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Build an eco-friendly, energy-efficient and sustainable good house that's also warm, welcoming and uniquely your own. From choosing the right materials, to deciding on water and energy sources, you'll find ideal solutions to suit your individual needs.

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Straw bale houses are easy to build, affordable, super energy efficient, environmentally friendly, attractive, and can be designed to match the builder's personal space needs, esthetics, and budget. Despite mushrooming interest in the technique, however, most straw bale books focus on "selling" the dream of straw-bale building, but don't adequately address the most critical issues faced by bale house builders. Moreover, since many developments in this field are recent, few books are completely up to date with the latest techniques.

More Straw Bale Building, a MOTHER EARTH NEWS Book for Wiser Living, is designed to fill this gap. A completely rewritten edition of the 20,000-copy best-selling original, it leads the potential builder through the entire process of building a bale structure, tackling all the practical issues: finding and choosing bales; developing sound building plans; roofing; electrical, plumbing, and heating systems; building code compliance; and special concerns for builders in northern climates. New material includes:

• more extensive sections on electric wiring and plumbing
• updated sections on bale finishes and finishing
• a section on prefabricated straw bale walls
• a wider selection of case studies, photographs and illustrations
• a section on common mistakes
• budgeting for low-, medium- and high-cost projects
• new testing data that is in no other straw bale book

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Cob cottages are the ultimate expression of ecological design. Made of earth, clay, sand, straw and water, they are their surroundings, literally rising up from the earth. These houses are light, energy-efficient and cozy, with curved walls and built-in whimsical touches.

The Hand-Sculpted House is theoretical and philosophical, but intensely practical as well. You will get all the how-to information to undertake an earth and straw building project. As the modern world rediscovers the importance of living in sustainable harmony with the environment, this book is a bible of radical simplicity.

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Structural insulated panels are solid, one-piece structural components that can be used in walls, floors and roofs. They produce a structurally superior, better-insulated, faster-to-erect house.

Today, more than ever before, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, MOTHER EARTH NEWS is recommending books to its readers. For more than 30 years, MOTHER EARTH NEWS has been North America’s “Original Guide to Living Wisely,” creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature.

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This guide brings earth-sheltered construction up-to-date for those who want to build their own underground home at a moderate cost. It covers all the various construction techniques, including details on planning, excavation, footings, floor, walls, framing, roofing, waterproofing, insulation and drainage.

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Yurts are one of the oldest forms of indigenous shelter still in use today. This 150-page book show you how to build, insulate, ventilate and transport a yurt, plus shares invaluable information on everything from foundations and heating to building codes and floor plans.

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A continuation of Lloyd Kahn's journeys into the creative processes of owner-built homes - their innovative techniques, use of sustainable materials, and essential dedication to the natural elements surrounding their designs - Builders of the Pacific Coast explores the aesthetics and techniques of three master builders in California, Washington state, and the rugged terrain of British Columbia.

The three featured craftsmen - Lloyd House, Bruce Atkey, and Sun Ray Kelley - combine imaginative architecture with innovative contexts: everything from unusual house-boats to sculptural dwellings made of driftwood are included. With stunning color and black-and-white photographs, as well as detailed black-and-white drawings of the homes, this collection of unique and progressive designs creates a template for a future filled with forward-thinking architecture.

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The Earth-Sheltered House is a classic in the annals of sustainable building books, written by a legend in the field of sustainable architecture. Malcolm Wells has a fundamentally different way of looking at the design and building process, and his iconoclastic perspective has never been more apparent.

Wells’s work is revolutionary, but readers will find his message to be pure common sense. Earth sheltering offers superior comfort with minimal energy input, and it is adaptable to diverse terrains as well as a variety of architectural aesthetics.

This architect's sketchbook will show you how you can build underground homes of different styles. Complete with floor plans, elevation drawings and detailed diagrams, this book is a necessary resource for anyone who is considering building green.

An architect by trade, Wells lives in The Underground Art Gallery, in Brewster, Massachusetts, and has written several books about this subject, which he has promoted since 1964. He is a pioneer of underground building and natural design. His best-selling books include Gentle Architecture,How to Build and Underground House. The Earth Sheltered House is scanned from his own hand-written and illustrated pages.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $12.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Inside this book you'll find valuable information on a cornucopia of housing alternatives, including earth-sheltered, solar energy homes, log houses, alternative materials and more.