Birds breed their offspring in nests. In this respect, animals are not much different from them. They dig holes, use natural shelters, simply find secluded and safe places where no one will disturb them.

The fox, whose life is closely connected with the hole during the period of breeding, does the same. To arrange it, the animal chooses remote places, far from human habitation. The main condition is safety for the cubs. And all this despite the fact that ordinary life The fox does not react at all to human proximity. She often visits his home, breaks into chicken coops and steals poultry.

The fox behaves completely differently during the brood period. She goes to remote places, inaccessible to humans, and builds her hole there. Preference is given to lowlands and ravines, densely overgrown with bushes, located in close proximity to rivers and reservoirs. It is in such places that you can easily hide from predators and avoid meeting people. The burrow can also be located in a clearing located in close proximity to dense bushes or forest thicket. The main thing is that two conditions are met - good review and maximum safety.

Recently, humans have begun to actively invade the animal’s natural habitat. Today, fox holes can be found near human habitation, and even near highways. This has never happened before. Animals simply have nowhere to go, and they lose their vigilance. All this leads to a sharp reduction in their population. Fox cubs become victims of predators; they simply do not have enough food due to the reduction of hunting grounds. In this regard, the density of fox holes also decreases. If previously the population of fox holes was at the level of 80%, today it does not exceed 30%. The situation, frankly speaking, is becoming critical. In addition, as a result of human economic activity, most fox holes used by animals for a long time are destroyed.

As for the animal itself, it does not use holes and other natural shelters in winter. It can rest right on the snow. In this case, the bedding area should have a good view, and be located near dense bushes, in which you can quickly hide in case of danger. Often such beds are arranged under a thick tree, among tall dry grass, in dense bushes. In the summer, thanks to its camouflage color, the fox becomes completely invisible against the background of the surrounding landscape, making it easier for it to hide from predators and avoid meeting people. At the first appearance of a person or agricultural machinery, the fox lying in the field immediately retreats.

I’m guilty of copy-paste, I really liked the article.
Our settlement is truly famous for its fox holes. And even in addition to the “official” name Rodniki, the options Lisenorsk and Norouralsk were proposed. But we can boast more about the number of holes than about the creative originality of the projects (although in the future, convinced burrowers - I am sure - will show the wonders of architecture. Projects for 8-sided and round fox holes are already being hatched). It so happened historically that the three currently inhabited holes were built in order to get a finished home as soon as possible, spending little money.
In addition to these 3 inhabited heated holes (Nina Ivanovna Fetkulova, Nadya Rubtsova, Tanya Skomarokhova) there are 2 already filled in, but without interior decoration and without a stove, and (Volodya Simakhin and Andrei Beloborodov) another 1 small (2.5x2.5 m) adapted under summer house(Okulovsky). In the next couple of years, at least 4 more families promise to build fox holes for themselves.

Such popularity is associated with the advantages of such a home:
1. Construction speed. One of the holes (Nadia Rubtsova) was brought to a habitable state in 2 weeks from scratch (a hole dug by an excavator) (with a stove and interior decoration), of which it took 3 days to erect the frame, sheathing and backfilling. Of course, with the help of neighbors.
2. Cheap. In almost all our projects, the main materials are round timber and unedged boards.
3. Low repair costs. Since the facade is reduced to a minimum and the roof is covered with earth, they do not need to be repaired.
4. Internal climate. In winter, newborns spend REALLY LESS firewood (at -30 they heat it once a day) than their neighbors in log houses. They can leave for a few days and not heat without the risk of freezing their home (although in practice we still heat each other’s stoves in the absence of the owners). In summer the house is pleasantly cool.
5. No official building permit is needed (an advantage for those who are afraid of guests from the land committee). Although Ukraine probably has its own specifics.

Disadvantages of fox holes:
1. The earth, like reinforced concrete slabs, has shielding properties, that is, it is an obstacle to natural cosmic radiation. People sensitive to subtle energy feel this as internal discomfort. Therefore, it is better for such people to build wooden houses, which are permeable to radiation.
2. The inability to look out the window, the desire to be on top of the earth are also serious psychological factors.
For me personally, these 2 disadvantages are very significant. That's why I live in a log house. For the same reasons, apparently, the inhabitants of all three inhabited burrows dream of moving to the surface in the future. While the settlers, who do not yet have any housing on the estate, dream of fox holes.

The oldest hole (house of Nina Ivanovna Fetkulova) was built in 2004, the other two in 2006. Backfill - from 0.5 m to 1 m. The experiment was a success: the owners are generally satisfied with their homes.

About waterproofing. In all 5 cases (except for the Okulovsky summer micromink, I don’t know about it), roofing material or bicrost was used. It was placed under the bottom trim (for almost everyone, except Volodya Simakhin, it lies on the ground, and for him - on bricks), it was also used to cover the boards of the walls from the outside. To be honest, I don’t really like this option: it interferes with the natural balance of humidity between the soil and the house (according to theory, loamy soil itself regulates humidity and maintains it at the optimal level). But I don't know any other options. Maybe I should plaster the outside walls with clay, dry it and fill it up? Clay plaster protects the tree from rotting.
The humidity in the room probably depends on the type of soil and depth groundwater. We have loam, water at 5..7 m. Experience shows that dampness does not occur in a heated fox hole. Only Tanya Skomarokhova faced the problem of dampness: she has a cellar attached to her hole, and from there dampness comes through the door. She also noticed that the ceiling in the corner was getting wet and the boards were rotting: there was probably insufficient backfill and the roofing material was damaged somewhere. Or maybe condensation? It may well appear on the roofing felt from the side of the boards if the room is humid from the cellar.
Tanya was also the only one whose hole suffered from the load of the earth. After a year of use, the ridge beam showed a noticeable crack, and it was necessary to support it with a post in the center of the house. The length of the beam is 4 m, the diameter is about 16-18 cm, there is a large knot at the break point. It must be said that the logs were used from firewood, which also affected the strength. (Nadya Rubtsova’s ridge beam with exactly the same characteristics is working properly). The conclusions are as follows: use a log that is thicker and has a minimum of knots. And, most importantly, rest the rafters against each other in order to redistribute the load onto the walls. In this case, it is worth paying attention to the quality of the upper wall trim. Although, according to our standard design, numerous wall boards (perpendicular to the ridge), as well as the soil itself, should protect the walls (parallel to the ridge) from moving away.
It must be said that Tanya’s hole is a total phenomenon. Our settlers built there, but the work was poorly organized, no one knew the project. They did it, one might say, at random. Now I look and am surprised: the distance between the rafters is 133 cm and the sheathing is made of inch (!). The Thumbelina bent under the weight of the earth, but it held! Of course, all other holes are built more intelligently.
You're asking about racks. Everything is alright with them! They're not going anywhere.

Different smart people It was advised to do ventilation through two vertical pipes. However, it has not been implemented anywhere, and no one has ever suffered from it. Although it is possible that it would be even better with her, including in such “clinical” cases as Tanya Skomarokhova’s.
The windows in all our holes are from the facade, and the facade is from one of the gables.
In two more holes (Nadia Rubtsova and Nina Ivanovna) ceiling windows were made. Before installing the first one, we debated for a long time: is it worth it? They talked about fears about lakes of condensation, about rainwater flowing under the glass, under the frame, about hail breaking the glass, about how it would be swept away in winter anyway... They did it and saw: WORTH IT!!! There was no leakage of water, hail did not damage it either (the top glass is tempered), snow does not cause any inconvenience and is easy to clean. True, Nadya still had some condensation. But this did not overshadow the satisfaction from the window: bright, but soft, pleasant diffuse light from above and from the side it illuminates the house until sunset.
No condensation was noticed on the second window (at Nina Ivanovna’s).

