Serious Straw Bale: A Construction Guide for All Climates by Paul Lacinski and Michel Bergeron...#3015...$30.00 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, and "Build It With Bales II" by Steve MacDonald & Matts Myhrman, with updated information and extensive building details. Alternate straw option: Timberframe or stick frame structures with light straw clay or woodchip clay/sawdust clay wall infill material can provide a beautiful, breathable wall home--with less bale footprint, and easier to get through permits. Finish with a warm clay plaster or pure lime plaster and create an enduring home for generations. See the Dirtcheapbuilder Guide on CD-$7.00 for building details on Light Straw and Wood Chip Clay- built by non-professionals. This German wall techniques is successully used now, and homes hundreds of years old are still in use...more people should know about this elegant solution to building without overprocessed modern materials like sheetrock, fiberglass batts, and VOC paints. |