Hi everyone who lives in cave houses.

I am looking to move to the Granada region with a specific interest in cave houses. I’m wondering how the cave houses coped with the heavy rains in winter, were any areas of Granada particularly flooded & were there any problems with water seeping through the caves?

Thanks in anticipation.

susisoo - 30 June 2010 05:46 PM

Hi everyone who lives in cave houses.

I am looking to move to the Granada region with a specific interest in cave houses. I’m wondering how the cave houses coped with the heavy rains in winter, were any areas of Granada particularly flooded & were there any problems with water seeping through the caves?

Thanks in anticipation.

Hi We have purchased a Cave house near Gor in Granada, Had it a year and we move in this August,

Like most cave houses we have had water penatration through the roof, in our case it is only stained the cecilings, and will dry out,
I have seen some bad cases, But all repairable, Also most stndard homes have sufferecxjust as much, and in some cases more,
The Spainish do not water proof, Well they didn’t they might now, After the worst winter in 30 years,
If you are thinking of buying a cave house , just some tips we have learnt,

Do not buy with a road above you,
Do not buy with another cave above you
Concrete the roof, that will solve the leaks.
Talk to your estate agent and we can recomend Rusticom in Baza, talk to Nic Watchet.brillant for us,
Hope this helps
Tom and Jen

tom jen - 01 July 2010 01:58 AM

susisoo - 30 June 2010 05:46 PM

Hi everyone who lives in cave houses.

I am looking to move to the Granada region with a specific interest in cave houses. I’m wondering how the cave houses coped with the heavy rains in winter, were any areas of Granada particularly flooded & were there any problems with water seeping through the caves?

Thanks in anticipation.

Hi We have purchased a Cave house near Gor in Granada, Had it a year and we move in this August,

Like most cave houses we have had water penatration through the roof, in our case it is only stained the cecilings, and will dry out,
I have seen some bad cases, But all repairable, Also most stndard homes have sufferecxjust as much, and in some cases more,
The Spainish do not water proof, Well they didn’t they might now, After the worst winter in 30 years,
If you are thinking of buying a cave house , just some tips we have learnt,

Do not buy with a road above you,
Do not buy with another cave above you
Concrete the roof, that will solve the leaks.
Talk to your estate agent and we can recomend Rusticom in Baza, talk to Nic Watchet.brillant for us,
Hope this helps
Tom and Jen

Hi Tom & Jen,

Thank you for your reply and advice it was very helpful.

After living in a village house previously we knew the damp galloped up the walls and wondered if caves may have a similar problem from the roof!

I agree that maybe a rethink on damp proofing is needed, however it has not put us off and we can’t wait to be cave dwellers.

We hope your move goes well and wish you ‘buena suerte’ in your new cave home.
Regards,
Susisoo

hi and welcome. Dont worry! We have a cave in a village called Orce and there are thousands of caves in the area, yes there were some which had water damage as there were houses, but the majority were fine, and remember that rain like that hadn’t been known for years. So go ahead get a cave, you wont regret it. There is a forum dedicated to Caveliving, do a search on google with the word caveliving and you will find it. Good luck with your cave hunt.

Hi SIPCaveman,

Thanks for your reply and good wishes. It’s great to get feedback from Cavedwellers.
I will look on the link you’ve suggested as that is one I haven’t yet seen.
Many thanks,
susisoo.

There are more pictures and details here for you

http://inlandspain.forumotion.com

http://caveliving.forummotion.com/

http://www.spanish-inland-properties.com/index.php?call=gencontent&s=16

Hi, we own 2 cave houses near Cullar. One of our caves had a little damage at the front where there was not much depth of soil, main cave fine. Small one fixed with steel & concrete so it won’t happen again, but cave living is great, speak to sean, at spanish Inland properties. Good luck you won’t regret it!! If you want to see ours, drop me a line on the private line!

I spent a few days in a cave hotel in August.  It was deliciously cool, however, I would be worried about the winter months.  Everything is quirky as the walls are not straight and it’s a great holiday house but I wouldn’t live in it.

Why would you worry about the winter? Get the woodburner going and its really cosy, cos the heats got no where to go except round you like a blanket!!

Winter is no problem, last year it was -9deg outside at night, inside it was a comfortable 17deg without the woodburner going.

I stand corrected!  Saving on winter fuel must be really significant.  We get through around ?300 of firewood (for a single log-burner) and ?300 on butane for the central heating which we only use during January & February.  It never goes below 0? as we are just up from the coast.  Now I’m jealous of your excellent insulation.

We have just the one log burner in the cave, and we just light that in the evening in the winter. It warms the cave right through within a few minutes. To be honest we only light it because my wife feels the cold.
Dont forget cave houses come in all different shapes and styles, there is one just across the vally from us that is on three levels with the most fantastis staircase in the centre. Other benefits are:value for money, they often tend to be in mountanous areas so the air is crisp and fresh, theres no light pollution, and you can make as much noise as you want and the neighbours wont hear you (I was thinking of music!)
Dont be put off by your one bad experience, very few cave dwellers return to living in a box.