I bring standard project, according to which the three currently mentioned currently inhabited burrows were built (the other 3, placed under a roof, are also very similar in design). True, I only drew initial stage. Further it will be clear from the description. Our burrow sizes range from 2.5x2.5 to 4x4.

1. The hole being dug is larger in size than the planned hole. For a 4x4 hole, we dug a 5x5 m hole. Our average depth is 1.5 m.
2. Roofing material is laid on the bottom along the perimeter of the future frame.
3. Place 4 logs on the roofing felt bottom trim, we connect them into half a tree, level them (with some error possible), adjust them until the diagonals are equal and secure them with brackets. As an option, you can place the bottom trim on bricks. In our area, the main soil is loam, so it can be considered reliable, and the pillars should not be buried deep.
4. We install 4 pillars (length = 180..200 cm) on the corners of the lower frame: for a good fit, we trim either the frame logs or the posts. Of course, we check it plumb. We fix it with temporary cuts, from a slab, for example (not shown in the figure).
5. We install central pillars (length 250..300 cm) in the middle of sides A and C. We fasten them with a slab with corner posts.
6. Install the ridge and beams. It is recommended to take it longer than sides B and D according to the project in order to provide a canopy on the facade side.
7. Install the rafters. In our projects they rest on the ridge, but it’s probably better to rest them against each other. The distance between the rafters is 80..100 cm. When using a canopy from the facade, it is necessary that one pair of rafters be just above the logs and posts of side A.
8. Intermediate pillars are cut into each side. In the 4x4 project we had 2 of them on each side.
9. The walls of the resulting frame are sheathed on the outside with boards (25 mm) and roofing felt. The facade wall needs to be additionally insulated.
10. Lathing is placed on the rafters and roofing felt is placed. Our lathing is 25..30 mm, but it’s better to make it thicker, or make the rafters more frequent.
11. Well, there are windows, doors and all that. Then the interior finishing.


That's all.

How to solve your housing problem for just $5,000?
Simon Dale from Wales has the answer. He decided not to pay rent or get involved in bank loans, but to build his own “hobbit house” in the forest on a hillside, like in the movie “The Lord of the Rings.”

Only natural materials were used during construction. This project was completed in just 4 months - much less time than waiting for the completion of the construction of your apartment in modern high-rise buildings.

Simon Dale is neither a builder nor a carpenter. He built this house together with his father-in-law and friends.

View from the window:



It took only about $4900, 4 months and 1000-1500 man-hours to create it.

When building the house, they dug a pit right in the hill. Rock and soil from the excavation were used for supporting walls and foundations. The wood was taken from the surrounding forests, and the insulation of the floor, walls and roof was made with straw.

Architectural project:




The main tools were a chainsaw, a hammer and a chisel.

Foundation:

Frame construction:


Frame of the future house made of oak:


The house has a natural refrigerator - the cellar is always cool; water from the nearest source; solar panels generate electricity for lighting, a small stereo system and a computer. During the day, light penetrates through the glass dome in the roof of the house.

View from the balcony on the 2nd floor:


Another option for lighting the “hobbit house” in the evening is candles.

Beautiful and romantic:


Entrance:


Kitchen:


The house is plastered with lime plaster, so the walls breathe.

The house is heated by a wood-burning fireplace. The chimney passes through a large stone, which heats up and releases heat inside the house for a long time.

Part 1: philosophy

The type of buildings itself" Foxy burrow "is not new. Studying the history of architecture in different parts light in different eras, we came across one very surprising fact in our opinion. A fact that cannot be refuted. People of our time could not help but know about the “fox hole”. Scientists, architects, and historians could not help but know about it. The image of the “fox hole” is in the modern children's encyclopedia! It turns out that such houses were used to one degree or another by almost all people (if not all, which could not be established with absolute precision) civilizations, including ours, the civilization of today...

Initially, man, having no vital need for all that we call the benefits of civilization, living in nature itself, did not build any structures, since there was no need for this in warm areas. But there were also cold ones. Imagine, if a person was born in a cold area or by chance during some disaster was forced to immediately stay in the cold, what can he build for an overnight stay and from what? Never mind.

If a person was born in a cold area, then he initially had to have the ability to withstand the cold, otherwise he would simply die out. Every creature always initially has the ability to live in the environment in which it was born. Note that nature gives life to everyone: birds, fish, animals, keeping them in balance called life. And has she really created some kind of dependent person who needs something else just to live? Cheated me. Why would she create such a mentally complex creature as man, endow all animals with the ability to withstand cold, and deprive man of such a trifle? Put yourself in her place and answer – where is the logic here? Or maybe they lied to us about human helplessness?

Man, born in nature, perceives the world as your home, your homeland. In nature, everything is interconnected, all creatures have close relationship, complementing each other and forming a single chain of life as a whole. Such a person was part of this circle of life; he could use the dwellings of the animals living around him at night: large wolf holes, bear dens, etc. Not all animals reuse their homes. So a person, without bothering himself, could use a dugout-den for overnight stay. NOTE, THIS IS A RESIDENCE FOR AN OVERNIGHT, NOT A HOUSE. The house is a living surrounding nature.

The temperature in such a structure is always from 0 to +5 degrees Celsius, i.e. It is cool in summer and warm in winter. Many may argue that the ground is damp. But if this is so, would a wolf or a bear then live in it? Do you really think that animals will live in uncomfortable conditions? Try leaving your dog in a wet kennel overnight? In fact, such dugouts are often covered from the inside with roots near growing trees, forming a beautiful pattern and blocking the access of the earth, creating a reliable, strong support.

I think it is with such “dwellings” - overnight shelters - that the history of the “fox hole” begins, which was used as animal dwellings.

It is worth paying attention to one surprising fact. Ask yourself: where does the elk spend the night (this is our “Russian forest cow”)? In the snow... Don't you freeze? He spends the night, which means he doesn’t freeze. Are wolves, foxes, and hares also able to endure even the harshest winters and sleep in the snow? Then why do they need holes? Incredibly, observations of animals lead to the conclusion that they use their homes not so much as protection from temperature fluctuations, but as a temporary shelter from bad weather and the elements. If it's raining, then life in the forest seems to freeze: everyone hides in holes, or simply remains in place without moving until the bad weather ends: snow, blizzard, rain, or just strong wind. No birds in the sky, no insects. This means that the fact that animals use any structures (burrows, nests) does not oblige humans to do the same. But people, apparently, used dwellings for this reason too.

Rice. 1. Semi-dugout covered with turf

In the historical encyclopedia we read: “Dwellings in the southern, dry forest-steppe regions were built deep into the ground - semi-dugouts. The walls were made of logs. Between the dwellings or in the dwellings themselves there were grain storage pits.... In the semi-dugouts along the walls there were benches cut directly from the ground.” ("Big Historical Encyclopedia for Schoolchildren", Moscow, "ROSMEN", 2000, ISBN: 5-8451-0324-X, p. 349, 354, see Fig. 1, 2).

