This is the OLD website for The Dirt Cheap Builder. To order books fast and easy online please click on this Webstore link. It will take you to the same books shown here, and more!

Unique Books.

Unusual, Imported, Books
All books are New, have color covers with b&w photos inside. Order by Title of the book

The Adobe Story..A Global Treasure by P.G.McHenry. Photos of adobe old and new ,with details and information not easily found elsewhere. 1998, produced by Center for Aging, 123 pages, color cover, b/w inside. $27.00

Prehistoric Henges..photos and descriptions of England's earth and stone henges, 64 pgs, $9.00
Medieval Masons..shows many photos of designs and stonelaying patterns, tools, techniques, quarrying. Helpful for dry stone working, 64 pgs, $10.00
Discovering Archaeology...shows tombs, barrow, houses of primitive man in British Isles, great photos and drawings..128 pgs ...$10.00
Prehistoric Houses in Britain..shows history and designs of stone, sod, roundhouses and building features..72 pgs, $10.00
Deserted Villages...shows photos of village communities and how they functioned in ancient times..72 pgs, $10.
Villages in Roman Britain..shows locations, describes iron age and lowland, small and large sites, photos of locations, how they functioned...64 pgs, $9.00
Hillforts of England and Wales..shows how they were designed, defences, building styles, hots of ancient sites, 64 pages, $9.00
Megalithic Tombs and Long Barrows, in Britain..photos of sites and designs, history of these stone and earthen structures..72 pgs, $9.00
Pottery in Roman Britain..photos and designs of dozens of styles created, good information and ideas for patterns for modern pottery making (especially Tufastone users)..72 pgs, $10.00

Available Books

• Shelter . by Bolinas Publications, 1973. This eccentric, hippie treasure is a time trip back to the days of domes, funky designs and really ingenious thinking. All aspects of alterative building are covered, with color photos of historical and ancient timberframe, thatch, cob, adobe, and vernacular structures. Plus ivy and shingled domes, ferroccement, house-cars, tipis, and much more. Interviews with builders, and input by Ken Kern and others. Oversize, 174 pages, $30.00 ...This is one book to share with others, and savor great ideas.

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• Designing the Earth..The Human Impulse to Shape Nature. by David Bourdon. This is wonderful mix of coffee table book and exquisite research on ancient building methods. The black and white photos fill the oversize pages of this hardbound book, and text reveals more about each unusual site. Describes humble earthen shelters in africa, ireland, the Americas, and worldwide of cob, pise, and rammed earth , plus Viking turf farmhouse recreations. Explores stone tombs and memorials. Shows human defences from earthen built moats and ramparts to walls, roads, canals and sacred places. This book is a wonderful gift to someone exploring natural architecture. 249 pages, Index, notes bibliography. #2046...$40.00 SALE-$30.00 Limited copies, no longer in print.

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• The Story of Western Architecture...$18.00 ... by Bill Risebero. This is another excellent text on historic building styles. Wonderful line drawings and sketches show exactly how huts and houses developed. Covers crucks, timberframing; how society evolved the methods of shelter from early hovels to great castles and cathedrals. Good history, and easy to read too. , New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1979.
• Gardner's Art Through the Ages by Helen Gardner...$20.00... Excellent early 1900s study of classic structures and art with fine detailed photos of plastered walls, ceilings, stone structures, design of shelters and fine buildings. While focusing on art objects, a rich history of house and design elements are also revealed. This book was updated through many editions and used as a textbook for decades. Some editions (4 through 7) will have color photos.
• History of Architecture, 1896, by A.D.F hamlin...$20.00...This book contains many examples of walls and surfaces, buildings; their design and development from stone masonry and early domes to vast cathedrals. An ideal book for viewing photos of ancient buildings. B/w photos, drawings and floorplans. 450 pages, approx. Later editions may have more or less art, photos.

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  Books by Ken Kern..click here to learn more

  Kern is a favorite due to his anti-authoritarian nature, pro owner-builder stance, and creative thinking in use of materials. Unfortunately Kern was killed when an experimental structure collapsed on him during a massive rainstorm. However, his books are as popular today as when he wrote them in the 1970s. Copies are in stock through an arrangement I have with Barbara Kern, Ken's widow. Purchase of these books provides support for Barbara and her family.
  Some book sellers offer used original copies of Ken's books for $80-$174. This is practically robbery, and Ken's family sees none of that money. The xerographic works provide good value for the cost, and keep his ideas circulating to new builders.

• The Work Book- what it is really like to build-20 OB folks tell the tale-$40.00- out of stock
• The Owner Built Homestead $27.00 (xerographic) original book is $30.00
• The Owner Builder & The CODE $30.00 (original book)
• Fireplaces several in stock -$27.00 the Original softcover is available
• The Healthy House -$27.00 xerographic
• Ken Kern's Masonry Stove -$27.00, fantastic information on stove building- xerographic
• The Earth Sheltered Owner Built Home -$27.00 xerographic
• Stone Masonry -$27.00 xerographic -SOME originals avail at $35.00
• Ken Kern's Homestead Workshop -$27.00 xerographic
• The Owner Built Pole Frame House -$27.00 xerographic
• The Owner Built Home -$27.00 xerographic (original book $30.00) 40 Chapters: Building site, Climatology, Ventilation,Summer Cooling,Light & Shade, Space heat, Central heat, Fireplace heat, Landscape design, The Plan, Free form house, Court garden house, Group living space, Individual living space, Cooking and dining, Inside your Home, Adobe block, Pressed block (cinva ram) Rammed Earth, Stone Masonry, Masonry Block and brick, Concrete, Precast concrete panels, Wood, Wood frame, Pole frame, Composite materials (early papercrete ideas), Plastics (shell & foam houses), Salvage materials(includes "zome "car tops design), Tools, Foundations, Floors, Walls, Wood floors, Masonry roofs, Stairs, Plumbing, Wiring and lighting, Light and color, DIY painting, Conclusion, 374 pages, index, B&W photos and diagrams.
• The Owner Built Home-Revisited + House of Clay- - xerographic, $27.00
  This is an incredible resource. Ken expands greatly on the original book, and provides specifics and ideas on each building methods describes in his first book.

