earth becomes more compacted, and the roots of grasses and shrubs hold the surface layer together so much that even if all the internal supports are removed, it will still support itself. Go out into an unplowed meadow. After all, its entire space is pitted with holes of moles, mice, and worms, but the ground does not collapse under you. There is no need to be afraid of the penetration of the root system of plants into the house, there is a simple protection against this... winter time such a house becomes even warmer, since it is covered with snow blankets, and the snow load does not create additional weight due to freezing of the upper earthen layer. An example of this is ice on rivers. Inside such a house, at any external temperature, the temperature remains above zero, even without heating, which means that heating the structure requires a minimum of energy expenditure. Its walls are always breathing. It is cool in summer.
With properly constructed ventilation, there is no dampness in it, but there is also no dryness that happens in apartments in winter, and humidity and cold when the heat is turned off, which is mainly the cause of damage to furniture, dampness of wallpaper and clothing, and cracks in the walls. , jamming and drying out of doors and windows.
The interior decoration of a house can be made from any materials, even wood, since there are cheap, well-forgotten ways to protect it from external conditions. You can also make walls inside from available materials: clay, willow, reeds, straw, cattails, wild stone, etc.
To be convinced of the other advantages of the “Fox Hole” project, let’s consider it in comparison with a traditional house of the same area and made of identical materials with a conventionally taken area, say, 100 square meters. m.

What does a traditional house consist of?

A solid, good foundation is the basis of any house that is built to last. Then the basement, walls, ceilings, roof. A few auxiliary little things, such as: trays for water drainage, drainage pipes, gables, hems, light and ventilation windows, blind areas, window frames, etc. - which, by the way, requires far from small costs, money and time, periodic repairs. In regions with a large snow cover in the spring, the problem of snow avalanches from roofs or their pressing through due to the weight of the snow increases. And the roof itself is an expensive pleasure. A good one, made of galvanized iron or glazed tiles, is not affordable for everyone.

What do we have in the fox hole?

Just walls and ceilings, which themselves serve as a roof. Note that the walls are much thinner, since they only serve as a restraining factor from the collapse of the earth (with the thickness of the embankment being one and a half meters, there is no need to worry about heat capacity: up to the seventieth parallel, they practically withstand any frost). Roof waterproofing can be made of ordinary roofing felt in 2 layers (the most cheap material), but it is possible without it if you have a good clay castle (made of well-mixed clay) 15-20 cm thick or birch bark, which does not rot in the ground for hundreds of years and is not afraid of fires, and at the same time retains heat perfectly (yes, yes, this is not typo: there are such ancient technologies). A year after installation, a one-meter thick layer of earth on the roof cannot be wetted by even a single rainstorm. Snow waters melt more evenly, and the ground under the snow is always slightly frozen, which perfectly prevents water from penetrating deeper. No lower ice crusts form, which means there is no chance of an avalanche (and there is practically nowhere to go). All you need are good drainage ditches around the entire building with a slope in one direction, seeded with good grass (instead of concrete, iron or other trays), for example, bentgrass, wheatgrass, etc. Foundations are also not needed or are needed purely symbolically for supports, since there is nothing to freeze, and therefore there is no swelling of the soil. And if this house is made of red baked brick with walls half a brick thick, concrete reinforced with mesh, branches, etc. 5-7 cm thick, made of boards with load-bearing beams arched structure, then it is able to withstand colossal loads (examples of this are bridges).

The interior decoration is the same as that of a regular house, although there are also many ways to save money and time, not counting durability. For example, floors that can be left earthen by covering them with mats (a rug made from a natural material). Or lay it out of tiles, placing it on a screed made of light and warm concrete (there are such), or make it out of wood, placing it on small spacers, or the same concrete using the “floating parquet” principle. In any case, this does not require floor slabs or massive wooden transfers.

Next, let's look at the main reasons for distrust of the Fox Hole structure:
- unusual appearance
– fear of flooding
– fear of dampness indoors
– penetration of rodents and insects
– illumination
– collapse of the structure

Unusual appearance- the argument is certainly weighty, but let's look around and ask ourselves what is more pleasant to see: a house with rickety walls or chipped plaster covered with “wonderful” inscriptions, with a dilapidated roof, etc. or a flowerbed, or a neat lawn, or a dwarf garden with a pergola or gazebo covered with grapes, hops, etc.

Of course, a beautifully executed facade of a house with fashionable architecture is also a pleasant sight, but for how long? After all, the fashion for architectural styles changes so quickly, in just 20-30 years the style becomes obsolete. Try changing the façade of a stone or wooden structure... In addition, time brings its destruction, and with it concerns about restoration. Another thing alpine slide, or a flower garden, or a lawn. You can change it at your discretion at least every year, and small trees or shrubs with a creeping root system (juniper, lilac, jasmine, fir trees, etc.) against the background of a hill will create a stable landscape.

Fear of flooding- a very serious thing, but nowhere does it say that this structure should be built in a swamp, or in a floodplain, or in a pit. Even if your site is relatively damp, you can build drainage ditches. A thick layer of soil around the embankment of the house and an elevation of 50-60 cm from the general ground level of the entrance to the room will save you from the penetration of spring upper waters.
The depth of the house itself depends on the level of groundwater and the desire of the owner (either bury yourself under the ceiling or don’t bury yourself at all).

Dampness in the room occurs mainly due to poor ventilation, or low thermal capacity of the walls, or an incorrectly located heating system. The thermal capacity of the walls with a 1.5 meter embankment will not raise any doubts, but the ventilation and heating system is in your hands. Probably, many people have had to observe moldy walls, falling wallpaper and plaster in quite good-looking multi-storey buildings, planned and built by professionals in their field.

