The Whole House Book: Ecological Building Design & Materials

by Borer, Pat; Harris, Cindy; Preston, Graham

• ISBN13: 9781898049210
• ISBN10: 1898049211
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: Consortium Book Sales & Dist

Summary

Whether you're renovating an existing building, adding an extension to your house, or designing your dream home from scratch, The Whole House Book sets out the ecological options open to you. From foundations to paint finishes, radical solutions to compromises you can be comfortable with, Pat Borer and Cindy Harris detail everything you need to know to design and construct an ecologically sound, environmentally friendly home, whether you intend to do-it-yourself or contract an architect or builder to work on your behalf. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Pat Borer has his own pioneering architectural practice, which specialises in low-impact constructions, and he has designed many of the buildings at Europe's foremost eco-display site, the Centre for Alternative Technology, on which Cindy Harris has worked as a builder. Cindy also teaches building and specialises in the environmental impact of building materials.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction
Putting it into perspective	p. 2
Design choices	p. 2
Users And Builders
Sustainable housing	p. 4
The potential of self-build	p. 6
The Site
Climate	p. 9
Location	p. 11
Community involvement	p. 14
The sustainable site	p. 16
Space In The Home
Functional layout	p. 22
A pattern language	p. 22
Designing with Feng Shui	p. 29
The Healthy House
Pointers toward a healthy house	p. 30
Thermal comfort	p. 31
Daylighting	p. 35
Sound	p. 40
Air quality	p. 42
Electromagnetic fields	p. 45
Building Elements
Principles	p. 47
Foundations	p. 48
Floors	p. 51
Walls	p. 54
Roofs	p. 62
Windows and external doors	p. 67
Paint finishes	p. 68
Rainwater goods	p. 68
Drainage	p. 69
Plumbing	p. 70
Electrical installations	p. 70
Site and landscaping	p. 71
Resources And Materials
Environmental impacts	p. 72
Minimising new resources	p. 80
Renewable resources	p. 83
Oils and resins	p. 105
Earth materials	p. 106
Metals	p. 119
Fossil organic materials	p. 124
Energy Conservation
Global reasons to conserve	p. 132
Personal reasons to conserve	p. 133
Heat loss and heat gain	p. 133
Ventilation and infiltration	p. 140
Porches, conservatories, and lobbies	p. 145
Insulation	p. 150
Breathing construction and condensation	p. 153
Roofs	p. 156
Walls	p. 160
Floors	p. 164
Doors and windows	p. 167
Energy Efficiency
Casual heat gains	p. 170
Heating systems	p. 171
Heating fuels	p. 177
Hot water	p. 181
Electricity	p. 186
Heat From The Sun
The resource	p. 189
Solar space heating	p. 193
Passive and active solar heating	p. 200
Windows and walls	p. 202
Conservatories	p. 212
Roofs	p. 222
Active solar space heating	p. 225
Domestic solar water heating	p. 231
Water Conservation And Quality
Water conservation	p. 236
Water quality	p. 238
Collecting rainwater	p. 239
Your own well	p. 239
Sewage treatment	p. 240
Finance, Legislation And Assessment
Finance	p. 242
Legislation	p. 243
Environmental assessment	p. 246
Case Studies
Houses from sustainable materials	p. 249
Low-energy building	p. 257
Electric roofs	p. 267
Self-build schemes	p. 268
Studio houses	p. 274
Eco extensions	p. 276
Ideological community building	p. 279
Ecological building in North America	p. 281
Ecological building in France	p. 286
Bibliography
Afterword	p. 291
Abbreviations and measurements	p. 292
Notes	p. 295
Works cited	p. 299
Useful organisations	p. 301
Index	p. 304
About the authors	p. 311
New Futures	p. 312
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.