The Complete Book Of Underground Houses: How To Build A Low Cost Home [Paperback]

Rob Roy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1994

"According to Roy, underground or `earth-sheltered' houses are unexpectedly livable. Judging by his book's attractive pictures, that's easy to believe. The house he bases his point-by-point guide on is indeed a showplace. Its homey touches are just that, though, and Roy's main concern is creating such a house, from drawing up the plans to surveying the site to the actual building. Roy's instruction is insightful and comprehensive....Throughout, he covers construction and installation details that are extremely important for nonprofessionals brave enough to undertake building their own homes."--Booklist. 148 pages, 40 color illus., 130 b/w illus., 8 x 10

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

According to Roy, underground or "earth-sheltered" houses are unexpectedly livable. Judging by his book's attractive pictures, that's easy to believe. The house he bases his point-by-point guide on is indeed a showplace. Its homey touches are just that, though, and Roy's main concern is creating such a house, from drawing up the plans to surveying the site to the actual building. Roy's instruction is insightful and comprehensive; for example, he writes that he has poured the four-inch cement floor over the waste plumbing in all the houses he has built and has had no trouble yet, but he also suggests another strategy for those leery of not being able to get at the pipes in an emergency. Throughout, he covers construction and installation details that are extremely important for nonprofessionals brave enough to undertake building their own homes. Mike Tribby

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (December 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806907282
• ISBN-13: 978-0806907284
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rob Roy knows what it means to live
mortgage free. As director of Earthwood
Building School since 1981, he has
instructed many in the arts of natural
building, and renewable energy. He is
also the author of Earth-Sheltered Houses,
Cordwood Building, Timber Framing for
the Rest of Us, The Sauna, and Stone
Circles. Rob and his family live in West
Chazy, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as "underground" as I'd hoped, December 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Book Of Underground Houses: How To Build A Low Cost Home (Paperback)

Based on the title and editorial reviews, I was expecting details on building a house which was entirely underground except maybe some skylights and an entrance from above. Rather the book focuses almost exclusively on earth-sheltered houses. That is, buildings surrounded by dirt on two or three sides.

It does provide useful information (and good pictures) for earth sheltered housing as well as a walk through of step-by-step construction of such a house.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The case studies are worth the price, April 30, 2001

By 

The Teacher "didaskalos" (Shreveport, LA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Book Of Underground Houses: How To Build A Low Cost Home (Paperback)

I want to build an underground house. The book is more about mixed underground/earthwood (using stump-like cuts of logs and mortar) construction than strictly underground housing. The homes would not work as bomb shelters; but I don't think that was the intent. Rather, these are low cost (possibly mortgage free), Earth-friendly homes. The author has a website with more information. As a Southerner I was pleased that he included two case studies from the Deep South. One thing I decided after reading his book is that fire ants make a heavier ceiling material desirable because these infernal little beasts can actually chew through materials used in some Northern underground houses.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The title is inaccurate but the book has good content., June 1, 2001

By 

A. Reed (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Book Of Underground Houses: How To Build A Low Cost Home (Paperback)

The secondary title is much more accurate: "How to Build a Low-Cost Home." The author has great experience constructing earth-sheltered homes. This means digging a hole on flat property, building a box in the hole and piling dirt up against the walls. Mr. Roy gives detailed examples of how a sod roof should be constructed, and what problems to watch out for. In this way, it is like an episode of "This Old House" because you get to see the intimate details of the building construction. The book certainly lives up to the "low-cost" title, because the properties developed in the book were completed by young middle-class owners who could not afford to take out bank loans and mortgages. The author has built many earth-sheltered homes of this sort and even teaches others how to do it professionally. On that note, the book comes from a smart and well-qualified author. Just don't be fooled by the title given by the publishing company