Product Description
The Natural House is a tour of the construction, costs, and pros and cons of fourteen natural building methods. Straw Bale, Rammed Earth, Cob, Cordwood, Adobe, Earthbags, Papercrete, Earthships…whatever the method, the common goal is to create a house that is economical, energy efficient, nontoxic, soothing to the soul, kind to the environment, and pleasing to behold. This comprehensive sourcebook offers in-depth information that will guide your search for the pe… More >>
The Natural House: A Complete Guide to Healthy, Energy-Efficient, Environmental Homes
#1 by Rodney Stafford on April 7, 2010 - 4:39 am
I found this book to very complete and informative for different types of building materials when interested in saving energy. I will use it as a reference in the future.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Horacio Ramirez Hernandez on April 7, 2010 - 7:07 am
This is a book that must be placed necessarily on the shelf of every person interested in knowing a broad scope about sustainable housing design. Definitively a very good source of the actual sustainable technics and materials available; clear descriptions and an interest to be partial and clear made this book a great reference for everyone.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by R. A. Price on April 7, 2010 - 7:26 am
I’ve recently become interested in green building. My local library system provided a lot of interesting books, most of which weren’t really worth buying.
Daniel Chiras’ book is different: comprehensive, well-organized, and sincere. I purchased a copy as this is a definite keeper.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by S. Payne on April 7, 2010 - 8:07 am
My husband and I are building a new house and we were looking for a good resource for information about eco-friendly options for our home. This turned out to be an excellent resource, but a little outdated. There have been so many advances in various eco-friendly technology since this book was written and it would be great it Daniel Chiras would update this book to show that. However, this book did provide us with the basic information we needed to make most of the decisions for our house. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to build green or do a green remodel to their house. In addition to this, I would recommend getting a subscription to Smart Homeowner Magazine and/or Mother Earth, both of which will provide you with the latest in green products and technology, along with a lot of other valuable information. They make a great update to The Natural House.
Rating: 4 / 5
#5 by Anonymous on April 7, 2010 - 9:58 am
After reading The Natural House, I not only regretted not having been able to have drawn on it’s extensive resources during the (just finished) construction of my own house (a passive solar straw bale in VT) but actually got enticed to think about a new building project (yes it was more work, took longer and cost more than planned!) but with the help, ideas and guidlines Dan Chiras provides, I feel refreshed enough to tackle the next project (maybe an earthbag foundation with a light-clay wall). Appetizing and compelling, informative and inspiring. Well done.
Rating: 5 / 5