The Bailey Berm House
A Look Inside
December 4, 2003
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It is my goal to make this cabin a rustic yet refined retreat from the rigors of our island home at the Texas Coast. In this sketch of the living room, you can see the fireplace and the clear-story windows that will help to warm the place in the winter. The ceiling will be drywalled between the rafters. The walls (not shown correctly) will only go up 8 feet. This will leave a large open space in the vaulted roof. The open space is to help the place seem larger and allow light from the clear-story windows shine into the back rooms. The bedroom should have good natural light. The bathroom presents another problem. Humidity is a problem in underground homes, so the walls will extend to the ceiling keeping the steam from showers confined to be vented. However, to allow sun light into this room, we will install a large single pane window facing the clear-story windows. I wanted the living room to be as open as possible. You can see the 'Y' posts in the kitchen and in the third sketch that shows the profile of the posts holding up the peak of the roof and the clear-story windows. I hope the engineer will approve this. The openness of the room will give it a great feel. The profile of the cabin shows how high the ceiling will be in relation to the whole size. There is more detail on the windows at the top. The summer sun will shine down at about 13 degrees. A 15 to 18 degree overhang will keep the sun out in the summer months. This will help the temperature be bearable. The winter sun will shine at about 59 degrees. That sun will shine directly into the window, contributing to the warmth of the cabin. It is gets too warm, shutters can be closed or ventilation of air will moderate the temperature. That is the carport to the left on the profile sketch. It will be sunken about five feet with access ramps on either side. This will make it a drive through structure. One concern is the ice and snow that may form on the ramp in the winter. It would be nearly imposible to get out without further measures. The heated water in the 'basement' will warm the ramps and floor of the carport. The melted snow and ice will drain into trenches filled with gravel that go all the way around the floor of the carport. The bottom of these drains will be lines with heavy polyethylene to catch the water and force it into perforated drain pipes that will carry the water down the hill and away from the cabin. |
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