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The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House Book
The $50 & Up Underground House Book teaches how to build the lowest cost, most sunshine-filled, best ventilated and driest underground houses of all. It teaches how to incorporate greenhouses, root cellars and fallout shelters into an underground home. It covers both hillside and flat land design, and explains how to solve drainage problems with dependable gravity rather then expensive, failure-prone building materials. It also details ways to pass or otherwise deal with the building codes.
The $50 & Up Underground House Book is the only book to explain in detail author Mike Oehler’s revolutionary Post/Shoring/Polyethylene building method, which cuts building materials to the absolute minimum.
The $50 & Up Underground House Book is the only book to explain in detail author Mike Oehler’s revolutionary Post/Shoring/Polyethylene building method, which cuts building materials to the absolute minimum.
116 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 5, 2010
Mike Oehler, The $50 and Up Underground House Book (Mole Publishing, 1981)
First off: not to put too fine a point on it, Mike Oehler is a sexist asshole. Well, there is a possibility that Mike Oehler was a sexist asshole in the seventies and that leopard has changed his spots; however, we'll note in passing that the edition I read was a sixth, from 1997, with a number of updates, and he chose to leave the bit in the introduction about how much he hates liberated women, some nasty comments on a drawing, and a lovely aside about how he cooks “the way women used to before they lost every shred of intelligence.” I'll say it again: these were still there in an edition newly revised and updated sixteen years after the book's original publication. It has been another sixteen since, so perhaps we should at least attempt to give him the benefit of the doubt—and if he has revised that stuff out, you, of course, may not see it at all, and more power to you. It left one hell of a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps all the more so because Oehler claims, somewhat self-importantly, in one of the updates that The $50 and Up Underground House Book is the book on the subject of underground housing. That self-importance is justified; every other tome on the subject I have perused refers back to this one. Every single one, even those that then go on to construct what Oehler refers to as “first-thought houses”. (The riff I had in my head on this as I was reading was measure-once houses, referring to the old carpenters' saw of “measure twice, cut once”.) Specifically, I kept going back in my head to my favorite underground-housing book, Rob Roy's Earth-Sheltered Houses, which is first-thought to its very core, and wondering over and over again what Oehler must have thought, if he ever read the thing.
I can't say The $50 and Up Underground House Book has displaced Earth-Sheltered Houses as my favorite of the bunch. Part of it's Oehler's crotchety style; the anti-equality stuff mentioned above is only the tip of the iceberg. But the much bigger part of it is that while almost every page of this book is chock full of wonderful ideas, the amount of material in this slim (115-page) volume that covers putting theory into practice is small indeed. I'm by no means an accomplished carpenter—truth be told, I can barely drive a nail straight, and that's usually only if I have three guides helping me out—but I got the impression, looking at the drawings here, that they would make a great deal more sense if I were. (On the other hand, it could just be something as simple as my utter lack of depth perception causing me not to be able to visualize stuff everyone else can, so YMMV.) But the notions that Oehler is throwing around here, especially towards the end when the houses he's talking about start looking a little less like open-air bomb shelters and more like underground houses, are pretty amazing, by and large. If you're capable of taking a rough (at best) drawing of those notions and transforming it into a dwelling place, have at it. The rest of us would be better served starting off with a book that delves far more into the practical than the theoretical, like the above-mentioned Earth-Sheltered Houses, and come back to this one after having internalized that, and maybe a few others, to see where the ideas originally came from. ** ½
First off: not to put too fine a point on it, Mike Oehler is a sexist asshole. Well, there is a possibility that Mike Oehler was a sexist asshole in the seventies and that leopard has changed his spots; however, we'll note in passing that the edition I read was a sixth, from 1997, with a number of updates, and he chose to leave the bit in the introduction about how much he hates liberated women, some nasty comments on a drawing, and a lovely aside about how he cooks “the way women used to before they lost every shred of intelligence.” I'll say it again: these were still there in an edition newly revised and updated sixteen years after the book's original publication. It has been another sixteen since, so perhaps we should at least attempt to give him the benefit of the doubt—and if he has revised that stuff out, you, of course, may not see it at all, and more power to you. It left one hell of a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps all the more so because Oehler claims, somewhat self-importantly, in one of the updates that The $50 and Up Underground House Book is the book on the subject of underground housing. That self-importance is justified; every other tome on the subject I have perused refers back to this one. Every single one, even those that then go on to construct what Oehler refers to as “first-thought houses”. (The riff I had in my head on this as I was reading was measure-once houses, referring to the old carpenters' saw of “measure twice, cut once”.) Specifically, I kept going back in my head to my favorite underground-housing book, Rob Roy's Earth-Sheltered Houses, which is first-thought to its very core, and wondering over and over again what Oehler must have thought, if he ever read the thing.
