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Building Dirt Cheap Houses for the New Millennium
Books on low cost earth building methods popular
For a printable version of this release, please click here.
March 1999 - People are searching for a way out of mortgage entrapment to still have the "American Dream" -– a home of their own. In addition, the expensive, chemically treated building materials, and massive quantities of cement used for standard stick frame houses have no appeal to today's eco-conscious builders. So, by the hundreds, and thousands a groundswell is building. Restrictive codes are being rewritten, or challenged everywhere, and many build "off the grid" or in counties and rural areas where minimum, or no permits are needed. Living "sustainably" is key to this movement, and homesteading a common goal for many. A tiny publishing company, operating from a 100 year old dairy farm house on Humboldt Bay in Northern California is bringing books and information to green builders everywhere with the Dirt Cheap Builder's Catalog. Writer, and natural building experimenter, Charmaine R. Taylor has gathered more than 300 published resources for people who want to build eco-friendly, alternative homes. From floors of "puddled clay" to roofs of thatch, and simple rainwater catchment systems, there are books and bulletins on every historical, natural, and low cost method. These resources can be found at http://www.northcoast.com/~tms Information on construction techniques and methods is hungrily shared and searched for, both in print and on the internet by owner-builders. The old ways of building are new again. Ancient Scottish methods of mixing lime and sand to make natural plasters is gaining popularity, workshops on building with cob–a mix of earth, sand and straw used in Wales 500 years ago–are held all over the US, as are straw bale "wall raisings" where people can join in to help, and learn for free. But, where to find out about these natural building workshops? Is there a book on earthen floors, on historical lime plasters? Yes, and many leaders in the alternative building movement write books and booklets, publish videos, teach classes, and speak at gatherings called colloquiums. They're busy doing what love, and are sometimes hard to reach when an eager builder wants a book right away. Thus was born The Dirt Cheap Builder's Catalog and website, created by Taylor Publishing. Each natural building method has its own webpage, with books and print resources listed. The catalog is segmented the same way, with tips and advice from two leaders in sustainable living -- Carla Emery, and Barbara Kerr. Emery is the popular author of the homesteading bible " The Encyclopedia of Country Living", with over 400,000 copies in print, and Kerr is a solar cooking expert, and inventor of the solar wall oven and the low cost cardboard solar box cooker used by thousands of women in Third World countries. An email version of the catalog is offered for free on request from tms@northcoast.com; a paper catalog is mailed for $2.00; and workshop presenters or teaching groups can receive the catalog in bulk at reduced cost. Thousands of catalogs have been distributed at natural building colloquiums, Earth Day events in the US and Canada, workshops, Y2K meetings, through publications, and to interested individuals in the past 12 months. Taylor also writes articles, and book reviews on alternative building for print and electronic media. An ideal starting point for many new to the idea of alternative building methods is a guidebook produced by Taylor. The Dirt Cheap Houses Guidebook at $13.00, is packed in a 3-ring binder and is a complete workbook resource describing every low cost method from adobe and carpet domes to Earthships, papercrete and yurts; plus it lists every group, workshop, person contact, publication and web address involved in alternative building. Other self published titles such as Ancient Earth Dwellings, All About Lime, Low Cost Construction-Building with Paper and More, and Safe Rainwater Collection are offered by Taylor. In addition, hard-to-find books, imported titles, and unique titles from individual authors are inventoried. Books on ceramic houses, cordwood construction, log home building and underground shelters are offered along with best selling titles on straw bale, adobe, cob and rammed earth building. Journalists and others interested in promoting sustainable building may receive a paper catalog for free by calling Taylor Publishing at 1-888-441-1632 9-6 PST, or by email: tms@northcoast.com, with the request "Journalist copy" in the subject, and a correct mailing address and phone number provided.
Charmaine R. Taylor
Taylor Publishing & Elk River Press
1-888-441-1632
tms@northcoast.com
http://www.northcoast.com/~tms/
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