The Straw Bale House (A Real Goods Independent Living Book)

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating guide for cost & ecology-conscience builders
Review: This is an excellent guide for people interested in living the American dream of owning a home that is affordable, virtually sound-proof, solid, very energy-efficient and relatively easily built. It is full of details and references for use in achieving that goal.

Rating:
Summary: another tentative step towards building
Review: This is an EXCELLENT starting point for those of us interested in SB construction. It offers multiple methods of construction, from the foundation to the roof, which gives me (living in climatically & seismically fickle So-Cal) many options to choose from. It also gives good strategies for approcahing permits & financing. The examples they use end at about 1995, though, so there have been many more examples built since then - you SHOULD do additional research yourself. This book is a great confidence builder, and has lots of nice examples of beautiful SB houses that i could never afford to build but are quite inspirational nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but with an
Review: This was a real eye opener on how to build a viable and comfortable house with such a readily available material as straw! Seemed detailed enough to get a feel for what the construction would take. The book reads like someone trying to sell you on an idea, which itself isn't bad, but was a bit off putting to me.