Celebrates the aesthetic styles of straw bale dwellings with numerous color photographs, including both small and large homes and larger-scale institutional buildings. Includes an introductory essay by the authors noting the key lessons they have learned in years of building with bales.

"Filled with comprehensive case studies selected from over thirty-five of Red Feather's successfully completed housing and community-based building projects, Building a Straw Bale House documents the organization's collaboration with reservation communities and provides a step-by-step, bale-by-bale construction handbook - from initial site selection to finished product. Complete with information on safety, design, tools, and materials, it is an inspiring lesson for anybody interested in this technique of constructing a house and a hopeful redefinition of the fundamental ideas of architecture and the home."--BOOK JACKET.

Many copies in stock but still heavy demand; only a few titles published on this subject. Very popular in rural WA too.

The devil is in the details-the science and art of designing and building durable, efficient, straw bale buildings Straw bale buildings promise superior insulation and flexibility across a range of design aesthetics, while using a typically local and abundant low-embodied energy material that sequesters carbon-an important part of mitigating climate change. However, some early straw bale designs and construction methods resulted in buildings that failed to meet design goals for energy efficiency and durability. This led to improved building practices and a deeper understanding of the building science underlying this building system. Distilling two decades of site-built straw bale design and construction experience, Straw Bale Building Details is an illustrated guide that covers: Principles and process of straw bale design and building, options, and alternatives Building science of straw bale wall systems How design impacts cost, building efficiency, and durability Avoiding costly mistakes and increasing construction efficiency Dozens of time-tested detailed drawings for straw bale wall assemblies, including foundations, windows and doors, and roofs. Whether you're an architect, engineer, contractor, or owner-builder interested in making informed choices, Straw Bale Building Details is the indispensable guide to current practice in straw bale design and construction.

Step-by step practical instructions on how to build a straw bale house.

This tale is the author’s life ramble that led to the adventure of building a cabin in the northern New Mexico wilderness. The place, called Santa Rita by its founders, was the site of a tiny settlement built by Hispano homesteaders a century earlier. One of Flint’s new neighbors was Baudelio Garcia, a descendant of original pioneers. Garcia partnered with the author to take on the unfamiliar task of building a straw bale house, beginning when the winter snows were still on the surrounding mountains and having the house under roof when the fall snows arrived. Garcia helped navigate the largely Hispano neighborhood to make the project succeed. The collaboration revealed the strong attachment of the local people for their home place, their patria chica, and the persistence of their ancient language and culture.

Provides information about how to use straw bales as planting containers for vegetable gardening.

Strawbale Home Plans is a meditative and conscientious exploration of the innumerable reasons to consider straw bale as a viable building material. Environmentally friendly, super insulative, economical, and natural, straw bale can be used to build everything from garden walls and shed roofs to small homes. The vibrant pages of this practical guide are filled with rich photos of organic, fluid, undulating structures pulsating with subtle creativity. Indeed at once a pragmatic construction manual and a philosophical, artistic guidebook, this handbook provides food for the mind and soul.

Straw bale building is a radically different approach to the process of building. Like all innovative ideas, it has been pioneered by the passionate, and used experimentally by those with the vision to see its potential. It is firmly based in that sustainable, 'green building' culture that has brought to the construction industry many new and useful ideas about energy efficiency and responsibility towards the environment. As a building material, straw excels in the areas of cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency. This practical guide has been written by the most experienced straw bale builder in the UK. It gives details of all the main construction methods, and includes: * bale specifications * plans * walls and foundations * doors and windows * plastering * building regulations and planning permission * frequently asked questions * construction drawings. This fully revised and updated edition includes new construction drawings, standard details for best practice design, examples of off-the-peg drawings for small buildings such as summer-houses and studios, and designs for affordable houses. These designs meet Building Regulations Code 6 for sustainable homes, and have a carbon rating of less than zero.