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

New

The Dirt
Cheap Builder

Taylor Publishing

Straw bale building from a cold climate perspective, #3010

Straw Bale Building /eco-Friendly Homes

Free, downloadable articles on using lime
Lime Plaster on Lath article|limewash article|Lime Renders article|

|Adobe & Rammed Earth | Building With Lime | Cob & Earthen | Cordwood & timberframe| Design Your Home| Dirt Cheap Houses & papercrete| Heat: Stoves & Ovens | Practical: Roof,Floor,Plumb,Wire,greywater | Small Projects | Solar Cooking| Stone Houses & Walls | Straw Bale | Buy or RENT Building Videos| New Books!| Useful Web Links| How to Order| Order Form |

The wire baling machine was invented in the late 1800s and not long after that midwestern US builders experimented with structures of straw bale. Straw bale houses go up quickly, are fire and insect resistant, highly insulative, and use natural earth finish plasters for a true eco-friendly home. Plus, more counties are now willing to approve plans for this type of construction. Straw bales are made of waste straw which reduces burning and creates a very useful product for natural building!
New books on straw bale building:
The Beauty of Straw Bale Homesearth
by Bill and athena Steen...a gorgeous color photo book detailing the results of beautiful bale building; along with explanations on the practical aspects of thermal mass, solar gain, heating, cooling and materials. Shows earth floors, earthen built in furniture, interior wall details, creative problem solving, and personal touches to straw bale homes. No matter what you want to build this book is inspiration taken from reality. 8"x8",113 pages #3016...$23.00 VIEW & ORDER HERE

Serious Straw Bale: A Construction Guide for All Climates by Paul lacinski and Michel Bergeron...
Reviewed here by former The Last Straw editor, Mark Piepkorn:
"This is a superior resource, covering so much ground that no other straw-bale book does. It offers a startling amount of information that complements and updates such classics as The Straw Bale House and Build It With Bales. With clarity and wit it thoroughly addresses dozens of frequently misunderstood and overlooked concepts, details and concerns from a perspective steeped in equal parts building science and field experience. This book is an excellent, vital addition to the thinking person's literature of strawbale."
384 pages, hundreds of photos, index. softcover. Covers everything!

This new book essentially replaces "The Straw Bale House" by the Steens, with updated information and extensive building details.
#3015...$30.00 VIEW & ORDER HERE


This book is an excellent, vital addition to the thinking person's literature of strawbale."
Read the rest of this Book Review by Mark here.
Subscribe to The Last Straw newsletter, visit: www.strawhomes.com to subscribe, or call 505-895-5400.

Straw Bale Building: How to Design, Plan and Build with Straw ...It's 256 pages, written by Canadian straw bale builders chris magwood and Peter mack and covers chapter by chapter : siting and foundations, roofs and plaster finishes, windows and doors, code compliance, tools, wall raisings, how to have a work party, and information resources. Magwood and Mack, professional builders lead you through every aspect of construction with a question and answer format that's easy to read and understand. A hundred clearly sketched building details and dozens of black and white photos give you a real comprehension of how a strawbale house is put together, and problems to avoid. Also shows alternative uses for bales such as plastered furniture and a privacy wall. Also lists the Arizona building code by item, and a fire resistance report. softcover, Color cover.#3010... $27.00 ... VIEW & ORDER HERE


The Straw Bale House by Athena & Bill Steen...... WE RECOMMEND Serious Straw Bale: A Construction Guide for All Climates as a better choice with newer updated detail & information. VIEW & ORDER HERE


Build It With Bales II by Steve Macdonald and Matts Myhrman ... Bigger and better! Considered to be the best, practical how-to manual of building with bales, with a strong emphasis on the load-bearing method (the roof rests fully on the bales, not on a wood frame.) Many captioned perspective drawings, along with information on plasters and more. Full of humor and common sense, with answers to the most commonly asked questions. 1997 149 pages #3002...$30.00... VIEW & ORDER HERE

NEW! Straw Bale Details A Manual for Designers and Builders By Chris Magwood and Chris Walker
 Publisher's Description: Straw Bale Details is the perfect companion for those who are serious about building with straw. It focuses entirely on the specific design theories and practices that result in well-built, long-lasting bale structures, and extends the range of books like Straw Bale Building through large, easy-to-read architectural drawings rendered for a wide variety of building options, including load-bearing and post-and-beam designs. A range of foundation, wall, door and window, and roof-plate scenarios are presented, along with explanatory notes and possible modifications.
Also included is testing data from the most recent rounds of bale wall exploration, and interpretations of the data are given to help base designer and builder decisions on sound science.
Chapters include: Foundations & Floors; Curb Rails; Walls; Openings; Top Plates; Pre-Stressing; Roofs; Wall Mounting, Electrical & Plumbing Systems; as well as sections on Key Scientific Test Results; Building Code Provisions; Bale Basics; Plasters & Finishes; and a Bibliography. 68 pages 11" x 8.5" architectural quality drawings.
#N-SBD...$35.00 Imported from Canada...Order here

Earth Plasters for Straw Bale Homes ..$14.00 By Keely Meagan of Earth Artisans, NM, is BACK IN PRINT. Visit the Plaster Page. ALSO CHOOSE "The Natural Plasters Book"...Price..$31.00.. Covers clay, lime, gypsum and much more! VIEW & ORDER this BOOK HERE

New!... Appropriate Plasters For Cob & Stone Walls ... This pamphlet produced by the devon, England Earth Building Association (where hundreds of cob cottages exist) covers use of lime renders and washes for protection and repair of cob and stone. Gives mixes, directions preparation methods, resources in the uk. Imported, 8 pages, xerographic. #1014...$5.00... VIEW & ORDER HERE

pure
All About Lime: A Basic Information Guide for Natural Building ...by charmaine R. Taylor. Many questions are answered in this book on using lime and gypsum. Explained are slaking lime, the differences between quicklime, hydrated Type S and N, when to use each, how to make a natural cement, dry up mud on the worksite, and stabilize soil for earthen bricks (for cinva Ram block presses and others). Lime is an amazing, very versatile building material which can be used for wall plasters, mortars, cements, in the garden and for land tilth, and in waste/septic systems. Chapters on lime plasters and mortar give recipes and current recommendations on mixing, application and use. Includes interviews with straw bale plasterers, and how they approach bale walls. A complete history details how lime was used for building, and how it can be used again for an earth friendly alternative to Portland cement. Lists lime resources, websites, other books and booklets, astm specs., bibliography. Technical articles now included. Illustrated, photographs, 52 pages, booklet. #1009...$13.00 ... ORDER HERE

Visit theBuilding With Lime ..page for photos, information and books on using lime.

Also see Classic Paints & Faux Finishes-$23.00...#1029, a gorgeous softcover book with similar information on using gesso, lime, milk paint, egg tempura paint, and other techniques for low cost natural wall finishes. ON SALE: Order this BOOK Here


A newly published book on bamboo building" Grow Your Own Home", $42.00 bamboo is in German and English, with incredible building information. Color photos, design details, fittings and attachment styles are shown for creating anything from simple roofs to enormous, sophisticated structures ( like the open conference-exposition hall built in Hanover, gr. #1090...$42.00 ORDER HERE -in stock now

Thank You for visiting The Home of The Dirt Cheap Builder!
www.dirtcheapbuilder.com


© Copyright 2000 Taylor Publishing .This page updated 06-04

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!