How come more people don't build homes underground?

[Brutuskend]

I can think of MANY advantages to this.
Quiet.
Never have to paint.
Never too hot or too cold, so you save BIG on heating and AC.
Major space savings. You could build your garage right on top of your house. I'm thinking you could just have a elevator in the garage to take you down to your living space.
Security against break ins!
Security against storms!
Never any broken windows.
Privacy!

On the other hand, I can think of very few downsides to this...
Only one that comes to mind is sewage disposal. But I'm sure there is a way to over come this.

 

[KLin]

downside #1: too much damn digging.

 

[aircooled]

I like the idea. but, excavation costs must be pretty high.

 

[luckysnafu]

no natural light would make you depressed after a long time...better put some skylights in there or some way to get sunlight down there...

 

[mobobuff]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODING. Unless you buried it in a mountain side or the top of a very large hill.

 

[Cobalt]

Pressure?

 

[Yossarian]

so you want to live in a hobbit hole?

 

[SpunkyJones]

Cost? Windows/Lighting?

 

[otispunkmeyer]

the whole day light thing....you'd have to spend more on lighting and therefore electricity to light your home. a room lit with natural light makes you feel much better than a room artificially lit

 

[PunDogg]

for the flooding problem, if you build a good drainage system, and now they make specila bulbs orginally made for countries near the artic circle(6 months out of the year they have darkness) that can be like natural sunlight, helps your body make vit D

Dogg

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: luckysnafu
no natural light would make you depressed after a long time...better put some skylights in there or some way to get sunlight down there...

There is a solution to this as well. Fiber optics with a collector to funnel natural light down to your home.

 

[Doggiedog]

One word:

Molemen

 

[K1052]

http://www.missilebases.com/

I'd like the Titan I silo complex, plenty of space.

 

[aircooled]

Natural light can be brought in through those light tubes.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Flooding could be a problem.

Depression might be another. Who wants to live in a cave?

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: K1052
http://www.missilebases.com/

I'd like the Titan I silo complex, plenty of space.

hehe, there was one of these on EBAY a wile ago, a Titan Missle bace IIRC in the NW someplace, we thought of getting all of OT to buy it but the idea floped

 

[otispunkmeyer]

would the effects of an earthquake be greater or would they be diminished?

 

[MetalMat]

dont let the HOA get a hold of your idea.

 

[Trygve]

I always thought it was a great idea. It'd be really cool to have a house built into a mountainside as well.

One "compromise" idea that I'd thought of when I was little was to build it into the top of a hill with a hole in the middle and an open courtyard at the bottom. That'd give you light and ameliorate the flooding and drainage problems (by being built into a hill), but you'd still have the advantages of insulation, etc.

 

[BlamoHammer]

Originally posted by: Trygve
I always thought it was a great idea. It'd be really cool to have a house built into a mountainside as well.

One "compromise" idea that I'd thought of when I was little was to build it into the top of a hill with a hole in the middle and an open courtyard at the bottom. That'd give you light and ameliorate the flooding and drainage problems (by being built into a hill), but you'd still have the advantages of insulation, etc.

Props on the well placed use of "ameliorate".

 

[zerocool1]

Originally posted by: mobobuff
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODING. Unless you buried it in a mountain side or the top of a very large hill.

then you wouldn't be a man you'd be hobbit or a dwarf

 

[CPA]

Where the hell would I park my car? Would the garage be underground too? What about a pool? wouldn't it kind of look funny to have a pool out there with no house visible? You wouldn't be able to keep track to make sure none of the pesky neighbor kids came over an drown in your pool. Would there still be a need for privacy fencing?

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
One word:

Molemen

No. Morlocks.

 

[Modeps]

erosion. natural light.

 

[Staples]

No windows so the house is prone to stench and darkness.

Flooding.