Spanish Property Press and TV

Exactly what is a Cave Houses?
A cave house is a home that is constructed either partly or wholly underground. We all know that caves were the original home for homo sapiens at the very beginning of its evolution but we are considering here the revolutionary cave homes of the 21st century and beyond found in various parts of Southern Spain and especially in Northern Andalucia. Most modern cave homes have a number of rooms that are excavated from the surrounding hillside, often bedrooms, with a conventional part of the house built onto the front. Cave houses have many advantages over a wholly conventional constructions; they are cheaper to build and have lower running costs and each is unique in design and appearance. Because of the thermal properties of the surrounding rock they are cool in the hot summers of southern Spain and warmer in winter than conventional houses. Because of the dry climatic conditions and the type of rock in which they are built they are dry and it is rare to find any form of natural dampness within the cave rooms.

Why are there so many cave homes in Northern Andalucia?
In Galera alone, it is reckoned that there have been around 1,000 cave homes excavated in past centuries. Many of these ancient cave houses will not be restored because they are either inaccessible, have no services, have unclear or difficult ownership, or are too small.

Conditions
Cave homes and houses can only be built when certain conditions are right. The Weather. It is obvious that if you are to have dry caves, which is essential for comfort, then the weather must also be dry. On average the rainfall, in this area, is about one third of that in the UK. This low rainfall, accompanied by the long, hot, dry summers is the first requisite of a cave home.

Weather
The weather in this locality also provided the incentive to build the cave homes in the first place. The climate here is hot in the summer and cool in the winter, especially at night. Cave homes keep a relatively constant temperature of around 18 to 20 deg. C. summer and winter. They certainly do not require air conditioning and only moderate heating in the winter, one log fire usually being sufficient. A few caves do not have any heating whatsoever yet remain warm on the coldest nights.

The Rock Conditions
The vast majority of cave homes in this area, even the modernised ones, originated one or two hundred years ago and some date back much earlier. The people who dug the ancient caves were land workers who used nothing except hand held tools and so the rock must not be so hard as to make it impossible to dig by hand. Additionally the rock needs to have sufficient strength to avoid the risk of collapse even after many years. In Galera the cave houses are dug into highly stratified forms of gypsum or limestone, most often with a strong and relatively hard layer of rock, one or two meters thick, forming the roof. Many old cave homes before modernisation, were quite low (their inhabitants at the time of building being considerably shorter than today). In almost all cases the additional height needed is gained by excavating the floor, it is rare for the roof or support walls to be touched. In other places, the caves are dug into non stratified forms of conglomerate rock (a compressed mixture of sand, mud and pebbles) and mudstone. The strength of the roofs of these caves is provided by their arched shape. Hilly or Mountainous Terrain. Every cave home in the area is dug into the side of a hill. Not only is it far easier to dig horizontally, tipping the excavated rock over the side, it also improves drainage.

Why are cave homes so popular?
In the past, cave homes provided low cost housing for the landless farm workers and their families with the added benefit that they maintained a relatively even temperature throughout the year. The temperature inside traditional cave homes (see below) varies no more than 4 or 5 degrees centigrade summer and winter. In addition cave homes were easy to build and extend. The story goes that when the lady of the cave learned that she had become pregnant her first job was to start digging out an extra room in the cave, this, according to legend took about six months - just in time for the new baby. Sometimes when looking around old cave houses, before they have been restored, you can see a hole through the wall of adjoining rooms, usually about 20 to 30 cms. in diameter and around one meter above floor level. This, the story goes, was an early form of baby alarm, allowing the parents to listen out for their young childrens´ cries! Nowadays, cave houses are becoming increasing popular among Brits and other foreign nationals for a number of reasons: They are relatively cheap to buy compared to conventional houses.

They are inexpensive to run - they do not need air conditioning in summer and relatively little heating in the winter, one log fire usually being sufficient. If properly finished they require little maintenance . With few external walls and a relatively low number of roof tiles to worry about all that is left is internal painting.