Throughout this site you'll find useful infomation about strawbale and natural building.
If you're thinking of building, look at Building with Strawbales on this site for technical information.
If you want to learn more skills or get an introduction then see our list of courses and training.
There are also a number of books, Journals, Directories and DVD's that you can purchase.
Books highly recommended reading for anyone thinking about building with straw
NEW & REVISED BOOK by Barbara Jones
BUILDING WTIH STRAW BALES
The New edition, written by Barbara Jones, is completely revised to bring all techniques up to date, with 3 extra chapters on cement free foundations, moisture in straw and affordability! This is 'THE' straw bale building book for everyone from beginners through to industry professionals.
Barbara Jones FRSA is the Founder and Director of amazonails, and was recently named Woman of Outstanding Achievement 2009 by the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC) for Discovery, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
It's great as a gift, or for construction professionals wanting to update their knowledge of this emerging mainstream building technique.
This facility is only available for those wishing to purchase the book from the UK or Ireland. If you wish to purchase this book from outside the UK or Ireland then different P&P rates apply, please get in touch directly by emailing info@amazonails.org.uk
price £14.95 (exc p&p) for UK & Ireland customers
BUILDINGS OF EARTH AND STRAW
Structural Design for Rammed Earth and Straw-Bale Architecture by Bruce King. A technical book but written in an entirely accessible and entertaining way, for uninitiated builders and ‘professionals’ alike, exploring the methods of building safe and durable straw and earth houses.
by grass-roots champion and pioneer Matts Myrhman and S.O. Macdonald.
This is a great ‘hands on’ manual for self-building with straw. 143 pages and fully illustrated. Inspiring, practical and a must.
£19.95 plus £2.50 p&p
LIME IN BUILDING
A PRACTICAL GUIDE by Jane Schofield. If you want to use lime to repair and redecorate an old building but are unsure where to start or what to do, then this booklet is for you, whether you are a homeowner, builder or even an interested professional.
£5.00 plus 50 pence p&p
THE STRAW BALE HOUSE
by Athena Swentzell Steen, Bill Steen & David Bainbridge. This is an extremely popular and informative book based on the American experience, with beautiful, full colour photographs. Inspiring and comprehensive. Click to buy the book directly from Green Books.
THE BEAUTY OF STRAW BALE HOMES
by Athena and Bill Steen. A wonderfully inspiring book showing just what it says; a range of full colour photographs with brief descriptions of strawbale homes in the USA and Canada. A beautiful 'coffee table' book.
from Earth Garden Books. A collection of Australian self-build experiences.
£14.95 plus £1.25 p&p
BUILDING WITH COB
by Weismann, Adam & Katy Bryce
Building with Cob shows how to apply cob-building techniques in a wide variety of situations. It covers everything from design, planning and siting, to roofs, insulation and floors. Lavishly illustrated with inspirational colour photographs, it is the first book of its kind in the UK.
The Rammed Earth House is a beautifully illustrated example of how the most dramatic innovations in home design and construction frequently have their origins in the distant past.
By rediscovering the most ancient of all building materials—earth—forward-thinking homebuilders can now create structures that set new standards for beauty, durability, and efficient use of natural resources
MORE SUGGESTED READING available directly from Amazon.co.uk
JOURNALS
BALING OUT - the essential strawbale newsletter and
THE LAST STRAW - the international strawbale and natural building journal!
For the international perspectives, local networking, and current thinking and practice in strawbale building.
Subscribe to Baling Out and also receive The Last Straw international journal 4 times per year.
Subscription Rates: Standard £25, Supporting £35, Student £15, for 4 issues (Euros 40/56/25)
DIRECTORIES
THE GREEN DIRECTORY 2003 / 2005
The UK's most comprehensive and easy to use guide to green living covering virtually every category you can think of including builders and building materials. A great resource!
Published bi-annually by ADC Environment
£12.50
DVD & VIDEO
A DVD about strawbale building.
The 43-minute film shows the recent development of this building method, mainly in Germany.
Different houses are followed through their building process with explanations, we hear about the history of strawbale building, and then there is an exciting fire test where we see that strawbale walls don't burn!
The DVD features interviews with owners, builders, architects and experts and includes the discussion of a lot of important questions.
The DVD contains 3 language versions of this documentary: English, German and French (all voice-over).
£20.00 plus p&p
Built of Straw
We are now selling a DVD called ‘Built of Straw’.
an Outwood Community video film following the building project of an allotment building just outside Wakefield.
Available from amazonails by cheque for £12 inc. p & p.
The New edition, written by Barbara Jones, is completely revised to bring all techniques up to date, with 3 extra chapters on cement free foundations, moisture in straw and affordability! This is 'THE' straw bale building book for everyone from beginners through to industry professionals.
