The Rammed Earth House (Real Goods Independent Living Book)

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The beauty and grace of rammed earth construction is described in fascinating detail by David Easton. The photographs of different structures, both modern and ancient, by Cynthia Wright, create a breathtaking glimpse into a building technique that is as old as human history, but exactly suitable for today's resource-conscious and environmentally friendly building needs. Trees may be getting a bit scarce these days, but there's no current shortage of dirt, the main component of rammed earth homes. From such a prosaic material, gold has been spun in these timeless, graceful, and nearly indestructible homes and buildings.

Customer Reviews:

This One's A Keeper.......2007-10-01

I bought this book because I'm researching wall systems, hoping to build a place of my own some day. After lots of study, I probably won't use the rammed earth system, but I think it's fascinating, and I will probably use this book for reference in the future. If you're interested in earth walls, this one is a must-have for your library.

the most comprehensive rammed earth guide on the market.......2007-06-20

this is the guide to rammed earth. David Easton's enthusiasm and expertise provide for the most informative and readable book on rammed earth on the market.

"East Coaster" Looking to use Rammed Earth.......2000-04-06

I purchased this book in order to find an optimistic source on the subject of rammed earth. David Easton does have a positive attitude about the subject. I enjoyed his enthusiasm. I enjoyed the 10 or so pages of color pictures and the many black and white pictures through the book. Like another reviewer, I felt the book lacked some good engineering sketches and some good pictoral illustrations of the forming systems. I was encouraged enough by his book to want to build a rammed earth house somewhere in the coming years. johnkurtz@comcast.net.

Excellent resource!.......1999-01-22

I found this book, as other books by Real Goods, to be very informative and easy for the layperson to comprehend. David presents the information in a reader friendly style, and the photos greatly enhance the script.

Excellent, lacks some detail on construction.......1997-02-24

In Venezuela, South America, there is some interest in reviving an old method of cobnstruction, called "tapial" in spanish (rammed earth). Many old building remain in South America from the time of the spaniards. The book illustrates how a modern enginee, David Easton, in California, has taken over the problem of building with rammed earth in country where there is very little "tradition", hence know how, on building with rammed earth. The book lacks detail on the rammed earth system employed by the authors. More drawings and pictures would be very useful to translate modern technology to underdevelopped countries. Best regards, Miguel A. Megias, Professor of Engineering Universidad de Carabobo Valencia, Venezuela e-mail mmegias@telcel.net.v

Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings: Design and Construction

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Great Adobe book!
How to Build Your Own Adobe Home
Excellent first book on adobe and rammed earth buildings.

Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings: Design and Construction
Paul Graham McHenry
Manufacturer: University of Arizona Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0816511241

Customer Reviews:

Great Adobe book!.......2006-03-15

This book is full of great information and is well worth purchasing. For the average consumer it is all you will need. However as an engineer, I wish it had more technical information (shear capacity of adobe walls, etc). I've looked for such a book, but I don't think it exists.

How to Build Your Own Adobe Home.......2002-08-17

This book is for the individual who wants to and is able to build his/her own home. The details are geared towards someone who is already familiar with building techniques and jargon. If you're planning to design your own adobe home but have a contractor do the actually building of it, you probably don't need to know this much and will be overwhelmed by the information provided.

Excellent first book on adobe and rammed earth buildings........2000-04-09

This book is easy to read and understand when the author explains adobe and rammed earth buildings. The book seems to be a bit more focused on the details of adobe brick making which is great if that is what you want. The rammed earth sections are very informative but lack some of the construction details. I would have liked to have seen more detailed decriptions with better drawings of forms, for example. The author also has several table having containg soil composition that was a bit too technical for practical use. Overall,I believe this book is well worth the money for an introduction to adobe and rammed earth buildings. Additional books would be needed to learn enough to build one yourself though.

Rammed Earth Structures: A Code of Practice

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Great "how-to" book on building rammed earth

Rammed Earth Structures: A Code of Practice
Julian Keable
Manufacturer: Practical Action
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1853393509

Book Description

Ramming earth has been a method of construction for centuries in various parts of the world. This technique can produce buildings that are strong, durable safe and desirable, and because earth is an abundant and cheap resources, rammed earth buildings are often very economical. To achieve the best results the right techniques for selection and testing of soils must be used to protect walls from water damage and shrinkage. This book aims to show how high standards can be achieved and the criteria on which rammed earth structures and building techniques can be judged.

