Books on Building

Books on Building

Written by NevinFriday, 22 January 2016 16:32 - Last Updated Tuesday, 13 December 2016 14:41

If you are interested in building a sustainable home it might also be worth having a look at theenergy section. Some of the books there have great energy generating or saving ideas that areeasiest to put in place if included at the construction stage.

Also, if you are looking at books from outside your area the laws will be different and you shouldconsult someone ‘skilled in the art’ of building law to ensure you don’t cause yourself or othersany legal hassles.

Architecture

The Barefoot Architect – Johan Van Lengen – Shelter Publications (US) 2008 ISBN 978 0936070 42 1 – Subtitled “a handbook for green building” this book has over 700 pages on howto design your own house using sustainable principles. It includes bio-architecture, basicdesign, climate and site planning for humid and dry climates as well as working with adobe,rammed earth, bamboo, plaster, wood, concrete and ferro-cement. It covers design andconstruction methods for foundations, roofs, floors, walls, doors and windows as well aseco-friendly heating and cooling and use and movement of water including composting toilets.There are lots of clear drawings on almost every page but no photos.

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Books on Building


Home Work (handbuilt Shelter) – Lloyd Kahn – Shelter Publications (US) 2004 ISBN 0 93607033 1 - This book is a collection of images of buildings from all around the world. There is a smallamount on construction details but it is mostly around ideas of what is possible rather than a‘how to’ guide. There are also sections on housing on wheels and soft housing like tents andyurts. The images are mostly colour photos with a few line drawings and black and white photosthrown in.

Standard Construction Techniques

Building Your Own Home – George Wilkie – New Holland Publishers (AUS) 2003 ISBN 186436 747 4 – lots of detail on building your onw home including administrative stuff aboutconsultants, authorities, specifications, schedules costing and subcontractors. The technicalstuff like site prep, framing, footings, drainage, framing, concrete slabs, exterior and interiorcoverings, doors windows and roofing. Lots of detailed sketches and line drawings.

NSW Timber Framing Manual – State Forests NSW (AUS) 1996 ISBN 1 875432 33 7 – Thisbook provides all the details on how to timber frame a house. Chapter include terminology, floor

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Books on Building


framing, flooring, wall framing, roof framing, tie down, bracing and timber member sizes. Thereare also extensive tables on what grades and sizes of timber are required for a wide range ofapplications. Lots of line drawings.

The Australian Owner Builder’s Manual – Allan Staines – Pinedale Press (AUS) 1990 ISBN 09593024 1 7 – This manual covers it all for the owner builder including owner building regs,getting plans drawn up and whether to build in timber, brick or block. The technical chapterscover concrete footings and slab floors, timber floors and subfloors, wall framing, roofconstruction, finishing and brick veneer, cavity brick and concrete block details. A“Miscellaneous” section covers services, corrugated iron roofing and flashing, among otherthings. Lots of line drawings.

A Design and Construction Handbook for Energy Saving Houses – Alex Wade – RodalePress (US) 1980 ISBN 0 87857 275 9 – This is another big book (over 400 pages) and is allabout using conventional materials (recycled where available) to build a low energy house.Sections cover electricity and alternative energy sources, financing, site selection and sourcingmaterials. The book covers all major building stuff including wiring and plumbing systems (illegalto do yourself in AUS) masonry floors, heat storage walls and chimneys as well as roofing,

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Books on Building


flashing, skylights and attached greenhouses. Part 3 gives a rundown on 11 examples ofenergy-saving houses. Lots of line drawings and black and white photos.

Alternative Construction Techniques

How to Build a Mud Brick House – Gregory Ah Ket – Lloyd O’Neill P/L (AUS) 1985 ISBN 085550 532 X – This step by step guide opens with an introduction on earth building and thencovers permits, applications and finance (this bit may be out of date), then planning the build,testing your soil and how to size your bricks, then how to make them. The building process isthen covered including foundations and footings, laying and finishing the walls, roofing systemsfireplaces and chimneys. Installation of services (plumbing and electrical) are mentioned. Thereare lots of black and white photos, some line drawings and a few colour photos.

Building Your Straw Bale Home – Brian Hodge – Land Links Press (CSIRO) (AUS) 2006ISBN 0 643 09242 0 – Written for the owner/builder this book provides step-by-step instructionssupported by line drawings and photos. It covers the site preparation, foundations, concreteslabs, strip footings and stumps. The special techniques used in strawbale construction arecovered as well as how the integrate with standard construction processes for floors, timber wallframes, ceiling and roof framing. Lots of line drawings with some black and white photos.

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Books on Building


Small Green Roofs – Nigel Dunnet, Dusty Gedge, John Little and Edmund Snodgrass –Timber Press Inc (US/UK) 2011 ISBN 978 1 60469 059 0 – The book commences with anintroduction on what a green roof is and what the benefits of having one are, then covers how tobuild one. There is also some detail on how to plant one out eg using veg and herbs, styles ofplanting, how to establish and maintain plants on a green roof. There are also a series ofsections on projects where green roofs were put in place and how they were done. Lots ofcolour photos.

