Love for Life

Welcome to UndergroundHousing.com
Welcome to UndergroundHousing.com

Some of the windows & interior during construction of this eight bedroom 5,000-square-foot underground house & greenhouse built in Idaho in the early 1980s for $20,000. If built above ground at the then national building average of $50 per square foot it would have cost the family $250,000.

This is an $8000 House Built During The Late 1970's/Early 1980's
This is An $8000 House Built During The Late 1970's/Early 1980's Light, air and views emphasized. Post/shoring/polyethylene method proven since 1971.

The 5,000 Square Foot 8 Bedroom Underground House Built For $20,000 During The Early 1980's
The 5,000 Square Foot 8 Bedroom Underground House Built For $20,000 During The Early 1980's

Mike Oehler's $50 and $500 Underground Houses Built During Late 1970's Early 1980's
Mike Oehler's $50 and $500 Underground Houses Built During Late 1970's Early 1980's

The Holland House - A six-room underground home built in 1981 for $2000. The owner/builder was a sawmill-owning logger who worked up his own lumber.
The Holland House

The 2,000 Square Foot Underground House
The 2,000 Square Foot Underground House

Earth-Sheltered Greenhouses
Earth-Sheltered Greenhouses

Interior of the $8,000 house built in 1980

Exterior of the $8,000 house. This house is entirely earthen sheltered except for door and window areas.

This interior photo of the $8,000 underground house was photographed with natural light.
The $8,000 house shown on this page was designed and half built by Mike Oehler. The client built the other half. Mike no longer builds for clients, though he still occasionally consults or designs. Sarah Royer cooks a meal through the barbeque window.
Doorway to the $500 addition.

All prices mentioned are from the 1970s and 1980s.

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Welcome to UndergroundHousing.com

Cut heating costs 80%
Eliminate air-conditioning costs
Shelter your family from:

* Hurricane
* Tornados
* Earthquakes
* Rampant Fire
* Atomic Fallout
* Mobs, gunfire, blasts, and similar results of social disintegration

Build a home that is:

* Wonderfully affordable
* Easy to build
* In tune with nature
* Solar heatable
* Light, airy, sun and view filled
* Blissfully quiet

Underground housing is a concept whose time has come again. Its advantages over above-ground housing are spectacular. It stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It blends in with nature rather than rearing above it. It can double the yard space in a city. To the neighbors it looks like a park. It is the most environmentally sound. It uses half the building materials. It is the safest form of housing: it is fire resistant, radiation resistant and is impervious to tornado and hurricane strength winds. It even does better in earthquakes.

Where are the traditional tornado shelters located? Where are the fallout shelters? Where does an army go to defend itself? In a world that is increasingly hostile, it’s really nice to know that Mother Earth herself is providing your safety.

The $15,000 Ridge House, now under construction on Mike Oehler's land

Here is what Home & Garden Network (HGTV) had to say about Mike Oehler's underground house, on a special called "The Subterraneans", which has aired frequently. (Check your schedule for future airings):

"This guy literally wrote the book on subterranean housing and sold more than 90,000 copies of The $50 & Up Underground House Book. He lives in his own creation. It's a little snug but it's custom built and has all the creature comforts. You can barely see it, a dream get away nestled deep in the mountains of scenic Northern Idaho on 40 acres of land. Imagine it, all yours for $500. That's what subterranean pioneer Mike Oehler created when he... built one of the nations first underground houses in 1971... Today his little house in a hillside is a rustic gem... It's like having an underground log cabin... and somehow eight feet underground there's still lots of light here. Mike has developed what he calls an Up Hill Patio, a cut behind the house and into the hill, where plants can grow and light and air flow through the house. MIKE: "I think I've got the only system in the country, maybe the world where you get light, air and views from two or three directions in each and every room in the underground house.'

"A beautiful mountain side, custom design, self-sufficiency and plenty of natural light even though you're underground, and all for $500. And maybe best of all, tranquility. MIKE: 'Its easy to heat, easy to cool, It's easy on your ears because it's much more soundproof in there.'

