Our Hobbit Hole.Com

Dallas · Joined: 30 Jun 2007 Posts: 15 Location: Oregon

I think Log Rhythms, Inc., my design company is going to go ahead and design a hobbit home...with or without permission from the Tolkein Lawyers. Of course we can't call it "Hobbit" because that is an infringement on copyright. So from here on out it will be called "earth sheltered", people sized, built to code, practical, and not in-expensive. Our goal will be to take a flat piece of ground and build or at least design (including virtual walk-thrus) of a comfortable earthsheltered home. No short-cuts, goofy glass bottled walls, un-likley energy sources....none of that. Something that is totally cool...and works! And works for a long time. for me that means access to utilities, ease of maintanence, appreciation, quality building materials, and quality art and craftsmanship.

Okay, the gauntlet it thrown.... I will keep you posted of developements. If you have any thoughts about basic design, materials, considerations, pitfalls.....let me know.

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 34

I think the easiest way to get a quick and dirty hobbit hole would be to bury large inter-connected pieces of concrete pipes. I mean using huge water-drainage pipes that are 15 feet or more in diameter in various shapes, then sealing them together with pitch to make them water-tight and burying them underground. Then once the outer shell is completed, building a more cozy wooden interior. I'd probably want to build bookshelves and storage into the curved walls on the side, and a curved wooden ceiling to preserve the rounded shape.

Building a raised wooden floor with trapdoor access would allow you to run all your interior plumbing and wiring in the bottom curved portion of the pipe afterwards with easy access while creating a flat floor. You could probably even heat the air in the enclosed conduit so the floor would be warm and put in vents so the heat could rise up to warm the living quarters above.

I guess the main question would be how difficult it would be to cut the concrete piping, and figuring out how well structural integrity would be maintained depending on how many cuts you make for windows, doors, and skylights. I'd want a full lawn on top of the dirt covering the pipe to prevent erosion, but you'd probably have to be careful to keep trees or anything with strong root systems from developing, or they might crack the cement eventually.

Anyone else have ideas for a simple main structure?