Building with Awareness

Constructing a straw bale solar home requires the merging of solar design with alternative building techniques. Books are useful for accessing information on these topics quickly and easily, while videos are a great way to show actual building methods and techniques firsthand. The Building with Awareness DVD/guidebook combination brings you the best of both worlds. The award-winning DVD is inspiring and informative, with over five hours of material on every aspect of building a green home. The handy reference guidebook complements the DVD, with color photographs, diagrams, suggestions, and step-by-step methods, all condensed into a nuts-and-bolts format. Used together, these two valuable resources provide a visually dynamic and easy-to--understand library of information. • Take a front-row seat on the work site, learning from the experts as they notch and stack the straw bales and mix the mud. • Learn about foundations, post-and-beam wall framing, roof construction and insulation, interior thermal mass walls for improved efficiency, rain-water cisterns, electrical wiring, and photovoltaic systems. • Learn earth-plastering techniques that create beautiful wall finishes. • Understand how window placement and other structural elements can help to heat and cool your home and lower your energy bills. • See how the structure works as a whole and how both energy efficiency and superb aesthetics can come from the same materials.