So what's next for Mike Oehler? Well, he's writing a new book and he's designing and building a new (1800 sq. ft. underground) home. It's got a patio, and a tree house, and an underground pool and jacuzzi. And how much for this super house? $15,000.

Please read Countryside Magazine's article on Mike Oehler's work. Click here: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/primer.html

Learn about Mike Oehler's $50 & Up Underground House Book: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/book.html or about the Underground Housing Video or DVD Set: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/videos.html

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The Hippy Survival Guide to Y2K

Okay, Y2K didn't happen. It was a non event. But many people feel like something is going to happen, something big. It is the nature of all things on earth to change and the whiff of catastrophe is in the air. In a society where less than two percent of the population is providing food for the other 98% and where that two percent is totally dependent on oil and fallible technology to keep operating, and where close to 100% of the population will have little if any idea how to survive in the event that services are disrupted, and where there there are powerful enemies of that society vowing disruption not to mention natures impending revenge for the disregard for her rules – well when you add it all up it seems not only possible but probable that civilization as we know it is living on borrowed time.

The first part of The Hippy Survival Guide is charmingly dated. It is recent history, and history of the hippy generation, and should be read and treasured as such. But, as Trish Gannon of The River Journal writes: "As interesting as the first part of the book is it's in the second half where Oehler shines. 'The second thing I'm going to offer you is some simple survival strategies to get you through the trials,' he writes. In 1971 he built his first underground house where he still lives today. It has never had running water, nor (grid) electricity, and is heated solely by the wood that Oehler provides. A self-described back-to-the-lander, Oehler has personal experience in milking cows,butchering livestock, growing organic gardens and preserving what he raises. He's been sharing that knowledge for years as an author and lecturer.

"In Hippy Y2K, Oehler takes the reader through the basics, beginning with shelter and heating and covering such topics as potable water, latrines, food supplies and storage. He also includes information on financial strategies. In true hippy fashion, Oehler finishes the book with a plea for changing the world. 'Most of the world's problems can be solved by a change in lifestyle and a shift in spirituality,' he writes, and after 288 pages, you think he just might have a point."

Bill London in the Lewiston Tribune says the book has, "solid suggestions for emergency pit housing and other survival options ... he's done his research well," and calls it, "appealingly autobiographical ... an entertaining glimpse into the life of one of Idaho's backwoods hermits – try this book."

The Spokane Spokesman Review's Cynthia Taggart observed, "Mike appears as levelheaded as he is resourceful," and called the book, "practical survival advice with tips for city dewellers as well as country folks."

In The Inlander Nick Heil writes, "'Oehler is careful to steer his comments toward those living different kinds of commnities – urban surburban or rural. At times outrageous, funny, philisophical and just plain far-out, Oehler's perspective is as unique as it is entertaining.

"'Hunting and trapping is not impossible in the city, either,' he counsels at one point. 'Pigeons are one likely food source if you can hit them in the head with BBs or catch them in the body with a hand-thrown rock or can get up close enough to throw a blanket over them ... A more reliable source of meat – and you aren't going to like this, not a bit – are mice and rats ... and I have eaten another rodent, squirrel, and can report it excellent.'

"The author's culinary commentary gets better – or worse depending on your tastes: Grasshoppers, 'the shrimp of the prairie,' can be sautéed in a little garlic and butter for a delectable snack. Bones of small critters can be broken open and the marrow dug out , which Oehler says "tastes something like sawdust." One of his personal favorites a 'walking salid' can be easily procured during a stroll through the woods by grabbing handfuls of dandelions, fiddleheads and wheat grass and munching as you go. Other advice includes turning backyard swimming pools into makeshift fish farms, rounding up some five-gallon buckets to deal with solid waste disposal and guidance on how to build a pit house in a week ... Oehler caps things off with a few lengthy and compelling ideas about contemporary society – a counter-culture state of the union address – which culminates with a bit of a surprise.'