Rice. 2. Semi-dugout covered with turf

Of course, not all nations used half-dugouts; this largely depended on the lifestyle of the people. Naturally, it is easier for nomadic peoples to have a collapsible, lightweight, portable home.
Such houses were also used in the north by the Vikings: “As you can see, despite the clay walls and earthen floors, the living quarters were quite comfortable... All the houses were built to last almost centuries” (Encyclopedia “Vanished Civilizations” series, “Vikings” : raids from the north"/Translated from English by L. Florentyeva, Moscow, "Terra", 1996, ISBN: 5-300-00824-3, pp. 155-157, see Fig. 3, 4).

Rice. 3, 4. Smoke holes facing the sky wooden frames stand out against the backdrop of turf roofs.

By historical facts in the future, only a turf roof is used: “In countries with a harsh climate, such as Greenland or Iceland, there was little wood, so local residents built the walls of their homes from stone and turf.” ("Big Historical Encyclopedia for Schoolchildren", p. 288, see Fig. 5).

Turf-roofed houses remain to this day (see Figure 6).

Rice. 5. Viking house made of stone and turf

Civilizations that did not know metal used ready-made animal dwellings, while those that knew used half-dugouts and dugouts, which we now call a “fox hole.” Because to build even the simplest “fox hole”, you need at least a shovel. This means that at first there was a dugout-den, then a half-dugout, after which only a turf roof remained.

Rice. 6. House with a turf roof.

Several years ago, in one newspaper (unfortunately, it was not possible to determine the exact name and number) there was an article that in the area of ​​​​Mount Belukha, where, according to Tibetan monks, Shambhala is located, Old Believers (as they were called in the article) live in a village. They live in just such half-dugouts. According to them, people have been living in them for more than 500 years.

Why? Because beyond two meters earthen layer no magnetic or other waves with artificially inflated human fluctuations penetrate. A person in such houses is simply not subject to their destructive effects. On the outskirts of the settlement, a metal pyramid was built from scrap metal found by the villagers. In their opinion, it collects all the negative energy from the space in which they live and spews it out in the form of lightning. The author describes how he himself saw the pyramid in action. They do not create negative energy; it is evenly distributed throughout the earth from the source. For example, if you hit your hand, it hurts not only your hand, but your whole body. Considering the level of consciousness, the depth of knowledge of the world order, they cannot be called a primitive tribe. At the same time, they choose a dugout-hill as their home.

But even today everyone can come across such a house. Many people often come into contact with them, they simply do not notice it. There are brick booths on many Russian roads. They have some kind of electrical panels. They often stand along the entire road every kilometer, sometimes in single specimens. Now they are brick. But in some places you can also find them covered with earth. So on the road between Cheboksary and Nizhny Novgorod, Kozmedemyansky and Yoshkar-Oloy there are several booths - “fox holes” (see Fig. 7, 8, 9).

Rice. 7, 8. Transformer(?) booths, which can be found throughout Russia.

Rice. 9

In this case, the turf layer eliminated the need to maintain the structure. A living roof (in the truest sense of the word) does not require repairs! Similar structures are found throughout the Mari El Republic (Volga region). In abandoned villages you can find storage facilities made in a similar way. They're standing!

Part 2: Making a home.

Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about ecological houses, developments are underway, and projects of such houses are being proposed. Among them there are many beautiful and comfortable ones, with autonomous heating systems and wind power supply, solar panels etc., self-purifying water drains, but, nevertheless, all these projects are practically copies ordinary houses. It is necessary to add to this that all of them, as a rule, are much more expensive than ordinary houses, and also require further constant care, restoration, and connection to the surrounding space that changes over time. Within 20-30 years they become obsolete: both architecturally and technically.

Where is the way out?

We want to bring to your attention a well-forgotten design of a house that anyone can build, regardless of material well-being (if they have the desire); a home that becomes stronger and more beautiful over time; taking up virtually no space (which is very important for small areas); creating almost no shadow and being constructed from any known building materials or available materials available in the area.

This is a project of an earthen structure of the “fox hole” type.

Let us note that similar houses are being built to this day, for example, by Old Believers in Altai, and in almost any region you can find buildings of this type, if not residential, then economic.
Please do not confuse this building with a dugout, since this is not the same thing. "Fox Hole" is an earthen hill. Depending on the wishes of the owner, it can be built with any depth or even be located at the level of an ordinary house.
If the angle of inclination of the walls is 45 degrees, then it will practically not create a shadow, because... The angle of the summer solstice at the latitude of Moscow is approximately equal to this. A slight shadow is created in the morning and evening hours from the west and east of the building.

Why does it take up almost no space?

Yes, because the hypotenuse is always larger than the leg, and since the embankment of the house is earthen, it can be used for planting on all sides and from above (strawberries, raspberries, shrubs, flower beds and so on.). Landing is even possible small trees subject to certain conditions, which, in general, creates unlimited possibilities when designing the external design of your building and quickly and cheaply changing it according to your wishes. Imagine: a flowerbed house, it can be different every year. This is where there is unplowed field for imagination.

Why is it getting stronger?

Yes, because every year the earth becomes more compacted, and the roots of grasses and shrubs hold it together surface layer that even if you remove all the internal supports, it will still support itself. Go out into an unplowed meadow. After all, its entire space is pitted with holes of moles, mice, and worms, but the ground does not collapse under you. There is no need to be afraid of the penetration of the root system of plants into the house, there is a simple protection against this... In winter, such a house becomes even warmer, since it is covered with snow blankets, and the snow load does not create additional weight due to freezing of the upper earthen layer. An example of this is ice on rivers. Inside such a house, at any external temperature, the temperature remains above zero, even without heating, which means that heating the structure requires a minimum of energy expenditure. Its walls are always breathing. It's cool in summer.
With properly constructed ventilation, there is no dampness in it, but there is also no dryness that happens in apartments in winter, and humidity and cold when the heat is turned off, which is mainly the cause of damage to furniture, dampness of wallpaper and clothing, and cracks in the walls. , jamming and drying out of doors and windows.
The interior decoration of a house can be made from any materials, even wood, since there are cheap, well-forgotten ways to protect it from external conditions. You can also make walls inside from available materials: clay, willow, reeds, straw, cattails, wild stone and so on.
To be convinced of the other advantages of the “Fox Hole” project, let’s consider it in comparison with a traditional house of the same area and made of the same materials with a conventionally taken area, say, 100 square meters. m.

What does it consist of? traditional house?

A solid, good foundation is the basis of any house that is built to last. Then the basement, walls, ceilings, roof. A few auxiliary little things, such as: trays for water drainage, outlet pipes, gables, hems, light and ventilation windows, blind area, window frames, etc. - which, by the way, requires significant costs, money and time, and periodic repairs. In regions with a large snow cover in the spring, the problem of snow avalanches from roofs or their pressing through due to the weight of the snow increases. And the roof itself is an expensive pleasure. A good one, made of galvanized iron or glazed tiles, is not affordable for everyone.

What do we have in the fox hole?

