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Interviews | July 4, 2009

Jill Owens: IMG Powells.com Interview: Luis Alberto Urrea



luisalbertourreaLuis Alberto Urrea is a poet, novelist, journalist, and essayist who has been writing about the relationship between the United States and Mexico,... Continue »
  1. $17.49 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    Into the Beautiful North

    Luis Alberto Urrea

The Straw Bale House (Real Goods Independent Living Book)

by Athena Swentz Steen

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

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation, using an annually renewable resource, for half the cost of a comparable conventional home. Welcome to the straw bale house! Whether you build an entire house or something more modest-a home office or studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottage-plastered straw bale construction is an exceptionally durable and inexpensive option. What's more, it's fun, because the technique is easy to learn and easy to do yourself. And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable.

The Straw Bale House describes the many benefits of building with straw bales:

  • Super insulation, with R-values as high as R-50
  • Good indoor air quality and noise reduction
  • A speedy construction process
  • Construction costs as low as $10-per-square-foot
  • Use of natural and abundant renewable resources
  • A better solution than burning agricultural waste straw, which creates tons of air pollutants

Book News Annotation:

An guide to building living structures with straw bales. Covers benefits of building with straw bales, safety concerns, building codes, and insurance, and offers techniques for building walls, windows, doors, foundations, roofs, floors, and plastering the straw walls. Includes b&w photos demonstrating building techniques, and color photos of finished homes and interiors.
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Review:

"This is the book we've been waiting for . . . a book understandable to homeowners, yet specific enough to make it highly useful to designers and professional builders." Alex Wilson, Editor, Environmental Building News

Synopsis:

An guide to building living structures with straw bales. Covers benefits of building with straw bales, safety concerns, building codes, and insurance, and offers techniques for building walls, windows, doors, foundations, roofs, floors, and plastering the straw walls. Includes b&w photos demonstrati

Description:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 288-291) and index.

About the Author

Athena Swentzell Steen and Bill Steen live in Canelo, Arizona, and are founders of the Canelo Project, which develops and promotes innovative, community-enhancing approaches to building and living. David Bainbridge is a restoration ecologist at San Diego State University, and is co-author of Village Homes' Solar House Designs. David Eisenberg is a builder with rammed earth, adobe, glass, steel, and concrete who has organized the straw ball wall testing program in Tucson, Arizona.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780930031718
With:
Eisenberg, David
Author:
Eisenberg, David
Author:
Bainbridge, David A.
Author:
Bainbridge, David
Author:
Steen, Athena Swentzell
Author:
Steen, Bill
Publisher:
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
Location:
White River Junction, Vt. :
Subject:
Design & Construction
Subject:
Construction & Construction Trades
Subject:
Domestic
Subject:
Architecture
Subject:
Arts, fine
Subject:
Details
Subject:
Design and construction
Subject:
Straw bale houses.
Subject:
Straw bale houses -- Design and construction.
Subject:
Construction - General
Subject:
Residential
Subject:
Buildings - Residential
Copyright:
Series:
Real Goods Independent Living Book
Series Volume:
no. 7
Publication Date:
January 1994
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
9.87x7.99x.76 in. 1.79 lbs.

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