How To Build A Low-Cost House Or Barn

How To Build A Low-Cost House Or Barn BUILDINGS Livestock 30-1-30 Interested in building with straw? How about adobe, papercrete, fly ash or rice hulls? Just about every kind of building material imaginable has been used to build houses, and information on much of it can be found on the internet at Owen Geiger's website for the Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building. A consultant and author in the area of using renewable resources in housing, Geiger has developed a website with a search engine that is easy to access and is loaded with information. Hundreds of articles in dozens of categories make it easy to find informative articles as well as other websites on housing. A photo gallery and links to other galleries show houses built with recycled and renewable materials, such as the house seen in the accompanying picture. It's being built using straw bales, recycled wood and owner-milled logs salvaged from power line cuts. The foundation is owner-laid local stone, and all gravel and sand was dug, screened and washed on site. The research institute also offers workshops, certification and training programs. Much of Geiger's activities center around building with straw bales. He has authored several books in this area, has consulted on the subject with Habitat for Humanity, and is now partnering with the U. S. Military Academy at West Point on a sustainable building project. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Owen Geiger, Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building, Crestone, Colo. 81131 (strawhouses@yahoo. com; www.grisb.org/directory/index.htm).

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