Thursday, March 25, 1999
Room With A View?--
ACU professor teaches benefits of earth house
By JERRY DANIEL REED
Senior Staff Writer
Ronnie McQueen isn’t in Kansas anymore, but he’d
still like to be protected from tornadoes and high winds.
On a more constant basis, though, he’s more interested
in protecting his family from creeping energy cost increases.
So the Abilene Christian University faculty member hopes one day
to build an earth-sheltered house for his family to protect against
the ravages of nature and against energy inflation.
McQueen, who teaches industrial technology courses including
energy power, will speak tonight at 7 p.m. in the ACU library
auditorium to like-minded enthusiasts. He’ll focus his presentation
on Eric and Cheryl Jepson’s earth-sheltered home just outside
of Buffalo Gap.
 |
| This underground house in
Buffalo Gap was the topic of a talk at ACU on energy-saving dwellings.
Contributed photo. |
“I like this house … I was interested in it because
of the solar aspects, the passive solar that they’re using,’’
he said. “The earth-sheltered home allows you to insulate
your house a lot better, and protect it from the winds.’’
The earth itself provides the insulation: just a few feet down,
the earth maintains a relatively constant temperature in the 50s,
professional earth-home builders say.
“Kansas had some really neat earth-sheltered homes. The
majority of the house is underground, but the main entrance up
above the ground,’’ he said.
McQueen, a former industrial arts teacher at Cooper High School,
lived near Pittsburg in eastern Kansas for about four years until
he moved his family back to Abilene at the beginning of the current
school year.
The even temperatures slash heating and cooling costs, while
a roof made mainly of earth-covered concrete rather than shingles
cuts maintenance and costs. There’s much less surface for
a hailstorm to batter, and no gutters to clean. You do have to
mow your roof regularly, however.
McQueen acknowledged that earth homes, as they’re often
called, do not lack their own special problems and challenges.
For one thing, they’re costlier to build than conventional
homes of the same size, quality and amenities. Some builders place
the premium at about 20 percent.
But skimping on costs is not an option because of the other
challenges. The owner wants a dry, clean-smelling home rather
than a dank, musty basement, so special care must be taken to
insulate the exterior properly to guard against leaks and condensation,
and to drain rainfall that hits the hillside earth covering.
Providing maximum natural light and protecting against fire
danger are both challenges for a home with most of its roof and
walls covered by concrete that is in turn covered by soil. Local
building codes typically require outside exits to bedrooms —
windows or doors — and minimum levels of natural lighting
via windows.
The city of Abilene’s building inspection staff has yet
to deal with an earth home, said Johnny Almaguer, assistant building
official.
“We don’t have anything in the code about that specifically,’’
he said. Variances from specific bedroom exit requirements could
be granted on a case-by-case basis and on fire-resistant construction
methods, he said.
McQueen said the Jepsons’ home, which the couple purchased
almost two years ago, boasts ample lighting in the front living-kitchen-dining
area, but that bedroom lighting falls short.
“It felt really like a dungeon,’’ he said.
The 1,600-plus square foot home was built in 1983, without
benefit of the recent advances in earth home construction.
On hindsight, McQueen said he would have added to the skylights
that provide such a nice effect for the living area and some for
the bedrooms as well.
Resale value of earth homes around here doesn’t look encouraging,
based on the very limited experience of the Taylor County Central
Appraisal District. The previous owner lost the Jepson house to
foreclosure, and the appraisal staff knocks 15 percent off the
appraised value of the home for economic obsolescence due to its
marketability problems, said Ralph Anders, chief operating officer
of the appraisal district.
Anders said that only three to five other earth homes are located
in the appraisal district, including some in southern Jones County
within the Abilene Independent School District. Another earth
home is located at View.
McQueen’s dream house would be at Potosi, though its construction
depends on a number of factors including the hoped-for sale of
the family’s previous home in Kansas, and his plans to work
on a doctorate at the University of North Texas.
“We found a great place on a hill,’’ he said.
“It has a great panoramic view of Abilene.’’
And the house would spare the McQueens from the heat-robbing
winds that are common in this area — and even even more so
in eastern Kansas.
“It blew down trees on just a windy day,’’ he
said.
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
Copyright ©1999,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
|
