Strawbale Home Plans

Strawbale Home Plans Review

Strawbale Home Plans
Wayne J. Bingham and Colleen Smith
Strawbale building experts Wayne J. Bingham and Colleen Smith present 30 unique plans to build a strawbale home, along with stunning photographs that illustrate projects from around the world. A broad range of building types, from small retreats and rural off-the-grid homes to urban houses and commercial buildings are featured.
Benefits of strawbale building:
It is the healthiest and most energy-saving building option.
Results in dramatic reductions on heating and cooling bills.
Significantly decreases the risk of allergies from airborne molds, pollens, and toxins.
Strawbale houses offer 3 times the fire resistance of conventional construction.
Is a green building option, which has been a hot topic in national media.

Whole Green Catalog: 1000 Best Things for You and the Earth

Whole Green Catalog: 1000 Best Things for You and the Earth Review

As interest in living a sustainable life has exploded, so has the green marketplace. It has become difficult to distinguish companies that provide truly eco-friendly products and services from those that "greenwash." Now, from the company that founded Organic Gardening when eating close to the land was far from mainstream and published Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, comes this timely guide to all things green. Modeled on the classic Whole Earth Catalog, the touchstone for an earlier generation, Whole Green Earth Catalog is poised to become the bible of green living for the 68 million Americans—about one-third of U.S. adults—who now take environmental and social issues into account when they make purchases. Leading experts in every imaginable category—from home furnishings and appliances to clothing and children's toys, from pets and beauty products to travel and investing—share their authoritative tips, reviews, and advice. Whole Green Earth Catalog provides succinct answers to such questions as: Can one go green and save money? Can people reduce their carbon footprint if they are business travelers? Is there an environmentally friendly disposable diaper? Beautifully packaged with more than 1,000 photographs and illustrations, and manufactured with 100 percent post-consumer waste materials, this volume is the perfect gift for those who care about the future of the planet.

Sustainable Home Refurbishment: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Retrofitting Homes for Efficiency (Earthscan Expert Series)

Sustainable Home Refurbishment: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Retrofitting Homes for Efficiency (Earthscan Expert Series) Review

A retro-fit offers many benefits: cutting electricity and heating bills, increasing the resale value of homes, slashing carbon emissions and creating a healthier place to live. This book is the guide to making it happen. It looks at: - draught-proofing, insulation and damp - ventilation, heating and cooling - electrical efficiency and renewable energy - water use and re-use - materials' life cycles and incorporating nature - protection from climate change impacts - modelling energy flows and embodied energy - how we can meet the need to cut carbon emissions from dwellings by 80% by 2050. Projects can apply to apartment blocks, recent builds and older, solid-walled properties. Enlivened with helpful diagrams and photographs, plus plenty of pointers for further information, it provides a comprehensive resource handbook for any building professional and contractor, students - or any homeowner serious about efficiency (cash and carbon) savings.

Green Transportation Basics: A Green Energy Guide

Green Transportation Basics: A Green Energy Guide Review

Our automobile culture is devastating for the environment, but private passenger vehicles are unlikely to disappear from our roads anytime soon. Greener cars and fuels will be a necessity for many years to come.

Green Transportation Basics is a guide to greening your personal driving habits by dramatically improving the efficiency of an existing vehicle using simple measures such as trip planning and regular maintenance to improve fuel economy. This handy guide also explores the most promising new green cars and trucks, including electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and natural-gas cars. And it critically examines sustainable fuels including ethanol, biodiesel, straight vegetable oil, hydrogen, and biomethane, evaluating each according to a set of established criteria. Each green fuel source must:

• Be socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable
• Have a high net energy yield
• Be clean, abundant, renewable, and affordable

Don't let your dream of greening your transportation idle—Green Transportation Basics will guide you through the myths and misconceptions and provide clear options for the road to a more sustainable future.

Dan Chiras is a respected educator and author who has published nearly thirty books on renewable energy and sustainable living, including Power from the Sun and Power from the Wind. He is the director of the Evergreen Institute, where he teaches workshops on green transportation, including green fuels and vehicles and electric car conversion.

