Semi underground house build

Monica Truong wrote:This is so cool! But I'm having trouble understanding what is what since the pics don't have any description. Any chance you could label them?

Adam Mercer wrote:

Monica Truong wrote:This is so cool! But I'm having trouble understanding what is what since the pics don't have any description. Any chance you could label them?

Yes. If you can tell me how to label them. I did it on the first photograph but I'm only learning how to use this

John F Dean wrote:Click onto “Set Caption” on the bottom of the frame of each picture.  That should work for all but the first 2 pictures.

Michael Helmersson wrote:That sounds fun. You've certainly got a lot of building materials to work with at the best price possible.

Adam Mercer wrote:The back and sides are underground except for the top three feet of the back wall. Would the back wall be the best place to build a stove and have an air vent?

Glenn Herbert wrote:The smaller of the roof beams you show look suitable only for a very light roof. Even tiles plus insulation and ceiling materials would likely overload them and make them flex (ceiling cracking) if not break eventually.

John C Daley wrote:Adam, can I can I ask why you went for demolition?
Also, if you go the green roof path, the structure will need to be very strong and allow for the weight of sodden soil and plant matter.
The concept is great, the execution may be hard.

John C Daley wrote:Adam, can I can I ask why you went for demolition?
Also, if you go the green roof path, the structure will need to be very strong and allow for the weight of sodden soil and plant matter.
The concept is great, the execution may be hard.

Jane Mulberry wrote:

John C Daley wrote:Adam, can I can I ask why you went for demolition?
Also, if you go the green roof path, the structure will need to be very strong and allow for the weight of sodden soil and plant matter.
The concept is great, the execution may be hard.

John, I am guessing the top level was already semi-demolished on its own, and Adam just collected up the building materials and tidied it up. Bulgaria is full of cheap abandoned old houses left to decompose. Most have at least one semi-underground room, which was the old root cellar and storage room. We have a ruin up the hill behind our house, made of stone, which would have been a fine old house in its day. The cellar is intact, but the roof is collapsed along with most of the upper floor walls above window sill level. I would love to have a go at rebuilding something there, though I doubt it will ever happen as the main house and garden will keep me plenty busy enough! But if rebuilt, a semi-underground design like Adam's would work best as it's very windy up there. I'm guessing that's why the old house was originally abandoned. maybe even lost the roof in a gale. They built a newer house in the 1950s further down the hill which is much more sheltered.

Adam, it's a fascinating project and a lot of work! I look forward to seeing how it progresses. Our part of Bulgaria has been exceptionally dry this summer, too, after a very wet spring. Does your well still have water? The water table has dropped too low in my village and all the wells are dry. And yes, those old black locust beams are amazing. So strong for a diameter that looks way too thin to support much weight!  Over a short span (with a bigger support beam or two running widthways across the house, and far more closely spaced than in the original roof, they might do the job. Depends how much soil you intend to use on your green roof. Maybe lots of perlite in the soil to lighten the load?

Jane Mulberry wrote:They didn't strip the bark from the black locust beams in my house (late 50s construction date), the only stripped beam is a big one I think is pine, so my guess is it doesn't effect the longevity. If they'll be exposed, you might want to strip them to stop bits of bark falling off or just for appearance. And if you want to dry the wood first, I think it would dry faster if stripped.

Are the beams in your house stripped?

Jane Mulberry wrote:I'm grinning for you, Adam! Those beams sound amazing!

Adam Mercer wrote:Gotta love these communist era handmade cob brick built houses. Such a shame they are falling into disrepair unless someone puts a hat back onto them.