Just walls and ceilings, which themselves serve as a roof. Note that the walls are much thinner, since they only serve as a restraining factor from the collapse of the earth (with the thickness of the embankment being one and a half meters, there is no need to worry about heat capacity: up to the seventieth parallel, they practically withstand any frost). Roof waterproofing can be made of ordinary roofing felt in 2 layers (the cheapest material), but it can also be done without it if you have a good clay castle (made of well-mixed clay) 15-20 cm thick or birch bark, which does not rot in the ground for hundreds of years and does not is afraid of fires, and at the same time retains heat perfectly (yes, yes, this is not a typo: there are such ancient technology). A year after installation, a one-meter thick layer of earth on the roof cannot be wetted by even a single rainstorm. Snow waters melt more evenly, and the ground under the snow is always slightly frozen, which perfectly prevents water from penetrating deeper. No lower ice crusts form, which means there is no chance of an avalanche (and there is practically nowhere to go). All you need are good drainage ditches around the entire building with a slope in one direction, seeded with good grass (instead of concrete, iron or other trays), for example, bentgrass, wheatgrass, etc. Foundations are also not needed or are needed purely symbolically for supports, since there is nothing to freeze, and therefore there is no swelling of the soil. And if this house is made of red baked brick, the walls are half a brick thick, concrete, mesh reinforced, branches, etc. 5-7 cm thick, made of boards with load-bearing beams arched structure, then it is able to withstand colossal loads (examples of this are bridges).

The interior decoration is the same as that of a regular house, although there are also many ways to save money and time, not counting durability. For example, floors that can be left earthen by covering them with mats (a rug made of natural material). Or lay it out of tiles, placing it on a screed made of light and warm concrete (there are such), or make it out of wood, placing it on small spacers, or the same concrete according to the “floating parquet” principle. In any case, this does not require floor slabs or massive wooden transfers.

Next, we will consider the main reasons for distrust of the Fox Hole structure:
- unusualness appearance
- fear of flooding
- fear of dampness indoors
- penetration of rodents and insects
- illumination
- collapse of the structure

Unusual appearance- the argument is certainly weighty, but let's look around and ask ourselves what is more pleasant to see: a house with rickety walls or chipped plaster covered with “wonderful” inscriptions, with a dilapidated roof, etc. or a flowerbed, or a neat lawn, or dwarf garden with a pergola or gazebo entwined with grapes, hops, etc.

Of course, a beautifully executed facade of a house with fashionable architecture is also a pleasant sight, but for how long? After all, fashion is architectural styles It changes so quickly, in just 20-30 years the style becomes obsolete. Try changing the façade of a stone or wooden structure... In addition, time brings its destruction, and with it concerns about restoration. Another thing alpine slide, or a flower garden, or a lawn. You can change it at your discretion at least every year, and small trees or shrubs with a creeping root system (juniper, lilac, jasmine, fir trees, etc.) against the background of a hill will create a stable landscape.

Fear of flooding- a very serious thing, but nowhere does it say that this structure should be built in a swamp, or in a floodplain, or in a pit. Even if your site is relatively damp, you can build drainage ditches. Will save you from the penetration of spring upper waters thick layer earth embankment of the house and elevation of 50-60 cm from the general ground level of the entrance to the room.
The depth of the house itself depends on the level of groundwater and the desire of the owner (either bury yourself under the ceiling, or don’t bury yourself at all).

Dampness in the room occurs mainly due to poor ventilation, or low thermal capacity of the walls, or an incorrectly located heating system. The thermal capacity of the walls with a 1.5 meter embankment will not raise any doubts, but the ventilation and heating system is in your hands. Probably, many have had to observe moldy walls, falling off wallpaper and plaster in quite good external multi-storey buildings, planned and built by professionals in their field.

When asked aboutpenetration of rodents, moles and other unwanted neighbors, you can just add a few words. Our high-rise buildings are no less infested with mice and rats, despite the fact that they are made of brick and concrete, a material supposedly inaccessible to rodents. I had to meet rats and mice on the 14th floor. Ants and cockroaches have become an integral part of our everyday life (those who don’t have one can see in stores an abundance of chemical means of protection against these cohabitants). Moles do not dig their tunnels to such depths, as they hunt for worms, which feed on the remains of vegetation and are found in fertile soil. top layer 30-50 cm. And he prefers to go around walls rather than break into them. For ants to make passages in a one and a half meter wall, what for us is to dig a three-kilometer tunnel underground to a bread store located opposite your house. All these neighbors need a home and food. Moreover, they set up a house only next to the food base. There is no food and they don’t need a home. So keep food supplies in special rooms and live peacefully without all these worries.

Fear of roof collapse is also not justified. Dugouts covered with earth can even withstand bombing. I don't think this is a threat to us. And a layer of earth 1-1.5 m thick can easily withstand even 15 cm thick logs protected from moisture, but even better arched design from any materials on a sand cushion (not even worth talking about floor slabs). In a year or two, the roots of the plants will hold everything together so that the soils will support themselves.

The question of illumination remains. We will cover this issue more widely, since it has many options.
Let's start with traditional windows in the walls at our usual level of 80-90 cm from the floor level. This is quite possible, you just need to provide small “loggias” around the window when laying the walls, since there is an earthen rampart on the sides and above the window. The earthen rampart may reach almost to the level of the window from below, but this is not scary. It can be covered with tiles, bricks, wood and anything else, or you can simply plant it with flowers or arrange a mini-greenhouse for fresh herbs. Heat leakage will serve the cause of “prosperity” (greenery in our case). If you don’t like the ground with a flower bed at window level, we’ll resolve this issue. It is enough to insulate the space under the window from the outside by thickening the walls or glass wool, cattail, straw, etc.

Fig 1. Traditional window with a glazed loggia

Traditional windows with a loggia with earthen filling. It is possible to glaze the outside and get a mini-greenhouse.

It is advisable to make one window per room, albeit a large one, and to retain heat, insert triple-glazed windows (albeit expensive) or glaze them from the outside like a regular loggia or greenhouse. If you introduce heating there, then you will get a mini-greenhouse or “ winter Garden"(depending on the wishes of the owners). And in order to get an impression of of this type windows, look at the world from the window of an apartment that has a loggia. And you will agree that you do not see what is on the sides of the loggia: an earthen rampart or a neighbor’s loggia, as well as above it: a neighbor’s loggia or a growing tree.

The next type of windows is skylights. They can be located in the walls at ceiling level or in the ceiling itself and have different shape(see Fig. 2, 3, 4). This is where there is room for imagination. Can you imagine a living room or dining room where you, sitting in your favorite rocking chair by the fireplace or an aquarium with fish, can simultaneously admire starry sky, or views of clouds at sunset, or the flight of butterflies over flowers or hanging bunches of grapes, while in a cozy bedroom. Or “sleep under your own star.”

Fig 2.

Rice. 3. Skylight window, type of window with large depth

Rice. 4.

All this is possible with a dome-type skylight window (see Fig. 6). Technically, the implementation of these windows is not particularly difficult. The fear of snowfall is also unfounded. After all, the window is located above an earthen hill, and even a child is able to remove snow with a broom or brush after the snowfall ends. The second and third glazing can be provided from the room at ceiling level (even with stained glass). Or put a mini-greenhouse outside, where, again, heat leaks will serve the cause of prosperity. Or you can simply install attic double-glazed windows (Fig. 7).

Rice. 5. Skylights, view from outside and inside

Rice. 6. On top is a skylight window (attic double-glazed window). And below is an example of a dome window with triple glazing

There remains only one unanswered question: where to get so much land? You can simply buy it. There is no cheaper building material. But there are other ways, for example, digging wells, ponds, and drainage ditches. If you don’t want that, there are other ways...

Also among the advantages of the “Fox Hole” it can be noted that such a house cannot be “carried away”, disassembled for parts, burned, painted, etc. But he also has two significant shortcomings: first - unusualness, second - this house is not intended for workaholics: you won’t have to repair it every year and there is too little maintenance work.

If all of the above interests you, let’s move on directly to several projects of such houses..

Part 3: House designs.

