Terra-Dome Earth Shelter Build

[MarkV]

Steve, thanks for the photo's. I've been interested to see more of a finished Terra-Dome project. This isn't a type of construction I have any experience at so it has been fun to follow Sam's and your project.

I was wondering if you had any issues with the banks or insurance companies? Sometimes systems they are not familiar with can cause problems.

MarkV

 

[KubotainNH]

I've been remiss in not posting these earlier. We moved in June, stuff is gradually settling into place.
Steve
Maine

That's pretty cool, thanks for posting. I'm not sure if I could deal with that much concrete exposed, do some people add drywall to the inside? I'd hate to get the hammer drill out to hang up a picture Just curious if sounds echo more inside there? The planning must be critical for things like electrical, plumbing and media cabling.

 

[sajurcaju]

Must be wood? Our metal doors are perfect-o. From HD, not sure what brand.

Fiberglass.

 

[sajurcaju]

Steve, thanks for the photo's. I've been interested to see more of a finished Terra-Dome project. This isn't a type of construction I have any experience at so it has been fun to follow Sam's and your project.

I was wondering if you had any issues with the banks or insurance companies? Sometimes systems they are not familiar with can cause problems.

MarkV

That is certainly a concern. Many banks just resell the mortgage (leading to the "mortgage mess" just starting to show up in mainstream news, blogs have been all over it); this is not the best place to get a loan on unconventional construction. Not saying it can't be done, but harder. Local, smaller banks resell mortgages, but they also keep some--these are called portfolio mortgages. The trick here is finding a good rate, most banks charge a higher % rate for portfolio loans. We found that Gorham Savings here in Maine was not only interested in our house as a portfolio loan, they also keep the portfolio % rate competitive with national rates, maybe 1/4 or 1/2% higher (a lot of banks are 1% or more additional). We have a pretty good credit rating, I'm sure that helped.

The cycle is pretty standard for new construction--you start with a construction loan at a higher than market rate. Once the house is done, you either refinance or the loan rolls over into a conventional mortgage.

Insurance was a lot easier the first time around. We talked about construction and they decided it fit in the masonry category. You need to use the right language--earth sheltered is a lot better term than underground. Some agents did worry about liability from mold, thinking these houses would be dank and dark.

The problem we had with insurance was construction taking longer than 12 months (something like 18). I had an awful time finding a company that would offer builder's risk insurance (required by the bank, no choice there) for a project that ran over 12 months. We finally found an agent who would and promptly moved all of our insurance to him. Allstate, but I don't know if it was this particular agent or the company that made it work out. Perseverance is required.

Steve

 

[sajurcaju]

That's pretty cool, thanks for posting. I'm not sure if I could deal with that much concrete exposed, do some people add drywall to the inside? I'd hate to get the hammer drill out to hang up a picture Just curious if sounds echo more inside there? The planning must be critical for things like electrical, plumbing and media cabling.

I don't remember what Sam is doing for wall covering, I'm sure he'll chime in. What we did was to get the concrete skim coated with plaster. Interior walls were done in blue board (plaster rather than gypsum (drywall) I guess). The blue board also got skim coated, so it all looks the same. You have to do something, you can imagine how it looks right out of the forms.

I'm learning a lot about concrete fasteners.

With all concrete, there was a lot of echoing before we had any interior walls. The resonances were really astounding. Way better than singing in the shower. I was a little concerned about this, but with interior walls, books, etc. the acoustics damped down. We've ended up with slightly lively acoustics, pretty nice.

The house infrastructure we had lots of help on from Terra Dome's designer. We rearranged a few things in the house. Where I spent a lot of sweat worrying about was electrical in the shop. I have a lot of stationary machinery that I had to figure out where it went. On the other hand, I can always run surface mounted conduit in the shop, where that wouldn't fly as well in the house.