The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage: The Real Goods Solar Living Book

The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage: The Real Goods Solar Living Book Review

Are you ready for the Cob Cottage? This is a building method so old and so simple that it has been all but forgotten in the rush to synthetics. A cob cottage,cobb, however, might be the ultimate expression of ecological design, a structure so attuned to its surroundings that its creators refer to it as "an ecstatic house."
The authors build a house the way others create a natural garden. They use the oldest, most available materials imaginable--earth, clay, sand, straw, and water--and blend them to redefine the future (and past) of building. Cob (the word comes from an Old English root, meaning "lump") is a mixture of non-toxic, recyclable, and often free materials. Building with cob requires no forms, no cement, and no machinery of any kind. Builders actually sculpt their structures by hand.
Building with earth is nothing new to America; the oldest structures on the continent were built with adobe bricks. Adobe, however, has been geographically limited to the Southwest. The limits of cob are defined only by the builder's imagination.
Cob offers answers regarding our role in Nature, family and society, about why we feel the ways that we do, about what's missing in our lives. Cob comes as a revelation, a key to a saner world.
Cob has been a traditional building process for millennia in Europe, even in rainy and windy climates like the British Isles, where many cob buildings still serve as family homes after hundreds of years. The technique is newly arrived to the Americas, and, as with so many social trends, the early adopters are in the Pacific Northwest.
Cob houses (or cottages, since they are always efficiently small by American construction standards) are not only compatible with their surroundings, they ARE their surroundings, literally rising up from the earth. They are full of light, energy-efficient, and cozy, with curved walls and built-in, whimsical touches. They are delightful. They are ecstatic.

Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Builder's Guide)

Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Builder's Guide) Review

Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Builder's Guide) Feature

• ISBN13: 9781561589739
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

A thorough, informative, and up-to-date reference on green, sustainable and energy-efficient home construction that clarifies definitions of green and sustainable and guides builders and architects through the process of new or remodel green construction, including issues of site, landscaping, durability, and energy-efficiency. It starts with clear explanations of the concepts and fundamentals of green, healthy and energy-efficient construction and walks the reader through the entire construction process, injecting expert advice at every decision point. Construction techniques, materials, and products are thoroughly explained, making the often vaguely understood concepts cleanly understandable. The book gives builders and architects the tools to respond to growing requests from homeowners for green and energy-efficient houses, whether new or remodeled. Homeowners can use the book to understand the concepts, process, and options, whether they're doing it themselves or working with a professional.

Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs

Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs Review

Clarke Snell and Timothy L. Callahan, whose popular Good House Book helped environmentally-minded readers create an earth-friendly home, have returned with a photo-packed, amazingly complete, start-to-finish guide to "green" housebuilding.

This absolutely groundbreaking manual doesn't just talk about eco-friendly building techniques, but actually shows every step! More than 1,200 close-up photographs, along with in-depth descriptions, follow the real construction of an alternative house from site selection to the addition of final-touch interior details. Co-authors Clarke Snell and Timothy Callahan (a professional builder and contractor) provide thorough discussions of the fundamental concepts of construction, substitutes for conventional approaches, and planning a home that's not only comfortable and beautiful, but environmentally responsible. Then, they roll up their sleeves and get to work assembling a guest house that incorporates four different alternative building methods: straw bale, cob, cordwood, and modified stick frame. The images show every move: how the site is cleared, the basic structure put together, the cob wall sculpted, the bales and cordwood stacked, a living roof created, and more. Most important, the manual conveys real-world challenges and processes, and offers dozens of sidebars with invaluable advice. It's head and shoulders above all others in the field.

How to Plan, Contract, and Build Your Own Home, Fifth Edition: Green Edition (How to Plan, Contract & Build Your Own Home)

How to Plan, Contract, and Build Your Own Home, Fifth Edition: Green Edition (How to Plan, Contract & Build Your Own Home) Review

How to Plan, Contract, and Build Your Own Home, Fifth Edition: Green Edition (How to Plan, Contract & Build Your Own Home) Feature

• ISBN13: 9780071603300
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

The All-in-One Custom Homebuilders Guide--Fully Updated with the Latest Green Construction Methods

How to Plan, Contract, and Build Your Own Home, fifth edition, gives you the information you need during every step of the homebuilding process--from selecting materials to designing the rooms to working with a contractor. Featuring practical, cost-effective ways of planning, designing, and building energy-efficient homes, the book presents money- and energy-saving options in every chapter.

This thoroughly revised reference explains how you can implement many of the green construction strategies that make up the U.S. Green Building Council's award-winning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines. Written by experienced instructors and builders, this is the most complete planning and homebuilding resource available.

