Build It Yourself
· book $37 · Complete $67Build It Yourself
· book $37 · Complete $67The build-it-yourself companion · from the Medieval Wisdom archive
Fourteen medieval building techniques, taken all the way to real dimensions, modern materials you can actually buy, and the safety and code the videos leave out.
Instant PDF · 107-page book · worksheets for the job · sourcing pack · 30-day refund
The trap
The what and the why are all over YouTube. The how — the ratios, the depths, the modern material you can buy in 2026, the safety, the code — almost nobody finishes. So you watch, you get inspired, and you're left doing the research yourself.
You wanted a blueprint. You got a documentary.
The knowledge exists — scattered across papers, codes, and comment sections.
Most "ancient building" content quietly only works where winters are mild.
The idea that makes it work
Every chapter takes a technique through three layers — the same three the videos stop after layer one.
Why it actually works — the real enemy (usually water, not cold; heat, not air) — so you can adapt it to your site instead of copying blindly.
The exact "but how do I…" from thousands of comments — quantities, modern substitutes, where to buy, what climate it's for.
Real proportions, sourcing, tools, the step sequence, the safety, and how it maps to the building code — each pass cross-checked against the record.
Not a description — a real page
Representative build spec (final numbers keyed to your local frost line + soil):
| Trench width | 18–24 in |
| Depth | below frost line (12–48 in) |
| Floor slope to outlet | ≥ 1 in / 8 ft |
| Washed stone | ¾–1½ in, angular |
| Compaction lifts | ~8 in |
| Grade beam | 8–12 in W × 6–8 in D, #4 rebar |
What's inside
Not a syllabus of topics. Each chapter names what you'll be able to build, who it's for, and roughly what it takes.
The shift
The kind of self-reliant know-how you can use on your own land — and hand to your kids.
The math
One method you get right — or one mistake you don't make — is worth many times the price of the book.
| A contractor's frost-depth footing | $4,000–$15,000 |
| Fixing a foundation that heaved | $1,500–$10,000 |
| A structural engineer's afternoon | $300–$800 |
| The comparable underground-house book readers cite | $50+ |
| Reading all 14 techniques here first | $37 |
Costs vary by region and project. This isn't a savings guarantee — it's the price of the decisions the book helps you make.
Straight from the audience
Real, unedited comments from the channel — the exact reactions that shaped this book. Typos left in on purpose.
"I really want to try this. I want to make a small, deeper one to serve as a root cellar and maybe later make a bigger one as a winter dwelling. It will be in the Scottish highlands…"
"I grew up helping my grandfather build 'dry' stone walls… when I go back to visit, 50 years later 2 of them are still in place."
"They only show buildings in areas that do not have bitterly cold winters… Please talk about how these techniques work in areas with real freeze/thaw cycles."
"Stunning knowledge. Inspiring and empowering technology. Is there maybe a book in the making?"
"I only know about it because I plan on building my house this way. I had to do the research myself of course."
"Vitruvius' recipe… a 1:3 ratio of lime to volcanic ash. For underwater structures, a 1:2 ratio, which cures in water, forming incredibly durable, self-healing structures."
Who's doing the work
Every chapter is built from a specific video in the archive, then taken further: a dedicated research pass adds the quantities, modern materials, safety, and code — cross-checked against the record (the MIT/Nature work on Roman concrete, the IRC on footings, Vitruvius on the originals). Where a popular claim is disputed, we say so instead of repeating it. That honesty is the whole point of a build book: get it wrong and someone gets hurt.
Two ways in — pick how you want to use it
Same 14 techniques either way. Complete adds the pages you actually carry to the job. Lifetime updates are free — the files only get deeper.
Read it, price a wall, walk your site.
107-page PDF · 14 chapters
The book, plus the two things you take to the job.
The delivery that matches how the work actually happens
Buying the book first? Gumroad will offer the worksheets and sourcing pack before you pay — $24 instead of $30. Same files as Complete.
If it's still just an interesting tale to you, email within 30 days for a full refund — and keep every file you've downloaded. Less than one contractor's site visit, and the risk sits with us.
Reply to your receipt — no forms, no questions.
Straight answers
One decision left
Fourteen techniques. Take the book, or take the kit you carry to the job.
Not ready?
The complete self-draining stone foundation — A-to-Z. Decide for yourself.
Free. Your email is how you get the PDF.
Not ready to buy?
The self-draining stone foundation, complete. The book is still here when you are.