The idea of ​​a family estate. Who is it aimed at? For people with different capabilities, but united by one goal: “I can’t be unhappy anymore.” Those who consider themselves happy already in this world may not finish reading. Many people are already ready to live simply in harmony with the surrounding world and nature. Others would like to combine the natural with the familiar in their family estate, i.e. the benefits of civilization. For these two fundamentally different categories of people who want to realize the idea of ​​a family estate, we offer two fundamentally different approaches to designing “fox hole” type houses.

Approach one combines: simplicity, functionality, practicality, maximum fusion with the surrounding space with minimal material costs and time for maintaining the structure.

Approach two combines the principles of the former with modern amenities and appliances, architecture and landscaping. In this case, you choose the degree of merging with nature yourself - the most acceptable for you in this moment time, up to the complete transfer of all the amenities of the city to the settlement.

Now, using the first approach, we will describe one of the simplest and most accessible houses of the “fox hole” type (see Fig. 1). (Note: the pictures show house designs that are closest to modern ones, which, of course, is not at all necessary. The houses themselves look quite large and look like cottages. This is not so: simply due to the embankment, the house seems larger than it actually is. Its living area is the same as that of an ordinary house).

Rice. 1. "Fox Hole"

It is worth immediately noting that interior layout any house of the “fox hole” type has no connection at all with external form and the design of your home. Also distinctive feature is that you do not have to place the rooms close together; you can remove them from each other at any distance by connecting them with corridors (see Fig. 2, 3).

Rice. 2. Layout of a typical city apartment

Rice. 3. Free arrangement of rooms connected by corridors

This gives unlimited possibilities when planning a house, reducing heat loss between rooms (it’s hot in the kitchen: they’re preparing dinner, it’s cool in the next room) and high sound insulation, which is very important for large families, with minimal material costs. And also the ability to increase additional areas in case of increasing the family without losing the external design, the so-called “growing” house.

In the second approach, we will consider the two most significant types of houses for “settlers”. These are complex houses, or gallery houses. The first type is a horseshoe house, the second is a closed house - a gallery. Let's consider the first one (see Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Horseshoe house

The peculiarity of the horseshoe-shaped house is that its front part (patio) is made in a modern way, and the front part completely merges with nature. The house has two main entrances on opposite sides. At the front entrance you invite business partners at work, city relatives who will not accept anything other than modern amenities, important guests. And to the backyard - your real friends, like-minded people. Here you are in the “city” (being on front yard), have worked, taken a few steps and you are in a virgin forest, or your garden, or vegetable garden, etc. And no one may even know that your house here is an ordinary “hill.” They think you have a normal house or even a cottage. And you spend your time so modestly, looking at blooming garden, which, by the way, very few rich people can afford. After all, the garden was grown by you. This is your success, dear, that’s why you are so happy. But here it was planted by professionals: beautiful, but dead. This is why rich people change their dachas so quickly. After all, this is not their success, this is the designer’s success. And he doesn’t bring them joy... That’s the secret.

Rice. 5. Horseshoe house, arched structure

Rice. 6. Horseshoe house, plan

The second house, along with all the advantages of the first, also has its own distinctive ones. If you want to live in modern house, but at the same time its appearance should not spoil the natural landscape - it is for you (see Fig. 7). This can be a house - a gallery of any shape (circle, oval, square, triangle, hexagon, etc.) with a courtyard. It is convenient in that it is possible to access all rooms both from inside the house and through the yard along the shortest route. In the overall landscape of the site, it does not visually stick out and does not absorb the surrounding space.
For those who find it difficult to move from “civilized” architecture to nature and simplicity, the patio is a real find. You can organize a pool or a fountain in it, or you can do it all together. Concrete paths or lawn. You can even glaze the entire upper space of the patio.
The walls facing the courtyard can be made “classic”, i.e. leave open, from the building materials from which the house is built, clad with tiles, wild stone, marble, clapboard, etc. In a word, whatever you want. You can also make an embankment, sod it, turning it into a lawn or flowerbed and arrange a mini-garden inside the courtyard with grapes, cherries, Christmas trees... Organize a decorative pond without fear that water and tree roots will get into the house (don’t forget about drainage ditches or gutters). People around you won’t even think that everything is like that with you! External embankment can be simple.
On the top of such a house-complex you can put a gazebo with an all-round view, or an unheated summer room. Summer kitchen, but you can also place it inside the yard. You can display hives, and if the hives are decks, then you can arrange them into a fabulous ensemble. You can even install greenhouses (they will not block out much light) or simply organize a mini-garden. Your possibilities are endless!
As you can see, all these houses are characterized by one thing - a combination of opposites: civilized and natural. Moreover, you can freely choose the ratio of living and dying elements in your home!

Rice. 7. Gallery house with courtyard

In addition to everything, we can say that this project can be completely autonomous: water supply, sewerage, etc.

Many people were enthusiastic about the hobbit dwellings in The Lord of the Ring after watching the famous film. And most of us would not refuse to live in such places, even if not all the time, then at least sometimes to come.

Why not make a fairy tale come true? - thought one family from Wales. And now the house can be seen not only in movies, but also in life!

“My father and I built it, of course, with the help of friends and acquaintances. Now we live here and it's great! Not only we think so, but everyone who helped us or just comes to visit,” says the youngest “hobbit.”

It took 3 months to build it, and it all cost $5,825, which is not much at all, because this is the most real home from a real fairy tale!

Who would refuse to work for 3 months like a hobbit, and then, at least sometimes, come to such a house and feel part of surrounding nature? Perhaps, over time, a family of elves will settle in the neighboring forest...

The idea of ​​the Fox Hole as a family estate

The idea of ​​a family estate. Who is it aimed at? For people with different capabilities, but united by one goal: “I can’t be unhappy anymore.” Those who consider themselves happy already in this world may not finish reading. Many people are already ready to live simply in harmony with the surrounding world and nature. Others would like to combine the natural with the familiar in their family estate, i.e. the benefits of civilization. For these two fundamentally different categories of people who want to realize the idea of ​​a family estate, we offer two fundamentally different approaches to designing “fox hole” type houses. We do not provide designs for luxury houses (although such are possible, and we already have them), because... in this case, the very idea of ​​a family estate is lost: the merging of man with nature, with himself.

Garden houses "fox hole"

Is it possible to build a house inexpensively? Yes, if you build a small garden house. Garden houses They are small houses that are built quickly and at the same time with high quality. If you are planning to build country house inexpensively, spending a minimum of time, then read this article. In it we will talk about very interesting option garden houses, about houses built according to the principle of a fox hole. After reading the article, you will learn what kind of houses these are and how to properly build a “fox hole” garden house.

What is a fox hole garden house? Most of you have probably watched the film “The Lord of the Rings”, so, remember the homes of the magical hobbits. They just lived in the “fox hole” houses. The fox hole house is very similar in principle to ordinary dugouts. It is worth noting that dugouts are very good shelter from any bad weather, be it wind, heavy rain or cold. And if you are thinking about how to build a house cheaply, then the fox hole house option is just for you.

Fox hole house - all the pros and cons...

What advantages do they have? garden houses like a fox hole?

Advantages:

• speed of construction. garden house You can build a fox hole yourself with full finishing in 2 weeks
• if you want to build a country house inexpensively, then this is an option garden house for you.
• “Fox Hole” garden houses require minimal repairs, since the entire roof is covered with earth, the facade of the house is reduced to a minimum
• favorable climate inside the garden house. In summer it remains pleasantly cool, and in winter the houses keep warm for a long time
• saving energy when heating a room. Garden houses based on the fox hole principle retain heat for a long time; even at -30, they can be heated only once a day

Inexpensive garden houses- this is real, but in addition to its advantages, any construction has its disadvantages.

