BermWhat lies beneath
your grass roof
Drag to reveal what 18 inches of soil has been hiding. Berm inspects the buried systems standard inspectors never reach.
Six zones most inspectors never reach
Hover any card to see what the cross-section reveals. Each zone represents a buried system requiring specialized tools and knowledge.
Roof Membrane
The most critical and most ignored. Waterproof membranes under 6–24 inches of soil fail silently for years before water finds its way through the concrete.
Common Findings
Roof Membrane
Retaining Walls
Earth pressure against poured-concrete or block retaining walls creates slow lateral movement. Most owners notice the cracks — few understand what caused them.
Common Findings
Retaining Walls
Drainage & French Drains
A blocked 4-inch perforated pipe is the difference between a dry wall and hydrostatic pressure building behind 18 inches of soil.
Common Findings
Drainage & French Drains
Ventilation & Humidity
Earth-sheltered homes run 60–80% relative humidity by default. Without verified air exchange, mold colonizes the thermal mass before anyone smells it.
Common Findings
Ventilation & Humidity
Structural Load Assessment
Soil weighs 90–130 lbs per cubic foot. A 1970s roof beam carrying a foot of saturated clay is carrying a load its engineer never specified.
Common Findings
Structural Load Assessment
Skylight & Light Well Seals
Every skylight curb is a penetration through the membrane. A failed skylight seal doesn't drip — it channels water directly to the structural layer.
Common Findings
Skylight & Light Well Seals
The Underground Homeowner's Pre-Inspection Checklist
Free PDF — 12 things to document before the inspector arrives
Standard inspections end at grade level
of earth-sheltered homes inspected had at least one buried defect invisible from inside
average soil overburden depth — where standard inspectors stop and Berm begins
bermed homes inspected since 2008, from 1970s owner-built to architect-designed passive solar
Thermal imaging through rammed earth
A standard infrared gun reads surface temperature. Berm uses FLIR thermal cameras calibrated for high-mass walls to find moisture behind 4–8 inches of adobe, concrete, or rammed earth.
Membrane probe without excavation
An electrical impedance meter locates membrane failures from the surface — no digging, no disturbance to the overburden. We map defects to within 18 inches before recommending any excavation.
Soil load calculation on every roof
We weigh the overburden and cross-reference against original structural drawings (if available) or conservative 1970s code assumptions. Saturated clay adds 40% to the design load.
French drain scope with video
Every accessible cleanout gets a 100-foot camera run. Collapsed pipe, root intrusion, and silt plugs show up on footage we leave with the client — not just a line item on a report.
The membrane under my roof had been failing for six years. Three standard home inspections missed it entirely. Berm found it in forty minutes with a probe.
Margaret Hollis-Crawford
1977 earth-sheltered build, Taos, NM — under contract sale
From the people who live underground
Buyers, owners, and architects who needed answers a standard inspection couldn't provide.
"Found a lateral crack in the west retaining wall that was moving 3mm per year. That single finding changed our purchase price by $22,000."
Dave Kowalski
Real estate buyer, 1979 bermed ranch, Asheville, NC
"I've owned this place for 31 years and thought I knew every inch of it. The drainage camera found a collapsed 4-inch pipe I had no idea existed."
Ruth Ann Stenberg
Owner-occupier, 1982 passive-solar berm, Durango, CO
"We use Berm as a baseline before breaking ground on any retrofit. The structural load data alone saves us two weeks of engineering back-and-forth."
Tomás Reyes-Aguilar
Principal, Reyes Passive Design LLC, Santa Fe, NM
"The thermal imaging showed moisture in the east wall that didn't appear in any visual inspection. Berm gave us a map of every wet spot before we opened the wall."
Carol & Jim Whitfield
Buyers, 1976 underground home, Flagstaff, AZ
"He climbed the berm at 7am and spent four hours up there before coming inside. Nobody else has ever done that."
Philip Nkemdirim
Owner-occupier, 1984 bermed build, Taos, NM
"The report is organized by risk level, not by zone. I've never seen that before — it's exactly what a structural engineer needs to triage a retrofit."
Sandra Holt, PE
Structural engineer reviewing for retrofit, Boulder, CO
"Our lender required a specialist inspection before they'd fund. Berm was the only inspector our underwriter had ever heard of for earth-sheltered."
Ben & Lila Trautmann
Buyers under contract, 1980 earth-sheltered, Moab, UT
"The skylight curb had been leaking for years and I'd been caulking it every spring. He showed me the flashing separation underneath — I'd been treating a symptom."
Diane Okafor
Owner since 1991, 1978 bermed home, Albuquerque, NM
"Found a lateral crack in the west retaining wall that was moving 3mm per year. That single finding changed our purchase price by $22,000."
Dave Kowalski
Real estate buyer, 1979 bermed ranch, Asheville, NC
"I've owned this place for 31 years and thought I knew every inch of it. The drainage camera found a collapsed 4-inch pipe I had no idea existed."
Ruth Ann Stenberg
Owner-occupier, 1982 passive-solar berm, Durango, CO
"We use Berm as a baseline before breaking ground on any retrofit. The structural load data alone saves us two weeks of engineering back-and-forth."
Tomás Reyes-Aguilar
Principal, Reyes Passive Design LLC, Santa Fe, NM
"The thermal imaging showed moisture in the east wall that didn't appear in any visual inspection. Berm gave us a map of every wet spot before we opened the wall."
Carol & Jim Whitfield
Buyers, 1976 underground home, Flagstaff, AZ
"He climbed the berm at 7am and spent four hours up there before coming inside. Nobody else has ever done that."
Philip Nkemdirim
Owner-occupier, 1984 bermed build, Taos, NM
"The report is organized by risk level, not by zone. I've never seen that before — it's exactly what a structural engineer needs to triage a retrofit."
Sandra Holt, PE
Structural engineer reviewing for retrofit, Boulder, CO
"Our lender required a specialist inspection before they'd fund. Berm was the only inspector our underwriter had ever heard of for earth-sheltered."
Ben & Lila Trautmann
Buyers under contract, 1980 earth-sheltered, Moab, UT
"The skylight curb had been leaking for years and I'd been caulking it every spring. He showed me the flashing separation underneath — I'd been treating a symptom."
Diane Okafor
Owner since 1991, 1978 bermed home, Albuquerque, NM
Schedule a Berm Inspection
Two steps. Five minutes. A report that tells you whether your underground home is aging like wine or rotting like a fence post.