House of Earth: A complete handbook for earthen construction

Great book!

This is a great book for anyone interested in getting started with Natural Building. Conrad guides you through all the required steps from foundation on up in a very succinct yet comprehensive way. I also had the opportunity to attend one of his workshops that basically followed everything in the book and helped me greatly in getting hands on experience. I like his writing and teaching style as he gets straight to the essentials and always has great tips for achieving the best results in a simple way - perhaps due to his many years of acquiring knowledge and expertise. This book could be a good guide to help you get started with a small project (like a cob oven in your backyard) and then help guide you to something bigger once you had some hands on experience. Lastly, there are also techniques mentioned that can help turn your conventional home into a natural home - depending on how much effort one is willing to put into it - from adding light straw-clay in walls, to applying natural plaster and even natural paint to top it off.

I've tracked down all kinds of resources concerning natural building. There is a lot of information out there. This book does an excellent job of summarizing all of the main techniques. It has become my go to natural building book. Conrad does a great job of explaining eloquently with the perfect amount of detail. Whenever I want to brush up on a certain area of natural building before starting a new project I find this book to be a key resource that's easy to navigate. I consider it the most practical natural building book in my collection.

This was a fascinating book covering a number of different building materials and techniques. I live on the Oregon coast, which gets more rain than most environments, so the only thing I would like to learn more about is specific information for such a wet place. Enjoyed the book thoroughly and am looking forward to experimenting with an outdoor oven initially.

While very clear and concise, I found the lack of real pictures or drawings showing how to utilize the skills and methods the author is trying to impart to the reader reduces the effectiveness of someone wanting to build earthen structures.The few sketch type drawings were very basic with little to no actual value.Just my opinion of course, but if you are looking for good information and a little history, this book will do. If you want practical application, this isn't.

If you have some experience building houses, this is an excellent book. You will find yourself floundering however if you do not know how to set forms or layout anything.

This book is pretty thorough and very helpful getting some perspective on the efficacy of cob building. I like the naturalness of the medium and it is like sculpting an artwork to live in. I visualize building a dwelling out of cob and adobe bricks with a reciprocal (spiral appearing) roof.

My book arrived promptly, I immediately started reading it and recommend anyone interested in build a cob structure to purchase this book. Soft cover and the print is easy to read. Thank you.

Libro bastante completo sobre construcción con materiales naturales.

The information in this book is practical and to the point, so no time was wasted reading unneeded stuff.It made me feel confident that i can actually build an earthen house with just a little bit of hands on training.Invaluable knowledge inside and very empowering.In my opinion it's the perfect book to start with.Highly recommended.

A non-commercial book that provides a broad range of information in a clear and sensible way

Thank you