Accolades

For those of you who can't quite make up your minds weather to download a copy of The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon's Guide to Dirt...


Victoria in Cape Town wrote,

"I started reading The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon's™ Guide to DIRT (I love the title!) at midnight, thinking I'd read a couple of pages and finish the rest in the morning. It was so interesting and exciting that I finished it in one sitting. Since then I have been telling anyone who will listen all about it.

Now that I've read your book I feel totally inspired to STOP researching and START doing! Thank you so much for your inspiring and, ahem, down to earth approach. With all the very best to you."

Ramji in India wrote,

"Congratulations on bringing out this fantastic and inspiring book. Bought this book a couple of hours ago, and I was hoping it would not disappoint. After having browsed through the book for the last couple of hours, am happy to say that the purchase was well worth it. Thanks once again and hope to stay in touch to keep you updated on our building adventures inspired by the Cheap Ass Curmudgeon :-) warmly, Ramji"


Josh wrote,

"I believe your method bridges the gap between ancient construction techniques and modern technology and its not just a theory or an account of something we believe to be true, its something you've experienced which is a huge wealth of knowledge."


Brad wrote,

"This is the best $19.95 I have ever spent on a construction related book!!! I have books covering every aspect of green building, but believe me this is pure genius."

Guy from New Mexico wrote,

"What an awesome book you produced. You nailed it. I can't wait to try out your method both with my sand & cement, and fibercrete. Keep up the incredible, funny and informational work."

Time to get off the fence. Get down and get your hands in the 'DIRT'.

Download your copy today! CLICK HERE

"DIRT" — Review by Jennifer Morkunas, Eco Metro (Celilo Group Media)

Michael Van Hall’s The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon’s™ Guide to DIRT offers a fresh perspective on building outside the box, and some great advice on avoiding the shape of a box.

A whole range of topics are covered, from building with your own earthen building blocks without having to wait for them to cure, to interior walls and making your own doors. His trademarked Self-Locking Pour-in-Place System is a time-saver, and his easy-to-read style convinces you that all you need to do is cast aside your doubts about what you are able to do with your own two hands, and show some willingness to get them dirty.

Van Hall is in touch with the creative process, and guides you through developing your own. Have you ever considered that DIRT is your greatest asset? The book is full of useful tips that would be hard to pick up anywhere else, such as using cactus juice as a non-toxic waterproofing agent. Who knew? I love how he placed cans and bottles in his bricks to add insulating properties. Now THAT’S what I call recycling! Not since Frodo and Sam’s journey with the ring has a story about Mortar been so riveting. This guide has come at a great time, when many people are seeing the benefits of changing (i.e. downsizing) their lifestyle, voluntary simplicity, and the Freegan movement. Van Hall has some sustainable suggestions that hardly cost any money. The illustrations are also really amusing.

Growing up in the land of Reagan-era tract homes, I can really appreciate and advocate Van Hall’s concept of creative building and tuning into your surroundings. His section on windows is a must-read in this respect. For example, it’s common to want to make windows as large as possible, but Van Hall recommends using them like frames that narrow down a view to a specific scene. You will learn to always ask, “Why do we have to do it that way?” and to question conventions.

I also didn’t know that houses used to be made out of sod, and they were warmer than a lot of stucco homes. That's wild! It is empowering to start to learn how to create very basic building structures, as well as cabinets, desks, and countertops, The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon’s Guide to DIRT is enthusiastic, accessible, and encouraging. Check out what Michael has to say and get in touch with that child inside who wants to play in the dirt.





-Jennifer Morkunas, Celilo Group Media





Find the best of what’s green and local with our EcoMetro guides and at ecometro.com.

Celilo Group Media publishes Chinook Book in Portland and Seattle/Puget Sound, EcoMetro Guide in East Bay, CA and Blue Sky Guide in Minneapolis/St Paul.

The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon’s Guide to Dirt (Building, That Is) — Rosana Hart

The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon’s Guide to Dirt: Hand-Building with Adobe, Papercrete, Paper-Adobe, and More, by Michael Van Hall, is a delight.

This downloadable ebook will take you through the steps to make your own simple dirt structure. He doesn’t go into all the details of how to build a house, as he points out that you can find that information everywhere. (I will add you can find that sort of thing at our natural building bookstore.)

This 100-page ebook focuses on… as you might guess from the cover… dirt. With close to 100 photographs and numerous drawings, the book is a relatively quick and very enjoyable read. It will motivate you even if you already are excited about natural building. And it will give you enough information to pile up the dirt with his special method.

(One quibble: he says you can also do this approach with papercrete and other materials. Kelly and I used papercrete as the exterior covering on our earthbag house in Colorado, and we have several friends who built all-papercrete homes. Don’t do it just before the rains come or during the rainy season, as it needs to really really dry or there can be mould problems. If you want to use papercrete, do a lot more homework on it specifically.)

Okay, back to this ebook. After an upbeat introduction with some history, there is an illustrated section on the traditional way to make adobe bricks, with comments on how much work it it – both to make them and to carry them to the building site. Not to mention the patience required to wait for them to be dry enough to use.

Much better, says Michael, is his Self-Locking Pour-in-Place System (trademarked.) Much of the book describes how to do this, and it looks like a lot of fun. Okay, any play with dirt is still going to be a lot of work, but this sounds like fun work!

I specially enjoyed the chapter where he did everything wrong… at least by traditional standards.

Michael’s website is fun too – click here to see what else the cheap-ass curmudgeon has to say, download some chapters of his ebook at no cost, and buy it if you want to.

Rosana Hart

Book review of "DIRT" —Michael Janzen, Tiny House Design

I just finished reading a new ebook by Michael Van Hall (a.k.a The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon). The book is titled, The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon’s Guide to: DIRT — Hand building with Adobe, Papercrete, Paper-Adobe, and more, and I must admit it was an entertaining read. More importantly I got a good look at an entirely different way of building an adobe house that breaks all the rules.

Instead of making adobe blocks, letting them cure, culling out the cracked blocks, and then transporting them to the job site, Michael uses a small form, packs it full of mud, and stacks the walls up wet. This saves an enormous amount of time, effort, and money because you mostly use the dirt under your feet. Another side benefit is that the blocks stick together and interlock making an extremely strong wall.

If that wasn’t weird enough for you it gets better. Michael isn’t terribly concerned with level courses or strait rows. If a wall gets out of line it just adds to the aesthetic. He also tends to pack his blocks with other objects like rocks, glass bottles, chunks of rubble, and even soda cans.

If you like the idea of building with trash, dirt, rock, and other things lying around on the ground… like me… you will enjoy this book. If you prefer nice new stuff I think you’ll still appreciate his out-of-the-box thinking and extreme frugality.

Michael has put quite a bit of information on his website and there is even a free abridged sample of the ebook to download to give you a better idea of what you’ll find in the complete book. Take a closer look at The Cheap-Ass Curmudgeon’s Guide to: DIRT. You can also follow the Michael Van Hall on Twitter if you want to get to know him better.


Michael Janzen