13 Important Books On Natural Building Materials, Techniques, And More
With the climate crisis looming over us at every moment, threatening an even dimmer and chaotic future for planet Earth, many folks have been forced and inspired to reflect on their own personal footprints on the environment. There are many ways to make a difference, with one of the largest being consuming a plant-based diet, proving that our everyday actions and choices do make a difference (this is not to say that corporations and large, powerful entities harming the earth should not be held responsible).
If we take that mentality into our home and building practices we can make can make smarter choices for our health, the well-being of the planet, and our wallets. If you’re thinking of building a new home, structure, outbuilding, wall, or room, you can choose local materials that come from the ecosystem around you and work to preserve the land as much as possible.
Listen Now: Ready to learn about natural building from someone who dropped everything to build a natural building (with no previous building experience) and live off-grid for the first time ever in her 40’s? Immerse yourself in this life-giving conversation on the Unruly Podcast about earth magic, earth whispering, natural building, and oh so much more with Atulya Bingham.
Unruly Podcast · #48 We Are Nature. We Are Creativity. We Are Power | Natural Building Lessons From A Dirt Witch
Determined to pull together a semi-complete list of natural building resources, I sat down with Tim Burdine, a knowledgeable and skilled natural builder, homesteader, and veganic gardener who has been living off-grid for over almost 10 years now. Tim built a cob home from the ground-up, using many of the books on this very list. These are powerful resources that can help you build a home or structure you love, all while spending the least amount of money and protecting the earth long the way.
A Note On Consciously & Responsibly Purchasing Books
While these days it is easy to buy books through Amazon, there are so many reasons why you shouldn’t. Amazon hurts authors. Before searching for a new copy of a book, why not do a little investigating and see if your local library already has it? If they don’t there’s a chance that they’re willing to order a copy that you can check out. Have a friend that you can borrow a copy from instead? Even better!
But if you decide to go the route of buying a book, try your best to source your books directly from the author, or independent book stores (like Firestorm – my favorite queer, vegan, anarchist bookstore) unless you are buying them second hand. In that case, I recommend ordering them from ThriftBooks. I’ve been using this platform for years to find pre-loved books, and unlike AbeBooks, it is not owned by Amazon.
Books To Read Before You Build
Book 1: A Pattern Language
“The first book on anyone’s list who wants to build a home, regardless of style, should be A Pattern Language,” Tim told me. “It’s all about understand how to layout a house so that it flows well; it’s about design, and understanding the material that this book covers is step one before you jump into actual building materials.”
The first part of A Pattern Language actually tells you how to use the book, and then there are macro chapters with micro focuses within them. The book starts with a larger scope on communities and living areas, and then narrows down into the particulars of a house. This expansive book on design was written by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein with Max Jacobson, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King and Shlomo Angel. You can check out the Pattern Language website where they have listed additional books by the authors, but there is no way to purchase A Pattern Language directly from the authors. We highly recommend purchasing a slightly used copy through ThriftBooks instead.
Book 2: Shelter
Holding over 1,000 photographs, this large book is filled with commentary and history while being packed with natural building inspiration. Shelter is a history of various shelters throughout the ages all over the world. It’s a deep dive back in history, while also showcasing some more modern structures. While flipping through Shelter you can expect to learn about tents, yurts, barns, small homes, domes, timber buildings, and more. There is also a complete section dedicated to building materials such as stone, straw bale, plaster, adobe, bamboo, and more.
Shelter was written by Lloyd Kahn who, in the mid 60’s, quit his day job in the insurance business to take up carpentry with a focus on post and beam houses, as well as geodesic domes. You can buy the book directly from the author through Shelter Publications.
A Note On Understanding Your Land
At this point in our interview Tim paused the conversations on books to make an important point. “When it comes to the topic of natural building materials, the most important thing is understanding where you are. You have to look around and determine what resources are in your area, what the climate is like, etc. Are you on a South facing slope or North facing? Are you in a deciduous forest? A flood plain? All of these factors go into deciding what materials you will be using,” Tim explained. I learned that trying to force a certain type of building material or technique just because you favor it will cause huge issues in the long run. Now we’ll go through some books that get down to the nitty-gritty: building materials.
Book 3: Green Building
Tim Callahan is a natural builder who built a home out of four different types of building materials (straw bale, cob, cordwood, and modified stick-frame), just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, where this blog is based. He wrote Building Green, New Edition: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster along side Clarke Snell, and you can purchase it on ThriftBooks here. This book is a guide with more than 1,200 step-by-step photographs that follow the erection of an alternative build. It starts with site selections and takes you all the way through the building process, finally arriving at final-touch interior details. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about multiple types of natural building techniques in one read to build a beautiful yet environmentally responsible home.
