Product Details

• Actors: Ted Owens
• Directors: Ted Owens
• Format: Full Screen, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Syncronos Design Inc.
• DVD Release Date: February 8, 2005
• Run Time: 162 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007RDR7E
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,984 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Special Interests > Home & Garden > Home Improvement

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Owens not only knows his subject well, but also knows how to present it in a way that will capture his audience . . ." --The Washington Post

Product Description
The Building With Awareness DVD is now available as a DVD/book combination in the book section of Amazon (same title, with 152-pages and over 400 full-color photographs and diagrams. Even if you've read all the books, it can still seem daunting to jump into the construction process of building your own straw bale home. What is it like and what can you do yourself? This inspiring video shows you the entire process, step-by-step, from start to finish. You will have a front-row seat on the work site, learning from the experts as they notch and stack the bales and mix the mud. Building With Awareness; will give you a solid understanding of the structure as a whole and how everything works together--positioning windows, why certain materials were chosen, and how solar energy can be used to heat, cool, and power your home. By breaking the construction into separate steps--each one flowing into the next--the process becomes easy to understand. Topics include post-and-beam straw bale wall construction, interior adobe thermal mass walls for improved efficiency, rainwater cisterns, earth-plaster techniques, wiring for straw bale, photovoltaic systems, how to achieve energy efficiency and aesthetics from the same materials, and much more. This beautifully presented DVD will inspire you to create an environment that is a pleasure to live in. Finally, there is a video for the rest of us who need to see the process in order to fully understand it. This DVD includes a full-color, 8-page quick-reference booklet with a floor plan of the home, plus a 16-minute narrated slide show of construction details. A second audio track, that doubles the design and construction information to over 5 hours, covers the pros and cons of various materials, construction costs, and the experience of building your own home. Awards: 3 Telly Awards for Outstanding Multimedia DVD, Editing, and Graphics. This DVD will play in all country regions with an NTSC-compatible player.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT what I expected but still worthwhile, June 3, 2006

By	A. Burchfield (Conway, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Over the years I've managed to collect most of the straw bale building books that Amazon has, when I saw this DVD I thought it might be a good addition to my collection of related materials.

I first watched the DVD by skipping around various chapters and now I'm at least half way through watching it as presented. It looks very well done, nice production work, but is more of a documentary than a "watch this and you can build a house" production.

Most of the books have a tendency to have small b/w photographs of whatever detail is being discussed, here you actually get to see someone doing it (I liked that part and usually it is well presented), in most cases I don't think you'll actually get enough information to go out and do it on your own. My thought is that this DVD is meant to give you some idea of what is involved and then get you to take a course somewhere (probably theirs, a class somewhere would be a good idea), there's just not enough information presented to allow the total novice to build a home. I did learn some things I don't think I knew, I just wish the program had more to it.

There's no bibliography or information source list like you'd expect to find in a good book, the 8 page mini book slipped inside the DVD case is possibly more valuable than the DVD itself, do read it!

There are two commentary soundtracks to choose from, sometimes- but not always- they duplicate themselves, it's a little irritating that in order to get the most out of them you'll have to watch the program twice because I think both have useful information.

That rubble foundation might work in New Mexico but I'd be afraid of it in a wetter, colder climate. For a "green" home why is this thing heated with natural gas?

If you're hard of hearing, tough luck, there's no closed captioning or subtitling although some details during the program do have little info boxes telling what they are.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very entertaining "how to " dvd, May 7, 2005

By	j flores (Pasadena) - See all my reviews

I found this dvd extremely insightful. After years of looking through straw bale books to finally see a bale house go up in front of your eyes was very rewarding and has fueled my search for property. I especially enjoyed how the author/builder used a limited amount of concrete for both structural integrity and as a heating/flooring surface. I would advise this for anybody interested in building and or ecology.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darned near perfect.. , January 25, 2006

By	S. S. Hobbs (Ione, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This look at building the author/architect/DVD producers' straw bale residence in New Mexico is darned near perfect. He did a few things that contradicted his 'green' mission, like using OSB for his sub-roof (nasty stuff ecologically)/other. But those distractions aside, this is a very thorough glimpse into what another builder considering a hybrid method might expect.

There are two audio options, combined they cover darned near everything. And the menu offers a slide show, with commentary that, when combined with the other two means of listening/watching, collectively deliver the full meal deal.

Truly a wonderful production, beautiful footage, original music, and a step-by-step compilation of the author's journey.

I would buy this DVD (had I not already), and "Building a Straw Bale House - The Red Feather Construction Handbook", then sti down with a sketch pad, some graph paper, a big eraser, and run it all by a civil engineer (architecturally blessed by most building departments, good to two stories, & cheaper than a structural engineer's stamp).

Good luck.