Learn how to:

• Select the building site that best suits your project
• Determine floor plans and types of construction, foundations, framing, and finishing
• Use energy-efficient electric, lighting, heating, cooling, and insulation
• Choose the best quality floors, wall coverings, fixtures, and appliances for your budget
• Integrate green construction systems, components, and materials throughout your home
• Include amenities such as decks, patios, gazebos, sidewalks, and driveways
• Find and work with an established, skilled, and reliable contractor

Joey Green's Encyclopedia of Offbeat Uses for Brand Name Products

Joey Green's Encyclopedia of Offbeat Uses for Brand Name Products Review

Good binding. We ship fast

The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods: Including Sod, Compressed Earth, Plaster, Straw, Beer Cans, Bottles, Cordwood, and Many Other Low Cost Materials

The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods: Including Sod, Compressed Earth, Plaster, Straw, Beer Cans, Bottles, Cordwood, and Many Other Low Cost Materials Review

In the United States alone, the annual construction of over one million new homes causes a very substantial drain on natural resources. Today, approximately 60 percent of the timber cut down in our country is used for building homes. Using alternative home building materials and creating a greener home are about creating better homes that are environmentally friendly, are less expensive in the long run, and create healthier occupants. Unfortunately, many people are unfamiliar with alternative building materials and do not know the first thing about going green. However, The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods will teach you everything you need to know about this movement toward natural construction methods. This book will show you how to identify, locate, and effectively use alternative building materials. You will learn about straw bale, cordwood, cob, adobe, rammed earth, light clay, pise, earthbag, bamboo, earth-rammed tires, cork, wool carpeting, sod, compressed earth, earth plaster, beer cans, bottles, as well as living roofs and more. In addition, you will learn the costs and performance characteristics of these materials and construction techniques for each, as well as how to integrate plumbing and electricity into these unfamiliar materials and substitutes for conventional approaches. You will also learn about the structure, climate control, siting, foundations, and flooring options you gain when using these materials. Also included are the advantages and benefits of alternative building materials for both consumers and builders and the key ecological design principles. Ultimately, you will come to understand that these materials are cheaper, easier to build with, stronger, more durable, and more fire resistant. Architects, designers, students, homeowners, homebuyers, owner builders, and those who want to build for a sustainable future will want to read this book. If you are concerned about the environment, want to create a healthier, more enjoyable home, and want to save money, The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials & Methods will show you how.

Wash Your Hair With Whipped Cream: And Hundreds More Offbeat Uses for Even More Brand-Name Products

Wash Your Hair With Whipped Cream: And Hundreds More Offbeat Uses for Even More Brand-Name Products Review

The successor to Paint Your House with Powdered Milk and Polish Your Furniture with Panty Hose offers unorthodox, slightly illicit uses for brand-name products and reveals their secret histories. Original."

The Independent Home: Living Well With Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water (A Real Goods Independent Living Book)

The Independent Home: Living Well With Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water (A Real Goods Independent Living Book) Review

The Independent Home: Living Well With Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water (A Real Goods Independent Living Book) Feature

• Living Well With Power from the Sun, Wind, and Water

Whether you already own a home or plan to build one, The Independent Home will show you how to transform it into an energy-efficient, comfortable, self-sustainable home of the future-- right now. Michael Potts's home has been featured on the ABC evening news as an example of the sane approach to simple living; he demonstrates how one can live well, save money, save resources, and still retain modern conveniences and comfort. The Independent Home proves that it is not necessary to live in mud-floored huts and cook brown rice over a campfire to go back to the land.

From Black Thumb to Green Thumb in Just 73 years!

From Black Thumb to Green Thumb in Just 73 years! Review

From A to Z this 73 year old gardener has written down all kinds of gardening advice and information for the novice or advanced gardener. She includes recipes using your own garden produce and the fruits, vegetables. She even tells you how to attract butterflies and birds to your gardens and how to maintain an incredible garden on a budget friendly scale.

