Build Your Own Stone House: Using the Easy Slipform Method (Down-To-Earth Building Book) [Paperback]

Karl Schwenke (Author), Sue Schwenke (Author)

Book Description

Series: Down-To-Earth Building Book | Publication Date: January 2, 1991

Complete instructions on tools, materials, estimating, siting, excavating, and using and removing forms.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The simple and functional beauty of a well-built stone house never seems to go out of style. Nearly twenty years after Karl and Sue Schwenke first constructed their Vermont home, their classic book has been revised, updated, and reissued for a new generation of readers.

Using the same easy "slipform" method of construction, the Schwenkes have over the years added to their original stone house and built barns and other structures. And their book is still the best hands-on source available for people interested in building a stone house "from the ground up."

Build Your Own Stone House features straightforward and complete instructions on a variety of topics, including:

-- The materials - stone, sand, cement, and others

-- How and where to site your stone house

-- Excavating the site, estimating the materials needed, and figuring the ground load

-- Setting up, using, and removing the forms

-- Pouring piers, footings, and basement walls

-- Building the stone walls, corners, and door and window openings

-- Constructing the floors, ceilings, and roof

-- Building your own fireplace

Clear illustrations and useful tables round out the book, which also includes all-new information on the best options and materials for insulating your home.

About the Author

Karl Schwenke is a professional writer who lives with wife Sue on a farm in Newbury, Vermont, where they have raised strawberries, pigs and hay among other crops. Together, this couple has written the book Build Your Own Stone House, and Karl wrote the Storey title Successful Small-Scale Farming. His other work includes Sierra North and Sierra South from Wilderness Press, an organization in Berkeley, California, that he co-founded after graduating from college. Karl has also written In a Pig's Eye (Chelsea Green Publishing).

Sue Schwenke is a teacher who lives with husband Karl on a farm in Newbury, Vermont, where they have raised strawberries, pigs and hay among other crops. Together, this couple has written the book Build Your Own Stone House.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; 2 Revised edition (January 2, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882666398
• ISBN-13: 978-0882666396
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #745,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, writer is a hands on builder., December 11, 2001

By 

Alex Wodchis (Newport Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Build Your Own Stone House: Using the Easy Slipform Method (Down-To-Earth Building Book) (Paperback)

This book is a must have if you are even thinking of building a stone building. Great details with a clear picture of the work involved, and lots of heads up pointers. Could of used more pictures, the ones it had were all black and white. The only thing about this book I didn't like was it was written in 1991 and after 10 years some contruction methods change.

22 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different, VERY different, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Build Your Own Stone House: Using the Easy Slipform Method (Down-To-Earth Building Book) (Paperback)

If you don't like to get dirty, don't read this book. But for the rest of us, this book is a great source of information that really teaches one how to build a cathedral-styled house, market, or any other design to get get peoples attention!

4.0 out of 5 stars Great primer, March 2, 2011

By 

W. Nasuti "Bill" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Build Your Own Stone House: Using the Easy, Slipform Method (Paperback)

Overall I thought the author did a great job describing his experiences. From a practical standpoint, it would have been helpful to better understand the pros and cons of traditional stone masonry with the forms.