This article makes all the usual points in favor of steel for house framing that one might find today in steel framing industry’s literature.
Steel House Frame Gives Skyscraper Strength (original article)
This article makes all the usual points in favor of steel for house framing that one might find today in steel framing industry’s literature.
Steel House Frame Gives Skyscraper Strength (original article)
This short article describes a house built mostly of bagasse lumber and sheathing.
“Sugar-Cane “Lumber” Resists Heat And Cold” (original article)
Bagasse (Wikipedia)
This article describes an interesting custom in home building in the Village of Giethoorn in Nothern Holland. Large slices of land are first cut and then carefully guided where it will used to build a house. Giethoorn has become a tourist attraction and is often referred to “Venice of the Netherlands”.
Floating Land For Home Sites In Holland (original article)
Village of Giethoorn (Wikipedia)
Popular Mechanics used to sell a one-sheet blueprint for houses they’ve featured for $1. This attractive bungalow may offer the basis for your own new home. Small houses are inherently more energy-efficient than large ones. The decades long trend of ever larger American homes is unsustainable.
A Better Investment Than Wall Street Can Offer
Some of us could go even smaller – see Tumbleweed Tiny House Company .
This short news item describes how Ernest M. Belanger and wife built a lovely stone home over six years. They’ve gathered thousands of stones from nearby fields. Belanger worked nights as a government mail clerk and worked during available daylight hours on the hose.
This kind of stone walls were pioneered by Ernest Flagg, a successful New York architect. Later, others like Ralph Borsodi and Helen and Scott Nearing modified this method and built very nice stone homes.
This short article describing adobe construction in Southern California proves that alternative construction methods is nothing new.
Build Your House Out of You Own Back Yard