Book Information

Book ID Asin: 0865715211
Book Title: Earth-Sheltered Houses: How to Build an Affordable Underground Home (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series, 4)
Book Author: Rob Roy
Book Format and Price:
Book Format Name: Kindle
Book Format Price: $19.47
Book Format Name: Paperback
Book Format Price: $20.49
Book Price: $20.49
Book Category: Books, Crafts, Hobbies & Home, Home Improvement & Design and unknown
Book Rating: 218 ratings

Book Product Detail

• Best Sellers Rank: #143,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Energy Efficient Remodeling & Renovation
  • #23 in Sustainability & Green Design
  • #204 in Home Design & Construction (Books)

• Customer Reviews:
  4.4 out of 5 stars 218 ratings

Book Review

Name: L. Butcher
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Absolutely the worst book on earth homes I've read!! A waste of money and time.
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 23, 2019
Review: I've always heard great things about Rob Roy through the years, in Earth Mother News and Backwoods Home (now defunct), and even in Homepower magazine. But this book, even though it was printed in 2006, seems to be written by and for those who want to go the primitive route in earth home construction and design. I would NEVER use wood as a primary material for underground construction, even if it were treated lumber. And some of the methods used in this book are antiquated, unless you're into living in a retro world and building in the wilderness in bug out conditions. A lot of the pics in this book look like their out of the 80's, as do some of the author's ideal methods. For anyone looking for really good and technically helpful information, my advice is to locate a copy of Herb Wade's 'Building Underground' (1983), which is the most informative book on the subject that I have ever read, and am using as a guide on our earth home. Even at 36 years old, it's still the best book out there. The guy nails every aspect of necessary information for building an earth home, and includes appendixes on important subjects, and a list of other books to read for help. Even 'Alternative Housebuilding' by Mike McClintock, which only has one chapter at the end of the book, is a fount of information compared to this book. I seriously have to wonder if those who have given this book 5 stars (or 4) have even read anything else on the subject. Roy's methods look like back breaking, time consuming and eventually frustrating (wait till that wooden underground skylight frame starts deteriorating) bad ideas which, from what I can see of the final products, look way too much like the methods from the "bad old days" back in the 70's, when there was nothing better to build underground than trial and error construction for beginners. Been there, done that (when I was young and dumb), and I prefer a quicker, more permanent building method now. One more thing- My wife and I are building our earth home this summer, which will be a true 'underground' home. The houses built in this book end up with about 3 or 4 inches of dirt and grass on top of them, which provides little insulation or protection from the elements. We, as most true earth homes do, will have 3-4 FEET of soil and grass to get the desired protection and insulation properties we've chosen this type of home for. I am very disappointed in this book. I truly believe the present were the early days of earth home construction back in the 70's, this could have been the best thing out there. But now, it feels outdated, insufficient and backwards. I re-read the two books I've listed over and over, and still get something out of them. I didn't make it a quarter of the way through this book. I wish I could get my money back. And it's not even good enough to pass on to someone else. Pretty useless, in my opinion.

Name: Lynn P
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: best book on building yourself but not perfect.
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 7, 2019
Review: Let me start by saying this was an excellent book. Well written, to the point, detailed descriptions of what he has done and gives the knowledge to build your own. However, there were a couple things I would have liked more info on. The book could greatly benefit from giving more designs and or blueprints. This is more a guide to teach you how to design your own house rather than instructions on how to build already designed homes. I also feel like it could benefit from a guide section where you simply fill in the numbers you measure to calculate load, etc. It gives you the formulas you need in the apendix, but you will need to know how to do algebra. Having an easy plan/worksheets to assist your build would have been very helpful and cut down on my time (former math tutor) spent calculating my load.

Name: Carolyn Risner
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Probably the best book out there for building your own earth-sheltered home
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 11, 2015
Review: Probably the best book out there for building your own earth-sheltered home, but I felt it was lacking.

I understand that the author offers private consulting to clients and runs a building school for earth-sheltered house design and construction, but I get the impression that the book purposely omitted some details for this reason. There were maybe three structural schematics in the book, none of which was complete. I get that the intent was to explain the "How-To" and give all of the intellectual tools necessary to design and build on your own, but I think a larger reference section with at least one complete structural schematic would have been useful.

The color pictures were nice. I would have purchased an all-color photo edition of the book if it was offered, as some of the construction photos are hard to make out in black and white.

Name: Daniel Siepman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Recommended reading material, even when you're not going underground!
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 1, 2013
Review: The majority of info in this book applies also to houses which are partly subterranean or even above grade. Lots of information about foundations, floors, walls, roof construction and green roofs. Note that the earth sheltered houses in this book are in general not tucked away in a hill side or something. They're integrated in the landscape, in the soil, but there's not a huge earth load on top of them.
The calculations in the book are very helpful when considering timber dimensions, roof load and much more. Don't be alarmed: it's only a small part of the book and if you're really not into numbers, just skip these parts.

The writer is highly experienced, having build two houses. He shares his findings and faults with you, which is definitely very valuable. You may be put off somewhat by the extensive use of concrete and synthetic insulation, especially when you prefer natural materials, like me. Still, the book offers inspiration and information and often other, more ecologically sound materials can be used in stead of the concrete and Styrofoam.

Name: Samson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good Stuff
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 3, 2008
Review: I bought this book to learn about low cost, state of the art, earth-bermed technology. The book delivers on this promise. Anybody considering going this route should take advantage of the author's school of hard knocks expertise. The method described for creating a very strong concrete block wall were especially useful. The sod roof is something I'll have to think about for a while as you give up a lot by going this route in terms of the open airy feel that can be achieved with post and beam construction techniques. Still, what he says (structurally) has merit, though from an environmental point of view it strikes me as a bit "out there". The writing is excellent. The technical details are all there to duplicate what he's done. At the same time he keeps it interesting and the reader engaged. Good stuff.

Name: Carole in Virginia
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent resource
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 14, 2021
Review: Good for inspiration when dreaming of a house like this. A keeper

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