Grass Roots Earth Builders Companion – John & Jerry Archer – Night Owl Publications(AUS) 1981 ISBN 0 9595244 2 8 – This is a series of articles compiled from Grass Rootsmagazine articles on alternative building techniques from the 70’s and early 80’s. It is mostlycentred on mud brick, adobe and wattle and daub with some reference to council regs of thetime, designing and planning a house. Lots of line drawings and black and white photos.

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Books on Building


Low Cost Country Home Building – The Technical Assistance Group, Dept of Architecture,University of Sydney, NSW Dept. of Environment and Planning (AUS) 1983 ISBN 0 86806 0704 – The book is in 4 parts, the first discussed (probably out of date) NSW building legislation,the second part covers local government stuff including site inspections and owner builderpermits, the third part is more technical and covers site assessment, vegetation and variousalternative and standard construction techniques. Part 4 is a series of appendices giving detailon technical matters like selection of timber species and chemical preservation of timber. Lots ofline drawings.

Building Green – Clark Snell & Tim Callahan – Lark Books (US) 2005 ISBN 978 1 57990 532 3– This huge book (600+ pages) has been written around earth plaster, straw bale, cordwoodand cob construction materials and living roofs. The book starts with building fundamentals andwhy one should build “green” and then goes on to discuss design, siting and site work andputting the site structure together. The next section details the processes for building with coband other earth mixes, cordwood and strawbale. Lots of alternative methods for covering thewalls, the roof and the floors are also discussed. There are lots and lots of colour photos withthe odd diagram and line drawing.

Cordwood Masonry Houses: a Practical Guide for the Owner Builder – Robert L. Roy –Sterling Publishing Company (US) 1980 ISBN 0 8069 8944 0 – This small book is really what itsays on the tin! It cover the history of this style of housing, finding materials, construction fromfoundations through to roofing and specific bits like turned up corners and curved walls. Thereare also instructions on personalising and tarting up your cordwood masonry house. Mostlyblack and white photos and line drawing but there is a gloss colour photo section in the centreof the book. Tiny Houses

Compact Cabins – Gerald Rowan – Storey Publishing (US) 2009 ISBN 978 1 60342 462 2 –This book contains floorplans and sketches of 50 residential buildings less than 1,000 squarefeet (93 square metres). It is more a concept book rather than a “how to”, showing what ispossible. There are also chapters on design, a modular approach to cabin design, usingmanufactured structural components, getting the most from building materials, compact andefficient utilities and appliances and finally, energy independence. There are lots of line

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Books on Building


drawings but no photos.

Sheds – David and Jeanie Styles – Firefly books (US) 2006 ISBN 978 1 55407 224 8 –Subtitled “The do-it-yourself guide for backyard builders” this is a good manual for tiny housesand other small buildings. It starts off with general shed construction information fromfoundation and framing through to roofing and finishes then gives step by step instruction onbuilding a basic 8’ x 10’ shed. It then gives process instructions for more complex and specialpurpose sheds like a pool shed or a play shed. Lots of line drawings and a few colour photos.

Tiny House Living – Ryan Mitchell – Betterway Home Books (US) 2014 ISBN 978 1 44033316 3 – The book looks at the tiny house movement through a series of case studies abouthow people have designed, built and lived in tiny houses. The book includes information aboutthe how and why of tiny houses, the movement itself and how it is impacted by consumerculture, how to design and live in a tiny house. It is an ideas book rather than ‘how to’. Lots ofcolour photos and a few line drawings.

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Books on Building


Microshelters – Derek Diedricksen – Storey Publishers (US) 2015 ISBN 978 1 61212 353 0 –The sub title is ’59 creative cabins, tiny houses, tree house and other small structures’ and thatcovers things pretty well. With so many different options displayed this can only be an ideasbook, although there are a number of floor plans included. There are number of colour photos ofeach micro shelter covering both inside and outside in most cases. There is also a section onrequired tools and how to use them as well as 6 detailed plans for building various types ofshelters.

Living in Small Spaces – Lorrie Mack – Conran Octopus (UK) 1988 ISBN 1 85029 132 2 –This is not so much a book about tiny houses (although the information fits right in) as much asshowing you how to get the most out of a small space, be it an apartment, townhouse or even atiny house! Section one talks about techniques for maximising the space you have by making itfeel bigger and section two has ideas for setting up specific rooms (eg kitchen, living room etc.)room by room. Section 3 showcases examples of furniture which allows you to maximise space.Lots of colour photos.

How to Live in Small Spaces – Terence Conran – Conran Octopus (UK) 2006 ISBN Lots ifideas here for maximising the use of a small space. The first part covers designing andplanning, decorating and furnishing and then finishes off with information about converting loftsand basements, extensions etc. The second part works though area by area giving strategiesspecific to getting the most out of small spaces including small gardens and weekend retreats.There are also six small home case studies from the US, Europe and Japan. The book has lotsof colour photos and some line drawings.

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Documents

Books on Building