I can't say The $50 and Up Underground House Book has displaced Earth-Sheltered Houses as my favorite of the bunch. Part of it's Oehler's crotchety style; the anti-equality stuff mentioned above is only the tip of the iceberg. But the much bigger part of it is that while almost every page of this book is chock full of wonderful ideas, the amount of material in this slim (115-page) volume that covers putting theory into practice is small indeed. I'm by no means an accomplished carpenter—truth be told, I can barely drive a nail straight, and that's usually only if I have three guides helping me out—but I got the impression, looking at the drawings here, that they would make a great deal more sense if I were. (On the other hand, it could just be something as simple as my utter lack of depth perception causing me not to be able to visualize stuff everyone else can, so YMMV.) But the notions that Oehler is throwing around here, especially towards the end when the houses he's talking about start looking a little less like open-air bomb shelters and more like underground houses, are pretty amazing, by and large. If you're capable of taking a rough (at best) drawing of those notions and transforming it into a dwelling place, have at it. The rest of us would be better served starting off with a book that delves far more into the practical than the theoretical, like the above-mentioned Earth-Sheltered Houses, and come back to this one after having internalized that, and maybe a few others, to see where the ideas originally came from. ** ½
December 31, 2007
Astounding. This kind of house isn't likely to catch on in the US anytime in the near future, but if it did...we'd be a different nation. When I first encountered this book, I felt as though I had unlocked some magical tome. Not having authorization to check the book out, I stayed at a table and copied the drawings by hand, taking notes wherever I needed them.
Simply put, this is a book about how to take a shovel, a pick, an axe or chainsaw, a hammer, a saw, some boards, a sheet of plastic, and maybe a wheelbarrow, and build yourself a house. Instead of cutting down a bunch of trees and stacking them criss-cross to make a cabin, Mike instructs you to dig a hole, sink posts at the bottom of the hole, use boards to sheath the outside of the posts, protect it all against water with a big sheet of plastic, then backfill. He shows how to do this without leaking, rerouting groundwater away from the house. The shelter it produces is warm, quiet, energy efficient, suprisingly light and airy, and concealed, blending into the landscape. Even if you already own a home, buy this book. Mike deserves the money just for being so brilliant.
Simply put, this is a book about how to take a shovel, a pick, an axe or chainsaw, a hammer, a saw, some boards, a sheet of plastic, and maybe a wheelbarrow, and build yourself a house. Instead of cutting down a bunch of trees and stacking them criss-cross to make a cabin, Mike instructs you to dig a hole, sink posts at the bottom of the hole, use boards to sheath the outside of the posts, protect it all against water with a big sheet of plastic, then backfill. He shows how to do this without leaking, rerouting groundwater away from the house. The shelter it produces is warm, quiet, energy efficient, suprisingly light and airy, and concealed, blending into the landscape. Even if you already own a home, buy this book. Mike deserves the money just for being so brilliant.
October 26, 2016
I admit, introducing the author as the drunk bellowing at the end of the bar who dislikes "liberated" women, most architecture, tv & cars was not winning me over from the beginning. I am a huge fan of underground homes and wanted to learn more so I soldiered on. I learned the author was not university educated but also neither was Frank Lloyd Wright. His homes are designed with Post/Shoring/Polyethylene. There were not very many pictures and the black and white photos that were available were over contrasted and so dark it was hard to see what they were. The $50 home was made in the 1970s so it would cost more now. Unfortunately, these designs are not able to pass current building codes so that was no help at all for me.
