The Natural House: A Complete Guide to Healthy, Energy-Efficient, Environmental Homes

It covered most of the natural building styles, gave brief introductions into how each type of building is constructed.The best thing about this book is that the author included a summarizing list of pros and cons with each style at the end of the chapter.Examples of pros and cons listed at the end of each chapter:Will building in this style result in adequate insulation?How expensive is building with this style?Is building with this style difficult?How often will maintenance need to be done?Can you make disastrous errors building in this style, or are mistakes generally amenable?Another thing I was pleased to find us that the author emphasises the hardships people have had as a result of building unstable, hazardous, and unusable natural houses and states that he wants readers to avoid building techniques that would result in those situations...And I decided to focus on Cob building ;)

If you're interested in building a natural home (cob, rammed earth, straw-bale, earthship, whatever), this is your primer. The author has done his homework and presents the description, pros/cons and pitfalls of each type of construction. He is very honest about just how "do-it-yourself" each type can be, and how much it will cost you. He also covers passive and active solar design, natural water capture and other alternative technologies to go with your natural home. This is an excellent overview on all these subjects.The best thing about this book is that he refers you to other sources for more detail - books, videos, newsletters and organizations that will support you, give you a workshop or just give you more detailed information than belonged in this primer book.I highly recommend this as the first book you read on the subject. Once you know which type of house you are interested in, you can pick up some of the other books he suggests on that building type.

I recently started my "journey" on learning about sustainable living, and natural building. I've been researching every type of construction technique I can find. I wish I had found this book first! It's a great overview that can point you in the right direction for the technique(s) that are best suited for you. Rather than researching every topic out there this book has allowed me to let a few drop off my "radar" so I can focus on what best pertains to my likes, desires, situation, and geographical location.The author does a great job of giving the basic overview of the varied techniques as well as some great specific and anecdotal information as well. Easy to read and informative. The standard hippie preachiness is present but kept to a minimum.I'm not a fan of books that waste my time. On the contrary, this book has saved me time by allowing me to concentrate my focus on what will work for me.

The book is really great, and waves for so many ideas on how to build a healthy house. However, I missed more illustration.

We are in the process of determining how to best build a home in our region that is earth and human friendly and requires the least amount of non-renewable resource possible. This book provides an excellent overview of techniques, processes, principles and products and offers many references to further your knowledge in a particular topic. I'm most impressed that the author is not afraid to share his opinions based on experience as well as known facts. Highly recommend!

Love this book! It has so much information about different green building ideas, and compares them in a way that's both informative and interesting to read. I would recommend this for anyone thinking of building, it's full of the information you are probably looking for! Every idea or way of doing something is clearly explained and easy to understand.

Written so it is so understandable, It just all makes sense. Please do read an insert and see for yourself. It's one of those have to have, can't put it down books. I congratulate Mr. Chiras on the book so well written, it's almost like you are in a conservation, so much information compiled. IT IS SO INFORMATIVE

The book doesn't go into depth on any topic. It doesn't help you design a house at all. It does educate you on possibilities in building a home that uses Gods resources to sustain compared to man made power and water, but doesn't go into depth on that either. I flipped over quite a few pages.

丸太の家、泥の家、タイヤの家等々。アメリカ文化のおおらかさ、探求心、そして思いついたことを本当にとりあえずやってみるという楽しさが満載である。著者はなるべく冷静にレビューしようと努めているが、思わずアツク語ってしまうところもあり、ほほえましい。今、そしてこれからの世界は、やはりこの方角に向かって歩きたい。