Customer Reviews

Strawbale Home Plans

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

 

 

I bought this book seeking inspiration, and I was not disappointed. Evident here is the continuing evolvement of strawbale house design and construction. In this book, you can see what can be done with strawbale. Included are comments and suggestions from the owner/builder of each house. For anyone considering building a strawbale structure, these comments would be especially useful. One owner/builder in the desert, for example, says rain gutters should have been installed when the house was first built, not added later on. Photo quality is very nice, and the overall layout and design of the book is quite good. The title of the book is a bit misleading, and I would have liked to see more in the way of actual plans (all you get is a floor plan), but overall this is a nice book, and offers much in the way of ideas.

I got this book because it looked good. And it does look good! There is a lot of beautiful photography in this book, but it isn't really a "plan" book. I was expecting more in the floor-plan and layout department, focusing on passive solar gain, green design ideas, etc. But this book really is photojournalism of various strawbale homes, chronicling different people's stories with alternative housing. I think it was mentioned elsewhere about this book being a cool coffee table book to put on your coffee table inside your strawbale house when you get it done, and that's what I would do with it. :) Pros: Beautiful pictures and some layouts. Cons: No real design ideas, no innovative passive solar focus. Hence, three stars and a not-too-shabby rating. If you want an excellent comprehensive resource on strawbale, check out Ted Owen's Building with Awareness DVD & Guidbook.

This product is short on plans but I love it anyway. It provides one diagram, or layout for each ofmany sterling examples of this construction method,
A good value for that strawbale builder who finds themself somewhere between a dream and the plan coming together...or just wondering where to get started making the dream a reality.

I keep this book around on my couch for all my friends to check out and i go back to it, daily, in searching for beautiful ideas for my soon to be breathable abode! The people in the book appear so serene and i know why! what glorious fotos and floorplans this book provided! great work!

i was very impressed, this book is beautiful, the pictures, and floor plans inside give us so many ideas for the home we want to build in the future, i recommed it even if its a coffe table book.

This is NOT a how-to book. We bought this book for inspiration, and that's pretty much what it is. Since our straw-bale house is nearly complete, I can say that will some authority.

The photos are great to give you ideas as to the many and various styles straw-bale building can be. It also gives some idea as to cost, per square foot, and details concerning some of the materials (type of straw bales, exterior/interior finish on the walls, etc.) for each home, which is helpful (though cost will be dated fairly soon). It does include the floor plans for each home, but you would still have to figure out elevations, roof construction, etc. Each owner also tells a bit of the process of building their home - which is a reality that hopeful builders should understand. (Yes, it's certainly possible, even for old folks with little money and no building skills, if you consider hiring out those important things you REALLY know nothing about that could maybe kill you if done wrong...like the electric and plumbing!)

Like I said, it's a general what-do-we-want-to-build? book with lots in it for inspiration for the aspiring straw-bale house builder.

Wonderful visual book. Great to have the plans to see a clear layout of the building. Of course dimensions also would be the icing on the cake. Stimulated my own imagination. Will remain part of my library until our house is built.

This book is beautiful. If you are thinking of building a house and have heard about strawbale building but haven't seen any of the finished products this is a "must have" book. It is NOT quite what you might expect from the title. There are not sets of scaled, detailed drawings that can be lifted off for you to copy (in my view that would damage a very creative process anyway). You will find 31 individual buildings (not all are houses) with a plan view drawing, several very good photographs of each and the owner/builder story (in brief) describing the project.
These buildings cover some of the very best in straw bale building (not necessarily the most expensive) and are genuinely stimulating. This is the book to use as a focus point to keep an image in your mind as you work through the process of building, which is always accompanied by some surprises and testing times. It is not a handbook of strawbale technique, for that see one of these for starters [ Straw Bale Building: How to plan, design and build with straw Small Strawbale: Natural Homes, Projects & Designs but is rich in images and ideas that will inspire you as well as any doubtful city building authorities or community members.

A very good and interesting book, with nice pictures and plans of strawbale houses in America.

not sure what the book looks like, since it was sent as a gift. the reciepients received the book quickly and seem very happy with it.