Green Guide: The Complete Reference for Consuming Wisely

Green Guide: The Complete Reference for Consuming Wisely Review

Paper or plastic? Organic or conventional? In a world that is rapidly going "green," how does the average person make decisions that are smart for the family—and good for the planet? The Green Guide is here to help, with the concepts and choices for Earth-conscious living. Presented in concise, information-packed chapters, this up-to-the-minute resource touches on every aspect of our lives, from grocery shopping to housecleaning to work, travel, and investing—enabling consumers to make informed decisions and simple changes that impact the planet in big ways. Easy-to-follow information and hundreds of fascinating sidebars, fact boxes, and other key elements recommend how you can replace unhealthy and environmentally damaging practices and products with more wholesome, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing alternatives. Neither scholarly nor scare-mongering in tone, the lively text has been written in partnership with a board of noted experts—offering readers the most authoritative, engaging, comprehensive, and in-depth reference of its kind.

Created by two of the strongest brands in conservation and the environment, and drawn from more than ten years of reputable coverage in The Green Guide newsletter, on-line and in print, this comprehensive resource is destined to become a must-have for millions of families and the first name in household reference books in this up-and-coming category.

The Book of Masonry Stoves: Rediscovering an Old Way of Warming

The Book of Masonry Stoves: Rediscovering an Old Way of Warming Review

Within the past decade, millions of Americans have discovered the economic benefits and personal pleasures of heating with wood. At the same time, many have discovered that there are serious problems associated with wood heat and iron stoves: chimney fires from creosote, air pollution from poor combustion, and structural fires caused by faulty stove installation. The masonry stove, widely used in Europe and Asia for centuries, surmounts these problems.
Masonry stoves offer good solutions to many of the problems associated with wood burning. They provide clean combustion at a high temperature, good efficiency, a high degree of safety, and little or no pollution. Masonry stoves require little care, needing to be fed only once or twice a day. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes from simple to elegant and from austere to gothic. And they are easily adapted to a variety of structures including solar designs.
The Book of Masonry Stoves represents the first comprehensive survey ever published of all the major types of masonry heating systems, ancient and modern. Detailed plans and building information are included in the book. As a complete introduction to masonry stoves, it will help many people rediscover an old way of warming, using masonry stoves.

It's Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living

It's Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living Review

Surveys find that over 80 percent of Americans agree with the goals of the environmental movement. Sadly, most Americans admit to doing little more than basic recycling when it comes to acting on that disposition. What is the reason for this great divide between environmental sentiment in this country and individual actions? Author and environmental consultant Crissy Trask seeks to answer this question-and solve the disparity-with a new book that makes it easy to be an environmentalist, no matter how busy or hectic your lifestyle. This is a day to day guide with simple, practical suggestions that anyone can put into action, like:
Install rain gutters and rain barrels to collect rainwater from your roof to use in the garden.
Shift appliance use to off-peak hours. Some utility companies offer off-peak rates, so you'll save money!
How to make effective household cleaners instead of relying on toxic commercial products.
Submerge a plastic bottle in your toilet tank to save one quart of water per flush and thousands of gallons a year.
This is what the busy person needs to start making changes today. Get informative, comprehensive and practical information for adopting greener buying habits and identifying earth-friendly products; shopping for green products online; participating in online activism; and learning from tips for cultivating a sustainable environment.

Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options

Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options Review

Natural Home Heating is the first comprehensive guide to heating your home with renewable energy sources. Greg Pahl offers a well-organized, easy-to-understand tour of all available renewable home-heating options, including wood, pellet, corn and grain-fired stoves, fireplaces, furnaces and boilers as well as masonry heaters, active and passive solar systems, and heat pumps. Learn how to burn environmentally friendly biodiesel fuels, not just in your car, but in your furnace or boiler. Included is everything you need to know about the fuels, systems, technologies, costs, and advantages and disadvantages of each option. Pahl teaches homeowners how to retrofit existing heating systems and choose renewable replacements, or design an entirely new house that can be heated comfortably with minimal environmental and financial impact.
Consider:

95% of American homes are heated with fossil fuels or electricity (which is generated mainly by fossil fuels).

Oil and gas prices will continue to rise as supplies dwindle and sources become less reliable.

Home heating costs could double or even triple in the event of a fuel crisis.

The use of fossil fuels is the primary contributor to global warming.

There are viable, clean, healthy, and affordable home heating alternatives!
Learn how to burn environmentally friendly bio-diesel fuels, not just in your car, but in your furnace. Find out how a ground-source heat pump works and why it can achieve 400% heating efficiency. Discover what it takes to make burning wood truly sustainable. Natural Home Heating explains all these details and more, making it unique in the marketplace.