September 26, 2023
Out of the box thinking for environmentally friendly constructed home building. Although the predictions in the book about the revolution of underground homes have not come true, this book does offer something to think about and maybe experiment if you have your own land. I would love to visit one and see if time has changed owner's minds or what type of unforeseen maintenance needs to be done to keep it in living condition. The plans and reasoning behind this type of building sure seem logical, sound, and with as little of an ecological footprint as possible. Except for the gophers!
March 26, 2020
unnecessary opinionated segues aside, this is a fascinating little book to stumble across for those interested in alternative construction and earth-integrated buildings.
certainly not a foolproof how-to guide, but Oehler navigates a lot of the theory involved through practical explanations and he makes a very compelling case for earth integrated living
note: prices referenced are way out of date and always anecdotal
certainly not a foolproof how-to guide, but Oehler navigates a lot of the theory involved through practical explanations and he makes a very compelling case for earth integrated living
note: prices referenced are way out of date and always anecdotal
November 25, 2020
Good book on how the author built a couple underground houses and his musings. It is at times funny. It is mostly practical advice applicable to his contemporaries. He doesn't address or review any other underground homes such as digouts or those made by indigenous.
May 6, 2024
Every builder should read this.
August 7, 2008
This book is just crazy. It's an introductory guide to building, more or less by hand, elaborate partially or mostly underground houses, preferably on hillsides. These houses range from a grungy unsafe burrow with dirt floors to something like a log cabin, with heating, plumbing, windows, and multiple bedrooms and exits. It sounds like a made up fantasy for people who just read The Hobbit, but there are lots of pictures and detailed architectural diagrams of comfy, if spare, human-sized real life underground buildings that people built with nothing but scavenged materials, the trees on their land, and a few friends (and a bulldozer; they're not totally crazy). At the same time, it is clearly written by a very libertarian and possibly deranged self described "back-to-the-lander," who can get very preachy about the gub'mint at times. For example, the author mentions that one of the advantages of an underground house is that it is "more defensible" than your average home.
I doubt that these could be built today legally, since even in 1981 the author admitted:
Now we come to the most difficult question in the book. Will a home built with the PSP system pass the code? The answer is, sadly, no. You are going to have to sit down and figure some way out, through or around this hurdle. If it is any consolation there are lots of other folks, whether they are building above or below ground, who are facing the same problems. All owner-builders in code areas do.
You may grope for an answer to this dilemma through one of five possible avenues.
*YOU MAY MOVE TO AN AREA WHICH HAS NO CODES.
*YOU MAY BUILD UNDERGROUND WITH CONCRETE OR OTHER SOCIALLY APPROVED MATERIAL AND BRING THE HOUSE UP TO CODE.
*YOU MAY TRY TO GET A CODE VARIANCE FOR YOUR HOUSE.
*YOU MAY TRY TO GET AN UNDERGROUND HOUSE AMENDMENT TO THE CODE.
*YOU MAY EVADE THE CODE THEREBY BECOMING AN OUTLAW BUILDER.
Nowadays the first option is impossible, most of the rest are laughably unrealistic, and the last is the only one you're likely to manage. The author built in extremely rural Idaho on giant parcels of cheap land, so in some areas maybe that's still OK. It doesn't matter, since no one who reads this book is actually build a house underground, but it's still pretty interesting. I don't think it's still in print, but it's on textbooktorrents, if you don't mind stealing from the author's children's mouths.
I doubt that these could be built today legally, since even in 1981 the author admitted:
Now we come to the most difficult question in the book. Will a home built with the PSP system pass the code? The answer is, sadly, no. You are going to have to sit down and figure some way out, through or around this hurdle. If it is any consolation there are lots of other folks, whether they are building above or below ground, who are facing the same problems. All owner-builders in code areas do.
You may grope for an answer to this dilemma through one of five possible avenues.
*YOU MAY MOVE TO AN AREA WHICH HAS NO CODES.
*YOU MAY BUILD UNDERGROUND WITH CONCRETE OR OTHER SOCIALLY APPROVED MATERIAL AND BRING THE HOUSE UP TO CODE.
*YOU MAY TRY TO GET A CODE VARIANCE FOR YOUR HOUSE.