When asked aboutpenetration of rodents, moles and other unwanted neighbors, you can only add a few words. Our high-rise buildings are no less infested with mice and rats, despite the fact that they are made of brick and concrete, a material supposedly inaccessible to rodents. I had to meet rats and mice on the 14th floor. Ants and cockroaches have become an integral part of our everyday life (those who don’t have one can see in stores an abundance of chemical means of protection against these cohabitants). Moles do not dig their tunnels to such a depth, as they hunt for worms, which feed on the remains of vegetation and are found in the fertile upper layer of 30-50 cm. And he prefers to go around walls rather than crack them. For ants to make passages in a one and a half meter wall, what for us is to dig a three-kilometer tunnel underground to a bread store located opposite your house. All these neighbors need a home and food. Moreover, they set up a house only next to the food base. There is no food and they don’t need a home. So keep food supplies in special rooms and live peacefully without all these worries.

Fear of roof collapse is also not justified. Dugouts covered with earth can even withstand bombing. I don't think this is a threat to us. And a layer of earth 1-1.5 m thick can easily withstand even 15 cm thick logs protected from moisture, but even better arched design from any materials sand cushion(it’s not worth talking about floor slabs). In a year or two, the roots of the plants will hold everything together so that the soils will support themselves.

The question of illumination remains. We will cover this issue more widely, since it has many options.
Let's start with traditional windows in the walls at our usual level of 80-90 cm from the floor level. This is quite possible, you just need to provide small “loggias” around the window when laying the walls, since there is an earthen rampart on the sides and above the window. The earthen rampart can reach almost to the level of the window from below, but this is not scary. It can be covered with tiles, bricks, wood and anything else, or you can simply plant it with flowers or arrange a mini-greenhouse for fresh herbs. Heat leakage will serve the cause of “prosperity” (greenery in our case). If you don’t like the ground with a flower bed at window level, we’ll resolve this issue. It is enough to insulate the space under the window from the outside by thickening the walls or glass wool, cattails, straw, etc.

Rice. 1 Traditional loggia window with glazing

Traditional windows with a loggia with earthen filling. It is possible to glaze the outside and get a mini-greenhouse.

It is advisable to make one window per room, albeit a large one, and to retain heat, insert triple-glazed windows (albeit expensive) or glaze them from the outside like a regular loggia or greenhouse. If heating is introduced there, then you will get a mini-greenhouse or a “winter garden” (depending on the wishes of the owners). And to get an impression of this type of window in advance, look at the world from the window of an apartment that has a loggia. And you will agree that you do not see what is on the sides of the loggia: an earthen rampart or a neighbor’s loggia, as well as above it: a neighbor’s loggia or a growing tree.

The next type of windows is skylights. They can be located in the walls at ceiling level or in the ceiling itself and have different shapes (see Fig. 2, 3, 4). This is where there is room for imagination. Can you imagine a living room or dining room where you, sitting in your favorite rocking chair by the fireplace or an aquarium with fish, can simultaneously admire the starry sky, or views of clouds at sunset, or the flight of butterflies over flowers or hanging bunches of grapes, while in a cozy bedroom . Or “sleep under your own star.”

All this is possible with a dome-type skylight window (see Fig. 6). Technically, the implementation of these windows is not particularly difficult. The fear of snowfall is also unfounded. After all, the window is located above an earthen hill, and even a child is able to remove snow with a broom or brush after the snowfall ends. The second and third glazing can be provided from the room at ceiling level (even with stained glass). Or put a mini-greenhouse outside, where, again, heat leaks will serve the cause of prosperity. Or you can simply install attic double-glazed windows (Fig. 7).

Rice. 6. On top is a skylight (attic double-glazed window). And below is an example of a dome window with triple glazing

There remains only one unanswered question: where to get so much land? You can simply buy it. There is no cheaper building material. But there are other ways, for example, digging wells, ponds, and drainage ditches. If you don’t want that, there are other ways...

Also among the advantages of the “Fox Hole” it can be noted that such a house cannot be “carried away”, disassembled for parts, burned, painted, etc. But it also has two significant drawbacks: the first is that it is unusual, and the second is that this house is not intended for workaholics: it will not have to be repaired every year and there is too little maintenance work.

If all of the above interests you, let’s move on directly to several projects of such houses.

Foxy burrow. Part 3: House designs.

The idea of ​​a family estate. Who is it aimed at? For people with different capabilities, but united by one goal: “I can’t be unhappy anymore.” Those who consider themselves happy already in this world may not finish reading. Many people are already ready to live simply in harmony with the surrounding world and nature. Others would like to combine the natural with the familiar in their family estate, i.e. the benefits of civilization. For these two fundamentally different categories of people who want to realize the idea of ​​a family estate, we offer two fundamentally different approaches to designing “fox hole” type houses.

Approach one combines: simplicity, functionality, practicality, maximum fusion with the surrounding space with minimal material costs and time for maintaining the structure.

Approach two combines the principles of the former with modern amenities and appliances, architecture and landscaping. In this case, you choose the degree of merging with nature yourself - the most acceptable for you in this moment time, up to the complete transfer of all the amenities of the city to the settlement.

Now, using the first approach, we will describe one of the simplest and most accessible houses of the “fox hole” type (see Fig. 1). (Note: the pictures show house designs that are closest to modern ones, which, of course, is not at all necessary. The houses themselves look quite large and look like cottages. This is not so: simply due to the embankment, the house seems larger than it actually is. Its living area is the same as that of an ordinary house).

Rice. 1. “Fox hole”

It is worth immediately noting that the internal layout of any “fox hole” type house is not at all tied to the external shape and design of your home. Also distinctive feature is that you do not have to place the rooms close together; you can remove them from each other at any distance by connecting them with corridors (see Fig. 2, 3).

