Customer Reviews

Alternative Construction: Contemporary Natural Building Methods

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent resource book for those seeking to learn more about alternative construction methods and materials. It introduces the reader to straw bale, cob, light straw clay (a marvelous material), rammed earth and many other ecologically appropriate materials. It doesn't provide enough detail to help you build with these materials but it will help you choose which might be good for you and guides you to some of the key people and resources. The chapter on natural conditioning of houses is outstanding and provides performance estimates for a variety of building materials in cities as diverse as Denver and El Centro.

david bainbridge is one of the authors of the Straw Bale House and a pioneer in passive solar heating and cooling.

If you have read few other books on alternate construction this is a good book for a general survey of current trends in natural building. Some good pointers on where to go for more details.
If you are looking for an actual how-to guide to various building methods, this book is not the one you want. Certainly not as a solo guide if you are looking to be an owner-builder in the sense of building yourself.
Worth reading by checking it out from your library, not worth purchasing.

I haven't done anything but dream yet, but my friends borrowed the book and used it extensively in planning their passive solar home. Like others have mentioned it does not have explicit instructions for any of the buildings, but has enough information to help you choose your direction.

A good informativeand worth to keep in your personal library