The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House Book

I was amazed by this book. Not only does it provide plenty of details, but it is easy for anyone to understand.Some other reviews comment on some of Mike's opinions. You have to remember, the world of the 70's was a lot different from today. No Political Correct bull! It was common for national magazines to get off on the ranting of the turbulent times. This doesn't distract from the book though, and I personally think it adds a bit of character to the book.If you have ever thought of building an underground house, or getting away from the commercialism in modern society, this is the book for you. This is a must for the homesteader's library.If I could ask for other things in this book, it would be a bigger description of the newer building methods in the update section. Also, some more three dement ional drawings of the inside of the houses. You can figure out what's going on but sometimes you have to study the perspective drawings and pictures a bit. I agree with another reviewer, a biography would be nice.Great book, you will not be disappointed!

This book is quite interesting and is, as far as I can tell, intended as a primer to the concept rather than a complete recipe. Once you read this book you understand the major concepts at play, can visualize the options available, and understand why some ideas work and others don't. It thoroughly covers major pitfalls, practical lessons from the over 30 years these houses have been actually built (well, centuries if you want to count older methods for building them) and has a good update from the author in the back. I found it VERY useful as I am interested in this method of construction and this book has confirmed my interest while pointing me in very useful directions to get further information.If you are at all interested in building your own home, take a look at this construction method and understand why there are such huge advantages over standard "clapboard" styles of construction - a high quality earth-structured home will trump a high quality freestanding home in almost every single regard every time.

Really nice love them

I ordered this on accident. I thought I was putting it in my Cart for consideration, but I inadvertently hit the One-Click button... so I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed the book.It is dated. I think I recall that it was written in the 1970's... :)But most of the information contained is still relevant today.Clearly outlines his methodology and has a bunch of Caveats that we all could use... I've done some internet research since, and he is now an old codger who still visits the original house that this book is based upon. Interesting to follow-up with him on how the building methods have stood the test of time!

I've been very interested in this subject for many years, having been introduced to it by a environmentalist friend in college back in the early 1980's. I'll never forget the lesson of thermal mass experienced in the bomb shelter my dad dug under our house back in the paranoid 60's. Now I'm going to have chance at building one in the Arizona desert. I'm going to design a hybrid underground+earthship in Autocad (thanks for Autocad 2022 Amanon!). Should be fun and challenging. Found the designs in the book rather primative. Best takeaway was the post and beam method.

You will need to work out a lot of details and concepts to actually build a house based on the ideas from this book.The book directs you to his video series for more information on building using his methods.Having said that this book does present a unique approach to building a house that is radically different from conventional houses. So that alone makes it worth reading and thinking about. His method is mostly geared to the do it yourselfer.Mike tells you that you will need to modify some of his materials and methods to meet your local building codes. So unless you are already an experienced professional engineer, I suspect that this book will mostly just help you give direction to your registered architect/engineer who is tasked with preparing plans for review by the local permit official.The pictures are mostly black and white plus are a little hard to make out. I needed to study them a fair while to try and make out what was being shown.

As my wife and I look toward moving to our land this book gave me great insight into what could be done relatively cheap and stand strong. By using the ideas laid out in this book I can see not only how to do it on the cheap side but how it will last after 30+ years. I have often wanted to incorporate the idea of using the earths warmth to help heat the house here in the cold Colorado mountains. By putting the place under ground it explores this wonderfully. I can't wait to start building next spring.I will warn you that if your wanting to use some of these ideas in ares with heavy building codes you may have an uphill battle down at the permits department. To help with this there is a section of the book about dealing with building departments. It can be done, but it's easier if your outside the areas with all the codes. It's not that this approach is sub-code but rather that it is a different approach to doing things then most inspectors are use to.

Nice and practical. The author shows how to build a house for very small money, and it all seems very real and practical.It seems that human expectations on what should be a good way of living has grown a lot in modern societies. We expect too much, we believe we need too many things. We consider confort something that will only be achievable with a huge effort.This book shows a simple way to start a simple life. You should give it some time, and some thoughts.

Excellent!

This is one of the most inspired books, though not entirely practical as another reviewer suggests (I doubt the "Underground Home" would be approved in many areas). However, the project itself is worthwhile considering: build well, inexpensively, using available materials. Although the book is rather thin, it contains much useful information. There are the occasional anecdotes, but they somehow seem to fit well into the larger scheme. There are floor plans as well as practical advice on a variety of important issues.The book contains:1.) What an Underground House is Not2.) What an Underground House Is; 23 Advantages3.) Histories of the 50d and 500d Underground Houses4.) The PSP System5.) Design...(pp. 28-71)6.) Materials: Where to Buy and Scrounge7.) Construction8.) You and the Building Codes9.) Engineering Tables

Great book.

Great book, very informative, well illustrated. Though references to prices are out of date, subject material was excellent. Highly recommended

Mike Oehler is an autodidact, and a man - he admits it, nay, proclaims it - of strong and idiosyncratic opinions. He has a recipe for building small dwellings cheaply in Pacific Northwest USA - which is to say it's as wet as western Scotland, warmer in summer and considerably colder in winter. He designs houses that I could afford to build using materials which are - with the exception of the polyethylene membranes which are key to his system - considerably more ecologically sound than most modern building materials. He makes substantial use of roundwood poles - which I have in abundance for the cost of cutting and seasoning them.All these are reasons I should take him seriously. And yet, I'm wary. He's built - or claims to have built - remarkably few dwellings (two, as far as I can see, although people using his method have built many more). He doesn't seem to use any moisture barriers in his floors - in fact, he extols the virtues of earth floors. I simply don't see that working in Scottish conditions (In fact in the 'Update' section at the end of the book, Oehler now has a membrane under the floor of his house - which is now carpeted).The other thing is that I strongly suspect that if you showed one of his houses to any self respecting British Building Control Officer you'd get something between a hearty guffaw and a shriek of horror. Indeed, Oehler's own response to building standards is clearly expressed on page 100 of his book: 'will a home built with the PSP system pass the code? The answer is, sadly, no... you may move to an area which has no codes...'Well, you may. But I want to build my home on my land in my home valley, so I can't. I could adopt Oehler's alternative suggestion, of evasion... but the less said about that the better.Finally, a note of caution about the title. Oehler's quoted prices relate to the 1970s; and even then I think a certain amount of creative (or merely forgetful) accounting was involved.Nevertheless Oehler's book is both thoughtful and thought provoking. I'm glad I read it, and will continue to mull over it.