This gives unlimited possibilities when planning a house, reducing heat loss between rooms (it’s hot in the kitchen: they’re preparing dinner, it’s cool in the next room) and high sound insulation, which is very important for large families, with minimal material costs. And also the ability to add additional space if the family grows without losing the external design, the so-called “growing” house.

In the second approach, we will consider the two most significant types of houses for “settlers”. These are complex houses, or gallery houses. The first type is a horseshoe house, the second is a closed house - a gallery. Let's consider the first one (see Fig. 4).

The peculiarity of the horseshoe-shaped house is that its front part ( patio) are made in a modern way, and the front one completely merges with nature. The house has two main entrances on opposite sides. To the front entrance you invite business partners work, city relatives who do not accept anything other than modern conveniences, important guests. And to the backyard - your real friends, like-minded people. Here you are in the “city” (being in the front yard), you did some work, took a few steps, and you are in the virgin forest, or your garden, or vegetable garden, etc. And no one may even know that your house here is an ordinary “hill.” They think you have a normal house or even a cottage. And you spend your time so modestly, looking at blooming garden, which, by the way, very few rich people can afford. After all, the garden was grown by you. This is your success, dear, that’s why you are so happy. But here it was planted by professionals: beautiful, but dead. That's why rich people change their dachas so quickly. After all, this is not their success, this is the designer’s success. And he doesn’t bring them joy... That’s the secret.

The second house, along with all the advantages of the first, also has its own distinctive ones. If you want to live in a modern house, but at the same time its appearance should not spoil the natural landscape - this is for you (see Fig. 7). This can be a house - a gallery of any shape (circle, oval, square, triangle, hexagon, etc.) with a courtyard. It is convenient in that it is possible to access all rooms both from inside the house and through the yard along the shortest path. In the overall landscape of the site, it does not visually stick out and does not absorb the surrounding space.
For those who find it difficult to move from “civilized” architecture to nature and simplicity, the patio is a real find. You can organize a pool or a fountain in it, or you can do it all together. Concrete paths or lawn. You can even glaze the entire upper space of the patio.
The walls facing the courtyard can be made “classic”, i.e. leave open, from the building materials from which the house is built, clad with tiles, wild stone, marble, clapboard, etc. In a word, whatever you want. You can also make an embankment, sod it, turning it into a lawn or flowerbed and arrange a mini-garden inside the courtyard with grapes, cherries, Christmas trees... Organize a decorative pond without fear that water and tree roots will get into the house (don’t forget about drainage ditches or gutters). People around you won’t even think that everything is like that with you! External embankment can be simple.
On the top of such a house-complex you can put a gazebo with an all-round view, or an unheated summer room. Summer kitchen, but you can also place it inside the yard. You can display hives, and if the hives are decks, then you can arrange them into a fabulous ensemble. You can even install greenhouses (they will not block out much light) or simply organize a mini-garden. Your possibilities are endless!
As you can see, all these houses are characterized by one thing - a combination of opposites: civilized and natural. Moreover, you can freely choose the ratio of living and dying elements in your home!

In addition to everything, we can say that this project can be completely autonomous: water supply, sewerage, etc.

I’m guilty of copy-paste, I really liked the article.
Our settlement is truly famous for its fox holes. And even in addition to the “official” name Rodniki, the options Lisienorsk and Norouralsk were proposed. But we can boast more about the number of holes than about the creative originality of the projects (although in the future, convinced burrowers - I am sure - will show the wonders of architecture. Projects for 8-sided and round fox holes are already being hatched). It so happened historically that the three currently inhabited holes were built in order to get a finished home as soon as possible, spending little money.
In addition to these 3 inhabited heated holes (Nina Ivanovna Fetkulova, Nadya Rubtsova, Tanya Skomarokhova) there are 2 already filled in, but without interior decoration and without a stove, and (Volodya Simakhin and Andrei Beloborodov) 1 more small (2.5x2.5 m) adapted under summer house(Okulovsky). In the next couple of years, at least 4 more families promise to build fox holes for themselves.

Such popularity is associated with the advantages of such a home:
1. Construction speed. One of the holes (Nadia Rubtsova) was brought to a habitable state in 2 weeks from scratch (a hole dug by an excavator) (with a stove and interior decoration), of which it took 3 days to erect the frame, sheathing and backfilling. Of course, with the help of neighbors.
2. Cheap. In almost all our projects, the main materials are round timber and unedged boards.
3. Low repair costs. Since the facade is reduced to a minimum and the roof is covered with earth, they do not need to be repaired.
4. Internal climate. In winter, newborns spend REALLY LESS firewood (at -30 they heat it once a day) than their neighbors in log houses. They can leave for a few days and not heat without the risk of freezing their home (although in practice we still heat each other’s stoves in the absence of the owners). In summer the house is pleasantly cool.
5. No official building permit is needed (an advantage for those who are afraid of guests from the land committee). Although Ukraine probably has its own specifics.

Disadvantages of fox holes:
1. The earth, like reinforced concrete slabs, has shielding properties, that is, it is an obstacle to natural cosmic radiation. People sensitive to subtle energy feel this as internal discomfort. Therefore, it is better for such people to build wooden houses that are permeable to radiation.
2. The inability to look out the window, the desire to be on top of the earth are also serious psychological factors.
For me personally, these 2 disadvantages are very significant. That's why I live in a log house. For the same reasons, apparently, the inhabitants of all three inhabited burrows dream of moving to the surface in the future. While the settlers, who do not yet have any housing on the estate, dream of fox holes.

The oldest hole (house of Nina Ivanovna Fetkulova) was built in 2004, the other two in 2006. Backfill - from 0.5 m to 1 m. The experiment was a success: the owners are generally satisfied with their homes.