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• John Seymour's The Fat of the Land: Family Farming on Five Acres, hardcover, 176 pages, 1961. This is one of the most charming and wry books ever. John's droll personality shines through in his tale of adventures in homesteading, you will laugh out loud, and learn through his farming travails. $22.00

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• Gene Logsdon Homesteading: How to Find New Independence on the Land , Hardcover, 256 pages, 1973 $25.00

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  Books by Hugh Braun
  Braun is my favorite author describing early British cob and cruck designs, and how houses developed. He wrote several books on architecture from the late 1930s through the 1960s. Braun was a respected architect who explored the humble beginnings of structures, and wrote extensively about them as well as churches, castles and noble buildings.
  Other Titles: Parish Churches, The English Castle, Historical Architecture, The Story of The English House, Old London Buildings, The Centuries Look Down, ...searches can be done for these titles on request. Most books must be imported from the UK.
  
• Prehistoric Orkney.new copy.. by Anna Ritchie from Historic Scotland. In this book you'll see how prehistoric stone and earth monuments on the Orkney Islands in the far north off Scotland were built. Text and photos reveal the dwellings and everyday life of the early orcadians, the rituals of life and death, the use of art in settlements and tombs and the tribal organization involved in building and ceremony. 128 pages, over 100 gorgeous color and black and white photographs and illustrations. Early peoples knew how to use indigenous materials to their best advantage for shelters and houses. #1040...$38.00
• The California Plasterer, 1931-1937: A Historical Digest of Plastering....$75.00..This incredible resource is a series of 71 monthly newsletter articles written by alex C. Macdonald over a six year period. Each issue, of 4-8 pages, detailed a historical aspect of lime and other plasters used throughout time somewhere in the world. Covers Italian fresco painting methods, pargeting in France/UK, lime plasterers in Asia and the Middle East, and so much more. Over the period of publication ancient history up to modern usage is explained.
  Note: Individual issues can be purchased for $2.50, Ask for a Faxed or mailed list of 71 subject titles. Select 5 issue titles for $10.00 (This series is a 2nd generation copy, and while the text is clear, the black and white photos have lost much fine detail. One of the history of art/architecture books above is recommended for viewing many of the same photos printed in the newsletters. Both H. Gardner's and A.D. Hamlin's book were sourced extensively, the same photos appear.)
• A Golden Thread, 2500 Years of Solar Architecture and Technology...$15.00-$20.00 , 1980, 290 pages, by butti & perlin. This amazing and wonderful book describes everything from solar architecture in ancient greece, to solar water heaters invented in japan in 1947. Packed with historical details, ideas, inventions, methods and hundreds of photos and drawings. (Did you know Rome has a wood shortage for building? By 400 AD ships had to bring logs in from France and Africa.)
• The FoxFire Book...$15.00. 1972, 384 pp, b/w photos. Folk lore of the Appalachian people. Fascinating insights on everything from hog dressing to hunting tips, many descriptions written in the speech of the teller. Classic mountain lore, & plain living. Building a log cabin, using white Oak splits, making a hamper, a basket, a chair from splits, a rope bed, soapmaking, cooking in/on a fireplace, dutch oven and woodstove, preserving vegetables, and fruit, churning butter, snake lore, weather signs, and home remedies for various ailments.

  Mother Earth News magazine- old issues from the first to 1990s.- request a specific issue by month, year or subject of article- I may have it, not all are in stock- SALE-$2.00 each.

  Books of value to alternative builders:
  

• Architecture without Architects by Bernard Rudofsky- Now available -$25.00
  
• The Encyclopedia of Architecture, 1867, by Joseph Gwilt-Special order
  
• The Story of Western Architecture by Bill Risebero- Now available- $27.00
  
• Form and Purpose by Moshe Safdie-Special order
  
• Stone Shelters by Edward Allen- Now available $27.00
  
• Spectacular Vernacular by Jean-Louis Bourgeois, Carollee Pelos-Special order ($55-$100+)
• How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand
• How the Greeks Built Cities by R.E. Wycherley
• Why Buildings Fall Down by Matthys Levy & Mario Salvadori-Special order
  

I recommend that you email: tms@northcoast.com... to place a hold on the books you want, and to charge by credit card. Subject your email: "Rare books Order"
I will email or call you to confirm your order.
You can copy and paste items into the email. Place 1/2 of credit card info along with book list, then send second email with: Name as shown on card, billing address, balance of CC info, exp. date, your phone number, and ship to address.
Checks to: Taylor Publishing, PO Box 375, Cutten, CA 95534 , add $6.50 shipping 1-4 books.

This is the OLD website for The Dirt Cheap Builder. To order books fast and easy online please click on this Webstore link. It will take you to the same books shown here, and more!