Anybody know about Earth Shelters?

[Chris Peterson]

Hello! I need to get in contact with an inspector in Western Washington that has experience with Earth Shelters, or homes that are built into a berm. Please respond if you or someone you know in Western Washington has experience with these types of dwellings.

Thanks!

[Nick Gromicko]

Kenton does.

He wrote http://www.nachi.org/evaluating-alte...g-methods.html

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Chris, there are no courses to qualify inspectors to inspect earth-sheltered homes. The article is a good place to start. If the home was built in an area in which it was inspected by a building department then you have an advantage, especially if it was built recently, like in the last 10 years, because there's a good chance there will be plans on file.

If it was built in the 70's, inspection by building departments was sometimes less common and a lot of people had great ideas about building using alternative methods that didn't turn out to be so great, so try hard to look at the home from a hard, neutral viewpoint rather than a romantic, emotional one.

[Chris Peterson]

Thank you! Very helpful