*YOU MAY TRY TO GET AN UNDERGROUND HOUSE AMENDMENT TO THE CODE.
*YOU MAY EVADE THE CODE THEREBY BECOMING AN OUTLAW BUILDER.
Nowadays the first option is impossible, most of the rest are laughably unrealistic, and the last is the only one you're likely to manage. The author built in extremely rural Idaho on giant parcels of cheap land, so in some areas maybe that's still OK. It doesn't matter, since no one who reads this book is actually build a house underground, but it's still pretty interesting. I don't think it's still in print, but it's on textbooktorrents, if you don't mind stealing from the author's children's mouths.
March 20, 2013
This book is a more readable and useful version of Walden --- opinionated guy uses lots of muscle power and little money to build a house back in the woods.
Despite his frequent rants against liberated women, I nearly gave this five stars, but ended up docking one because the actual instructions for building were a bit scattered, making them tough to follow. On the other hand, I enjoyed reading a book about under-building, complete with a chapter on how to get around building codes.
Despite his frequent rants against liberated women, I nearly gave this five stars, but ended up docking one because the actual instructions for building were a bit scattered, making them tough to follow. On the other hand, I enjoyed reading a book about under-building, complete with a chapter on how to get around building codes.
January 18, 2015
Mike Oehler te enseña como ha construido sus casas subterráneas, es un buen libro incluso si tu no quieres construir una porque en general te da consejos de como hacer una casa que funcione bien y cubra las necesidades de vida. Ideal para la gente DIY y los interesados en permacultura, va muy bien con el libro de "el arquitecto descalzo" . Realmente te dan ganas de vivir en las casas que te describe, además tiene ilustraciones muy claras.
March 22, 2008
Some good ideas, although not entirely practical. It would be very hard to meet code on one of these although it seems that some people have been permitted to legally build one of these houses. The concept is awesome.
Want to read
December 15, 2008While they say it's problematically non-compliant with current building codes, I'd like to see what this fellow suggests toward cost-efficient underground building strategies. Maybe his ideas could be adapted. Hopefully? Seems worth reading, either way.
July 13, 2011
Underground housing is an option for those desiring to leave a smaller footprint on the Earth's surface. It contains several money saving ideas and was written before the recent end of the world craze.
March 15, 2012
If I never go through with my new plan to build underground, I was still thoroughly entertained by this book. If I *do* build it successfully, I'll come back and give this one the 5th star it likely deserves. :)
October 27, 2012
Good for people who know what they're doing;i.e. familiar with the business end of a shovel. I would need heavy equipment or to hire some big guys to do it. However, very clear and funny. too Only 3 stars because you really need some building experience to do this safely.
May 21, 2014
This was an amazing book! The construction techniques he demonstrated were very innovative, yet have been used since the 70s. I recommend this book to anyone interested in green construction. Fascinating!
January 11, 2015
Good ideas, I think, but hard to follow. The black and white drawing are quite primitive, and were hard for me to make sense of. If you're a skilled builder, this may all seem more clear. Not for the curious.
April 10, 2009
pretty interesting but pretty primitive (in a good way)!
Read
January 5, 2009Good explanations of how to build and what problems to expect.
Read
January 28, 2010I want one! The author is somewhat cranky. I like it.
January 3, 2011
Good, if eccentric, read.
February 23, 2013
Foolwise and Pennypounds to be made, build your own earth shelter!
March 21, 2013
Very interesting concept. But, it is space dependent in that it will not work in urban areas. This is a book for the 'back to the woods' or survivalist niche audience.
March 2, 2014
Great resource
Great resource
this book is a fantastic resource. at times the details were too technical for me but information was concise and necessary.
Great resource
this book is a fantastic resource. at times the details were too technical for me but information was concise and necessary.
April 20, 2016
Very interesting and insightful.
May 14, 2016
Some good info, but it's hard to get past his sexist remarks.
December 24, 2007
OK, so I don't have this book yet. I thoroughly love the idea, though.
March 20, 2008
Oh, wonderful. I'm getting through this very quickly thanks to excitement.
Read
November 30, 2017I always wanted to try building an Oehler house. This was one of the first books in my alt.architecture library.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews