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 [Paperback]

Jon Nunan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2009

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The mounting pressure on Earth s ecosystems through human activity is undeniable. In this era of global warming, peak oil, and declining biodiversity, it is clear we must find new ways to live so that future generations will also have accessible opportunities for a healthy life. However, our modern lifestyle is stifling our very chances for survival. As individuals, one of the areas where we have the most control over energy and resource use is in our homes. Whether building a new house or remodeling an existing one, we can make choices that will diminish our consumption of fossil fuels and lessen the emission of greenhouse gasses, while preserving precious water, forests, and other resources. The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials and Methods offers many options for building green and sustainable homes. The alternatives presented tend to reduce the use of energy- intensive industrial materials and promote energy-efficiency in your home over time. The best choice of exactly what to adopt for your own home building project depends on many factors, including local availability of materials, climate, cost, design, ease of construction, and personal aesthetics. While no book can describe everything you might need to know about every aspect of building, this book does a remarkable job of introducing the basics of alternative home building. It takes you through the step-by-step process of construction, from foundations and roofs to electrical installation and wall systems. Choices for heating, cooling, and insulating your home are also evaluated. The most common and some uncommon alternative methods of building are thoroughly examined. What is actually involved in building with cordwood, adobe, light straw-clay, rubber tires, straw bales, earthbags, cob, sod, rammed earth, compressed earth blocks, papercrete, recycled cans and bottles, and salvaged materials? By the time you have finished reading this book, you should have a pretty good idea of how to answer this question. There are many case studies interspersed throughout the text that amplify the themes presented and provide a personal and pertinent statement about how these ideas are implemented in the real world. Many resources for further study are outlined to help you down your path of creating a green future for yourself and others. Having gone down this path myself, I can attest to how extremely satisfying it is to actually live in a house that you had a hand in designing and building. And knowing that it is as sustainable as you can make it only adds to the satisfaction. Happy building! --Kelly Hart

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company (FL) (October 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601382456
• ISBN-13: 978-1601382450
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #515,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing "complete" about it, January 30, 2010

By 

William Sampson "Will" (New England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 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 (Paperback)

This book is billed as a "complete guide" when what it really does is present only a thin sketch of the subject matter with very little insight or professional expertise involved. It reads like a high school term paper in which the student spent a few hours madly pulling stuff off of the internet without really doing any serious research. And don't buy this if you what you want is a guide for you to do alternative home building yourself. Every third paragraph ends with an admonishment to leave the job to a professional -- this despite several recipes for do-it-yourself building materials. And the organization of the book makes what little valuable information it has almost inaccessible. For example, although cordwood construction is specifically mentioned on the cover and takes up a number of pages and pictures inside, you won't find it on the table of contents or in the index. You will find it buried in an overlong and overbroad chapter that purports to be an overview of the building process. Supposed "case histories" interspersed throughout the book are frequently little more than thinly veiled ads for the subject's professional services or political agenda. You'd do better spending a few hours cruising the internet for better information than wasting money on this book. Besides, your internet search is likely to be more thorough and illuminating than anything this author came up with.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternate version of the tale of Three Little Pigs, February 5, 2010

By 

Shirley Qin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 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 (Paperback)

Just based on the title, this book seems promising. "Going green" is the craze right now, why not start with where we live? Upon opening the book, we are treated with a witty dedication that sets the tone. The rest of the book is just as humorous, clever, and fun.

The book adds a whole new dimension to the classic tale of three piggies. Turns out the piggies who built their houses about of straw, clay, and some new unconventional materials, such as rubber, plastic and glass, prevailed after all. Plus, they can save the planet.

Don't be mistaken. This isn't a how-to book on how to build your own house. By that I mean the book doesn't give step-by-step directions for everything that needs to be done in order to build a house--it just gives an overview of alternative home-building strategies, your choices and why. So if you're really serious about building your own house, you're going to need another, more technical book on what pipe connects to what hole, what each part of a house is, etc. In other words, this book doesn't give much technical basics; it's more specialized.

However, the book is still VERY informative. It doesn't miss much. Though it won't answer your really small, technical questions, it will answer most of your problems. Though the author claims to only cover "some" of the alternative home-building methods, I'd say it covers enough to build at least twenty different types of alternative homes.

If you're like me and are too lazy build your own house but love the idea of alternative home building, this book would make a great gift for your local builder. In fact, I think I'll buy one for them right now.
After all, unless we collectively make the change towards alternative home building, we'll all die of overpopulation and global warming. And to top it off, buying the book will save animals. You can feel that you contributed to a good cause because a portion of your purchase will go to The Humane Society of United States).

5.0 out of 5 stars A house made with beer cans?? That's right!, November 1, 2011

By 

Vicki Landes - See all my reviews

This review is from: 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 (Paperback)

Ever consider building your own home? If you have, did it automatically include the use of timber or brick? Author Jon Hunan begins the information on the back cover of his book with this unsettling statement: "The construction of more than one million new homes each year causes a very substantial drain on natural resources." In his book, "The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials and Methods: Including Sod, Compressed Earth, Plaster, Straw, Beer Cans, Bottles, Cordwood, and Many Other Low Cost Materials", he shows his readers how to avoid contributing to that substantial drain and even help the environment by utilizing other more unconventional materials.

"The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building" is a fun look at the myriad possibilities to consider when planning the construction of an alternative materials home. Nunan covers everything from sod and compressed earth to cordwood and even tires and beer cans! He begins by noting that his book is not the only resource his readers should use then goes on to impart a wealth of information on permits and planning, site considerations, roof choices, insulation, and much more. And while he's correct in saying that no one book can truly be a `one stop shop', he gives so many helpful pointers that I kept thinking, `what else is there for me to research?' He continues by addressing the various alternative materials, the pros and cons for each, what works best in which climates, etc, etc, etc. Coupled with Nunan's witty style, the text was both informative and full of personality. I especially enjoyed the color section included in the middle of the book - it really brought the information to life. For readers with little to no exposure to these types of structures, it helped bring a sense of clarity to what Nunan was describing in his chapters. The black and white photographs throughout the book were wonderful as well but it's fantastic to see these amazing projects in full color!

Every green builder - whether novice or professional - needs to consider alternative materials when undertaking a construction project and "The Complete Guide to Alternative Home Building Materials and Methods: Including Sod, Compressed Earth, Plaster, Straw, Beer Cans, Bottles, Cordwood, and Many Other Low Cost Materials" is the best place to start!

Reviewed by Vicki Landes, author of "Europe for the Senses - A Photographic Journal"