Cave Houses

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TerryC
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Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:18 am
Location: Antequera

Cave Houses

Postby TerryC » Tue Mar 20, 2012 2:15 pm

Does anybody live in a cave house or have experience of cave houses? What happens when it pours with rain for days on end as it can do from time to time in Spain, do you get leaks, damp patches or mould? People say that the temperature in cave houses is very stable all year round, is that true considering the cold winter we have just had? What sort of maintenance is required in a cave house that is in any way different to a normal house. How is an escritura worded, are there any legal problems encountered when purchasing a cave house. Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

barry
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Posts: 519
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 1:14 pm
Location: Cave El Margen,Granada

Re: Cave Houses

Postby barry » Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:55 pm

Would need to write a book to answer all your questions.
First the temp of the cave is more stable not too low in winter and nice and cool in summer but not the same temp all year round. A good cave will not leak water and most damp type problems are as a result of insufficient air flow.The escritura of a cave mentions the square meterage of devoloped cave and shows the land you own. This is not always the land above your cave.
Having rented a townhouse for several months in El Higueral, which is near where you live, I remeber it being freezing cold in winter despite our attempts to heat it and far too hot in summer.
We have lived in our cave for 5 years now and it has taken less to heat it every year irespective of the weather outside.
Your 'council tax' is based on the amount of land you own and the amount of outbuild on your cave, we only have a bathroom and small upstairs lounge that is outbuild the rest being cave.
My best advice is come and have a look, more than willing to show you our cave and give you a look around our area should you wish.

oliveview01
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2984
Joined: Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:31 pm
Location: Sevilla

Re: Cave Houses

Postby oliveview01 » Tue Mar 20, 2012 8:41 pm

Last winter on the Spanish tv they showed some cave houses that had had thier ceilings fall in, some had massive rocks fall through their ceilings, they blamed it on the very heavy rainfall.

carrowcrin
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Re: Cave Houses

Postby carrowcrin » Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:57 pm

I do not know if this will be of any help.
I have a friend who has a house and the basement is like a cave as it is under the ground and just 2 rooms surrounded by rock and with a concrete celing.
Then there is a nice little house on top of same, what they do is use the basement as a living/bedroom when it is very hot and it works very well as they do not need to have any air con, the downside is that it is too cold in the winter but they have the other space for this time.
It seems works very well for them.

v.dubber
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Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:33 pm

Re: Cave Houses

Postby v.dubber » Sat May 05, 2012 9:26 pm

Theres always a lot of scare mongering re cave houses. As Barry says, give one a test drive. There are loads of cave holiday rentals, B&B's and even cave hotels. There is also loads of information and advice on the caveliving forum. Remember, a lot of these caves are several hundred years old ans still standing. They can also be the most eco friendly homes available.
Its the way forward! :thumbup:
Cave info: http://caveliving.forummotion.com
Inland Spain: http://inlandspain.forumotion.com


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