Dream BOL

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Maybe it has a back door that bats fly in to, or bears hibernate in, and other creepy crawly things. I certainly wouldn't pay 2 million for a cave home (not that I have 2 million). It looks deluxe-ish, but I get cold chills just thinking about living in a cave.
There was a place in the southwest of TX near Alpine or Fort Davis a couple of years ago for sale. It was very beautiful, and seemed basically self-sufficient. Solar, decent underground water supply, and big, big house. Lots of stone work. It wasn't "Dallas" beautiful, just "out in the Texas desert rustic beautiful". I think it had been built for one of the scientists. Good bit of land and not another house in sight.
 
Yes, there's been some interest. One guy was ready to pull the trigger until he got quotes for elevators (both person and freight). Don't know if he's interested anymore.
Waiting for another group to come into town. They're working out the logistics to get their whole group here.
 
The cave uses geothermal for heat and cooling.
It does have humidity control and air handling. The floors are glazed not wet. On first thought it sounds like a good BOL until you find it is not far from a residential area in Arkansas. It is close to the New Madrid fault and "living" caves are not known for their stability. They don't talk about structural stability but if it has been made earthquake resistant and has a place for agro then it might be OK.
 
hiwall,
The finished face of the "cave" home is all windows and the interior is well lit. Mushroom mats like the dark and very moist conditions with acidic soil which is rarely found in caves. You could make mushroom beds and use it to treat human waste quite successfully. I would require more complete protein in my diet and a few quality veggies. A lot of the decision would be what the 256 acres looked like and the earthquake survivability of the home. Fire damage would likely be low and flooding and wind damage is unlikely unless the water running in the cave (there is a year round spring) increased too much. but if there was agro land in that 256 acres it might be viable with the exception of the nearby population. Population centers are a very real threat if any significant emergency presented itself.
 
The cave uses geothermal for heat and cooling.
It does have humidity control and air handling. The floors are glazed not wet. On first thought it sounds like a good BOL until you find it is not far from a residential area in Arkansas. It is close to the New Madrid fault and "living" caves are not known for their stability. They don't talk about structural stability but if it has been made earthquake resistant and has a place for agro then it might be OK.

I saw a similar cave house a few years back. They used drapes for a ceiling to keep the rock dust from getting on and in everything.
 
Perfect? No, but there is plenty to work with. I'd love it, except for the price. I want better security so a new door and windows. If there is a water problem then that'd have to be dealt with also.

Okay, fantasy time. Clear a very few acres for a garden and a range. Change the waterfall to include an overshot waterwheel for power. Excavate a large pantry. Install electronic surveillance and solar panels. Get Patchouli to train the bats for night guard duty.

This is setup for the current owners needs but it could be adapted for your needs. I just bought a lottery ticket. You're all welcome to come visit as soon as my numbers are drawn.
 
:LOL: no. It would be a nightmare.

Edited to add: Sorry, but I would not live in a cave unless my life really did depend on it. Chilly, damp, possibly radon unless you have a high quality air exchanger installed.
Plus, how would you escape if necessary?

It is supposed to stay comfortable year round inside. I doubt it is damp or chilly since it was a hotel at one time that rented rooms at 1200.00 per night. One of the pics of one of the bedrooms looked like it had an AC vent in the wall so I'm guessing there is heat and air. Has a stables and barn as well as an indoor waterfall.
 
I can't imagine needing AC in a cave.
Yes, I'll train your bats, @Caribou . Like someone else mentioned, earthquakes are possible. Not this place for me. I'll come visit tho.


I met someone once who was building his own underground homes by welding or wiring together geodesic domes out of rebar , covering the whole dome with chicken wire and then cementing over the whole thing. He built these domes into a hillside and interconnected a bunch of them with rebar/cement tunnels and then once completed back fill over them with dirt. He was living in it as he built on more and more. He said the one drawback is that you have to have air conditioning to draw out the moisture from humans breathing.
 
Dirt, soil, earthy clay, so different from rock.
I'm neither a cave troll, hobbit or dwarf.
For the right price, I'd live in a cave-like home if I wasn't going to get cancer from radon. If I was sure to have reliable power.
I know of some friends who built their home in the side of a hill. I need to pay them a visit.
 
Everybody dreaming to have their unique and beautiful houses, but I don’t think this is the right place to build a house this is not safe for you’re your family. This is a nightmare.
 
Oddly enough I have always wanted something very similar. Just a pipe dream. I have never thought out the practicality. You better have a great back up system for power. If the electricity goes out you will find a whole new meaning to the word dark.

IMHO your $2 Million could be much better spent somewhere else.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top