diff --git a/README.textile b/README.textile
index b80294c6..c808fb5d 100644
--- a/README.textile
+++ b/README.textile
@@ -20,8 +20,18 @@ h4. via `wget`
 
 @wget --no-check-certificate http://install.ohmyz.sh -O - | sh@
 
-h3. The manual way
+h4. Optional: change the install directory
 
+The default location is `~/.oh-my-zsh` (hidden in your home directory).
+
+You can change the install directory with the ZSH environment variable, either
+by running `export ZSH=/your/path` before installing, or setting it before the
+end of the install pipeline like this:
+
+@curl -L https://raw.github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/master/tools/install.sh | ZSH=~/.dotfiles/zsh sh@
+
+
+h3. The manual way
 
 1. Clone the repository
 
@@ -35,7 +45,6 @@ h3. The manual way
 
   @cp ~/.oh-my-zsh/templates/zshrc.zsh-template ~/.zshrc@
 
-
 4. Set zsh as your default shell:
 
   @chsh -s /bin/zsh@
@@ -46,6 +55,8 @@ h3. Problems?
 
 You _might_ need to modify your PATH in ~/.zshrc if you're not able to find some commands after switching to _Oh My Zsh_.
 
+If you installed manually or changed the install location, check ZSH in ~/.zshrc
+
 h2. Usage
 
 * enable the plugins you want in your @~/.zshrc@ (take a look at @plugins/@ to see what's possible)
diff --git a/tools/install.sh b/tools/install.sh
index b24bb4ad..343f251a 100755
--- a/tools/install.sh
+++ b/tools/install.sh
@@ -1,16 +1,18 @@
-ZSH=`/usr/bin/env|grep 'ZSH='|cut -d '=' -f 2`
-if [ -d "$ZSH" ]
+set -e
+
+if [ ! -n $ZSH ]
+then
+  ZSH=~/.oh-my-zsh
+fi
+
+if [ -d $ZSH ]
 then
   echo "\033[0;33mYou already have Oh My Zsh installed.\033[0m You'll need to remove $ZSH if you want to install"
   exit
-elif [ -d ~/.oh-my-zsh ]
-then
-  echo "\033[0;33mYou already have One Oh My Zsh Directory.\033[0m You'll need to remove  ~/.oh-my-zsh if you want to clone"
-  exit
 fi
 
 echo "\033[0;34mCloning Oh My Zsh...\033[0m"
-hash git >/dev/null && /usr/bin/env git clone https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh.git ~/.oh-my-zsh || {
+hash git >/dev/null && /usr/bin/env git clone https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh.git $ZSH || {
   echo "git not installed"
   exit
 }
@@ -23,7 +25,10 @@ then
 fi
 
 echo "\033[0;34mUsing the Oh My Zsh template file and adding it to ~/.zshrc\033[0m"
-cp ~/.oh-my-zsh/templates/zshrc.zsh-template ~/.zshrc
+cp $ZSH/templates/zshrc.zsh-template ~/.zshrc
+sed -i -e "/^ZSH=/ c\\
+ZSH=$ZSH
+" ~/.zshrc
 
 echo "\033[0;34mCopying your current PATH and adding it to the end of ~/.zshrc for you.\033[0m"
 sed -i -e "/export PATH=/ c\\