The disadvantages of such inexpensive garden houses include only psychological factors. The desire to feel during the daytime sunlight, the desire to hit from above, on the ground, and not underground, desires can be listed more and more, each person can experience his own special needs. Therefore, before construction, weigh all the pros and cons and only after that make a decision.

Waterproofing in garden houses

The humidity inside the garden house will depend on the depth of the groundwater and the quality of the soil. For waterproofing, bikrost or roofing material is placed under the bottom trim. Over time, waterproofing may be damaged in areas where roofing material is damaged. Also, poor waterproofing is often found in houses that have a cellar attached.

During construction garden house it is very important to use thick, even logs with minimum quantity knots. Because over time, logs can break under load. Most often, logs break in places where there are knots.

How to build a house cheaply

Let us describe the construction of the fox hole house step by step:

1. a hole is dug around the perimeter 1 meter larger than the planned garden house
2. roofing felt is placed on the bottom
3. Four logs are placed on top, leveling. These logs will serve as the lowest frame for the house. You can place the logs of the bottom trim on bricks
4. Logs are placed at the corners of the lower trim
5. Place pillars in the middle of sides A and C, securing them with corner brackets
6. attach beams and ridge
7. install rafters

8. Intermediate pillars are cut into each side
9. The resulting walls of the garden house are sheathed with roofing felt or 25 mm boards
10. additionally insulates façade walls garden house
11. lathing is nailed to the rafters and the roof is covered with roofing felt.
12. windows can be made if desired
13. Next they are working on the interior decoration of the garden house
14. Finally, you can begin decorative exterior decoration of the garden house

Garden houses can be built using different technologies construction. In this article we told you how to build a house cheaply. Good luck with your construction!

Traditional house and fox hole

What does a traditional house consist of?

A solid, good foundation is the basis of any house that is built to last. Then the basement, walls, ceilings, roof. A few auxiliary little things, such as: trays for water drainage, drainage pipes, gables, hems, light and ventilation windows, blind areas, window frames, etc. - which, by the way, requires far from small costs, money and time, periodic repairs. In regions with a large snow cover in the spring, the problem of snow avalanches from roofs or their pressing through due to the weight of the snow increases. And the roof itself is an expensive pleasure. A good one, made of galvanized iron or glazed tiles, is not affordable for everyone.

What do we have in the fox hole?

Just walls and ceilings, which themselves serve as a roof. Note that the walls are much thinner, since they only serve as a restraining factor from the collapse of the earth (with the thickness of the embankment being one and a half meters, there is no need to worry about heat capacity: up to the seventieth parallel, they practically withstand any frost). Roof waterproofing can be made of ordinary roofing felt in 2 layers (the cheapest material), but it can also be done without it if you have a good clay castle (made of well-mixed clay) 15-20 cm thick or birch bark, which does not rot in the ground for hundreds of years and does not it is afraid of fires, while retaining heat perfectly (yes, yes, this is not a typo: such ancient technologies exist). A year after installation, a one-meter thick layer of earth on the roof cannot be wetted by even a single rainstorm. Snow waters melt more evenly, and the ground under the snow is always slightly frozen, which perfectly prevents water from penetrating deeper. No lower ice crusts form, which means there is no chance of an avalanche (and there is practically nowhere to go). All you need are good drainage ditches around the entire building with a slope in one direction, seeded with good grass (instead of concrete, iron or other trays), for example, bentgrass, wheatgrass, etc. Foundations are also not needed or are needed purely symbolically for supports, since there is nothing to freeze, and therefore there is no swelling of the soil. And if this house is made of red baked brick with walls half a brick thick, concrete reinforced with mesh, branches, etc. 5-7 cm thick, made of boards with load-bearing beams of an arched structure, then it is able to withstand colossal loads (examples of this are bridges).

The interior decoration is the same as that of a regular house, although there are also many ways to save money and time, not counting durability. For example, floors that can be left earthen by covering them with mats (a rug made from a natural material). Or lay it out of tiles, placing it on a screed made of light and warm concrete (there are such), or make it out of wood, placing it on small spacers, or the same concrete according to the “floating parquet” principle. In any case, this does not require floor slabs or massive wooden transfers.

Next, we will consider the main reasons for distrust of the Fox Hole structure:
- unusual appearance
- fear of flooding
- fear of dampness indoors
- penetration of rodents and insects
- illumination
- collapse of the structure

Unusual appearance- the argument is certainly weighty, but let's look around and ask ourselves what is more pleasant to see: a house with rickety walls or chipped plaster covered with “wonderful” inscriptions, with a dilapidated roof, etc. or a flowerbed, or a neat lawn, or a dwarf garden with a pergola or gazebo covered with grapes, hops, etc.

Of course, a beautifully executed facade of a house with fashionable architecture is also a pleasant sight, but for how long? After all, the fashion for architectural styles changes so quickly, in just 20-30 years the style becomes obsolete. Try changing the façade of a stone or wooden building... Besides, time brings its destruction, and with it the worries about restoration. Another thing is an alpine hill, or a flower garden, or a lawn. You can change it at your discretion at least every year, and small trees or shrubs with a creeping root system (juniper, lilac, jasmine, fir trees, etc.) against the background of a hill will create a stable landscape.

Fear of flooding- a very serious thing, but nowhere does it say that this structure should be built in a swamp, or in a floodplain, or in a pit. Even if your site is relatively damp, you can build drainage ditches. A thick layer of soil around the embankment of the house and an elevation of 50-60 cm from the general ground level of the entrance to the room will save you from the penetration of spring upper waters.
The depth of the house itself depends on the level of groundwater and the desire of the owner (either bury yourself under the ceiling, or don’t bury yourself at all).

Dampness in the room occurs mainly due to poor ventilation, or low thermal capacity of the walls, or an incorrectly located heating system. The thermal capacity of the walls with a 1.5 meter embankment will not raise any doubts, but the ventilation and heating system is in your hands. Probably, many people have had to observe moldy walls, falling wallpaper and plaster in quite good-looking multi-storey buildings, planned and built by professionals in their field.

When asked aboutpenetration of rodents, moles and other unwanted neighbors, you can just add a few words. Our high-rise buildings are no less infested with mice and rats, despite the fact that they are made of brick and concrete, a material supposedly inaccessible to rodents. I had to meet rats and mice on the 14th floor. Ants and cockroaches have become an integral part of our everyday life (those who don’t have one can see in stores an abundance of chemical means of protection against these cohabitants). Moles do not dig their tunnels to such a depth, as they hunt for worms, which feed on the remains of vegetation and are found in the fertile upper layer of 30-50 cm. And he prefers to go around walls rather than crack them. For ants to make passages in a one and a half meter wall, what for us is to dig a three-kilometer tunnel underground to a bread store located opposite your house. All these neighbors need a home and food. Moreover, they set up a house only next to the food base. There is no food and they don’t need a home. So keep food supplies in special rooms and live peacefully without all these worries.

Fear of roof collapse is also not justified. Dugouts covered with earth can even withstand bombing. I don't think this is a threat to us. And a layer of earth 1-1.5 m thick can easily withstand even 15 cm thick logs protected from moisture, but even better is an arched structure made of any materials on a sand cushion (not even worth talking about floor slabs). In a year or two, the roots of the plants will hold everything together so that the soils will support themselves.

