What are you favorite resources (books, organizations, videos) for learning about natural buildings?

Hi I'm new here and this is my first post!

I'm not sure if there's an umbrella term for these types of homes. I'm thinking about passive heated houses, cob houses, etc. The drop down bar for choosing a forum had so many building options, I just selected natural building because that seemed all encompassing.

Even if I have to hire a team to help to build this home, I'd still like to know what features to include and things to look out for, what questions to ask in the design process, and everything needed to make it a successful and truly sustainable home.

So... What are you favorite resources (books, organizations, videos) for learning about all things related to building permaculture homes? (And other structures too would be great like greenhouses!)

Thanks!

Khari Harmony wrote:Hi I'm new here and this is my first post!

I'm not sure if there's an umbrella term for these types of homes. I'm thinking about passive heated houses, cob houses, etc. The drop down bar for choosing a forum had so many building options, I just selected natural building because that seemed all encompassing.

Even if I have to hire a team to help to build this home, I'd still like to know what features to include and things to look out for, what questions to ask in the design process, and everything needed to make it a successful and truly sustainable home.

So... What are you favourite resources (books, organizations, videos) for learning about all things related to building permaculture homes? (And other structures too would be great like greenhouses!)

Thanks!

Hey,

YouTube, anything under 30 minutes.

History documentaries, where people build in historic methods.

google images and Pinterest. (for Ideas)

Tedtalks,

Making friends with people from a diversity of backgrounds.
I find people who live in some of the worse poverty and conditions, not only are inspiring but the innovative ideas they come up with are brilliant!
(this weekend. I watch a youtuber look at a trash city in Egypt, I quickly started googling this place and writing down dot points of things to learn to check out.

Pen and paper, I always carry around with me journal if only kept in the Truck, any words I do not know about I write it down in the Learn column,

If I am sitting and waiting, I will force myself to come up with an invention or improvement to something,

My phone, If I see something interesting while I work as a land Surveyor, I will take a photo.

My father taught me, If you have the chance watch and take notes from tradesman,

I also recommend if you are young, to volunteer, as many men who have lifetimes of tradesman skills in retirement use the skills they learned to help out the community, And being a young man who is fit and willing to give some days towards these projects, You learn skills like metal work, electrical wiring, Masonry skills, Demolition, Painting from people with 30 years of experience, Metal recyclers, Plumbers, Carpenters. The longer the period of time your willing to put in the more you learn. Nothing is beneath you Do anything immediately and without complaint,

Survivalist and indigenous videos and books,

S.A.S survival handbook,

Physics, chemistry, engineering lessons,

I have to Give a shout out to this Amazing Youtuber called The Essential Craftsman,

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzr30osBdTmuFUS8IfXtXmg

Steve ramsay wood working for mere mortals,
Has some really Good videos on screws, Do watch,

Matt Estlea,

Amazing lessons on woodworking, well taught, Brilliant stuff,

I also just always keep my eyes open and seek to learn!

To me a natural building is a building that required the least amount of unhealthy processed material/fossil fuel/energy to build and maintain it.  It should sheds/offgas the least amount of toxins during its life(including repairs).  Making it smaller seems to reduce everything out the gate.

The average house seems to consist of :
A. Infill foam insulation
B. Natural lumber post+beam+truss+joist (mostly with abundant/renewable 2x4lumber on 16inch centers)
C. Skins of plastic siding, glue/binder plywood+drywall, asphalt/tar roof, paint.
D. Design selections leading to lots of heat loss and toxic stuff in the air.
What's really so bad about the above? How could we fix each of the issues that we identify in the above default setup? Also what if I built the above normal house out of 100% recycled material from the "dumpster" would it now qualify as a natural building, how about tires for earthship? What if we replace the foam insulation with strawbale/cellulose and drywall/siding/plywood with cob?

Lets explore some of the common solution of natural building with wood and earth:
Roof: wood/lumber+thatched roof,  earth/concrete+optional greenroof,
Walls: wood/timber log-cabin/strawbale,  earth/earthbag/stone/adobe/cob/brick/concrete,
Floor: wood/lumber+hardwood floor, earth/cob/tile/concrete,
Foundation/stemwall: earth/rubble trench/stone/gravelbag/concrete
Which one of the above combination looks do you like the most? (look and or material)
On one extreme I could probably go with a timber log cabin house with thatched roof. On the other hand what if I built the house entirely out of 8ft high by 40ft long and 6inch thick foam, then "stucco" the floor/foundation, roof and internal/external walls with 1.5inch thick ferrocement. Monolithic ferrocement is very strong and the house shell would only have 4 ingredient (sand, cement, steel, foam).

Lets look at some design selections:
1. MAKE IT SMALLER to reduce how much it takes to make and to maintain.
2. Bio-char Production/Purchase that will keep carbon out the air for million year to offset carbon footprint of house
3. Insulation at R-50 to reduce heat loss + double pane windows, maybe greenroof/earth-sheltered, summer shade
4. Radiant in-floor heating for thermal Battery, less dust and brunt air, and better humidity and phycological comfort
5. Heat Pump and humidity control for better phycological comfort esp in summer
6. ERV/HRV for more fresh air intake, and to re-use heat/cold, and to filter the air, vent humid/hot bathroom
7. On-site energy production via solar gain from windows, solar panels, biomass/firewood, etc
8. On-site energy storage via thermal battery floor, LiFePO4 battery + Inverter, biomass/firewood, etc
9. Single Wet Wall shared between bathroom+kitchen to reduce pipes and holes in the roof.
10. Outdoor Living Space with stovetop+oven+grill+sink+fridge and a table+chair and a sofa+firepit, maybe a living pool
11. Onsite Food Production&Preparation of low toxin/*-cide vegetable/herbs/mushroom/fruits maybe chicken/eggs
12. Waste Management use less, buy less, buy in bulk, recycle/reuse, aerated or vermicomposting septic system.
13. Furniture/Cupboard/Table/Sofa/Bed/Clothing made from solid wood, minimal glue, natural fibers, little/no foam.
How would you describe your climate
How big would you like your house to be? (24ft x 36ft, or 100ft x 50ft)
How much time/money/cheap help/etc do you have?
List all the rooms you would like your house to have? (3bedroom, living room, kitchen/dining, bathroom, laundry room)
What must have features would you like it to have? (carport with solar panel roof, 3000sqft workshoop to do your metalwork, greenroof, underground, coconut trees, cob with curvy wall, etc)

Welcome to the forums! You have gotten some really good responces.

You have come to one of the best resources for learning about natural building. Asking lots of questions will help you learn and the forum might be a good place to ask.

Have you decided what type of home you would like to live in? Or what you have been dreaming about?

Have you check out the Book Review Grid:

https://permies.com/w/book-reviews

Here are a few book reviews by forum members that offer some different techniques:

https://permies.com/wiki/156593/Woodland-House-Ben-Law
https://permies.com/wiki/8313/Hand-Sculpted-House-Ianto-Evans
https://permies.com/wiki/51262/Building-Impact-Roundhouse-ed-Tony
https://permies.com/wiki/87449/Mudgirls-Manifesto-Handbuilt-Homes-Handcrafted
https://permies.com/t/63561/Year-Solar-Greenhouse-Lindsey-Schiller

Also, another great place to learn about natural building is within the PEP Badge programs as you get to see lots of pictures of people doing natural building and get some great ideas:

https://permies.com/f/389/pep-natural-building
https://permies.com/f/391/pep-woodworking
https://permies.com/f/402/pep-dimensional-woodworking