"'Spirituality is the ultimate survival skill,' Oehler declares near the end of his book. "When one is primarily on a spiritual quest, the desire for material objects is effectively lessened. This can make an enormous difference to us in the coming trials since we stand a big chance of losing many of our goodies. We will be in states of shock and anguish. Yet if we learn to not mind losing them, there is no loss. Material goods are to Americans as alcohol is to a drunk. In both cases, losing the craving is a benefit.'"

The customers of Amazon.com give this book a five star rating.

Only $14.95
Order using our online form: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/order.html by mail: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/mailorder.html or by phone.

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The Low-Cost Underground House Workshop and Survival Shelter Seminar DVD Set

NOW ON DVD
Available also on VHS

We know of nothing anywhere which comes even close to matching the wealth of knowledge found in this three-tape, six-hour DVD set. The design course taught in tape two alone is worth, we believe, a hundred times the cost of the set in the increased light, air and views it will afford your subterranean home, and in the home’s resale value. If you are just beginning to explore the option of underground housing, The $50 & Up Underground House Book alone will suffice. But if you are convinced you want to build below surface, or need more information to make up your mind, you need this set. It is valuable to owner/builders, self-designers, architects and contractors alike.

This is the same course author and instructor Mike Oehler has taught for architecture departments at colleges and universities across North America and England, Scotland, Belgum, the Netherlands and Germany. He has the material down pat and is able to anticipate your confusion and questions. Unlike the live workshops, the videos allow you to study the material again and again and to share it with your family and friends.

Tape 1 CONSTRUCTION

The first tape explains the Post/Shoring/Polyethylene (PSP) method of building underground with the warmth and charm of wood. The secret is a layer of plastic which protects the wood from the damp of the earth. The original structure built by this method as an experiment in 1971 is still in service. Instructor Mike Oehler invented it, built it and lives in it today. He is now at work on the stunning PSP underground Ridge House with its twenty-mile views.

The second part of the tape is a slide presentation showing construction and completion of a number of underground homes built by this method. Construction costs can be as low as 1/10th the cost of normal construction -- sometimes even lower.

Tape 2: DESIGN
This is the heart of the workshop. Using chalk board and the same scale models he hauled for years to universities across North America and Europe, Mike Oehler teaches his revolutionary methods of underground design. Rejecting for the most part the four common methods (the foolish four: skylights, atriums, vertical window wells and the disastrous first thought design) he teaches instead twelve methods which guarantee light, air and views from any and all directions of the campus in each underground room. No more dark, airless, basement-like underground buildings! As Mike likes to say, "An underground house has no more in common with a basement than a penthouse apartment has with a hot, dark, dusty attic."

Students of the course actually design five underground homes during the screening of this DVD using the included copyrighted design kit. These hands-on excursuses not only drill the methods home, they are actually fun! Those who complete this course wind up with a better concept of underground design than the vast majority of practicing architects today.
In the second part of this two-hour tape, Mike takes you on a personal tour of the four underground or earth sheltered houses on his land. You see real life applications of the Royer Foyer, Hollywood Wings, Up Hill Patios, Basic Designs and more.

Tape 3 SHELTER
This third tape teaches how to build an astonishingly inexpensive shelter which can take your family and friends through nuclear fallout, tornadoes, hurricanes, raging fires and even earthquakes. After a catastrophe, if surrounding above-ground houses have been destroyed, it may be lived in and used as the starting point for an underground house. In normal times the shelter may be used for a root cellar, spare bedroom, workshop, tool shed or kids play house. The cost of this 12x12 shelter will run from $100 to $1500 depending on how many recycled materials are used and how much of the work the owner does. Comprehensive shelter diagrams are included at no additional cost.

The second part of this tape teaches how to design and build a spectacularly effective earth sheltered greenhouse. The prototype for this, invented and built on Mike Oehler’s 40 acres in mountainous North Idaho, 30 miles south of the Canadian boarder, has been in service for nearly a quarter century. Without any other heat source than sun and earth this greenhouse takes tomatoes into the second week in December and hardies like cabbage and kale clear through the winter year after year.

