The Good House Book: A Common-Sense Guide to Alternative Homebuilding Solar * Straw Bale * Cob * Adobe * Earth Plaster * & More FROM THE PUBLISHER
To create a dwelling that's both ecologically sustainable and attractive, Natural Home magazine is the place to go. With this exquisitely illustrated guide, packed with 400 photos and illustrations, anyone can put environmentally friendly ideas into beautiful practice. Here's an intelligent look at how a home is supposed to function and a variety of different building approaches. What's important is finding the right solution to fit your individual needs, local climate, and natural resources. The broad range of topics covered include choosing a site; selecting materials; building with straw bale, cob, adobe, or rammed earth; and plugging into alternative home power systems. Interviews with six homeowners, and photos of the dream homes they built, provide invaluable insight.
SYNOPSIS
Writing for those considering building their own home, especially those concerned with sustainable construction, the author discusses fundamental considerations. In his richly illustrated volume, he frequently refers to traditional and modern building approaches from around the world in order to demonstrate the variety of possible ways to make a building "specific to its climate, its site, its culture, and its inhabitants." He also offers close examination of six houses as exemples of proper building planning. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
For Snell, a builder with experience using both conventional and alternative construction techniques, a "good house" meets its owner's needs, matches its environment, and makes good use of natural resources. Modern alternative materials such as used tires, recycled plastic or concrete, and straw bales have a place alongside stone, adobe, brick, and wood. Snell takes an unconventional but functional approach to deciding the best construction method and material; chapters deal with the outside temperature, separating the home's inside from outside environmental factors, and connecting the inhabitants with necessary elements such as water or light. The book provides numerous examples, color photos, tables that compare materials, short testimonials, and advice for homeowners and builders. Snell also offers the best annotated bibliography that this reviewer has seen in a building title. For larger public library building collections, especially those in areas with high interest in the "green" lifestyle. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Home