Customer Reviews:

Great "how-to" book on building rammed earth.......2002-01-19

This is a great complement to the David Easton Book. Easton's book seems geared toward convincing you to build with rammed earth (and it does a great job at that). This book has more hard facts, details on building forms, and has detailed procedures on testing soil, formwork, plasticity, and completed walls.

The author also goes into detail on how to protect your walls, things to watch out for, etc. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about wanting to build with earth. I'm surprised this book isn't easier to get!

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The rammed-earth house,
Anthony French Merrill
Manufacturer: Harper & Brothers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0007E32WC

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Earthbuilders Encyclopedia: The Master Alphabetical Reference for Adobe and Rammed Earth
Joe Tibbets
Manufacturer: Southwest Solaradobe School
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0962188506

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Earth-wall Construction, EBS Bulletin
G.F. Middleton , and L.M. Schneider
Manufacturer: Australian Government Publishing Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 064206055X

Product Description

Using earth as a building material, includes pictures and descriptions.

Lower cost buildings;: Handbook on building walls with rammed earth

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Lower cost buildings;: Handbook on building walls with rammed earth
Edward Warren Coffin
Manufacturer: Coffin and Humphrey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0008698KY

Assessing the environmental performance of stabilised rammed earth walls using a climatic simulation chamber [An article from: Building and Environment]

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Assessing the environmental performance of stabilised rammed earth walls using a climatic simulation chamber [An article from: Building and Environment]
M.R. Hall
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000PAUIZW

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Building and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The SHU climatic simulation chamber is a novel piece of apparatus that allows testing of full-sized walls with realistic inner and outer wall climatic conditions. Four SRE test walls were successfully constructed and tested over four separate regimes to measure physical properties such as pressure-driven moisture ingress, rate of moisture penetration, and internal/interstitial condensation. The walls far exceeded a series of cyclic pressure-driven rainfall penetration tests based on BS 4315-2. After 5 days of exposure to static pressure-driven moisture ingress there was no evidence of moisture penetration or erosion. The embedded sensor array detected no significant increase in the relative humidity or liquid moisture content inside the test walls, throughout a range of temperature differentials with high levels of humidity, indicating a negligible risk of internal or interstitial condensation.

Experimental studies on the thermal and moisture properties of rammed earth used in adobe buildings in China.: An article from: Architectural Science Review

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Experimental studies on the thermal and moisture properties of rammed earth used in adobe buildings in China.: An article from: Architectural Science Review
Zengfeng Yan , Joseph C. Lam , and Jiaping Liu
Manufacturer: University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000ALOR4Y
Release Date: 2006-07-14

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Architectural Science Review, published by University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 3687 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Experimental studies on the thermal and moisture properties of rammed earth used in adobe buildings in China.
Author: Zengfeng Yan
Publication: Architectural Science Review (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture
Volume: 48 Issue: 1 Page: 55(6)

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Martin Rauch: Rammed Earth / Lehm und Architektur / Terra cruda

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Martin Rauch: Rammed Earth / Lehm und Architektur / Terra cruda
Otto Kapfinger
Manufacturer: Birkhauser
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture

ASIN: 3764364610

Book Description

The use of rammed earth in architecture is a fascinating fusion of modern technology, ancient knowledge, and innovative construction techniques, and is increasingly attracting attention. Today, rammed earth is not only of interest for alternative or ecological applications, but established architects are also discovering the creative possibilities of this versatile material with its advantageous properties for temperature control. In Europe, Martin Rauch is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern technical and creative applications for traditional rammed earth construction. His work encompasses residential, hotel, ecclesiastical and industrial buildings, interior design and landscape design in Germany, Britain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland, including projects with Herzog & de Meuron and Schneider + Schumacher. His "Church of Reconciliation" in Berlin was the first load-bearing structure to be built with rammed earth in Germany in the last ninety years. Together with local architects Rauch constructed experimental family homes in Vorarlberg, Austria, and with Kienast Vogt & Partner, he designed a series of garden and park projects. This volume is the definitive introduction to contemporary building with rammed earth.

Book Description

In this generously illustrated book, an architect and specialist in the redecoration of historic British interiors presents the first coherent historical outline of the architectural colors used in British houses of earlier centuries. Ian C. Bristow taps documentary sources and data obtained from investigations of significant interiors by important architects of the seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

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Graham Payn first met Noel Coward at age 13, when he auditioned for the playwright by tap dancing while singing "Nearer My God to Thee." He became Coward's longtime companion. So perhaps Payn knew better than anyone the personal side of Noel Coward, whose public personae had the trappings of an enchanted life but whose private life has been more difficult to capture. "His manner created distance between himself and those who would approach him." Payn says. This biography helps give a portrait of the playwright and tells of his vast accomplishments. The book should help keep Coward's work alive.

