#bushcraft #dugout #buildingadugout Hello everyone, this is a video for new subscribers! We building a house underground from start to finish 1 year in 40 minutes Happy viewing!
This is one of the key videos that taught me to make sure to select a site as high above the water table as possible AND to design the dugout to prevent flooding AND to have a plan when all that planning and designing fails
What's gonna keep the inside from growing mold, especially under that flooring? I'm not sure it would've made any difference but why didn't you guys put plastic under the flooring like you did the walls?
I appreciate that most of this is real. You didn’t pretend to make concrete out of plain dirt; you didn’t pretend to make a stove by rubbing some sticks together. That fFlooring, you didn’t claim it was anything it’s not. Nice camera work, team!
@@zoltanhriagyel6683 That's what I am saying. These guys .. They did not pretend. Some people on RU-vid do. This is not. It's impressive to watch this video because they are not pretending.
Great work! I think that you guys will need a solar powered sump pump with a float switch, otherwise, you'll just have an underground swimming pool. ;)
I was a little curious as to how seepage was going to be handled. A type of french drain in a gravel bed with run-off would have been nice, terrain permitting.
I feel bad about the water. I can tell from the sides of the hole that you are in a low part of the water table. Which means this hole is always going to collect water.
You are correct, but they placed tarps outside the walls and built a raised floor which will keep out water. It is also soil, not clay. So it should not really hold water.
If it does put a barrel in under thefloor with a 12 bolt battery with a solar powered battery tender and a 12 volt bilge pump that has a float that pumps pretty high gallons a hour problem solved
I thought Drainage should have been priority at the beginning,That water under the floor is going to be an issue whichever way you dress it. Cool build though and a lot of work. Bear in mind Shaun from My Self Reliance built a whole cabin on his own over a year with drainage,Then did it again. Mad respect for all of you doing these projects in the middle of nowhere. The Apocalypse is Coming😜
And if you want, you can always add a cabin on top of this dug out, because it sure looks like it can handle it, and I'm sure you guys know how to add a floor or two above it. Thanks for the video. By the way, I love how your dog got its way on what side of the bed it wanted. 😁🦊
you can poly the walls all you want but if you don't do the floor, you're still going to end up in a wading pool because the water is just going to seep in from underneath at the very least, put a trough of weeping tile around the perimeter that directs the water caught behind the walls away from the shelter... even better would be to completely cover the floor in gravel (at a 2% slope directed away from the shelter) and build a raised floor to stay off it...
SUGGESTION IF YOU DON'T MIND... IF YOU EVER BUILD ANOTHER ONE: * For a "little" extra work and cost, you can REDUCE your water under your floor.... and that will keep you much healthier by getting rid of the possible mold problem (from the water sitting under the floor long periods of time and not draining). HOW? * By using a "French Drain!" * If you have a creek nearby, you can use the small river stones and create a method to drain the water under your floor away from your dugout EXTRA COST & TIME: * It will cost you some extra energy to get the stones for the area under your floor and on the sides of your dugout (so the water drains better). * It will cost you some extra energy to dig the two ditches that go from the sides of your dugout... all the way out to the front of your dugout (underground) out about 10 to 20 feet. * It will cost you a little bit of money to get a couple long plastic PVC pipes which will be used under your wooden floor to drain the water away. They have holes drilled in them and a fine netting attached to it (so it doesn't get clogged). * And it will cost you a little extra money for more plastic tarp, aka moisture barrier, to go under your floor. TIP: * The only thing that is necessary for this to work is that your dugout MUST be built on a slight "slope", aka the side of a hill, so the water drains away from your dugout. * To be honest with you, it's not that much more work that what you did already.... AND it's not that much more in cost.... and it gives you a healthier environment inside... AND the dugout will last a lot longer... which you already know because you "burnt" some of the logs so they wouldn't rot so fast. For more info, do a search on RU-vid on how to make a "French Drain" and that will help you in the future!!! ANYWAYS.... AWESOME JOB.... LOVE WHAT YOU BUILT! FYI: My wife and I are working on building an arched concrete underground home that will be earth covered.... so we've researched the "drainage" problem a lot!!! Amen Retired, Veteran USA
@@dsloop3907 Yes, plus 100 other "experts" on construction via "Bushcraft" and 1,000s of videos on other construction techniques! Its's pretty exciting isn't it on how much info you can review! Take care, be safe Amen Retired, Veteran
Your stove vent needs to be up higher. If it is winter and the air is very cold and still, carbon monoxide can exit, get cooled down, and come back down onto your stairs area [or other areas] to find any little crevice to enter as wafted by tiny air currents to any place fresh air can get in. If it extended to double or triple the height (or at least 5 feet above grade) you have some insurance, but even then not completely. EPDM pond liner rubber sheeting would be more expensive, but a lot more durable than the plastic sheeting used. An extruded mesh cover for the skylight would give a lot of protection from big hailstones and falling tree branches. Years in the future, as soon as one of the key corner uprights rots through and gives way, somebody could be severely knocked in the head by an in-collapsing log and perhaps buried alive depending on mud viscosity.
