Living Homes: Thomas J. Elpel's Field Guide to Integrated Design and Construction

The house of your Dreams does not have to be expensive. The key is all in the planning. How much a house costs, how it looks, how comfortable it is, how energy-efficient it is—all these things occur on paper before you pick up even one tool. A little extra time in the planning process can save you tens of thousands of dollars in construction and maintenance. That is time well spent!

Living Homes takes you through the planning process to design an energy and resource efficient home that won’t break the bank. Then, from the footings on up to the roof, author Thomas J. Elpel guides you through the nuts and bolts of construction for slipform stone masonry, tilt-up stone walls, log home construction, building with strawbales, making your own “terra tile” floors, windows & doors, solar water systems, masonry heaters, framing, plumbing, greywater, septic systems, swamp filters, painting and more!

Thomas J. Elpel had the rare opportunity as a child to spend hundreds of hours with his grandmother exploring the hills and meadows of southwest Montana. She taught him about wild edible and medicinal plants and wilderness survival skills, igniting a passion for nature that has inspired him ever since. Tom’s desire to live close to nature logically developed into an equal passion for resource-efficient construction with natural materials and sustainable paths to economic prosperity.