Book Description

This is the definitive memoir of the private Noel Coward by the only man with the compassionate insight and first-hand experience to write it. Graham Payn, star of many of Coward's shows, shared the Master's professional and private life for thirty years. When Coward kept the rest of the world at bay, Payn remained at his side as confidant and friend. No one else was as privy to Coward's doubts and dreams.

Customer Reviews:

Thoughtful, Loving Memoir.......2005-09-08

Don't read this book unless you want to fall more in love with Noel Coward than you already must be to read the book in the first place. Mr. Payn has assembled a quilt of memoir, unpublished theatre writings by Coward, photographs, a beautiful reminiscence by one of Coward's leading ladies, and a recorded conversation between Coward and Judy Garland. The whole of the book gives a tender, honest, delightful insight into Coward, the people he loved, the perils and pleasures of his work, and the places he most enjoyed. Lovers and students of theatre will find great rewards in these pages.

It is a generous book; Mr. Payn shares with the reader all of the real stuff of knowing Noel Coward so well and for so long. He does not share intimate details of their relationship, but does share his deep love of the man himself. In short, Coward himself was a man who treasured good taste and true sentiment -- and it is fitting that his life-partner should offer this book in his honor.

What A Life, Indeed!!!.......2004-06-17

Over the course of forty years, South-African-born actor Graham Payn shared the life, love, companionship, and generous wit of that "playboy of the West End world," Noel Coward. This book is a loving and often frank tribute to this great man, who made so many people laugh for so many years, and who, in life as well as on stage, was the very epitome of the word "style". Payn begins with his first audition for Noel and the play Words and Music in the thirties, takes us through the war years, to the decidedly unforgiving (to Noel) fifties, when the critics turned against him en masse, to the triumphant sixties and "Dad's Renaissance" to an adoring public, through Noel's death and the demise of Noel's personal assistant (and fellow biographer) Cole Lesley, up to the present (1993) and the unveiling of a special tribute stone for Coward in Westminster Abbey by no less a person than the Queen Mother. If this book ended after Graham's 250-page-or-so lovely memoir, it would still be worth five stars, but there is more. Much more. In the roughly hundred pages that follow, Payn provides us with the complete Coward writings on theatre, many of which first appeared in the Sunday Times (and which, for my money, prove conclusively that Noel Coward knew more about theatre than any other person who lived in the Twentieth Century). There are also interviews with actresses Judy Garland and Judith Campbell, brief but penetrating portraits on some of the many important figures in Coward's life (including Rex Harrison, the Lunts, and Sir Winston Churchill), and much more. My one caveat that goes with my otherwise-unqualified recommendation is this: please read The Noel Coward Diaries first, so that you get a clear understanding not only of how Noel saw himself, but how he viewed many of the key figures in this book. (Author Payn plays, not surprisingly, a significant part in the diaries.) With these two books by your bedside, you'll have the best and most delicious kind of reading entertainment for many nights to come, and you'll say of Graham Payn's life with Noel Coward: "What a life, indeed!!!"

the wittiest bio of the master.......2000-01-25

coward's longtime companion graham payn probably comes as close to coward as anyone ever will. he manages to artfully weave the details of his own life with a plethora of new anecdotes -- and old -- about sir noel. the added bonus is the appendices containing previously unpublished coward works, including a tenth play [!] written for "tonight at 8:30".

well worth your time...

Coward's lover,friend and literary executor's retrospective.......1999-06-13

I read and reviewed this book for my on-line theater magazine -- The new off-Broadway musical about Coward's friendship with Gertrude Lawrence draws much material from this book as well so I found myself referring back to it for my write-up of that show -- both show and book are particularly timely as the Coward centennial celebrations get into full swing.

A perceptive memoir of the man behind the public face.......1999-03-29

"An engrossing portrait of this world famous and immensely gifted man,chronicled so frankly by his closest friend...A most vivid account of his career after the Second World war" - JOHN GIELGUD"I greatly doubt if anything written about the Master will ever be as fascinating,as perceptive,as amusing or as touching as Graham Payn's loving portrait." - RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH"It's simply terrific !...So funny and so sensitive." - ELAINE STRITCH"Stories I never heard before bringing Noel vividly to life." - LAUREN BACALL"I greatly doubt if anything written about the Master will ever be as fascinating,as perceptive,as amusing or as touching as Graham Payn's loving portrait." - RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH"It's simply terrific !...So funny and so semsitive" - ELAINE STRITCH"Stories I never heard before bring Noel vividly to life." - LAUREN BACALL