You guys killed this. I got two questions just out of curiosity. How does the temperature in once of these compare to the temp above ground? Also what prevents that water from building up underneath?
I haven't seen a video from you in a long time. I was afraid you had been conscripted into the Army. Glad to see you safe and sound! Your work is mind-boggling!
I like the idea of a cozy, somewhat hidden, underground shelter. But I do have to wonder about the long-term longevity concerning rain and snow and moisture. Also, it seems that any needed repairs to the roof or walls will be more difficult to perform than for a conventional log or wood cabin. But it does seem like a nice place to stay in for as long as it lasts!
they did a good job and it could easily out last them with a little upkeep. they were smart to use the plastic as a barrier and it looks like they sealed the logs with something so that will help a lot, having a spot under the floor for water to collect was a good idea too. the only thing i would have done extra is burned/charred all the logs going into the ground, or even charred all the logs and sealed them afterwards on the inside. would probably outlast their great grandchildren then, charred post planted straight into the ground can easily last over 100 years without issues. you make a fair point about it being a little more difficult to repair compared to a regular cabin but really its just work and pretty straight forward so i wouldnt count that against it too much. good chance you would never have to do much to it anyways for a long time if built right. the advantages of building underground like this outweigh the cons in my opinion, you could ride out some pretty nasty storms/tornados in a setup like this, i live in tornado alley so i think thats a nice plus lol. it is also very stealthy and could be made almost invisible easily if you wanted to. by far tho i think the biggest advantage to building underground like this is how insulated it is, while the neighbors are freezing in their regular cabin in the winter and having to wake up every few hours to keep the wood stove/fireplace stocked up for heat you will be nice and toasty with very little effort, and while they are sweating and miserable in the summer time trying to sleep with the windows/door open fighting bugs and bears you will be nice and cool.
The soil provides excellent insulation when you're in an area that gets well below freezing. It also stays cool in the summer without ac. I slept like a baby in the bottom of several foxholes in harsh conditions while in the military.
That's one fancy water well. Ashame all that work done and it will never be dried in per say. Otherwise really nice work and craftsmanship but pick a better spot next time. I'm betting you chose it because of the soft ground for the digging but you see now why that ground is soft and easier to dig out. Looking forward to another project, you guys have great talent and skills and will be needed by a group of people during the inevitable collapse. Thank you
I'm concerned the water under the floor combined with the stove is going to make it humid. Also wonder if the stove is going to keep that space too warm.
They built an extra low point in the subfloor to bail out water. Decidedly low tech and labor intensive, but there you go. Also, the stove pulls air out of the room, and the air inlet across the room from the stove cycles in fresh air. These guys won't be asphyxiating in their own CO2 in winter. Not so sure how well they'll survive midsummer. Weird Enver Hoxha vibes. The dog at the end is quite a sweetie, though.
I love how this is coming together, I love the log cabin style build. And, I didn’t know that burning the logs a little is a good idea. I have to research it more.
nice work and dedication - unfortunatelly in the long run you will have quite some wet dreams in that underground place - and I mean not the nice ones ..
coming from a long line of Builders, (mostly Swiss chalets) I have never seen, putting tongue and groove flooring directly on dirt. at least there should be gravel and then some sort of insulation and sub-flooring, before the actual floor. 😊
Have you considered whether water collects inside the building? 🤔 Water that collects in the ground may collect in that hole. Do you have a solution for that?
inside forest soil digging dugout not a good idea,that kind of place always wet and if you dig it works like well,instead of soil a small hill with rocks would be perfect
I'm also wondering why you didn't burn the logs that go under the floor, since they're likely to get wet, and rot, when the hole fills up with water after a heavy rain? You burned the ones supporting the steps, so I would think the ones supporting the floor would be a lot more important to make water resistant.
very extraordinary, beautiful scenery, I'm from Indonesia, usually I make it surrounded by big and lush trees in winter.... keep up the good work, I wish you success always.