Books On Building With Cob
Book 4: Build Your Own Earth Oven
“If anyone decides that they want to build with cob, I highly recommend getting your hands in the earth and building a cob oven first,” Tim told me, as we approached niche books about more specific building materials. For this Tim highly recommends the book Build Your Own Earth Oven by Hannah Field and Kiko Denzer. And sticking to the theme of low-cost yet beautifully built structures, the book description says “The average do-it-yourselfer with a few tools and a scrap pile can build an oven for free, or close to it. Good building soil is often right in your back yard, under your feet. Build the simplest oven in a day!”
You can find this book on the Chelsea Green Publishing website (an employee-owned company) here or a used copy on ThriftBooks here.
Book 5: The Hand Sculpted House
As we arrived at book five, I could see the light in Tim’s eyes go brighter as we approached discussion of Tim’s “favorite building book of all time”. Tim revealed to me that The Hand Sculpted House, written by
Ianto Evans, Michael G. Smith and Linda Smiley, is a philosophical natural building book that allows readers to build a cob home from start to finish.
The Cob Cottage Company website states that “As the modern world rediscovers the importance of living in sustainable harmony with the environment, this book is a bible of radical simplicity.” The Cob Cottage Company no longer directly sells books online, but you can buy them in person on their property in Oregon or on ThriftBooks here.
Book 6: The Cob Builders Handbook
If you do decide to use cob as your building material, Tim recommends grabbing one more book, if you can. The Cob Builders Handbook by Becky Bee offers up more insights on building with cob, and the author has a completely different writing style. “It’s helpful to learn about building with cob through two different perspective,” explains Tim.
You can purchase Becky’s book through her website here, or through the Mother Earth News store here.
Books Focusing On Other Building Materials
Book 7: Essential Cordwood Building
“Rob Roy is a really trusted source when it comes to cordwood construction,” says Tim. “The information that he shares is tried and true. He has had numerous successes and failures along the way, and he gracefully shares all that he’s learned with readers along the way.”
“Distilling decades of experience and best practices, Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step guide to cordwood building.” Ideal for the DIYer and professional designer alike, you can expect to learn about wood species selection, lime putty, log-end length, cob mortar options, wall cavity insulation, options and more in Essential Cordwood Building.
There is no way to buy this book directly from the author, but you can find it on ThriftBooks here.
Book 8: The Straw Bale House
The Straw Bale House, written by Athena Swentzell Steen, Bill Steen, David Bainbridge and David Eisenberg, is incredibly descriptive while going through different straw bale building techniques. “Straw bale is good for anywhere you need good insulation, or when you can get your hands on a lot of cheap straw bales, a renewable resource,” says Tim.
You can find The Straw Bale House through Chelsea Green Publishing here or used on ThriftBooks here.
Book 9: Earthbag Building
Earthbag Building was written by Kaki Hunter and Donald Kyffmeyer. This is a “comprehensive, illustrated, step-by-step guide to building with earthbags” and can be used to build homes, outbuildings, garden walls, and more. You can find this guide to building with earth bags used on Thriftbooks here.
Book 10: The EcoNest Home
When it comes to putting the finishing touches on your natural structure, Tim recommends getting your hands on a copy of The EcoNest Home. EcoNest Workshops website describes an EcoNest as something as “a breathtakingly beautiful structure that nurtures health and embraces ecology, bringing together time-honored traditions and modern innovations for the best of both worlds.” The book is a practical guide that takes you through a detailed explanation of working with stray clay slip, complimented by dozens of photos of completed projects for inspiration.
The EcoNest Home can be purchased directly from The EcoNest website here.
Books On Finishing Your Natural Building
Book 11: Earthen Floors
Earthen Floors: A Modern Approach to an Ancient Practice, written by Sukita Reay Crimmel and James Thomson, serves as a step-by-step guide to making, installing and living with all-natural earthen floors. This book also takes the reader on a journey through the history of earth floors, as well as the use and maintenance of this practical yet attractive flooring option.
You can order a used copy from ThriftBooks here.
Book 12: Earth Render
Earth Render – The Art of Clay Plaster, Render and Paints was written by James Henderson on the topic of all things rendering and plastering when it comes to natural buildings.” This book offers a detailed look at the use of raw earth for painting and rendering walls in new as well as in existing buildings, focusing on sand-clay render, straw-clay render and clay paints.”
You can purchased a used copy of Earth Render on ThriftBooks here.
Book 13: Rocket Mass Heaters
Last on the list, Tim recommends the book Rocket Mass Heaters by Ianto Evans, Leslie Jackson, and Erica Wisner. This detailed book walks readers through the process of building a super efficient wood-fired heater that is environmentally responsible and can be used in benches and more to keep structures heated long after the fire goes out. Not only does it tell you how to construct your very own wood heater, but it take you through how to use it in a rage of applications. It also discusses different materials that you can use, where to find them, and what to pay for them.
Additionally, there is a section dedicated to fire and fuels. Unfortunately you can no longer buy this book directly from the authors, but you can find it on ThriftBooks here.