About waterproofing. In all 5 cases (except for the Okulovsky summer micromink, I don’t know about it), roofing material or bicrost was used. It was placed under the bottom trim (for almost everyone, except Volodya Simakhin, it lies on the ground, and for him - on bricks), it was also used to sheathe the boards of the walls from the outside. To be honest, I don’t really like this option: it interferes with the natural balance of humidity between the soil and the house (according to theory, loamy soil itself regulates humidity and maintains it at the optimal level). But I don't know any other options. Maybe I should plaster the outside walls with clay, dry it and fill it up? Clay plaster protects wood from rotting.
The humidity in the room probably depends on the type of soil and the depth of groundwater. We have loam, water at 5..7 m. Experience shows that dampness does not occur in a heated fox hole. Only Tanya Skomarokhova faced the problem of dampness: she has a cellar attached to her hole, and from there dampness comes through the door. She also noticed that the ceiling in the corner was getting wet and the boards were rotting: there was probably insufficient backfill and the roofing material was damaged somewhere. Or maybe condensation? It may well appear on the roofing felt from the side of the boards if the room is humid from the cellar.
Tanya was also the only one whose hole suffered from the load of the earth. After a year of use, the ridge beam showed a noticeable crack, and it was necessary to support it with a post in the center of the house. The length of the beam is 4 m, the diameter is about 16-18 cm, there is a large knot at the break point. It must be said that the logs were used from firewood, which also affected the strength. (Nadya Rubtsova’s ridge beam with exactly the same characteristics is working properly). The conclusions are as follows: use a thicker log with a minimum of knots. And, most importantly, rest the rafters against each other in order to redistribute the load onto the walls. In this case, it is worth paying attention to the quality of the upper wall trim. Although, according to our standard design, numerous wall boards (perpendicular to the ridge), as well as the soil itself, should protect the walls (parallel to the ridge) from moving away.
It must be said that Tanya’s hole is a total phenomenon. Our settlers built there, but the work was poorly organized, no one knew the project. They did it, one might say, at random. Now I look and am surprised: the distance between the rafters is 133 cm and the sheathing is made of inch (!). The Thumbelina bent under the weight of the earth, but it held! Of course, all other holes are built more intelligently.
You're asking about racks. Everything is alright with them! They're not going anywhere.

Various smart people advised doing ventilation through two vertical pipes. However, it has not been implemented anywhere, and no one has ever suffered from it. Although it is possible that it would be even better with her, including in such “clinical” cases as Tanya Skomarokhova’s.
The windows in all our holes are from the facade, and the facade is from one of the gables.
In two more holes (Nadia Rubtsova and Nina Ivanovna) ceiling windows were made. Before installing the first one, we debated for a long time: is it worth it? They talked about fears about lakes of condensation, about rainwater flowing under the glass, under the frame, about hail breaking the glass, about how it would be swept away in winter anyway... They did it and saw: WORTH IT!!! There was no leakage of water, hail did not damage it either (the top glass is tempered), snow does not cause any inconvenience and is easy to clean. True, Nadya still had some condensation. But this did not overshadow the satisfaction from the window: a bright, but soft, pleasant diffused light from above and from the side illuminates the house until sunset.
No condensation was noticed on the second window (at Nina Ivanovna’s).

I present a standard design according to which the three mentioned currently inhabited burrows were built (the other 3, placed under a roof, are also very similar in design). True, I only drew the initial stage. Further it will be clear from the description. Our burrow sizes range from 2.5x2.5 to 4x4.

1. The hole being dug is larger in size than the planned hole. For a 4x4 hole, we dug a 5x5 m hole. Our average depth is 1.5 m.
2. Roofing material is laid on the bottom along the perimeter of the future frame.
3. We place 4 logs of the lower trim on the roofing material, connect them into half a tree, level them (with some error possible), adjust them until the diagonals are equal and secure them with staples. As an option, you can place the bottom trim on bricks. In our area, the main soil is loam, so it can be considered reliable, and the pillars should not be buried deep.
4. We install 4 pillars (length = 180..200 cm) on the corners of the lower frame: for a good fit, we trim either the frame logs or the posts. Of course, we check it plumb. We fix it with temporary cuts, from a slab, for example (not shown in the figure).
5. We install central pillars (length 250..300 cm) in the middle of sides A and C. We fasten them with a slab with corner posts.
6. Install the ridge and beams. It is recommended to take it longer than sides B and D according to the project in order to provide a canopy on the facade side.
7. Install the rafters. In our projects they rest on the ridge, but it’s probably better to rest them against each other. The distance between the rafters is 80..100 cm. When using a canopy from the facade, it is necessary that one pair of rafters be just above the logs and posts of side A.
8. Intermediate pillars are cut into each side. In the 4x4 project we had 2 of them on each side.
9. The walls of the resulting frame are sheathed on the outside with boards (25 mm) and roofing felt. The facade wall needs to be additionally insulated.
10. Lathing is placed on the rafters and roofing felt is placed. Our lathing is 25..30 mm, but it’s better to make it thicker, or make the rafters more frequent.
11. Well, there are windows, doors and all that. Then the interior finishing.


That's all.

DIY house » Useful tips » Building a “Fox Hole” type house

13-04-2011, 21:19

It is unlikely that anywhere else you can feel such a sense of security as in a bunded building. The secret is simple and I learned this secret on the pages of the website www.ibrus.ru - the energy and spirit of the earth literally permeate the structure under the turf dome. Natural grounding of the building relieves stress and removes electromagnetic fields caused by stray currents, which is typical for multi-story reinforced concrete structures.

There are no fears of heating power outages and power outages here, since a simple wood-burning fireplace is sufficient to maintain a comfortable temperature. As usual, holiday villages flash monotonously outside the window of the electric train. Booths, huts, houses, houses, houses... And behind all this pile of buildings, the main thing is not visible - the beauty of the cultivated land. And the houses themselves (or rather, the cases) are empty most of the year. In cold weather, warming them up for the night (15-16°C) is problematic: until the walls warm up, it’s time to get ready for the city.

