Kash Hartz

10/17/2017
Period 2
Mrs. Chawkat
Annotated Bibliography
APA Citation:
Roy, Rob. "Earth-sheltered homes: these energy-efficient houses are bright, airy, dry and quiet." Mother
Earth News, Oct.-Nov. 2006, p. 112+. Professional Collection,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A173970522/GPS?u=glen20233&sid=GPS&xid=eb998e2b. Accessed
4 Feb. 2018.
Authority: Has written 8 magazine articles, 6 Academic Journals, and 1 book.
Currency: It was published in 2006 but, despite it being 12 years old much of the information is still
relevant seeing as not many changes have been taken into the field over the decade.
Accuracy: The information in this article can be corroborated with the site, “Energy.gov”, specifically
under the section, “Efficient Earth- Sheltered Homes”.
Coverage: The article was very detailed but, was restricted to the topic of insulation. Of course the
information was extremely relevant and helpful but, I wish it had talked about ways to farm energy.
URL:
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsTyp
e=SingleTab&searchType=SubjectGuideForm&currentPosition=26&docId=GALE%7CA173970522&do
cType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=GPS&contentSet=GALE%7CA173970522
&searchId=R8&userGroupName=glen20233&inPS=true

Notes:
● Earth Sheltering
○ Two independent thermal masses affect insulation
■ Mass of the earth (How much there is, the type of soil/ density of it)(Typically
hard to control so you can’t solely rely on it)
■ The mass of the building which we have massive control over (You can control
where and how much insulation to apply to your house)
○ Building a house 6-8 feet deep will result in a constant temperature ranging from 40- 60
degrees fahrenheit (depends on your regions particular climate)
■ This helps with using little to no air- conditioning or heating
■ You need insulation otherwise this constant temperature won't hold
● Pros of living roof
○ Provides longevity
■ By utilizing soil and plant life on top of the actual roof it reduces the effects of
ultraviolet radiation, erosion and freeze- thaw cycling
○ Provides Insulation
■ Having 3 to 4 inches of soil provides a decent amount of insulation not including
plant life
○ Provides cooling
■ Plants give shade and with the mixture of evaporation also provides cooling
○ Provides protection
 ■ The fact that you have the earth protecting you means your house is less
susceptible to fire, sound, radiation, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes
○ Provides Aesthetics
■ Having the ability to give natural life to your roof looks absolutely amazing
● Effective Building Techniques
○ When creating a strong structure use concrete and make walls roughly eight inches thick
with fiber-reinforced surface-bonding cement to give it extra support/ strength
○ Use heavy timber when creating framework
■ Use for roofs
○ Waterproofing and drainage
■ Use Neoprene or EPDM to provide sufficient waterproofing
■ When using membranes be sure to use backing paper so it doesn’t stick to any
unintended objects (Fairly cheap to use membranes)
■ You could use crushed stones and hay to create drainage which is effective but, is
fairly heavy and you don’t want to compromise the building integrity
■ You could also use tough nylon mesh with a pocket of air in between to direct the
path of water
● Constructing your roof
○ Having the perfect pitch allows the water to run off reliably while maintaining the earth
on top of the roof
■ Pitch: How slanted a roof or object is
○ Place a few layers of insulation over the planking and then create your drainage layer
■ Be sure to not add too much weight
○ Finally plant your desired flowers, grasses, etc. (make sure they don’t need a lot of soil
seeing as you’ll have about 3-4 inches of soil on your roof)

Annotated Bibliography:
The earth has been the greatest home to not just humans but, for animals since the beginning of
life on it. The earth’s caves have been used for shelters, its trees for shade, the lakes for cleaning and
drinking, it has provided everything we need. The magazine article, “Earth-sheltered homes: these
energy-efficient houses are bright, airy, dry and quiet”, by Rob Roy discusses how he exploited the earth
with some man made technologies to create one of the most resilient houses on the planet. When it comes
to creating earth sheltered/ bermed houses the main thing to consider is insulation, water drainage,
construction, and the benefits of it. Insulation is a massive part of any home but, this is especially true for
earth sheltered/ bermed homes. If you dig deep enough (only 6- 8 feet) you will encounter a constant
temperature that can be maintained year-round through all the seasons with proper insulation. On top of
this, it helps with repelling or isolating water from the interior of the house. Of course, who would want a
wet and swamp like house. Unfortunately, insulation is not enough to keep water out. It will eventually
build up and compromise your structure. Luckily, the solution to fixing water build up is water drainage.
If you don’t water you need to get rid of it. Usually this is done through cracks in crushed stone which
forces the water to travel down instead of in. This is also accomplished through having a material that
repels material but, is angled so it leads to an air pocket which then leads the water somewhere else
instead of your living room. Of course it easier said than done but, construction needs to take place in
order to create a house. The best materials to use for walls, frames, and support are concrete, any heavy
timber for the roof frame, and fiber-reinforced surface-bonding cement to make sure nothing breaks on
the job. Now this is only half of the puzzle when it comes to creating an earth-sheltered house but, it can’t
be done without it.
Rob Roy is the director of Earthwood Building School in West Chazy, N.Y., which he has
operated with his wife, Jaki, since 1981. It was published in 2006 but, despite it being 12 years old much
of the information is still relevant seeing as not many changes have been taken into the field of earth
bermed houses over the decade. The article was very detailed but, was restricted to the topic of insulation.
It went into a very detailed analysis of what you could use in order to create fantastic insulation and how
you could set it up but, it never discussed in detail about structural support in order to use insulation. Of
course the information was extremely relevant and helpful but, it should have tried to talk about ways to
farm energy since my topic of interest takes into account ways to farm energy as well as creating
relentless/ structurally sound houses. For the most part the information in this article is correct and
extremely useful to anyone designing earth bermed houses or anything massive amounts of insulation.
For example, they both talk about layering as much as possible to a degree where it will be massively
durable while trying not to weigh down the structure too much. It can be corroborated with the site,
“Energy.gov”, specifically under the section, “Efficient Earth- Sheltered Homes”, as well as, “My
Mother's House Part III: Waterproofing Our Earth Sheltered House”, and, “Formworks Buildings, Inc.”
This source was extremely objective. It provides all the correct information that is required in order to
have a menial understanding or a base understanding to creating a well insulated earth bermed house. It
goes into detail about what sources to use, why you should them, what their properties are, and how to
apply them.