Shopping Cart

We want to direct you to the right website. Please tell us where you live.

(This is a one-time message unless you reset your location.)

Available only in Digital (eBook) format.
Choose the preferred format for your device.

PDF
$34.95 $22.70 USD
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Pub. Date: 2005-03-20
ISBN: 9780865715189
Format: Paperback - 288 pages
Size: 8" x 10" (w x h)
BISAC: ARCHITECTURE / Sustainability & Green Design

More Straw Bale Building

How to Plan, Design and Build with Straw

Straw bale houses are easy to build, affordable, super energy efficient, environmentally friendly, attractive, and can be designed to match the builder's personal space needs, esthetics, and budget. Despite mushrooming interest in the technique, however, most straw bale books focus on "selling" the dream of straw-bale building, but don't adequately address the most critical issues faced by bale house builders. Moreover, since many developments in this field are recent, few books are completely up to date with the latest techniques.

More Straw Bale Building is designed to fill this gap. A completely rewritten edition of the 20,000-copy best-selling original, it leads the potential builder through the entire process of building a bale structure, tackling all the practical issues: finding and choosing bales; developing sound building plans; roofing; electrical, plumbing, and heating systems; building code compliance; and special concerns for builders in northern climates. New material includes:

  • more extensive sections on electric wiring and plumbing
  • updated sections on bale finishes and finishing
  • a section on prefabricated straw bale walls
  • a wider selection of case studies, photographs and illustrations
  • a section on common mistakes
  • budgeting for low-, medium- and high-cost projects, and
  • new testing data that is in no other straw bale book.

Down-to earth and complete, More Straw Bale Building makes the remarkable benefits of straw bale building available in the most comprehensive and practical book on the subject to date.

Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series

About the Authors

Chris Magwood has designed and built some of the most innovative, sustainable buildings in North America, including the first off-grid, straw bale home in Ontario. He is co-founder and director the Endeavour Centre for Innovative Building and Living and co-editor of the Sustainable Building Essentials series. He has helped hundreds of people work through the process to design their own sustainable home and achieve their dreams. Chris is the author of Essential Prefab Straw Bale Construction, Essential Hempcrete Construction, Straw Bale DetailsMore Straw Bale Building, and Making Better Buildings.

Peter Mack has been building and inventing for most of his life. A founder of Camel's Back Construction, he has helped refine bale building into a fine art and has provided guidance to other builders and homeowners on countless projects. An inventor, instrument maker,machinist, fitter welder, and avid mountain biker,Pete brings diverse skills and ideas to the straw bale community.

Tina Therrien began building with straw bales 10 years ago when she became a partner in Camel's Back Construction, Ontario's first straw bale construction company. She continues to build, plaster, teach workshops, and do presentations across the province with a team of experienced builders.


"In More Straw Bale Building, we see once again the combination of experience, knowledge, thoughtfulness, and friendly style that made Straw Bale Building such a useful book. The evolution of straw bale construction toward more widespread and dependable use will be given yet another boost by this book and from all those who will benefit from having read it."
David Eisenberg, co-author of The Straw Bale House, and director of the Development Center for Appropriate Technology

"More Straw Bale Building contains a wealth of the latest information on planning and building with straw, and is an excellent guide to sustainable construction in general. Magwood and Mack are two of the most knowledgeable and experienced bale builders in North America, and it shows.Their practical treatise is a recommended must-read for anyone considering a straw bale building project."
Mark Hoberecht, president, HarvestBuild Associates, Inc.

"The "Ontario Three" have struck again — with an important contribution to the planning and completion of a straw bale home.This practical book will keep paying for itself each step of the owner-builder's way. My thanks to the authors for the extensive research and insights collected into this "must have" book for my clients."
Habib John Gonzalez, Habib John Gonzalez, Sustainable Works; builder, educator, researcher

"The straw bale movement has grown and evolved—and so has this book. In this updated and expanded second edition, the authors provide the latest understandings and techniques to build smarter, better, and more simply."
Mark Piepkorn, co-editor of Green Building Products; former editor of The Last Straw

"By weaving in comments from others along with their own, Chris, Pete and Tina provide an in-depth overview of building with straw.There is no substitute for hands-on experience, which the authors clearly demonstrate throughout the text."
Kris J. Dick, Ph.D., P.Eng., Principal, Building Alternatives Inc., Adjunct Professor, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba

"Times — and everything in the straw bale world — are changing, and so are our building methods.With More Straw Bale Building, the authors have taken an old standard and brought it up to date by adding new sections and revising the old. This excellent book will provide guidance to a new generation wanting to build a straw bale structure. Straw Bale Building has long been a planning, job site and coffee table volume, and now there will be a revised companion setting there along side of the original."
Gerald Goodman,Arctic Building Consultants, straw bale building consultant, designer, and owner

"With extensive hands-on experience backing them up, Magwood, Mack and Therrien once again share the most up-to-date information in the field of straw bale construction. By outlining lessons learned, comparing techniques, and highlighting the latest & greatest approaches, More Straw Bale Building will help the newcomer build a dream with more confidence, while giving the veteran straw baler new ideas, methods and techniques to chew on."
Rachel Connor, Sustainable Building Instructor, Solar Energy International

"In More Straw Bale Building, the authors detail with humour and clarity the challenges and benefits of numerous straw bale systems they have explored both as owner/builders and as contracters.The fact that more than half the book addresses issues that come up before actually installing any straw provides a realistic picture of the preparation needed for the execution of a successful building — and the chapter on common mistakes is worth the price of the book in itself! As important resources like More Straw Bale Building become available, straw bale construction edges its way closer to being a significant mainstream alternative."
Kim Thompson, Straw Bale Projects


Essential Cordwood Building

The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

by Rob Roy


Essential Light Straw Clay Construction

The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

by Lydia Doleman


Essential Prefab Straw Bale Construction

The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

by Chris Magwood


Homes That Heal (and those that don't)

How Your Home May be Harming Your Family's Health

by Athena Thompson


Making Better Buildings

A Comparative Guide to Sustainable Construction for Homeowners and Contractors

by Chris Magwood