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.

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.

“All of the essential knowledge for completing a successful rammed earth project. Written by a geo-technical engineer with experience ramming earth.” —Kelly Hart, author, Essential Earthbag Construction Everything you need to know to build with rammed earth in warm and cold climates. Rammed earth—sand, gravel, and clay or lime/cement binder packed into forms—is a low-energy, high-performance building method, yielding beautiful, sustainable results. It’s thermally stable and can be insulated, can actively modulate humidity, provides a healthy indoor environment, and allows site materials to be used for major structural and building envelope elements. Essential Rammed Earth Construction covers design, building science, tools, and step-by-step building methods for any climate, with a special emphasis on building in cold climates of the northern US, Canada, and northern Europe. Coverage includes: Overview of earthen building Appropriate use of rammed earth walls Stabilized versus raw rammed earth Design considerations, including structural, insulation, and building envelope details Special considerations for cold and freeze-thaw climates Construction drawings, with step-by-step building instructions Tools and labor covering industrial methods, low-tech techniques, formwork options, mix design, budgets, and schedules Codes, inspections, and permits. This guide is an essential resource for experienced builders, DIY home owners, designers, engineers, and architects. “A much-needed and science-based update to a North American audience of designers, engineers and builders.” —Bruce King. P.E., author, The New Carbon Architecture “ A great book for anyone who wants to deepen their technical knowledge of rammed earth walls systems. It’s very helpful to have a book on rammed earth that is more focused on engineered rammed earth walls for cold climates.” —Clifton Schooley, Clifton Schooley & Associates, Rammed Earth Designers and Builders

In The Power of Existing Buildings, academic sustainability expert Robert Sroufe, and construction and building experts Craig Stevenson and Beth Eckenrode, explain how to realize the potential of existing buildings and make them perform like new. This step-by-step guide will help readers to: understand where to start a project; develop financial models and realize costs savings; assemble an expert team; and align goals with numerous sustainability programs. The Power of Existing Buildings will challenge you to rethink spaces where people work and play, while determining how existing buildings can save the world. The insights and practical experience of Sroufe, Stevenson, and Eckenrode, along with the project case study examples, provide new insights on investing in existing buildings for building owners, engineers, occupants, architects, and real estate and construction professionals.

The definitive guide to understanding and managing the effects of water on buildings Water in Buildings: An Architect's Guide to Moisture and Mold is a detailed and highly useful reference to help architects and other design professionals create dry, healthy environments, without jeopardizing a project with poor liability management. Much more than a book of "quick fixes," this practical guide illuminates an essential understanding of the "whys" of moisture problems, including valuable information on how water behaves and how its performance can be anticipated and managed in building design. With a special emphasis on water's role in creating mold, an issue of growing concern and liability, Water in Buildings offers the most up-to-date information on rainwater management, below-grade water management, foundations, wall and roof construction, mechanical systems, moisture, and much more! Providing authoritative guidance to designers and builders, this definitive guide features: * Clear explanations of how water interacts with building materials and equipment * An in-depth exploration of the paths of leaks * Numerous case studies on such well-known structures as Mount Vernon, Independence Hall, and Wingspan (Frank Lloyd Wright) * Numerous descriptive drawings and photographs

Unrivalled in its coverage and unique in its hands-on approach, this guide to the design and construction of scientific apparatus is essential reading for every scientist and student of engineering, and physical, chemical, and biological sciences. Covering the physical principles governing the operation of the mechanical, optical and electronic parts of an instrument, new sections on detectors, low-temperature measurements, high-pressure apparatus, and updated engineering specifications, as well as 400 figures and tables, have been added to this edition. Data on the properties of materials and components used by manufacturers are included. Mechanical, optical, and electronic construction techniques carried out in the lab, as well as those let out to specialized shops, are also described. Step-by-step instruction supported by many detailed figures, is given for laboratory skills such as soldering electrical components, glassblowing, brazing, and polishing.

To understand why we humans are as we are, it is necessary to look at the essential building blocks that comprise our nature. The foundations of this structure are our evolutionary origins as primates and our social roots. Upon these rest features such as our emotions, language and aesthetic preferences, with our self-perceptions, self-deceptions and thirst for knowledge right at the top. The unifying force holding these blocks together is evolutionary theory. Evolution provides a deeper understanding of human nature and, in particular, of the common roots of these different perspectives. To build a reliable and coherent model of man, leading authors from fields as diverse as primatology, anthropology, neurobiology and philosophy have joined forces to present essays each describing their own expert perspective. Together they provide a convincing and complete picture of our own human nature.