Series: Sustainable Building Essentials Series

Earthbag construction — building with polypropylene bags usually filled with earthen materials — is a versatile, easy-to-master, low-impact, and highly durable form of building, suitable for structures from houses to root cellars. Containing over 75 photos and illustrations, Essential Earthbag Construction is a practical guide to this affordable method of building. Going well beyond the scope of other sources, this...

Natural plasters made of clay, lime, and other materials mixed with sand are beautiful building finishes. Fun to work with, low-impact, and allowing infinite creativity, they are high performance and provide proven, centuries-long durability. Yet until now, there's been no resource that has pulled together the best North American plaster recipes and how-to guides into one place. Essential Natural Plasters...

Design a rainwater harvesting system for any home in any climate. Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm's water requirements if harvested and utilised with care. The key is appropriate planning and high-quality site- and climate-specific design. Essential Rainwater Harvesting is...

Design your own sustainable home Many people dream of building a beautiful, environmentally friendly home. But until now there has been no systematic guide to help potential builders work through the complete process of imagining, planning, designing, and building their ideal, sustainable home. Essential Sustainable Home Design walks potential homebuilders through the process starting with key concepts, principles, and a...

From wastestream to mainstream, a practical guide to composting toilet systems. Composting toilets are a key feature for local resilience, money saving, water conservation, resource recovery, septic system replacement, and an improved bathroom experience in rural and urban buildings. Essential Composting Toilets is a streamlined manual that takes a practical, how-to approach to composting toilet system selection, design, installation, and...

Prefabricated straw bale wall panels combine the performance and low environmental impact of traditional straw bale with reduced labour and more consistent results. These structural insulated panels (SIPs) are built offsite and transported to the job site, or built onsite and "tipped up" into position. Essential Prefabricated Straw Bale Construction is a fully illustrated practical guide to this affordable, scalable...

Essential Green Roof Construction by Leslie Doyle is the complete step-by-step guide to designing and installing living roofs on houses and small buildings. Learn how green roofs protect your home, improve energy efficiency, and support the environment — all while adding beauty and value. What You'll Learn Long-lasting Roof Protection: Green roofs shield waterproofing layers from UV exposure and temperature...

Hempcrete is a versatile, energy-efficient natural insulation material, useful for walls, roofs, and floors. Made from the inner stem of the hemp plant mixed with a lime-based binder, it is a very strong, lightweight, and breathable alternative to manufactured insulations. Essential Hempcrete Construction is a fully-illustrated practical guide to this affordable, renewable method, from procurement to finishing. This indispensable manual...