Remembered Laughter: The Life of Noel Coward. Orig Pub in Great Britain Under Title: Life of Noel Coward

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Names Dropped With A Thud!
THE best read on Coward

Remembered Laughter: The Life of Noel Coward. Orig Pub in Great Britain Under Title: Life of Noel Coward
Cole Lesley
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 039449816X

Customer Reviews:

Names Dropped With A Thud!.......2006-11-09

Noel Coward, prolific playwright and songsmith, had one of the Twentieth Century's better documented lives-- hardly a day passed without his picture's popping up in the paper. He wrote some outstanding, long-lived plays, such as "Blithe Spirit," and "Private Lives:" he also wrote such well-known songs as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," and "Heigh-ho."He published his own two-volume autobiography. And, as if we needed more, along came a biography by Cole Lesley, Coward's longtime secretary-companion, as they used to say, and his heir.

The question is, how much more do we get from this fat book? If Lesley wrote with all the advantages of having been extremely close to his subject in life, he's also hobbled by all the disadvantages of such a situation. You could say he carries English reticence to an extreme. He also quotes Coward as having joked that any biography of his ought to be called "Name Dropping," in recognition of the troops of Names that marched through his life. And oh my, troops of Names do march through this book. Furthermore, unfortunately for us Americans, the Gertrude Lawrences, Kate Hepburns,Irene Mayer Selznicks and Marlene Dietrichs are few in proportion to all those now-obscure, at least to us, English society figures and theatrical stars of the Teens, Twenties and Thirties. Finally, it gets a little tiring trying to remember who mouthed which witticism to who, and where. Maybe wit should not be served cold; maybe we don't have as much time for it as we once did. Or maybe it's Lesley's annoying cutesy amateur writing style.

More irritating yet is Lesley's poor judgement as to what we might want to know. We get pages and pages of houseparty chat, but are told in single, bald sentences of Coward's periodic breakdowns. We are quoted scores of clever transatlantic telegrams to an American, Jack, clearly one of Coward's great loves. Next thing we know, Coward's attending Jack's wedding, to an actual Princess Natasha, at the Connecticut home of Jack's parents. No idea of Coward's feelings on the matter, though I suppose we can guess.

But we are told that he sailed across the seas on September 1 for this event; that he quoted Dorothy Parker's line about the wedding's representing "the twenty-first fine careless rapture," for bride and groom, and that Coward and the elegant Baron Nicolas de Gunzberg marked the occasion by writing naughty verses, in French, celebrating the erotic properties of Vaseline, to be sung to the tune of "La Petite Tonkinoise."

Well, if you're a Noel Coward fan, and admire his wit, there's lots of it to be had here, and we won't soon be getting any more vintage Noel Coward. If you haven't the patience for this kind of thing, this isn't going to be for you.

THE best read on Coward.......2002-12-13

from the title (marvelous!) on, this older (1976) book remains the best read on Noel Coward around. It's all here, consumately engaging, lovingly presented, with dignity, style, charm and all the other positive things that the incomparable Mr. Coward possessed. It's the sort of book one reads again and again and continues to capture the essence of Coward.

Still Life: a play in five scenes (from "Tonight at 8:30")

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Still Life: a play in five scenes (from "Tonight at 8:30")
Noel Coward
Manufacturer: Samuel French Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0573022550

A LAST ENCORE PICTURES FROM HIS LIFE AND TIMES

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A LAST ENCORE PICTURES FROM HIS LIFE AND TIMES
Noel Coward
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5HV0I

A LAST ENCORE WORDS BY NOEL COWARD Pictures from His Life and Times

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A LAST ENCORE WORDS BY NOEL COWARD Pictures from His Life and Times
JOHN, EDITOR HADFILED
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JZY746

A Last Encore, Words By Noel Coward, Pictures from His Life and Times Edited By John Hadfield

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A Last Encore, Words By Noel Coward, Pictures from His Life and Times Edited By John Hadfield
Noel; Hadfield, John (editor) Coward
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RWL9Q0

Last Encore: Words by Noel Coward and Pictures from His Life and Times

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Last Encore: Words by Noel Coward and Pictures from His Life and Times
Noel Coward; Editor John Hadfield
Manufacturer: LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKWEW8

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A LAST ENCORE: Words By Noel Coward. Pictures From His Life and Times

Manufacturer: little, Brown, and Comapny
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HZEQJO

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The Life of Noel Coward
Cole Lesley
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIVY1W

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The Life of Noel Coward
Cole LESLEY
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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