diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 46266bb0..ada930b5 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@ cd $(dirname $0)
 
 export DOCKER_IMAGE=rancher-os-build
 
-source ./scripts/version
-
 ./scripts/ci
 
 rm -rf dist
diff --git a/scripts/build-common b/scripts/build-common
index 7be7eba0..937045ea 100644
--- a/scripts/build-common
+++ b/scripts/build-common
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ DOCKER_FILE=${CONFIG}/.dockerfile
 
 write_base()
 {
+    DOCKER_BASE=${DOCKER_BASE:?"DOCKER_BASE not defined"}
+
     if [ "${BASE_WRITTEN}" = "true" ]; then
         return
     fi
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ write_base()
     mkdir -p $(dirname ${DOCKER_FILE})
 
     cat > ${DOCKER_FILE} << EOF
-FROM ${DOCKER_BASE:=ubuntu:14.04.2}
+FROM ${DOCKER_BASE}
 ENV TERM xterm
 ENV IN_DOCKER true
 WORKDIR /source