Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Builder’s Guide) (Paperback)
August 21, 2009 by admin
Filed under Green Building Products
Review
“David Johnston and Scott Gibson offer guidance on environmentally sensitive home building in Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Taunton Press, paperback). The book is packed with information, tips, illustrations and case studies that offer wisdom earned from experience.” — Detroit Free Press (Michigan)”David Johnston and Scott Gibson offer guidance on environmentally sensitive home building in Green from the Ground Up: Su (more…)
Too many contractors operate on a “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it” and “I have been successfully doing things (the old way) for 25 years.” It is difficult to get the average contractor to think and act green. Johnston & Gibson lay out and walk through the key ideas . . . in plain English with lots of excellent photographs. Every architect, county planning department, planning inspectors and utility district should have this close at hand. This provides the average person what realtors and homes for sale newspaper features don’t know and don’t get.
Because there is so much hyperbole, many do not know what to accept, reject, believe or move forward with. How do you speak intelligently with an architect for schools, homes, churches and business and clearly communicate what makes up a functional, sustainable, energy conserving and site appropriate structure?
Planning and Design is a whole system, not a one shot effort. This includes siting, aspect, elevation, lighting, landscaping, plumbing, materials, construction techniques, heating and cooling, interior and exterior finishes, decking, roofs and attics and basements. “Form follows function,” taught in design schools, but too often ignored, permeates every thought. Collective wisdom reaches back to the Anasazi in the Southwest. This explains why you insulate under a foundation, how fly ash makes concrete stronger and takes care of an otherwise waste product requiring less Portland cement for walls and floors. Advanced framing techniques or use of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), alternatives to wood steel studs reduce waste and cost and increases thermal efficiency. Tubular sunpipes are shown illuminating interior space (a much superior alternative to leaky skylights).
Whether you are thinking of new construction or a retrofit, this is a key guide. As we enter “Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (Heinberg, 2007),” this is a guide to quality, high expectations and cost effectiveness with emphasis on sustainability and durability. When I look at a building, these are the critical thinking thoughts and questions in my head. This should be close at hand in every home construction and hardware supply store. Superbly written, well laid out, easy to find information.
5.0 out of 5 stars
How-to-book as it should be
I’m working as a green building consultant for a major remodel/upgrade on a 250 yr old house in NH. This book has brought a beautifully wide perspective to a very concrete…
This book does a good job at setting up a working definition of “green building” as a decision making process that occurs at each point in the design of a building, with an emphasis on residential construction. The book has a lot of pictures and pop-up bubble sidebars that make each page seem more like a design school presentation poster (that’s a good thing). It presents a lot of basic information and principles about each part of a building, from foundations, insulation, windows, framing, flashing, natural building, etc. and how they come together as a “green building system.”
If you are an architect or drafter who is looking for a book with technical details and explanations about specific construction methods or materials notes do not buy this book. If you would like to learn about green building science principles as to how they relate with each division in a building then buy this book.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Architects Approve!
Well done reference book for not only professionals but home owners as well. Our architectural/ engineering office was very impressed with the well researched information.
Excellent book for novice and professionals! I have attended three of the largest green building training programs(nationwide) and this book brings all of that training into a single, easy to understand source. As last years President of the Homebuilders Association of SW Colorado and member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Association of Homebuilders…I am recommending this book to all of my associates!!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, Comprehensive Guide for the rest of us
This book breaks down the different components going into residential building construction. It gives ideas and suggestions while being cautious not to sound to…
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very helpful
A little bit of an alarmist attitude in a few places, but overall, it provided useful details and material information, which was what I was looking for.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Concise, easy to read source of info
This is great for someone who has a general idea about how building a house works and wants more detail, especially when it comes to being “green”
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Comprehensive
This book is a practical guide for builders and home owners who are interested in green house construcion.
I found it very clear and easy to read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Green Reference Book Better Than Most
Green From The Ground Up is one of several green home-building reference books available that present categorically organized information.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Green from the Ground Up
As an owner/builder for a new home construction I have been researching and attending seminars for the past year + to learn about “green building”.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Color photos and charts pack a title filled with specifics, not theory
GREEN FROM THE GROUND UP: SUSTAINABLE, HEALTHY, AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT HOME CONSTRUCTION will find its place in any builder or homeowner library.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Only in America can Big = Green
Can an SUV be green? If you think so, if you think size and level of consumption are extraneous to the idea of sustainability, then this book is for you.