The Straw Bale House: A Real Goods independent living books

By Athena Steen, Bill Steen, David Bainbridge, David Eisenberg

Imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation, using an annually renewable resource, for half the cost of a 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. The resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable.

'This book 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 (walls can be erected in a single weekend) -construction costs as low as $10 per square foot (depending on owner involvement) -use of a natural and abundant renewable resource -a better solution than burning agricultural waste straw, which creates tons of air pollutants

Paperback, 1994, 297pages, very good condition