Steve

 

[SamWalton]

As for finishing interior walls we will be using a Permacrete basic two part matrix compound or equivalent product. This type of product is pricey it will resist mold and will not re-emulsify. It also seals or water proofs the walls.
We completed the third zone in the two bedroom modules and install all the rebar except in the area of the plenum.

 

[jinman]

Sam, you must be really excited everytime you walk inside your house. You aren't walking on dirt or even gravel anymore. Don't you worry a bit about leaving and having the place subject to vandalism? With all that PEX down, I'd be worried to death until it got buried in concrete. It sure is a great looking job.

Oh yes, I noticed on your plans that you have only one bath. That seemed unusual to me and you may have already addressed this in this thread, but with all your space and bedrooms, I'd have expected at least a 1/2 bath or powder room in addition to the main bath.

EDIT: I went back and looked closer. I see you have a toilet and shower in your laundry room/mud room off the garage. That will help tremendously, but still all bedrooms will have only one bath to use.

 

[SamWalton]

Sam, you must be really excited everytime you walk inside your house. You aren't walking on dirt or even gravel anymore. Don't you worry a bit about leaving and having the place subject to vandalism? With all that PEX down, I'd be worried to death until it got buried in concrete. It sure is a great looking job.

Oh yes, I noticed on your plans that you have only one bath. That seemed unusual to me and you may have already addressed this in this thread, but with all your space and bedrooms, I'd have expected at least a 1/2 bath or powder room in addition to the main bath.

EDIT: I went back and looked closer. I see you have a toilet and shower in your laundry room/mud room off the garage. That will help tremendously, but still all bedrooms will have only one bath to use.

We are all very excited about our progress and that we are close to having a real floor. We have concerns about security so we have limited insurance and invested in securing the property. We are interviewing concrete finishers and hope to pour very soon. As for our bath arrangement, I understand most would have a master but we choose to keep it simpler with just two. We struggled with the floor plan but opted to have the dryer against an outside wall. I have spent a lot of time cleaning the lint from those long vent pipes which also strain the efficiency of the dryer itself. We believe the dryer will go away when the grid goes down and like the smell of line dried clothes anyway.

We completed installing all wire ties and chairs in the bedroom area with exception to the utility room. We must complete dressing in all radiant floor loops before installing the rebar here. We installed two more PEX loops in the great room. We have one more in the kitchen and that will completed all eight zones of radiant floor heat.

 

[KubotainNH]

I don't remember what Sam is doing for wall covering, I'm sure he'll chime in. What we did was to get the concrete skim coated with plaster. Interior walls were done in blue board (plaster rather than gypsum (drywall) I guess). The blue board also got skim coated, so it all looks the same. You have to do something, you can imagine how it looks right out of the forms.

I'm learning a lot about concrete fasteners.

With all concrete, there was a lot of echoing before we had any interior walls. The resonances were really astounding. Way better than singing in the shower. I was a little concerned about this, but with interior walls, books, etc. the acoustics damped down. We've ended up with slightly lively acoustics, pretty nice.

The house infrastructure we had lots of help on from Terra Dome's designer. We rearranged a few things in the house. Where I spent a lot of sweat worrying about was electrical in the shop. I have a lot of stationary machinery that I had to figure out where it went. On the other hand, I can always run surface mounted conduit in the shop, where that wouldn't fly as well in the house.

Steve

Ah, that makes sense. These houses are pretty neat. Good luck to you both.

 

[SamWalton]

Over the weekend we installed the eighth radiant zone in the kitchen. We were very close to running out on the second 1200 foot roll. We began installing the steel on the great room but had to put our focus on the plenum area where it would only take one wrong step on the plastic to destroy it. I laid out a grid of rebar and welded it all. Then we wire tied it into the original 2 by 2 grid. No chance on putting any weight on the plenum. We will have a wood stove on top of this area so this extra steel can't hurt. We will finish the steel in the great room and kitchen and a single zone local to the stove in the garage and rebar over the upcoming holiday week end. I think we will be ready to pour the whole floor at once after that.