Bare concrete floors inside the house

[cstocks]

I hear you, theboman. I have to stand and walk on concrete and asphalt for twelve hours at a time at work but like dmmcarty pointed out, home is for sitting not standing. We would not have a concrete floor in the kitchen, which is where most of the standing would be. We might go with a Pergo type floor there. Pergo is hard but at least it has a little cushion underneath the flooring. Carpeting would be the softest choice of flooring but neither my wife nor I want it throughout the house. Too easy to get dirty and a pain to maintain. Carpet will go in the bedrooms only.

Concrete flooring has an appeal to use because we are looking to save a few bucks on construction cost. If going this route can save us some money it will be a viable option. Otherwise, we probably will go with conventional flooring throughout the house.

 

[wallysue]

My earth shelter home has ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathrooms over concrete. The builder put the under floor forced air ducts down the middle of the kitchen and baths so the floor warms up some and is not cold. There is no insulation under the slab so the floor helps with the cooling load. It's in Omaha NE so there is heating and cooling needed. Wally

 

[cstocks]

Wallysue,

What is an earth shelter home?

 

[theboman]

Asphalt don't bother me, it's that concrete aches me so.
Concrete floors covered don't bother me unless I have to stand a lot and then it's like it draws energy from my knees.

 

[Ozarker]

Earth shelter homes are like basement homes only bigger and nicer. Some are built into hills and some, like my friend's, are built on level ground and then dirt is bermed and landscaped around 3 sides. They are very energy efficient.


http://www.liquefaction.com/berm/

 

[wallysue]

CS, here is an image of my earth home. The franchise it was built under is Terradome out of Missouri. Wally
Link www.terra-dome.com

 

[bgott]

WOW, man!!! Looks like it's time to clean your gutters, eh? They're full clear over the top of your house!!! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[cstocks]

Isn't there supposed to be a goat staked out on the roof?/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

I checked out a couple of websites linked to the site Ozarker gave.... very interesting concept. I bet your heating and cooling bills are low. Is soil erosion (roof erosion?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) ever a problem?

 

[wallysue]

Well actually I'm glad there are no more gutters to mess with and it's not as steep as the image shows. On top there is a battle between crown vetch and brome grass with the brome winning slowly. The vegetation on the roof is part of the insulation scheme for built in shade and holding snow cover. For a year it's about 600 gallons of propane and I have had a $98 electric bill in the summer. The living space is 1568sf and a 28 ft square garage.

 

[cstocks]

Crown vetch and brome grass... not familiar with either of those. Did you plant both/either?

Yeah, I had a $98 electric bill in my old, leaky mobile home this summer... in one week!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif That is one of many reasons why I am so anxious to get my new house built.