The question of illumination remains. We will cover this issue more widely, since it has many options.

Let's start with traditional windows in the walls at our usual level of 80-90 cm from the floor level. This is quite possible, you just need to provide small “loggias” around the window when laying the walls, since there is an earthen rampart on the sides and above the window. The earthen rampart may reach almost to the level of the window from below, but this is not scary. It can be covered with tiles, bricks, wood and anything else, or you can simply plant it with flowers or arrange a mini-greenhouse for fresh herbs. Heat leakage will serve the cause of “prosperity” (greenery in our case). If you don’t like the ground with a flower bed at window level, we’ll resolve this issue. It is enough to insulate the space under the window from the outside by thickening the walls or glass wool, cattail, straw, etc.

Traditional windows with a loggia with earthen filling. It is possible to glaze the outside and get a mini-greenhouse.

It is advisable to make one window per room, albeit a large one, and to retain heat, insert triple-glazed windows (albeit expensive) or glaze them from the outside like a regular loggia or greenhouse. If heating is introduced there, then you will get a mini-greenhouse or a “winter garden” (depending on the wishes of the owners). And to get an impression of this type of window in advance, look at the world from the window of an apartment that has a loggia. And you will agree that you do not see what is on the sides of the loggia: an earthen rampart or a neighbor’s loggia, as well as above it: a neighbor’s loggia or a growing tree.

The next type of windows is skylights.

They can be located in the walls at ceiling level or in the ceiling itself and have different shapes (see Fig. 2, 3, 4). This is where there is room for imagination. Can you imagine a living room or dining room where you, sitting in your favorite rocking chair by the fireplace or an aquarium with fish, can simultaneously admire the starry sky, or views of clouds at sunset, or the flight of butterflies over flowers or hanging bunches of grapes, while in a cozy bedroom . Or “sleep under your own star.”

All this is possible with a dome-type skylight window. Technically, the implementation of these windows is not particularly difficult. The fear of snowfall is also unfounded. After all, the window is located above an earthen hill, and even a child is able to remove snow with a broom or brush after the snowfall ends. The second and third glazing can be provided from the room at ceiling level (even with stained glass). Or put a mini-greenhouse outside, where, again, heat leaks will serve the cause of prosperity. Or you can simply install attic double-glazed windows.

Also among the advantages of the “Fox Hole” it can be noted that such a house cannot be “carried away”, disassembled for parts, burned, painted, etc. But it also has two significant drawbacks: the first is that it is unusual, and the second is that this house is not intended for workaholics: it will not have to be repaired every year and there is too little maintenance work.

Design of "fox hole" type houses.

Approach one combines: simplicity, functionality, practicality, maximum fusion with the surrounding space with minimal material costs and time for maintaining the structure.

Approach two combines the principles of the former with modern amenities and appliances, architecture and landscaping. In this case, you choose the degree of merging with nature yourself - the most acceptable for you at a given moment in time, up to the complete transfer of all the amenities of the city to the settlement.

Now, using the first approach, we will describe one of the simplest and most accessible houses of the “fox hole” type (see Fig. 1). (Note: the pictures show house designs that are closest to modern ones, which, of course, is not at all necessary. The houses themselves look quite large and look like cottages. This is not so: simply due to the embankment, the house seems larger than it actually is. Its living area is the same as that of an ordinary house).

It is worth immediately noting that the internal layout of any “fox hole” type house is not at all tied to the external shape and design of your home. Another distinctive feature is that you do not have to place the rooms close together; you can remove them from each other at any distance by connecting them with corridors.

This gives unlimited possibilities when planning a house, reducing heat loss between rooms (it’s hot in the kitchen: they’re preparing dinner, it’s cool in the next room) and high sound insulation, which is very important for large families, with minimal material costs. And also the ability to add additional space if the family grows without losing the external design, the so-called “growing” house.

In the second approach, we will consider the two most significant types of houses for “settlers”. These are complex houses, or gallery houses. The first type is a horseshoe house, the second is a closed house - a gallery. Let's look at the first one

The peculiarity of the horseshoe-shaped house is that its front part (patio) is made in a modern way, and the front part completely merges with nature. The house has two main entrances on opposite sides. At the front entrance you invite business partners, city relatives who do not accept anything other than modern conveniences, and important guests. And to the backyard - your real friends, like-minded people. Here you are in the “city” (being in the front yard), you did some work, took a few steps, and you are in the virgin forest, or your garden, or vegetable garden, etc. And no one may even know that your house here is an ordinary “hill.” They think you have a normal house or even a cottage. And you spend your time so modestly, looking at the blooming garden, which, by the way, very few rich people can afford. After all, the garden was grown by you. This is your success, dear, that’s why you are so happy. But here it was planted by professionals: beautiful, but dead. This is why rich people change their dachas so quickly. After all, this is not their success, this is the designer’s success. And he doesn’t bring them joy... That’s the secret.

The second house, along with all the advantages of the first, also has its own distinctive ones. If you want to live in a modern house, but at the same time its appearance should not spoil the natural landscape - this is for you (see Fig. 7). This can be a house - a gallery of any shape (circle, oval, square, triangle, hexagon, etc.) with a courtyard. It is convenient in that it is possible to access all rooms both from inside the house and through the yard along the shortest route. In the overall landscape of the site, it does not visually stick out and does not absorb the surrounding space.
For those who find it difficult to move from “civilized” architecture to nature and simplicity, the patio is a real find. You can organize a pool or a fountain in it, or you can do it all together. Concrete paths or lawn. You can even glaze the entire upper space of the patio.
The walls facing the courtyard can be made “classic”, i.e. leave open, from the building materials from which the house is built, clad with tiles, wild stone, marble, clapboard, etc. In a word, whatever you want. You can also make an embankment, sod it, turning it into a lawn or flowerbed and arrange a mini-garden inside the courtyard with grapes, cherries, Christmas trees... Organize a decorative pond without fear that water and tree roots will get into the house (don’t forget about drainage ditches or gutters). People around you won’t even think that everything is like that with you! External embankment can be simple.

On the top of such a house-complex you can put a gazebo with an all-round view, or an unheated summer room. Summer kitchen, but you can also place it inside the yard. You can display hives, and if the hives are decks, then you can arrange them into a fabulous ensemble. You can even install greenhouses (they will not block out much light) or simply organize a mini-garden. Your possibilities are endless!
As you can see, all these houses are characterized by one thing - a combination of opposites: civilized and natural. Moreover, you can freely choose the ratio of living and dying elements in your home! In addition to everything, we can say that this project can be completely autonomous: water supply, sewerage, etc.

Construction of a fox hole.

1 - description of the fox hole

It is unlikely that anywhere else you can feel such a sense of security as in a bunded building.

The secret is simple - the energy and spirit of the earth literally permeate the structure under the turf dome. Natural grounding of the building relieves stress and removes electromagnetic fields caused by stray currents, which is typical for multi-story reinforced concrete structures.

There are no fears of heating power outages and power outages here, since in order to maintain comfortable temperature A basic wood fire is enough.

As usual, holiday villages flash monotonously outside the window of the electric train. Booths, huts, houses, houses, houses...

And behind all this pile of buildings, the main thing is not visible - the beauty of the cultivated land. And the houses themselves (or rather, the cases) are empty most of the year. In cold weather, warming them up for the night (+15...+ 16°C) is problematic: until the walls warm up, it’s time to get ready for the city.

