Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings: Design and Construction

After reading this book I really want to build one of these houses!

Somewhat helpful on the construction process itself, describes choosing and creating ideal earth mixes better than anything else.

lots of detailed information about adobes. The book is like a course in college.

1. Don't buy two books by the author. They are the same thing maybe said a different way.2. After reading a great amount of the latest available research on adobe and rammed earth my take away message was that it isn't worth the bother. A. Earth is not an insulator. A 12 inch thick wall puts a 12 hour phase delay on thermal transfer. A three foot wall is more phase delay. B. Any time the thermal cycles are not optimal then you need a real insulator. Think of a week of really hot or cold weather. Since a real thermal insulator is required anyway why bother with a building material that the inspectors don't like and has a hard time meeting code.

Great

I ordered it formy father. He loves it.

Was very informative and thorough on the subject. Not much info on roofs or second story floors, though.

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.

This book deals in detail with various design and engineering aspects of rammed earth. Lot of adobe information may be a distraction for someone interested only in rammed earth. Overall it is a must have book in the library of anybody liking to work with rammed earth.