Essential Sustainable Home Design

Author: Chris Magwood
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1550926454
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Book Description
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 project vision that will guide the house to completion. Coverage includes: How to clarify your ideas and create a practical pathway to achieving your dream A criteria matrix to guide design, material, and systems decisions Creating a strong, integrated design team and working with professionals and code officials to keep the project on track from start to finish. Key building science concepts that make for a high-performance, durable building Primer on building logistics, material sourcing, and protocols to ensure that the initial vision for the project comes to fruition. One-page summaries and ratings of popular sustainable building materials and system options. Ideal for owner-builders and sustainable building contractors working with clients aiming to design and build a sustainable home. 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. Chris is the author of Essential Prefab Straw Bale Construction, Essential Hempcrete Construction, Straw Bale Details, More Straw Bale Building , and Making Better Buildings .

Building a Sustainable Home

Author: Melissa Rappaport Schifman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510733450
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 434

Book Description
The green building movement has produced hundreds of “how-to” books and websites that are filled with tips about green building and what homeowners should do to go green. While helpful and informative, when it comes to making actual purchasing and installation decisions, these books do not make it any easier for a homeowner to prioritize against a budget. Here, Schifman shares her knowledge and experience for others to use in their journey toward a greener way of living. Whether the reader is building a new home or doing a minor remodel, a homeowner needs a framework by which to guide their decisions. These decisions are based on values, and the author posits that there are really only three reasons to go green: For Our Health: By building more sustainably, we reduce our exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins. For Our Wealth: By building a more durable home and being more efficient with resources like water and electricity, we reduce our monthly utility bills and ongoing maintenance expenses. For Our Soul: Collectively doing the right thing for our planet does make a difference—and that is soul-nourishing. Learn the logistics of choosing windows, insulation, appliances, and lighting. Find out about FSC certified wood and about using reclaimed materials. Here is everything you need to make your home sustainable.

Making Better Buildings

Author: Chris Magwood
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 0865717060
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 467

Book Description
Sustainable building from the ground up - the pros and cons of the latest green and natural materials and technologies

Essential Sustainable Home Design

Author: Chris Magwood
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1771422408
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 363

The Natural Building Companion

Author: Jacob Deva Racusin
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603583408
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 451

Book Description
Natural buildings not only bring satisfaction to their makers and joy to their occupants, they also leave the gentlest footprint on the environment. In this complete reference to natural building philosophy, design, and technique, Jacob Deva Racusin and Ace McArleton walk builders through planning and construction, offering step-by-step instructions on: siting and site analysis choosing materials integrating basic structural considerations into a design strategies for heating/cooling efficiency and moisture management planning for acoustics developing an integrative design navigating budgeting, code compliance, and project management creating the foundation, wall system, roof, and floors selecting and making plasters and paints evaluating options for mechanical and utility systems protecting against fire and insects integrating structures within landscape, climate, and human communities ...and more Applicable to building in climates that are cold and wet, hot and dry, or somewhere in-between, The Natural Building Companion provides the tools necessary to understand basic principles of building science, including structural and thermal engineering, and hydrodynamics. This guide offers thorough, up-to-date, and advanced installation details and performance characteristics of straw-bale, straw-clay, woodchip-clay, and cellulose wall systems, as well as earthen and stone wall systems and a variety of framing, roofing, flooring, mechanical system, and finishing options. This fully-illustrated volume informs professionals making the transition from conventional building, homeowners embarking on their own construction, or green builders who want comprehensive guidance on natural-building options. A State-of-the-Art Resource for Natural Builders The Natural Building Companion is a part of The Yestermorrow Design/Build Library and includes an instructional DVD.

