Adobe Houses for Today: Flexible Plans for Your Adobe Home (Paperback)

~ (Author), Alex Sanchez (Author) "If time travelers from the American Southwest of 800 years ago dropped in for a visit today, they would find much of your home mysterious..." (more)
Key Phrases: adobe codes, green building programs, south glass, New Mexico, United States, Basic Front (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Most library users are interested in homes using traditional construction methods, but comprehensive collections should offer information about alternative technologies. These three titles offer good options. Pearson offers instructions to build yurts, tipis, and benders all dwellings that consist of a collapsible, lightweight frame covered with cloth. Examples range from simple, temporary designs to much sturdier structures appropriate for year-round use. The examples are from all over the world, but brief instructions allow anyone to build a rather exotic structure inexpensively. The Sanchezes provide a wealth of information about the history and techniques associated with the use of adobe, an ancient material common in the Southwest. Twelve plans for both traditional and modern homes are included some of which look surprisingly conventional to the casual observer. This title will be of particular interest to readers in the more arid regions of North America. Mackie, a well-known author and educator of log home-building techniques, shows how to construct a log home in a low-impact, environmentally friendly manner. The homes shown are beautiful, with a great deal of exposed joinery; Mackie's step-by-step instructions and excellent illustrations show how everything is done (the author, who is in his mid-seventies, is still building homes a feat that many half his age would find taxing). These titles are recommended for comprehensive collections or for those with a regional interest in the particular technology covered.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'...a fascinating wealth of information and lore.' --The Bookwatch

'...a wealth of information about the history and techniques associated with the use of adobe.' --Library Journal

'Helpful for anyone buying, building, or remodeling an adobe house as well as for contractors, drafters, and real estate brokers.' --Book News --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Sunstone Press; 1st edition (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865343209
• ISBN-13: 978-0865343207
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #672,742 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Start!, August 16, 2002

By A Customer

This is a terrific book to get started thinking about the adobe home you want to build, especially if you're planning on building "green." The floor plans and accompanying CAD generated images are practical and straightforward. The text covers the basics of adobe home building, including the advantages and disadvantages the owner may want to consider first. If you're considering building a modest adobe home, this book is an excellent place to begin. Working blueprints of the floor plans are available for a minimal cost as well should the owner decide to adopt one as is.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating wealth of information and lore, December 13, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Adobe Houses For Today: Flexible Plans For Your Adobe Home by Laura and Alex Sanchez showcases twelve plans for constructing compact, aesthetic adobe homes in modern and traditional styles. Chapters cover the history, advantages and drawbacks, and finances of owning an adobe home, as well as how to build one from the ground up. Black-and-white photographs, computer models, and diagrams clearly illustrate a variety of points. A highly recommended addition to academic and professional architectural studies collections, Adobe Houses For Today is more than a modern guide to an ancient architectural art; it is also a fascinating wealth of information and lore.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good start for adobe house plans, May 12, 2002

By A Customer

This was one of the few books that I have been able to find that has working house plans for adobe building. Although there are only twelve basic plans, they all have multiple configurations that actually make a wide variety of ideas.