Davis Caves

We will design and build to your specific floor plan
or choose from our 80 page plan book,
Earth Sheltered Designs.

Earth Powered Homes from Davis Caves sets the standard for excellence in earth-sheltered design and construction. Each home is crafted from the finest materials according to plans and specifications prepared by professional architects and engineers. A sampling of the exciting designs being built across the country are shown HERE! or, if you prefer, custom home planning is available. Once you have selected a plan meeting your needs, Davis Caves starts constructing your state-of-the-art home. Adaptable to most terrain configurations, it will have strong, steel-reinforced concrete walls and roof, poured on the site to exacting, commercial standards. After the application of waterproofing, insulation, and tiling, the home is covered with a contoured blanket of at least three feet of earth. Your home now has EARTH POWER! The temperature moderating properties of the earth mean that you may have to heat your home only 10-15 degrees to be comfortable during even the coldest winters. In addition to being cool in the summer, your Earth Powered Home will be storm and fire resistant, quiet, secure, and will require only minimal maintenance. The interior may be finished to your taste, whether traditional or contemporary. If you have been seeking a home that is efficient in its use of space and energy and is built in harmony with the earth, come to Davis Caves, the largest and most experienced builder of earth-sheltered homes.


MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO VISIT A MODEL HOME

The Davis Family built the first Davis Cave Earth Sheltered Home in 1976. The energy crisis of the 1970's, and resulting skyrocketing costs to heat and cool homes, created our business in 1977. Our Earth Sheltered Homes offer a year-round energy savings of 50% - 80%, and a tremendous savings on maintenance costs. Creative floor plans allow an abundance of natural light. The applications for Earth Sheltered building are endless. Even though the majority of our business is residential, the Earth Sheltered concept has been applied to numerous types of buildings such as offices, veterinarian clinics and churches. In the agricultural field, we have built underground farrowing houses.

A new era of homes has been born with
DAVIS CAVES

.


WHY THEY WORK

THE TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH IS AT THE 8 FOOT MARK IS A CONSTANT 58 DEGREES. THIS TEMPERATURE WILL VARY SLIGHTLY DEPENDING ON THE AREA.
The Davis Caves concept utilizes the energy of the earth (Earth Power) to provide heating in the Winter and cooling in the Summer. Example: WIth an outside temperature of 10 degrees below, it would be necessary to raise the temperature in a conventional home 80 degrees to reach a comfortable 70 degree level. A Davis Caves Earth Sheltered Home of the same size would require the temperature to be raised only 12 degrees to reach the same 70 degrees. Regardless of how cold the outside temperature is.

MINIMUM OF THREE FEET OF EARTH COVER
As opposed to an "Earth Bermed" house (with a conventional roof), our reinforced concrete ceiling, coupled with Earth on top (earth cover), provides safety from storms, tonadoes, and fire. Our Earth covered roof also eliminates maintenance, such as cleaing gutters, re-painting, re-shigling, etc. Also, with a conventional roof, you are unable to take advantage of the "Earth Power" at the eight foot level.

REINFORCED CONCRETE SHELL
Our ceiling and load-bearing walls are poured-in-place concrete, heavily reinforced with re-bar. All structural calculations are by licensed architects and structural engineers. Our concrete ceiling and walls easily lend themselves to a smooth or plastered finish. The interior may be finished to your taste, whether it be traditional or contemporary. Our shell crews install all rough-in electrical and plumbing in the concrete.

AIR CIRCULATION SYSTEM
Our "fresh-air" circulation system removes concern for radon gas, etc.

THE HOME IS PROPERLY INSULATED
Our method controls the transfer of the heat and cooling properties of the earth and concrete. The proper placement of styrofoam insulation is vital to this process. We recommend extrudent polystyrene insulation.

DRAINAGE TILE
The tile is placed on, around, and beneath the structure If any water should reach the structure, the tile will carry it away from the building. Davis Caves does not build below the water table.

WATERPROOFING
Bentonite is used to repel any/all water that may reach the structure. This sealer is used because of its proven record of dependability and its superior water-repellant qualitites.


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Davis Caves, Inc.
Box 549
Atlanta, IL 61723
Davis Caves Logo Phone: 877-237-3138
Fax: 877-237-3138
Email: earthome@daviscaves.com