Address Newsletter
Our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design, with expert advice and insider neighborhood knowledge.
Home of the Week: Can you dig it? An underground berm in Goffstown, N.H.
This four-bedroom, two-bath structure uses natural elements to warm, cool, and grow.
110 Stephen Drive
$535,000
Style Berm
Year built 1982
Square feet 2,302
Bedrooms 4
Baths 2 full
Sewer/Water Private
Taxes $9,0394 (2024)
When the snow blows, it’s warm. When the sun shines, it’s cool. And when there is a need for a dinner salad, the makings are available in the garden — found in the roof made of dirt.
These seemingly disparate facts are some of the distinctive ways this home sets itself apart from nearly every other. Known as a berm house, it’s literally built into the hillside, nesting within a 5½-acre lot.
A long driveway ends at the only part of the home that shows itself to the outside world: the southern-facing exterior wall made of hand-hewn stone and slabs of cedar. A two-car garage is on the left.
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Lining the lone exterior wall are groupings of clear glass doors and windows, a design that the current owner said draws in winter sunlight powerful enough to essentially solar-heat the home without any human assistance. In summer, the sunshine is indirect, assuring a cool interior, according to the homeowner.
The main entry is through a custom-made door of mahogany and glass plates inset in a shallow alcove. Flanking the entry are large, clear glass sliders on either side.
Stepping inside provides a view of a key design choice of being built under the earth: thick joists cross the ceiling, held up by even thicker wooden beams. Flooring in most of the home is terracotta tile, which absorbs heat.
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Two of those large beams define the width of an island that is part of an open space area that also combines the dining, living, and kitchen spaces into approximately 840 square feet. The dining area is on the right and is identified by a standalone table, while the living area is on the left. In the far right corner is the updated kitchen.
It’s galley style and has dark-toned Kraftmaid cherry cabinets with slow-close drawers and a panel-ready refrigerator. The other appliances — including the electric stove — are stainless steel. The countertops are white quartz, and there is an overhang with seating for two at one end. The backsplash is black ceramic subway tile. Flooring is the terracotta tile.
Turning to the right from the main living area, a hallway moves toward one of the four bedrooms on the right, the primary bath, and the laundry room (with full-size appliances) appear to the left before reaching the primary bedroom.
The updated primary bath is 72 square feet, with concrete tile flooring designed to mimic wood planks. The custom vanity was made by the current owner’s cousin, a woodworker. It’s a refurbished dresser with a floating glass sink. The highlight, though, is the 61-inch cast iron slipper claw foot tub, a soaker’s delight. The backsplash is Koni thin brick manufactured stone.
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The 204-square-foot primary bedroom has a ceiling of joists, terracotta flooring tiles, and a slider to the front yard, one of many spots on the property where bald eagles, deer, coyotes, porcupines, bobcats, bears, foxes, and turkeys linger. There is also a 108-square-foot walk-in closet.
At the opposite end of the house and off a similarly shaped hallway are two smaller bedrooms and the second full bath. These two bedrooms have windows or sliders, assuring natural light is always present. The second full bath has a double vanity, terracotta tile flooring, and a shower/tub insert.
According to the current owners, they have planted thousands of wildflowers, welcomed bees and other pollinators, let chunks of the acreage revert to meadow, and built a large organic garden.
Light pollution from neighboring Manchester is minimal. Heating and cooling is provided by an electric mini-split.
Kristylee Elliott of North New England Real Estate Group has the listing.
John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Send listings to [email protected]. Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes unless they are new-builds or gut renovations and will not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at Boston.com/address-newsletter.
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