Editing Earth shelter (section)

===Disadvantages===
====Financial cost====
Three main factors influence overall cost of home construction, namely, design complexity, materials used, and whether the owner(s) carries out some or all of the construction or pays others to do it.<ref name="mcconkey2011" /> Custom houses with complex designs tend to be more expensive and take longer to build than stock houses. Houses which use expensive materials will be more expensive than houses which use low cost materials. Owner labor can dramatically cut construction costs.<ref name="mcconkey2011" />

Both earth sheltered projects and construction of regular houses have significant variability in the design, materials and labor involved. As such it is difficult to make a precise comparison of cost between the two, however in general an earth shelter is much more expensive.<ref name="mcconkey2011" />

A small "underground home" built in the style of Oehler, as only a simple, non-waterproofed hole in ground with simple planks and a plastic sheet to a wall, despite using free labour (ignoring the [[opportunity cost]]s of not having time to go to work) and recycled materials, e.g. windows and planks for the wall, is estimated to be 30% cheaper to construct when compared to paying a contractor to build a regular house using new construction materials at standard prices,<ref name="mcconkey2011" /> although Oehler's design will quickly rot and collapse after a few years.

A particular factor that strongly influences the cost of an earth shelter is the amount of earth that covers it. The more earth covering the structure, the greater the expense is needed in having a structure capable of withstanding the load (see also: [[#Roof|Roof]]).<ref name="roy2006" /><ref name="mcconkey2011" /> Another important cost factor that tends to be unique to earth shelters is site excavation and backfilling.<ref name="roy2006" /> The amount of waterproofing is also more costly. On the other hand, earth shelters should have lower maintenance costs since they are mostly covered with little exposed exterior.<ref name="reddy2003" />

Many financial institutions outright exclude financing on earth-sheltered homes,<ref name="wampler2003">{{cite book |author1=L Wampler |title=Underground homes |date=2003 |publisher=Pelican Pub. Co. |isbn=9780882892733 |language=en|oclc=58835250 }}</ref> or require this type of property to be common for the area.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

====Design complexity====
Overall it is more technically challenging to design an earth shelter compared to a regular home. Because of the unorthodox design and construction of earth-sheltered homes, local building codes and ordinances may need to be researched and/or navigated. Many construction companies have limited or no experience with earth-sheltered construction, potentially compromising the physical construction of even the best designs. The specific architecture of earth houses usually leads to non-righted, round-shaped walls, which can cause problems concerning the interior decoration, especially regarding furniture and large paintings.

Repairs to the walls are very difficult to service; and may require re-evaluating and rebuilding the house from scratch.

An earth shelter cannot be enlarged with an extra room - this will require breaking the waterproofing sealant cladding the concrete walls of the building.

====Sustainability====
In "green building", four "lifetime" phases of a building are described, namely material sources, construction, in use, and deconstruction ([[life-cycle assessment]]).<ref name=thorpe2018>{{cite book |author1=D Thorpe |title=Passive solar architecture pocket reference |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781138501287 |language=en|oclc=1032285568 }}</ref> Terms carbon zero and negative carbon buildings refer to the net greenhouse gas emissions over these four phases. Questions therefore arise as to whether certain structures are truly environmentally friendly. For example, raw materials must be extracted from the earth, transported and then manufactured into building materials and transported again to be sold and finally transported to the build site. A lot of fossil fuels may be used during each of these stages.

Earth sheltering often requires heavier construction materials to resist the weight of the earth against the walls and/or roof. [[Reinforced concrete]] in particular needs to be used in much larger quantities per building. The manufacture of concrete is a major source of greenhouse gases.

The materials involved tend to be non-biodegradable substances. Because the materials must keep water out, they are often made of plastics. The excavation of a site is also drastically time- and labor-consuming. Overall, the construction is comparable to conventional construction, because the building requires minimal finishing and significantly less maintenance.

====Moisture and indoor air quality====
Problems of water seepage, internal [[condensation]], bad acoustics, and poor indoor air quality can occur if an earth shelter has not been properly designed and ventilated. Very high humidity levels can allow [[Mold (fungus)|mold]] or mildew growth, associated with a musty smell and potentially with health problems. The below-ground orientation of many earth-sheltered homes can allow accumulation of [[radon]] gas (which is known to increase the risk of lung cancer) or other undesirable materials (e.g. off gassing from construction materials).

The threat of water seepage occurs around areas where the waterproofing layers have been penetrated. Earth usually settles gradually. Vents and ducts emerging from the roof can cause specific problems due to the possibility of movement. Precast concrete slabs can have a deflection of 1/2&nbsp;inch or more when the earth/soil is layered on top of them. If the vents or ducts are held rigidly in place during this deflection, the result is usually the failure of the waterproofing layer. To avoid this difficulty, vents can be placed on other sides of the building (besides the roof), or separate segments of pipes can be installed. A narrower pipe in the roof that fits snugly into a larger segment of the building can also be used. The threat of water seepage, condensation, and poor indoor air quality can all be overcome with proper waterproofing and ventilation.

====Limited natural light====
Despite large windows (usually facing south in the [[Northern Hemisphere]]), many earth-sheltered homes have dark areas in the areas opposite the windows. All natural light coming from one side of the home can give a "tunnel or cave effect".

====Risk of collapse====
Reports of collapse seem to be rare. In one case, an author and proponent of earth sheltering died when an earth roof he designed collapsed on him.<ref name=roy2006>{{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Robert L |title=Earth-sheltered houses: how to build an affordable underground home |date=2006 |publisher=New Society |isbn=9780865715219 |language=en|oclc=959772584 }}</ref>

====Limited escape routes====
Compared to above ground house, earth-shelters may have limited escape routes in case of emergency,<ref name="reddy2003" /> which can fail egress and fenestration building codes.<ref name="roy2006" />

====Legal issues====
An earth shelter may not be able to be adapted to existing local building codes, and may not legally be lived in.