Reader's Reviews
***
the book had some good points. I was very dissapointed though. in the description, it describes the two differnt types of underground houses, an earth sheltered house and one that is truly underground. I purchased for the info on truly underground homes, however there wasnt an example of any one building one or how to do so, just the earth sheltered house the author built. If your looking for completly underground, this isnt the book for you. For example the earth sheltered house the author describes in detail wouldnt have the same isues with ventilation that truly underground would have. The summary was misleading and for the price I wouldnt have bought it.
***
The book gives great details and ideas on building an earth sheltered home from site prep to actual construction. Some of the information is a little out of date but none the less this is a great book and i would recomend it to anyone intrested in earth sheltered or earth bermed homes.
***
There is lots of good stuff on building underground in this book, but whoever designed some of the homes shown inside has no taste when it comes to architecture, so unfortunately I can see a few people being turned off by some the photos, and deciding not to build underground. There are more in depth books on building underground, so don't just use this one book to build your underground home with.
***
If you like underground houses, then you should appreciate the images and plans here. However, the 'how-to' part is very general so unless you know your house building, this book will not help you much in the practical issues of home creation. It will give you ideas and suggestions that you can then use to find a good contractor and keep your eyes on the company you hire. It is very difficult to find books about underground or even earth beamed houses now, which is sad because they can be very energy effecient and lovely. This is a good start and Rob Roy is well-known for his work and his workshops on home building.
***
Once again Rob Roy has succeded in producing a quality how to book! This book gives clear concise intructions for every phase of building an underground house. This book covers everything from ground breaking (even a few tips on ground aquiring) to earth sheltering! Foundations, walls, roof and support structure, hvac, waterproofing, insulation, everything! It is accurate, well written, anecdotal and user friendly! I have every confidence that anyone interested in the subject of underground housing will benefit greatly from the ownership of this book. Buy the book and start digging!
|