In a diked house, the water in the pipes or in the kettle will never freeze, and with a minimum of costs it is not difficult to create comfortable living conditions. The lack of natural light can be compensated by installing transparent roof elements (skylights), the efficiency of which is much higher than traditional windows.

Fig. 1 Plan of a “Fox Hole” type house for a small area:
1 - veranda (14.0 m2);
2 - kitchen (12.0 m2);
3 - room (20.0m2);
4 - vegetable storage (18.0 m2);
5 - greenhouse (18.0m2);
6 - pantry (1.3 m2);
7 - bench-locker;
8 - water absorber pit

Modern bunded structures can be used for a variety of purposes: housing for livestock, garages for agricultural machinery, etc.

Dugouts of the third millennium - from elite mansions to a hobbit hole

e. Houses built using simple materials (expanded clay concrete blocks, sandbags, logs, soil blocks) can help solve the acute housing problem of many categories of the population - refugees, displaced people, etc.

This type of bunded houses received the code name “Fox Hole”. Our architectural studio is ready to help develop projects like small buildings, as well as entire public complexes (sports, cultural, etc.). Let's see how you can build for a small garden plot small house IR, embanked with earth.

Manufacturing jobs. At the first stage, a common pit is dug with a depth of 0.5-0.8 m and dimensions 0.5 m larger than the dimensions of the future building. The soil is piled up along the perimeter of the embankment. Along the bottom of the pit, a strip foundation 400 mm thick and 250 mm deep is made of M300 concrete, reinforced with a mesh of ZF6A-1. Under the strip foundation, a preparation 150 mm thick is laid from sand and gravel mixture. On the top of the foundation there is waterproofing made of two layers of roofing felt on bitumen.

The walls of the house are erected from red brick Ml00 on cement-sand mortar M50: up to the 0.00 mark - 380 mm thick, above - 250 mm thick.

Walls can be made from other materials, for example, from concrete blocks, or made from monolithic expanded clay concrete. The outer surfaces of the walls in contact with the ground must be insulated with hot bitumen (two to three times) or roofing felt.

The ceiling is made of hollow reinforced concrete slabs of type PK63-15-8, on top of which a leveling screed is made. The ceiling is insulated with polystyrene foam boards 50-70 mm thick, which are laid on cold bitumen mastic. The insulation layer is covered with two to three layers of roofing felt (waterproofing) on ​​bitumen mastic with waterproofing of the junction points with the walls.

On top of the structure - clay castle with a layer of 10-15 cm, followed by embankment with soil removed from the pit. Subsequently, ornamental grass can be sown in this place, a flower garden can be arranged, etc.

House protected by land

A modern underground house bears little resemblance to a bunker, cellar or dugout. It is beautiful, comfortable and environmentally friendly. The construction of such unusual housing is a bold experiment, but it is completely justified.

Underground houses look like a hill or hole in a slope and look like an element of the natural landscape. The growing interest in dwellings in which the walls and roof are covered with earth, as a result of which they are often called “fox holes,” is explained not only by the desire for originality and maximum unity with nature, but also by rational considerations - the desire to obtain economic benefits during construction and operation. Underground construction is accessible to everyone, and adherence to technology guarantees a high quality environment in the house. Exists big choice options for the depth of the structure into the ground: from completely underground to completely above-ground, embanked with earth (embankment, fenced with berms - from the German berme - an element of an embankment slope). Construction methods are also varied: from simple ones, suitable for building a house with your own hands, to complex ones based on avant-garde architectural and engineering ideas. Therefore, the houses are different - from low-budget buildings to luxurious underground villas.

Temperature underground

Ground temperature is an important factor in home energy conservation. The soil conducts heat poorly and accumulates it well (in a dry state, these qualities are approximately the same as those of a brick), therefore temperature fluctuations that occur on the surface of the earth spread in it slowly, reaching depths with a great delay. Measurements have shown that at a depth of 2-3 m the warmest moment of the year comes 2-3 months later. The soil is coldest in the spring. In the climatic conditions of Ukraine at a depth of 2 m in winter the temperature will be 6-8 °C, in summer - 15-18 °C.

Benefits of construction

Living below the surface of the earth in past times was considered the lot of the poor. To dig a space in the ground for one or several rooms, no funds are required; enclosing structures do not need to be erected - the earth serves as them. However, the disadvantages of such a home were dampness, lack of sunlight, and difficulty in ventilation, so it could not be considered healthy and environmentally friendly.

The view of a house underground began to change in the late 60s of the last century. Over time, solutions have been developed to manage living in such structures to healthy standards.

But this affected the cost of housing: when using high-quality materials, which are preferably used in underground construction, it may turn out to be no less than a similar area located on the surface.

But on the right site, you can take full advantage of the unique benefits that land protection provides:

Energy saving. Since the earth does not conduct heat well and can be very thick, such dwellings are characterized by stable internal temperatures: heat is well retained in winter and air conditioning is not required in summer. In extreme climates with long, cold, windy winters and hot summers, maintaining a comfortable temperature will not be energy-intensive;

High sound insulation. The earth perfectly protects from sounds of any frequency; there will always be peace and quiet in the premises. The penetration of sounds outside is also limited. Therefore, underground houses are comfortable in noisy areas, near highways;

Safety. An underground house is safe in areas with increased seismic activity, is not afraid of hurricanes, and is protected from the outside from fires. It is difficult for thieves to get into your home, since the number of places for entry is limited. In the event of hostilities, an underground structure becomes a comfortable personal bomb shelter and provides reliable camouflage;

Landscape conservation. The natural landscape of the area will change minimally after the construction of the house, the area of ​​green cover of the site, the ecological and aesthetic value of the place will be preserved; the opportunity to build on inconvenience. An attractive, but difficult to develop slope, hilly area can be turned into an advantage and can be easily developed;

Reducing labor costs during construction. In rough terrain you can reduce the volume earthworks. Labor-intensive façade and roofing work will not be required. This will reduce the cost and time of building a house; minimal costs for maintaining the building in safety. When using high-quality waterproofing, walls and roofs overgrown with grass will require maintenance only from the point of view of landscape design, as part of the site.

A well-built underground house will have no disadvantages, except that the view of the area from the windows may be limited. However, its features and construction costs significantly depend on the natural conditions of the site. Sometimes it is advantageous to bury a house in the ground, in other cases it is rational to build it above the ground and embank it. An analysis of the site will show how complex and expensive measures will be needed during construction so that the house does not suffer from water penetration, soil shifts, or lack of lighting.

House on top of the hill

A convenient place for construction is on the top of a hill. The location at the highest point of the relief helps to maximally protect the premises from water penetration, orient them to any cardinal direction, and provide excellent lighting and visibility from the windows. During construction, the top of the hill is torn down, and after the structures are erected, they are filled up again.

Site requirements

To determine the feasibility of building an underground house, it is necessary to take into account the features of the site in the complex:

RELIEF. Relief with elevation changes is preferable - sloping or hilly. On such a site there is room for a harmonious placement of a house while saving on excavation work. In any building on a slope, a floor is formed, at least partially located underground, and its expansion and deepening will make it possible to make all the premises underground. In hilly areas, a dwelling can be placed on a horizontal platform, while being partially built into one of the elevations of the relief, which will act as a natural embankment of the walls. Therefore, most underground buildings are built on topography. Owners of a hilly plot, difficult to build a standard house, should think about building underground housing.

It is also important that surface water drains quickly from sloping areas and the soil remains dry. An underground house should not be located in a lowland, ravine or thalweg where water from the surrounding area collects.

ORIENTATION. The southern orientation of the slope is ideal, providing the premises with sunlight for most of the day. The northern slope, although it will provide coolness in a hot climate, is still unacceptable for an underground house from a hygienic point of view, since the premises require insolation. In hot climates, a good orientation is eastern. On a flat area, you should also orient the entrance and windows to the sunny sides.

PRIMING. It is best if the site contains soils that allow water to pass through well - sand, sandy loam and loam. They dry quickly and are suitable for natural and artificial embankment (which is done with soil taken from the pit). Clay is an unfavorable type of soil because it retains moisture and erodes when wet. However, it can be used as an additional waterproofing lock in layers adjacent to the load-bearing underground structures of the house. A fertile layer of soil is used as a top covering, which is removed and preserved during construction.

GROUND WATER LEVEL. The best area would be one where groundwater lies at great depth. This will allow the house to be lowered as much as possible and integrated into the terrain. Housing cannot be located below the groundwater level; you should also make sure that there is no underground flow at the construction site - in these cases it is difficult to prevent water from penetrating into the house. Modern technologies allow reliable protection against moisture seepage through structures, but the cost of the work will be unreasonably high.

MICROCLIMATE. The drier the area, the better for building an underground house. A humid microclimate is contraindicated for it: to combat dampness, it will be necessary to increase ventilation and constantly monitor the condition of structures, which will cause costs and discomfort.

House types

There are two main types of houses protected by earth - underground and bunded. Underground is a structure that is located entirely or mostly below ground level. A bunded house can be located above ground level or partially below it, while the upper part of its walls and roof is covered with soil. The earthen roof directly goes into the surface of the site (which distinguishes an underground dwelling from a ground dwelling with a green roof).

Each house protected by earth is individual, but several common solutions can be identified depending on the appearance, location on the terrain, and method of construction.

1. DUTCH HOUSE. The traditional and simplest version of an underground house. The most suitable terrain for construction is with a slight slope or flat, and the building can also be adjacent to a hill. Only the roof covered with soil is visible above the ground surface. With a rectangular plan, it is usually gable, but can be flat or vaulted. The entrance is arranged in the end wall, in front of which there is a pit with a canopy and steps leading down. Windows are built into the gables on the end walls; sometimes (for example, if the rear end is adjacent to a hill) windows are used built into the roof in the form of skylights or lucarnes. The house can only be one-story (with a higher number of floors, you get a regular building with a basement), its width usually does not exceed 6 m (this is determined by the possibilities of covering the span), and the length is arbitrary. The room can be divided into rooms, providing them with windows.

When constructing a dugout, a foundation pit is torn out, walls are installed around its perimeter to protect it from damp earth, as well as support structures for the roof, then the room is covered and the roof is covered with earth.

2. BEDED HOUSE. An option suitable for any type of terrain - flat area, slope, hilly area. The house can be slightly recessed, including completely above ground or combining underground and bunded parts. For example, a ground one can be “attached” to a hill, which will serve as a natural fence for part of the walls, and the remaining walls can be embanked (this is economical, since the volume of excavation work is reduced). It is possible to make a house of any shape in plan, multi-room, two-story, with windows oriented to several cardinal directions.

When building a bunded house, first, walls and a roof are erected in a pit of the required depth or on the surface of the earth. Enclosing structures must not only separate the premises from the ground, but also withstand soil pressure. Then the building is covered with earth, leaving vertical sections of the walls with windows and an entrance open.

3. HOUSE BUILT INTO A SLOPE. The parameters of such a dwelling depend on the steepness of the relief and the orientation of the slope. The steeper the slope, the higher the number of storeys.

Cheap, eco-friendly, fabulous... DIY house

Living spaces are usually illuminated from the side of the slope, while it is advisable to make the light front of the house as long as possible. During construction, as a rule, part of the slope is removed, building structures are erected and the landscape is returned to its previous state. If the stability of the soil allows, construction work can be carried out directly in the soil.

When the site is located near the top of a hill, the house can be a through tunnel with exits to opposite sides of the slope, which will expand the possibilities of lighting and ventilation of the premises. It can be constructed by directly penetrating the soil layer or by removing and refilling the top of the topography.

Architecture and interior

The architectural appearance of underground and bunded houses is significantly different from above-ground ones.

In addition to green walls and roofs, many of them are characterized by plastic, streamlined shapes of volumes. The structures that form them are often made of reinforced concrete, since it is able to withstand high pressure created by the mass of soil and effectively protect against water.

There are also differences in layout. Houses built into a slope often have an extended plan with a shallow depth of rooms - up to 6 m. Rooms that do not require daylight (bathrooms, storage rooms) can be located deeper underground, but their area will be small. Underground construction is characterized by the use of overhead lights, as well as light guides equipped with mirrors that launch the sun's rays deep into the earth. External walls are sometimes completely glazed. Large windows oriented to the south help not only better illuminate the house, but also accumulate heat. In order to improve lighting in the interior, translucent partitions are sometimes used to separate rooms, and surfaces are painted in light colors.

Walled houses can have a completely traditional plan. But there is another possibility - the rooms can be made not adjacent to each other, but connected by corridors (“underground passages”), which will increase the resemblance of the house to a “fox hole”. This is important if you need to isolate the premises as much as possible. In addition, you can form interior parts (tables, beds, etc.) from soil, finishing their surface with tiles, wood or other material, depending on the style of the interior.

Construction rules

When constructing underground and bunded houses, preference should be given to moisture-resistant materials. You can use ceramics, treated wood, suitable material is monolithic reinforced concrete. Aerated concrete, which absorbs moisture abundantly, should not be used. It is important to use high-quality waterproofing (the material depends on the specific conditions and construction technology). The embankment of the building is carried out with soil selected from the pit. To cover an above-ground house, you will need to bring a large amount of soil to the site.

The simplest and most widespread technology involves the construction of a house (both underground and embanked) using an open method. They dig a pit of the required depth and shape, 0.5-1 m larger than the dimensions of the building. Along the perimeter of the walls that will form the shell of the house, they make shallow foundation(its power depends on the size of the building, the design and material of the walls, and the planned thickness of the soil layer). The walls are made of bricks, wooden logs, concrete blocks, monolithic concrete. They may be thinner than those of a ground-based house, but when bunded they must withstand the pressure of the earth (half a brick or up to 10 cm of concrete). Supporting structure roofs can be mounted in the form of a rafter system with a frequent arrangement of rafters (for increased strength) and plank slabs. For brick or concrete walls worth doing a monolithic reinforced concrete floor and give the ceiling, which will become the roof of the house, a vaulted shape most effective in supporting the mass of the earth.

The outer shell of the house and the floor are waterproofed in a continuous loop. Thermal insulation is not required if the thickness of the soil layer protecting the structure is more than 1 m. As a rule, in the roof area the soil is laid in a smaller layer, so additional insulation has to be installed in the upper part of the house (preferably with extruded polystyrene foam, resistant to interaction with wet soil). Floors are laid on the ground, as in a regular house, with waterproofing, insulation, screed and topcoat being laid in succession.

To drain water from the walls, it is necessary to organize drainage. Drainage ditches located around the perimeter of the building (on a slope Special attention paying attention to the area above the house) and are taken to the area below the house. A drainage layer is also required in the thickness of the soil covering the house. It helps reduce water pressure on underground structures.

A more complex technology - closed construction - is used for the construction of underground houses on steep slope. It involves creating a cavity in the earth and carrying out work completely underground and requires the participation of specialists with experience in underground construction, the use of special equipment, and the creation of a soil-strengthening structure.

Engineering

The energy and water supply systems for bunded and underground houses are the same as in above-ground ones. There are differences in the ventilation device. It is necessary to take into account the vapor tightness of the walls and the risk of dampness (especially if there were errors in the installation of waterproofing - for example, the material turned out to be fragile and cracks formed). Therefore, in both bunded and underground houses (especially those oriented only to one side of the world and deprived of through ventilation), it is necessary to provide forced pressure supply and exhaust ventilation. The exhaust pipe openings are located under the ceiling, raising the pipe above the roof (if the house is large, there may be several of them). The inflow is made through special holes left in the entrance area at a height of half a meter from the floor. The volume of air exchange and the cross-section of the holes must be calculated by a specialist, and the first indicator is increased if appliances with an open flame, such as a stove, are used in the house. Fans are installed not only for exhaust, but also on the supply openings, providing a forced flow of air. The exhaust and supply must be equipped with dampers to regulate air exchange. It is also desirable that the windows can be opened. They will provide additional air flow, and when placed in the upper part of the house, for example on the roof, an exhaust hood.

In an underground house it is better to use electrical systems heating and water heating, it is profitable to equip the house solar collectors. Furnaces and boilers running on solid fuel are also possible (however, they increase the load on ventilation system). Using gas is dangerous.

When an underground recessed house is located on a flat terrain, difficulties may arise with the installation of a sewer system. If wastewater is generated at depth, it is not always possible to organize its gravity flow to the point of accumulation and the use of a pump will be required. It is advisable to avoid such a situation, as it places residents seriously dependent on the supply of electricity.

Therefore, the issue of sewerage installation should be taken into account when determining the depth level of the house. It should be deepened only to a level that allows gravity drainage to be installed.

Selection of waterproofing

The waterproofing option depends on a number of factors:

Material of walls and roof. Using stone materials Coating, roll, and plaster waterproofing are used. For concrete, the most effective is penetrating (injection) waterproofing, which creates a water-impenetrable barrier inside the wall.

Soil moisture. For dry soils, painting with two layers of hot bitumen is sufficient; for wet soils, it is better to apply roll materials in several layers (their number should be greater, the higher the water pressure on the surface).

Mechanical effects on waterproofing. In the presence of shearing forces (for example on inclined surfaces), you should not use bitumen and synthetic waterproofing materials, which are characterized by creep. For walls experiencing shear, tensile or high compressive stresses, as well as seismic loads, plaster waterproofing is most reliable.

Ground cover installation

The comfort and durability of an underground house largely depend on a correctly executed multi-layer soil system, which is actually its final enclosing structure.

The load-bearing horizontal part of the house (floor slab, roof) must have a slope to avoid stagnation of water in the soil and its further soaking. To protect the interior space of the home and structures from hypothermia, thermal insulation is installed, and then waterproofing, which has a long service life (20-50 years) and high strength. A drainage layer (made of expanded clay, fine gravel, coarse sand) is placed on top and protected from erosion by filter material (geotextile). For large slopes, it is convenient to use special synthetic mats or profiled membranes for drainage.

The soil above the house is poured in a layer of at least 30 cm, which is enough to create a lawn and flower bed. On inclined surfaces, overgrown roots will reliably hold the soil, but to immediately protect it from sliding, they usually use rolled lawn, and for slopes greater than 45° the surface is reinforced with a special mesh. The more massive the soil layer, the larger the plants can be planted, but you should always choose specimens with a surface rather than a tap root system.

It is also important to consider the irrigation system.

Fox hole (banked house, dugout)

The design and construction of in-ground dwellings is currently developing at a rapid pace, as it is one of the ways to reduce the dependence of residential buildings on a continuous supply of fuel. Previously, it was believed that mention of the possibility of building underground or buried dwellings could, due to a negative psychological reaction, cause a negative attitude towards any other similar ideas.

In fact, man has always turned to the earth to protect himself from the effects of unfavorable and extreme climatic conditions. Only the historically short era of accessible and cheap fuels has allowed us to build climate-independent homes and supply those homes with the energy we need to create comfortable conditions. Now that the availability of fossil fuels is dwindling and their prices are rising rapidly, it is time to reconsider the possibilities that the earth offers us.

We collect information on the site about the construction of fox holes and dugouts.

• Basements and cellars: how to build

  Outside the city you can’t do without a cellar and basement. Especially if you have your own vegetable garden (and you almost always have one on the site). I would like to save vegetables, pickles, and apples for the winter... Nice basement(cellar) is very important, and therefore its construction must be approached wisely.

  Everyone who is faced with the problem of long-term storage of large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables needs to build a cellar.

  Methods for storing fruits and vegetables outside the home: in earthen pits, piles, ice storage, in various types of cellars, etc.

• Bounded house

  The exceptionally hot summer of 2010 caused a lot of trouble for Russians. There was simply nowhere to escape from the heat. Personally, I took refuge in the basement of my own house, where there was quite comfortable temperature, which allowed me to sleep normally in a pleasant coolness. True, you won’t live in a semi-basement. Thoughts involuntarily came to mind: how to combine this comfortable temperature regime a semi-basement that is cool in summer and warm in winter, with the usual convenience of natural light in an ordinary home. Here, by the way, I remembered the project of the bunded house Fox Hole by B. Novoselov (House No. 10, 1999). The most significant disadvantages of this project are the lack of natural light and the need to ensure high-quality waterproofing of the house. Both are quite difficult to do using the proposed methods. Having slightly changed the specified design and applied modern materials, managed to solve these problems.

  I note that this is just a project, but I also used my personal experience when choosing some design solutions.

• Photo of the house and interior of the fox hole

  Photo sent by Dmitry Dorogov.

• Two solutions to the fox hole

  We will illustrate the design solutions for bunded buildings with two examples. These buildings are simple and economical. They can be compared to well-made, carefully insulated conventional buildings, although they cannot be considered perfect. The examples of solutions provided should not be considered optimal. Attention is drawn to the main features of the projects, which consider: firstly, architectural and planning solutions; secondly, issues of energy conservation; thirdly, economic characteristics according to local designers. Capital and operating cost issues are of paramount importance for the construction of in-ground dwellings.

• Bunkers

  The Great Soviet Encyclopedia says that a bunker is a shelter in German military terminology. Ours has a storage container. And when you see a modern American-style bunker, you begin to get lost in terms.

  Company: U.S. Bunkers (“American Bunkers”). Location: Miami, Florida. Occupation: “production of portable, aerodynamic, monolithic concrete structures for one single purpose - protecting and saving lives.”

  hobbit house

  Description: “You must see this.”

• Turf roof

  Photo of a turf roof, Norway. The technology is as follows: galvanized sheets, a mesh on top of them (to prevent the soil from rolling), then the top fertile layer (torn from the ground) or simply bulk soil, which is sown with anything.

• Fox hole in Altai region

  I built this structure this summer in the suburbs of Barnaul, Altai Territory.

  I haven’t finished the interior yet, so I’d like to know the latest developments in ventilation and heating.

  I also want to make a turf roof (I currently have roofing felt there).

  I would like to communicate with like-minded people.

• Fox holes around the world

• Earth houses by Peter Vetsch

  Information about this site (photos from which are presented below) was sent to us by Marina Zheleznaya.

  Very interesting projects earthen houses. Some of the photos are in the photo gallery below.

  All of them are located in Switzerland and some in Germany.

• Dugout and the problem of spring floods

  The most serious test for the dugouts was the spring flood. They could not stand this test - they were flooded. The presence of a slope and drainage did not guarantee dry dugouts. The conclusion is simple, to correct the situation you need to do drainage to the depth of the dug pit or raise the earthen floor. Neither the slope nor the hole under the pond saved the dugout from flooding. We had to raise the floor to ground level. At the moment this is a “roof on the ground”.