Customer Reviews

Design of Straw Bale Buildings; The State of the Art

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

 

 

For architects especially - dealing with technical issues and codes - and serious others as well, this is THE must-own first book to get on the intelligent, competent and wise use of straw bales in building construction. And do not forget the Art along the way. Editor/Engineer Bruce King and his team of top expert contributors make it all accessible, exciting and enticing to any adventurous designer considering use of this stimulating new/old material.

You hand the book to your engineer and he will know what to do with it, the author has done all the home work for the engineer. This book is in a league all on it's on; it is the next generation in straw building. Your banker will stop laughing when he sees the book also. I am a lay man and it made perfect since to me; I have no idea where some of the other reviewers are coming from with there comments.

The information in the book was too detailed for the layman. This book is more for the architect and/or structual engineer or student of engineering and architecture. While I understood the concepts since I have already built a strawbale house as a layman it was way beyond what I would be look for in designing a straw bale house. I would recommend it to an architect who was going to design a straw bale house but not for the layman looking for ideas.

Most books of this sort are long on enthusiasm and short on useful information. As a professional engineer I now have just what Ineed to design a straw bale building in an earthquake zone.

An excellent book for anyone interested in the specifics/codes/details of straw bale buildings, with special attention to moisture and structure.

I was a bit dismayed to find an admonishment to avoid designing parapets or "Santa Fe" style buildings, but I understand the advice. However, a web search yielded some suggestions on overcoming the disadvantage of zero-overhang inherit in parapet roofs. As I will be building in Santa Fe and want an adaptation of the parapet style, I will continue research on overcoming this disadvantage (I am not building a full parapet roof, but am using a parapet look to make a 360 degree balcony available to my master bedroom).