How to Replace an Underground Home’s Ceiling?

LESLIE: Stan, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

STAN: Oh, well, I had just bought a house that was built in 1995. It’s a 4,000-square-foot underground home.

TOM: Wow. That sounds neat.

LESLIE: And it’s not a transformed missile? I’ve been to Oklahoma and I’ve seen these missile-launching areas that have been sort of retaken over and turned into homes.

STAN: No, this is actually an underground concrete structure that was specifically built to be a house.

TOM: Do you get to mow your roof?

STAN: Yes, I do.

LESLIE: Interesting.

TOM: Very cool. So, what can we help you with?

STAN: Well, I knew when I bought this that it had a few leaks. And being that the house is getting close to being 20 years old, I feel that it’s time to probably remove the dirt and expose and probably replace the roof. And especially since I have some leaks. And I’m having trouble finding somebody that deals with any kind of underground structure/home and especially in a roof/ceiling of that nature.

And I was curious if – I’m sure this is probably going to be an expensive undertaking. But furthermore, after I go back and get it all done, when I find the contractor to do it, what may be – is there some care/preventative maintenance that – how I care for that underground roof system, so I’m not coming back at a later date and time and going back through the same process.

TOM: There’s no way we could give you the answer to that question but we can give you some advice on how to approach it.

What I would do is I would find an architect to spec out this roof project, because it’s a big project, 4,000-square-foot roof. And I would have an architect or an engineer spec out the project. Let them do the research on what is the most viable materials out there right now, available, to replace this roof with. And have them provide – prepare a specification for that.

It’s worth the investment because then with that spec, you can bring it to qualified contractors. And I would guess probably the best contractors would be those that do commercial roofing, not residential roofing. And have them follow this specification exactly. I would not try to find a roofing contractor that has their own personal idea of how to do this. Because you’re not going to find somebody that’s experienced in these homes; it’s too unique. But if you find a building professional that could spec this out for you, do the research on the best way to replace that roof, that spec will be very valuable to you.

STAN: Perfect. That’s a great idea. Never even thought of that.

TOM: Alright. Well, good luck, Stan.