In a bunded house, the water in the pipes or in the kettle will never freeze, and with a minimum of costs it is easy to create comfortable conditions accommodation. Flaw natural light can be compensated by installing transparent roof elements (skylights), the efficiency of which is much higher than traditional windows.

Modern bunded structures can be the most for various purposes: these are premises for livestock, garages for agricultural machinery, etc. Houses built using the simplest materials ( expanded clay concrete blocks, sandbags, logs, soil blocks), can help solve the acute housing problem of many categories of the population - refugees, displaced people, etc.

This type of bunded houses received the code name “Fox Hole”.

2 - production of work
At the first stage, a common pit is dug with a depth of 0.5-0.8 m and dimensions 0.5 m larger than the dimensions of the future building. The soil is piled up around the perimeter of the embankment.

At the bottom of the pit they make strip foundation 400 mm thick and 250 mm deep, made of M300 concrete, reinforced with ZF6A-1 mesh. A 150 mm thick preparation of sand and gravel mixture is laid under the strip foundation. On the top of the foundation there is waterproofing made of two layers of roofing felt on bitumen.

The walls of the house are erected from red brick M100 on cement-sand mortar M50: up to the 0.00 mark - 380 mm thick, above - 250 mm thick. Walls can be made from other materials, for example, from concrete blocks, or made from monolithic expanded clay concrete. The outer surfaces of the walls in contact with the ground must be insulated by coating with hot bitumen (two or three times) or roofing felt.

The ceiling is made of hollow reinforced concrete slabs of type PK63-15-8, on top of which a leveling screed is made. The ceiling is insulated with polystyrene foam boards 50-70 mm thick, which are laid on cold bitumen mastic. The insulation layer is covered with two or three layers of roofing felt (waterproofing) on ​​bitumen mastic with waterproofing of the junction points with the walls.
On top of the structure is a clay castle with a layer of 10-15 cm, followed by embankment with soil removed from the pit. Subsequently, this place can be sown ornamental grass, arrange a flower garden, etc.

1 - veranda (14.0 m2);
2 - kitchen (12.0 m2);
3 - room (20.0 m2);
4 - vegetable storage (18.0 m2);
5 - greenhouse (18.0 m2);
6 - pantry (1.3 m2);
7 - bench-locker;
8 - water absorber pit

3 - what is needed and what is obtained

1 - three layers of roofing felt on bitumen mastic (40 mm);
2 - reinforced concrete slabs;
3 - expanded polystyrene (plates 50mm thick);
4 - clay (100 mm);
5 - bulk soil with turf;
6 - galvanized iron;
7 - reinforced concrete lintel;
8 - metal frame of the greenhouse;
9 - drainage around the perimeter;
10 - foundation blocks FBS-3;
11 – linoleum on a heat-insulating basis;
12 – waterproofing;
13 – cement-sand screed (20 mm);
14 – expanded clay concrete M75 (50 mm);
15 – compacted soil;
16 – brick M100.

Ventilation

1. When we turn on the oven, air from the room begins to be taken in and thrown out (I think this is clear to everyone, I won’t explain). This results in active ventilation when a person is present.

2. At first we thought this if the stove pipe was located at the bottom, then let the air enter the room through it and do not make a “suction” pipe. Well, after this “experiment” they lit the stove and lay down on the floor of the bed. It wasn't like that. It became somehow uncomfortable to sleep, I was sweating, there wasn’t enough air... that’s when I started talking about the suction and suction.
In general, the final conclusion is this: it is imperative to have two pipes for passive ventilation (suction-exhaust).

When you flood the stove, it turns out that one pipe works for inflow (suction) and two for exhaust (suction + stove)

When you leave, you end up with two pipes for inflow (suction + furnace) and one for exhaust

3. There is a “suction” on the pipe- installed a damper to regulate the supply of incoming air. If you thought that I sit there all day long at these two pipes and control their suction and exhaust, then you were wrong to think so. Because they are all always completely open, and I sometimes close the damper when it’s cool in the room (for example, we just arrived and haven’t lit the stove yet)

4. An interesting effect began to be observed: At night, a decent amount of water flowed from our ventilation pipes. Well, let's look at this matter:

We hung up decorative “condensation collectors” (collarly known as salad bowls) and this water now flowed not past the basin, but into the “ Right place"Well, of course, once every three days the water needs to be drained...
IF YOU THOUGHT, WHAT WILL IT BE, WHEN THE PERSON IS NOT IN THE HOLE, IT WILL BE ALL FLOODED WITH CONDENSATE.... Here's what I'll tell you in response to this.

The entire “Fox Hole” project can be called a “Living House” and, as is customary in nature, many problems (from our heads) are solved there automatically.

Look: I left Norka, The stove can’t be lit, the man can’t breathe...
Damn, condensation stopped forming... strange Yes?
And it’s not a fool for condensation to form everywhere. He is also a “human being” and must be respected. So, condensation forms only when the stove is lit in the room (it’s very warm inside), and at night it’s relatively cold outside, so all the water vapors (breath, fresh log house, etc.) began to come out into the chimney, and it’s cold outside, so it and the native condensate flowed back inside. And we immediately collected it (in saucepans, basins, jars, salad bowls, etc.). All that remains is to do it all beautifully. Which is what was done.
Moreover, on the basis of this, Gekov came up with a unique idea to obtain water for the estate based on these properties. There he offered me such a thing, which I’m still afraid to talk about here. But there it comes out to 200 liters. You can get water a day...

5. Checking the functionality of such a system: well that means so. I varnished the floors, sealed the Burrow (my windows are good and the doors too, and the walls are already covered from the outside) and left for the city.
Arriving in the city, I was sick for half a day from this painting - I exhaled directly from the paint... Well, in general, they painted it with soul." Arriving a day later at the hole, I discovered that not only was the entire painted floor dry, but there wasn’t even a smell left, and so it didn’t remain that he even slept on the floor (there was no furniture then). Since then, I have observed this more than once (painting the crib, windows, doors, etc.) and constantly such garbage.
WHICH CONFIRMS THE EXCELLENT OPERATION OF VENTILATION.
AND THE ROOM IS ALWAYS DRY, WARM AND COMFORTABLE.

In order to maintain normal temperatures and humidity, good supply and exhaust ventilation must be provided. To do this, it is better to install two pipes, in different places buildings. Inlet exhaust pipe located under the ceiling, and the supply air - at a height of 0.5-0.6 m from the floor. The movement of air through the pipes occurs as a result of the temperature difference in the lower and upper parts of the room. The draft increases with increasing height of the exhaust pipe, which is installed above the “ridge of the roof”.

The cross-section of ventilation pipes is selected taking into account the area. So, with an area of ​​6-8 m2, the cross-section is taken equal to 120X120 mm. If only one ventilation pipe is made, its cross-section must be at least 150X150 mm. Pipes located within the attic must be insulated.

Pipes can be made from well-fitted boards 30-40 mm thick. Although it can be made of plastic. They are equipped with valves to regulate air exchange.

Rice. Valve design for draft control:
1 - ventilation pipe; 2 - gate valve (valve)

In small rooms, you can install one ventilation pipe divided into two channels. One channel (exhaust) starts higher, the other (supply) starts lower.

As for heating and power supply, today in Russia there are sufficiently developed electrical installations of wind and other types. It is especially worth noting the YUSMAR installation, developed and already produced in Russia, capable of heating and supplying hot water and even electricity individual houses. Its efficiency is 150% (may physicists forgive us, but this is true, there are no errors or any contradictions with science).