Books about Earth sheltered from Amazon.com

An earth-sheltered, earth-roofed home has the least impact upon the land of all housing styles, leaving almost zero footprint on the planet.

Earth-Sheltered Houses is a practical guide for those who want to build their own underground home at moderate cost. It describes the benefits of sheltering a home with earth, including the added comfort and energy efficiency from the moderating influence of the earth on the home's temperature (keeping it warm in the winter and cool in the summer), along with the benefits of low maintenance and the protection against fire, sound, earthquake, and storm afforded by the earth. Extra benefits from adding an earth or other living roof option include greater longevity of the roof substrate, fine aesthetics, and environmental harmony.

The book covers all of the various construction techniques involved, including details on planning, excavation, footings, floor, walls, framing, roofing, waterproofing, insulation, and drainage. Specific methods appropriate for the inexperienced owner/builder are a particular focus and include:

• Pouring one's own footings and/or floor
• The use of dry-stacked (surface-bonded) concrete block walls
• Post-and-beam framing
• Plank-and-beam roofing
• Drainage methods and self-adhesive waterproofing membranes

The time-tested, easy-to-learn construction techniques described in Earth-Sheltered Houses will enable readers to embark upon their own building projects with confidence, backed up by a comprehensive resources section that lists all the latest products such as waterproofing membranes, types of rigid insulation, and drainage products that will protect the building against water damage and heat loss.

Rob Roy is a former contractor with 27 years of experience and 12 previous books to his credit, including Cordwood Building and Timber Framing for the Rest of Us. An expert on underground building, he founded the Earthwood Building School in 1981 with his wife, Jaki, and is frequently a speaker at events throughout North America.

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Price: $17.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book is the first to promote the benefits of both passive solar energy and earth sheltering in greenhouse design. This combination results in greenhouses which need no additional heating. The captured sun s energy and that which is stored in the earth is enough for successful year round harvest. Gone are costly heating bills. Gone is the squander of non-renewable energy resources. This is because above-ground greenhouses get natural heat at night from only one side, the floor. They lose heat from the other five sides. The properly designed earth-sheltered greenhouse is naturally warmed at night -- and in the winter -- from five sides and loses heat from only one. The ratio is exactly reversed. This book has it all. It takes you step by step through the construction of an inexpensive greenhouse which may be built with either newly purchased or salvaged building materials for pennies on the dollar. It explains the author s unique Post/Shoring/Polyethylene construction methods and design techniques which Countryside Magazine called Revolutionary... innovative and ingenious...a totally different concept. In its way it is both as simple and as amazingly ingenious as a paperclip. The book deals heavily with design so that you may custom build your own greenhouse perfect for your particular climate and needs. It tells you how to use gravity to warm your winter plants; how to effectively capture and store the sun s heat; how to make up for poor sunlight free of cost; how to automatically vent without power; how to choose the best glazing for your project; where to find free building materials; when to use heat tubes and when not to; how to use a root cellar in tandem with the greenhouse; where to use insulation with wonderful effect (and where to absolutely avoid it); how to deal with plant pests organically; what animals should be living in your greenhouse; and hundreds of more tips. The Earth-Sheltered Solar Greenhouse Book has 230 pages with nearly 200 illustrations, photos, diagrams, lists, charts and drawings. It contains all the information you need to free you from the pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, waxed, and E-coli laden, genetically modified and irradiated supermarket produce..
Price: $24.44 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This is the ultimate guide to planning, building, and living in your own environmentally friendly, energy efficient underground home. Ever-increasing energy costs are us to find new and more ingenious ways to improve the energy efficiency of our homes. One novel solution to reducing energy needs is by building underground."Underground Homes" is a layman's guide to everything you need to know about planning, building, and living in an earth-sheltered home. It takes reader step-by-step through the myriad potential problems that can occur at stages of pre- and post-construction, as well as offering expert advice on a number of specific issues, including: choosing the proper site; insulating for maximum energy savings; waterproofing your new home; overcoming the psychological barriers to living underground; and, much, much more!.
Price: $10.27 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Sue Robishaw takes an unusual approach in her examination of of homesteading She converses with two imaginary characters, J. J. and CindyLou, to tell the story of Robishaw's and her husband's move to rural Northern Michigan nearly two decades ago. The three commiserate about the Robishaws' trials, learning experiences, and misconceptions. With the help of J. J. and CindyLou, Robishaw simply, often hilariously, tells her story and offers no one-size-fits-all approach to homesteading. She also describes, in great detail, gardening tips, how to construct a solar oven, recipes, ways to become more self-sufficient by growing your own food, how to build a simple structure such as a home or outbuilding, and how to deal with critters. While filled with practical how-to information, the real joy of Homesteading Adventures is the story of the Robishaws life and experiences, told with gentle humor and affection, and mercifully free of self-righteousness. It's a real treat to read. .
Price: $13.43 [Notify me when price goes down.]