Granite dwelling Anyone????

[gsy]

Help !!!!  My spouse and I would like to build a hobbit type dwelling into solid granite.  Are we crazy or can this be done?  Is there anyone out there who's built a dwelling into rock?  I don't want to give up on the idea.  I'm counting on this forum. It's the closest I've seen yet.

Thanks   

[MountainDon]

  gsy.

When you state "into solid granite", you mean like a cave?

I've seen living quarters carved out of sandstone, one I've walked through the other only pictures. However sandstone is a much easier rock to work with. The one I walked through was made many years ago. It was blasted out like a mine, although the rooms have much higher ceilings than any mine I've been inside. But that was way back when dynamite was an easy thing to obtain anywhere out here in the west.

How do you propose to cut into the granite, or do you have your eye on some existing granite cave?

[Dustin]

 

You could do it, but why? It would be incredibly expensive to drill your own cave, it would be damp, cold, and hard to heat. Lighting would have to be all artificial.

If you want a underground hobbit-hole, plan for one with natural lighting, make it easy to heat, and cheap to build. You can also build it anywhere.

http://www.undergroundhousing.com/

Mike Oehler's book, $50 and Up Underground Housing books outlines this. Glenn K is an expert on the subject. Just take a look at his house pictures and notes here on the forum.  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

An interesting web site that looks like it uses a similar design to Mike Oehler's is this one:

http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

The picture on the front is what i think of when I envision a hobbit hole.

Cozy, warm, inviting, heated by a rocket stove.... mmm.

I plan on building one myself on my vacation spot in the wilderness once I finish my "city" house.

[gsy]

Hiya!!!  YEP that excatly what I mean.  But it's not an existing cave. We would have to dynamite and then create our own cave.  Are we CRAZY ??  Can it be done?    

[gsy]

I'll take a look at the sights you've suggested.  Thanks

[ScottA]

Go for it. Get a rock drill and some nitro and get after it. I'm sure homeland security will understand the explosives purchases when you you show them your plans. 

[MountainDon]

Are we CRAZY ??  Can it be done?     

There's an old hot rodders saying...

Anything can be done. Sometimes it just takes cubic money.

[gandalfthegrey]

If you need some reference material, try this articale in Mother Earth News ::

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/1980-07-01/A-20th-Century-Cliff-House.aspx
http://flickr.com/photos/95335585@N00/2419815362/

[glenn kangiser]

Good article, gandalf.

I don't know what blasting costs now.  I know of Dexpan - expanding grout that will break rock as an alternative.

I say --if you want to be crazy and are willing do whatever it takes - go for it.  Can it be done-- sure --

Would I do it?  Possibly.  I am considering a rock dwelling -- maybe a small one for a cool summer place.  I don't know if I'll ever get to it.  Please keep us updated --

Do you have land already with suitable rock?  Are you in a non-regulated area? -- seems permits could be next to impossible.

[BiggKidd]

That is one neat house. Thanks for posting it.

Larry

[gsy]

Have you located any sites or spoken to anyone who has actually created a rock dwelling?  We would of course have a liscensed explosive expert / contractor do it. We live in Arizona and these types of things are what we would consider normal. The reason why we're looking into this type of dwelling is that the property is on a solid granite mountain.  The view is breath taking.  None one around for miles.  The road from ground level (5,000 ft) and property is at 7,000 ft. All switch back road for 7 miles.  Did I say the view was breath taking and there is no one else around.  

We already live in the Kaiabab National Forest (7,000 ft) and are looking to escape that because of touristas from the valley.

We could of course probably buy an old mine but those are few and far between. Not always where you'd like to be.  We're more interested in the high pines not the high desert or valley.

[MountainDon]

some examples...



http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=3841.0

and...



http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=1248.msg27495#msg27495

[glenn kangiser]

We stayed in a cave house in France and many of the houses in that little town and the surrounding river valley were cave dwellings, many in use for many hundreds of years.

Barbara and Bernard have a web page now -- we stayed there.

http://www.bandbcave.com/

I managed to smoke the cave up with the stove -- built the fire too fast and didn't allow the flue going up through the ground to warm up.

Bernard came down and showed me how.  Their cave is right above the B&B. 

The cliffs there are limestone.

[mvk]

Used to be one of my fantasy's. I mined for a while ran a heading which means drilled and blasted a tunnel. I was expected to drill 40 or so 1 1/2" holes 8' deep and pack them with dynamite per 8 hr shift which was about 6.5 working hrs counting getting in and out and lunch.  usually got my round done. We would shoot at end of shift and then the 2nd shift would muck it out (clean it out with a front end loader). That was at the climax molybdenum mine. in CO We used a jack-leg drill which was a hydraulic leg on a rotary drill like a jackhammer about a 110lbs. I'm a Idiot, I'm a idiot! Wonder why I have back problems! Guess if you hired out wouldn't have to worry about that.

I still think about it. I could never do it now to old.  Where I live now in NH there are a lot of old granite quarries used to dream about having a shaft down below water level with a window underwater, with a pool table and feed trout out some kind of tube.

Depending on where you are at you could have water problems and don't no how you would insulate it and rock is cold you will radiate your body heat to it just like those old stone castles.

If you got the bucks and want to do it, go for it, your kids/grand kids could charge admission someday or maybe have a bed and breakfast.

Mike   

[gsy]

   Thanks to all those who've replied to my post.  I guess we're not really all that crazy after all.  Apparently it's crossed many people's minds.  Keep your responses coming.  Oh Yeah, and thanks for all the pic's and web sites.

gsy  (george, Sharon & Yogi)

[glenn kangiser]

Oh, you're crazy alright.  It's just that there are a few more around too. 


Interesting though -- crazy people are interesting.  I hope this craziness continues and you post your progress here.

Thanks for posting your experiences, Mike.  That sounds interesting to me.  I'm crazy enough to dig with pick and shovel for 8 hours straight just to prove I can still find a bit of gold in a few places and I'm old too.

[mvk]

Glen
I'm still crazy enough to help you. I used to live out that way, may have mentioned it, around Sacramento. Did some work around Fresno.  Never really got the gold bug but would hang out with people that did. Little further north, headwaters of the Yuba, Feather, and Sacramento, used to be into fishing. Like to explore old mines and mills though. Sure do miss that part of the country, but then I miss most of the west. Don't really understand how I ended up here? Well I really do but we've been together for along time!
Mike

[glenn kangiser]

When you are out this way, drop in Mike.  We'll dig a hole for you.

We still have a house 17 miles west of Fresno -- Sassy stays down there when she works every other week.

I try to stay out of the big cities except for work.  People there tend to get on my nerves.  Individuals are fine.  It's the riff-raff that gets to me...graffiti, hoodlums , druggers ...people living with no useful purpose.