Testimonials

My husband and I built one of these homes and are sitting very comfortably through this winter weather without a care! We are very toasty warm and enjoy the sunlight light that also helps keep the Earth Sheltered home warm! -Margaret G- (IL)

We have recently had our three modules poured. The crews were professional, careful, and fast. We initially had trouble meeting ResCheck requirements and finding HVAC professionals, so the EST people provided resources for both. We have zero complaints and sterling service, with several meetings at our site.We just now poured the floor, and will soon enclose the front. We feel that our build is a good value, that it is not overpriced. We recommend EST, and, although we plan to stay in this home forever, we would definitely build with them again. Jeanne N (WI)

We have been in our Earth Sheltered Technologies (EST) underground home for about 18 months and we love it. We did not have any problems with the construction of our home. The EST representatives and workers were awesome. They did a great job constructing the concrete shell, waterproofing and covering the structure with dirt. The EST people were knowledgeable, easy to work with, did what they said they would do and were flexible when needed. Our local contractor did a super job finishing the house, also. It was very important to have a good flexible local contractor, since some things had to be done a little differently than normal home construction. Our home is great and everyone that visits really loves it. They are all surprised at how light it is inside, especially since we did not face it south, have a covered porch across the front and have no skylights or light tubes. Visibly our home is beautiful, inside and outside. (We may be a little prejudice.) It is very comfortable, extremely quiet and gives us a very secure type feeling. Our home is easy to heat and cool. Following an ice storm last winter, we were without any source of heat, with single digit temperatures outside for three days. The temperature inside our house dropped from 70 degrees to 66 degrees. We have two inside dogs that must be let out a few times each day and of course we went in and out a few times to view the spectacular iced landscape. This past summer and fall we had our HVAC systems turned off most of the time and the inside temperature stayed between 68 and 72 degrees. We’ve been using dehumidifiers in our home as concrete takes a long time to dry; plus we built in a very damp area and on a cliff overlooking a waterfall. The dehumidifiers ran most of the time at first, but not so often now. We keep the humidity around a comfortable 55 percent. We have had a tremendous amount rain since we moved in, but no leaks. We love our underground home and wish we could have built it many years earlier! David and Charlotte R Jamestown, TN - earth home builder

“Building an earth-sheltered home and choosing EST to build it were two of the best decisions we’ve made in our lives. EST is extremely easy to work with, very professional and very experienced. Our home was built on schedule, and the crew was knowledgeable and courteous. The home office was extremely helpful with our design and patient with our questions. We have lived in our home for over 10 years, have experienced no water leaks, no settling, and no structural cracking, even though we have been through two earth-quakes. The home holds a natural high of 77 degrees in summer, and a natural low of 65 degrees in winter. Therefore, the only HVAC system we need is a wall mounted split system with an outside compressor. Our energy bills for HVAC are about $30/month, summer and winter. The home is so quiet we had to get a dog to let us know when visitors drove up our driveway. And as we installed a sun-tube in every room, we have no need to keep lights on during the day. Everyone who walks into our home says the same thing – ‘I can’t believe how much light there is in here. This does not feel like it’s underground at all.’” Greg H (TN)

“For years my wife and I explored many different Earth friendly design options in our quest to construct a house with an exterior that is uniquely proportioned for our chosen site and an interior composition that defines our lifestyle and values. For peace of mind, we wanted a structure that offered protection from natural disasters and resistance to sustained weathering. In 2006 we decided to build an Earth Sheltered Technology home in the Black Hills of Wyoming. The location we choose is at an elevation of 6300 feet, overlooking a rock faced canyon surrounded with pine and aspen trees, exposed to the harshest of Wyoming weather - severe blizzards, high winds, tornados, sustained cold temperatures, considerable snow, and intense sunshine. After living in our home for over 9 years, our choice to build an EST home was the best thing we could have ever done. During our design phase the EST Team diligently worked with us until we were satisfied with every aspect of our final layout and with technical details associated with structural design … no architect or engineer was needed. We were able to proceed with construction without a general contractor because of the professional and experienced staff of EST. Their crews were knowledgeable, courteous, and worked well with our subcontractors. The EST portion of our construction was completed on time and within budget, in spite of some harsh working conditions attributed to unusual spring and fall weather. Our house faces south east for the most part to capture solar gain. We have portions of three sides of our structure exposed to natural light. We added three Sola-Tubes so each room in the house has natural light. We choose to go with total electric heating to take advantage of reduced electric rates associated with a heat sink design (earth storage floor heating system) by Therma-Ray Smart Rooms. Our electric panels are located one foot below the top of our ceramic tile floor and offer comfort and warmth without forced air. Our highest monthly heating cost for our approximately 5000sf is $275.00. We did not install air conditioning because our house maintains a comfortable upper 70’s temp during the extremes of summer. EST followed through promptly and professionally before, during, and after construction. In addition, to our enjoyment, the owners visited our house (or should I say their house) after we moved in. This was a nice reunion between professional, considerate, business associates and friends and us, that developed from this building experience. Our home is named HOPE (Home Of Peaceful Endeavors). Thank You EST for enriching our lives and helping to sustain our dream.” John & Diane (WY)

Jeff was great to work with during the entire process while they built our home. They followed through with everything that they promised and made sure we were satisfied with the end result. I would highly recommend Jeff and Earth Sheltered Technology. We have moved into our new home and love it! -Aaron R- (TX)