Earth sheltered/bermed construction

[GlueGuy]

Final pic number 282. This was taken from another 50 or so feet back. There's a small vinyard on the west side of the building. The people in the pic are the architect, his wife, and my sweetie.

 

[GlueGuy]

Re: Earth sheltered/bermed construction: House #2

This house was built in the early 80's, and is still not quite "finished". In addition, it has been somewhat neglected, since the original owner/builder passed away several years ago. None-the-less, you get a pretty good idea of the earth sheltered concept. This home has only about 1' of earth on top, and is considered sufficient "earth sheltering" for the mild climate where it's located (just a little north of Vacaville).

This is another diagram as before. You'll note that this building is actually composed of three separate structures. Coming up the driveway, the garage is on the left, the shop and storage building is on the right, and the house is in the rear. I didn't marke this drawing for orientation, but the house is on the south side, and the outbuildings are on the north side, so the drawing is upside-down from conventional. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

This structure was poured concrete, with brick and stone facing. The roof is similar to the first one, but the engineered trusses (all wood) are 24" tall, and is approximately a 24' clear span. Above the brick and stone, the overhang was built with redwood, and has a copper facing (looks real nice up close, and should last a lifetime).

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 283. This was taken out by the road looking at the north side. The driveway curves into the courtyard area, and can be seen on the right side of this picture. You really can't see the structure, but can see the owner's pickup truck near the courtyard.

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 284. Taken right behind the pickup seen in the distance in the previous photo. From here you can see the courtyard. The garage is hidden behind the berm on the left. The berm on the right goes over the storage area, and up underneath some clearstory windows on the shop. What looks like a pergola is actually an entryway cover.

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 285. This is in the courtyard looking at the corner between the storage "shed" and the shop. The owner was a contractor, and specialized in using exotic woods that he bought in bulk. He used the storage shed as a drying room for the wood. The shop is pretty big; at least 30x30.

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 286. This is taken near the middle of the courtyard. On the right is the corner of the shop again. Straight ahead is the house. There is a pathway going around to the right between the shop and the house. The entryway cover is on the left, and the garage is outa site on the left.

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 287. This was taken a little to the left of #286. The garage is still outa site (behind the berm), but you can see the steps leading up to the house.

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 288. This was taken standing in front of the shop. The planter in the foreground is a divider between the driveway and the walkway that runs between the shop and the house.

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 289. This was taken at the west end of the walkway between the shop and the house (that's my sweetie standing there /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. The white door-like thing is a shutter over the door (window?).

 

[GlueGuy]

Pic number 290. This is taken at the extreme west end of the walkway between the shop and the house, looking straight-on at the berm going up this side of the house. That's my sweetie and the architect standing over by the berm.