Secret Tunnel Under Herndon Home Draws Scrutiny From Town Officials

HERNDON, VA — A Town of Herndon resident who identified herself as "Kala" recently found the home construction project that she's been working on for more than a year drawing the scrutiny of town officials. After an inspection in early December, they issued a stop order on the work.

"I am about to embark on a new and complex project," Kala said, in an Oct. 23, 2022 video posted to her @engineer.everthing TikTok account. "I am planning to build a storm shelter off the side of my basement. It's going to take a very long time, a lot of engineering, and a lot of planning and work to make it happen."

Under the title "Secret Tunnel," Kala went on to post a total of 75 videos, documenting different stages of the project. This included videos of her cutting through the cinder block wall of her basement, excavating the surrounding rock and dirt, constructing an elevator mine cart to help remove debris, and installing a DIY mine elevator.

@engineer.everything I am eager to see the condition of the concrete! #engineering #concretelife #tunnel #minecraft #concrete ♬ Rammstein 5th - 闻佳

While Kala's videos have garnered millions of likes and more than 500,000 TikTok followers, the project came to a stop in December when officials from the town's building and zoning enforcement offices learned what she was doing.

After inspecting the site, Kala was given a "stop work order" and required to obtain an immediate evaluation by a professional engineer.

"Fortunately, contrary to a few rumors here, it is constructed entirely below the slab of my house and it shouldn't be too hard to get permits and approval," she said, in a Dec. 28, 2023, TikTok video.

Patch reached out to town officials and received the following statement in reply:

"The Town of Herndon received notice that activity in potential violation of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) was occurring at a residential property within the town’s corporate limits. As is standard protocol following such notifications, representatives from the building official’s and zoning administrator’s offices conducted a site inspection on Thursday, December 7, 2023. The town is working with the property owner to correct any violations and ensure that the property is safe and in compliance with the code."

A town spokeswoman told Patch on Thursday that no report was filed for the Dec. 7 inspection. In addition, Kala has not filed any permits with the town to date.

@engineer.everything #engineering #construction #stupidprizes ♬ original sound - Kala