One thing for sure, I definitely did not originate the concept....Ancient history documents that earliest man lived in a variety of caves and caverns.......Complete cities were built underground in parts of China around the 14th century....Sod homes were constructed on the prairies of this country during the early 1800’s, and today there is ”Underground Atlanta”, a section of Atlanta, Georgia that  houses shopping and entertainment centers...Many industrial sites are now being built underground ....Don't forget the extensive Government complexes hidden away in the hills.........

So, the origin of Earth Sheltered dwellings goes back to the beginning of mankind, and the advanced  technology of today makes the concept a very reasonable alternative to the standard stick built, block and mortar home.

Today in 2018, it is estimated that there are over 100,000  private underground structures in the USA alone.  Most are using the constant temperature of the earth as a primary source to heat and cool their living areas.

Many of these homes take advantage of Mother Earth for the safety and security, especially from tornados...Regardless of the reason, the earth has been a great provider, is today and always will be.........

The stimulus that triggered my desire to build this structure was very basic.  In 1976, a gas shortage was in full bloom.  I had just spent 3 hours waiting in line to buy my ration of gas for our car. Heating oil was also rationed

Watching the nightly news, I saw a brief news story of a man building a make shift living quarters in the entrance of an old coal mine in West Virginia....Being a Project Engineer/Contractor by profession, the idea seemed to have real merit in todays world.

Patio and garage door

To cut the story short,  I couldn’t stop returning to the idea and that the concept was workable, especially if engineered and constructed to contemporary standards...Thus began a period of investigation, design and planning that lasted many months.

As fate played its part, a realtor showed us a parcel of land that was available because it was a steep overgrown hillside, making it a difficulte location to build a conventional home..... It took me 10 minutes to say "this is the place"....

That was mid 1978.  Two months later the project was under way and today it is still being fine tuned, or in Engineering jargon,.... tweeked.