Essential Building Science

Author: Jacob Deva Racusin
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1550926292
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 163

Book Description
Down and dirty – a complete step-by-step guide to making, installing and living with beautiful, all-natural earthen floors Poor heat and moisture management are the enemies of durable, comfortable, and efficient housing, and good building design and construction starts with a solid understanding of good building science. Essential Building Science provides a highly visual and accessible introduction to the fundamentals of building science for residential construction. Part one covers the rationale behind high-performance design and the fundamentals of building physics, including thermal dynamics, moisture transfer, and hygro-thermal dynamics such as vapor drive and condensation. Part two teaches the vital critical thinking skills needed to consider buildings as whole systems and to develop thermal and moisture control strategies regardless of the specifics of the design. Case studies and examples from across North American climatic zones illuminate real-life problems and offer builders, designers, and DIYers the insights and tools required for creating better new buildings and dramatically improving old ones. Good science plus critical thinking equals high performance buildings.

Sustainable House

Author: Michael Mobbs
Publisher: Choice Books
ISBN: 9781920705527
Category : Architecture and energy conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Including Australian and internal examples of sustainable building, this book is packed with practical information to help every home renovator or builder. ---back cover.

Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building

Author: Marian Keeler
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118782720
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Book Description
"Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building offers an introduction to green building concepts as well as design approaches that reduce and can eventually eliminate the need for fossil fuel use in buildings while also conserving materials, maximizing their efficiency, protecting the indoor air from chemical intrusion, and reducing the introduction of toxic materials into the environment. It represents a necessary road map to the future designers, builders, and planners of a post-carbon world." —from the Foreword by Ed Mazria A rich sourcebook covering the breadth of environmental building, Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building introduces the student and practitioner to the history, theory and technology of green building. Using an active learning approach, the concepts of sustainble architecture are explained and reinforced through design problems, research exercises, study questions, team projects, and discussion topics. Chapters by specialists in the green movement round out this survey of all the important issues and developments that students and professionals need to know. From history and philosophy to design technologies and practice, this sweeping resource is sure to be referenced until worn out.

Green Building

Author: Michael Bauer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642006353
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
An important consideration for energy-efficient buildings is their primary energy requirements over the entire life cycle. How to determine this? What integrative factors influence the performance of a healthy and sustainable building? This, while it may be important for clients and architects to know, is frequently not very transparent. This book has been written to assist with clarifying target criteria and expanding horizons when it comes to ecological buildings. It is meant as a handbook and source of reference for clients, architects, planners and building operators, to provide them with pertinent information about their design, construction and operation: how to do this in the most energy-efficient and economical manner? Also, there is feedback and documentation about prominent buildings like the Hamburg Dockland or the Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart. They provide excellent architectural examples for detailed construction and design solutions. Further, there are insightful interviews with architects and clients about many important buildings, which help turn this book into an integrated source of reference for sustainable architecture. - A Guideline for Planning, Construction and Operation of sustainable Buildings - A source of reference for clients, architects, planners and building operators - Innovative architectural examples with sustainable concepts and design

Essential Rainwater Harvesting

Author: Rob Avis
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1771422629
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
“You owe it to your family to follow the prescriptions in this book and be prepared for droughts and shortages through rainwater harvesting.” —Jerry Yudelson, author of Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis 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 utilized with care. The key is appropriate planning and high-quality site- and climate-specific design. Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios—primary, supplemental, and off-grid supply—this step-by-step approach covers: Considerations for full-property water security Demand planning and conservation strategies Supply calculations and design implications for extreme rainfall and drought Materials selection and water quality System and site assessment Sizing and design of gutters, conveyance, tanks, and pumps Pre-filtration, filtration, and disinfection options System maintenance and upkeep This practical resource provides DIYers, trades, and rainwater practitioners with the essential tools, methods, and technical know-how to design, build, and maintain rainwater harvesting systems anywhere. “Go to it! Become a rainwater harvester! Embrace your downpipes and filtration systems! And all the while with this brilliant book stuffed into your back pocket.” —Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement “Inspired to save your own rainwater for garden and home? Essential Rainwater Harvesting is bursting with personal, practical, and precise information to get gardeners saving water right now.” —Donna Balzer, author of No Guff Vegetable Gardening