The greenhouse is resistant to the ravages of gophers, moles, deer, rabbits and most other plant predators. It can even collect its own irrigation water. A 10x30 greenhouse should cost between $200 and $3000 depending upon materials and labor.

The third part of the shelter tape continues the tour of the underground structures on Mike’s land including the earth-sheltered greenhouse.

Ordering information
Three-DVD, six-hour combined Workshop & Seminar set: $95.00
Order now with our online form: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/order.html or order by mail: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/undergroundhouse.com.data/Site%20Trash...

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THE EARTH-SHELTERED - SOLAR GREENHOUSE BOOK

The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book has 230 pages with nearly 200 illustrations, photos, diagrams, lists, charts and drawings. It contains all the information you need to struggle free from the pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, waxed, E-coli laden, genetically modified and irradiated supermarket produce. It promotes organic food grown in the closest local spot of all, your backyard. It does all this and saves you a bundle of money too! The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book details the benefits of both passive solar energy and earth sheltering in greenhouse design.

This combination results in greenhouses which need no heating. The captured sun's energy and that which is stored in the earth is enough for successful year round harvest. Gone are costly heating bills. Gone is the squander of nonrenewable energy resources and the resultant atmospheric harm. This is because above-ground unheated greenhouses get natural heat at night from only one side, the floor. They lose heat from the other five sides. The properly designed earth-sheltered greenhouse is naturally warmed at night -- and in the winter -- from five sides and loses heat from only one, the carefully selected glazing. The ratio is exactly reversed.

This book tells all. It takes you step by step through the construction of an inexpensive greenhouse which may be built with either newly purchased or salvaged building materials at great savings. It explains the author's unique Post/Shoring/Polyethylene construction methods which Countryside Magazine called “Revolutionary... innovative and ingenious... a totally different concept.” The book deals heavily with design so that the reader may custom-build a greenhouse perfect for the particular climate and needs. It tells :

• How to use gravity to warm winter plants

• How to effectively capture and store the sun's heat

• How to make up for poor sunlight free of cost

• How to automatically vent without power

• How to choose the best glazing for your project

• Where to find free building materials

• When to use heat tubes and when not to;

• How to use a root cellar in tandem with the greenhouse

• Where to use insulation with wonderful effect (and where to absolutely avoid it)

• How to deal with plant pests organically

• What animals should be living in the greenhouse?

• And hundreds of more tips. Seasoned gardeners will immediately understand the great benefits of growing in a greenhouse that needs little or no additional heat for year round harvest. Beginning gardeners will discover the deep joys and therapeutic value of gardening -- without the bitter disappointment of seeing their hard won plants freeze to death in the fall. All gardeners will appreciate the year round healthful, flavorful food, food that is almost free of cost. And all gardeners will greatly appreciate being able to work or lounge in the sun on the bitterest winter day. It's like being in Florida or on the Riviera without the expense and inconvenience of travel.

With a little adaptation your greenhouse might serve as a storm shelter also, seeing as part of it is eight foot deep. It could conceivably keep a family alive over a winter when fuel was not available. And, of course, it could feed a family were food the food supply disrupted. A year round therapeutic hobby; basking in the sun on bitter winter days; gloriously healthy food; a corresponding decrease in medical bills, not to mention food bills; plus shelter from the storm and civilization's failure are compelling reasons for building an earth-sheltered solar greenhouse.

Peter Andrews, founder of Eco-Logic Books in the United Kingdom calls The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book a, “Splendid, practical handbook -- essential reading for anyone looking to extend their growing season. Thoroughly recommended.”

Only $24.95 NOW AVAILABLE! - Order using our online form: http://www.undergroundhousing.com/order.html, by mail http://www.undergroundhousing.com/mailorder.html or by phone: 800-328-8790

INDEX

Home

Photos of Mike's Underground Houses & Greenhouses

Countryside Magazines' article on Mike's building methods

About the book
Reviews

About the videos/DVDs

Other works by Mike Oehler
Hippy Survival Guide
One Mexican Sunday
WTO Protest Video

Online order form

Mail order form

Media Page

Link to this website: http://www.undergroundhousing.com