Adobe: Build It Yourself

Adobe
Build It Yourself
By Paul Graham Jr. McHenry
158 pp. / 9.00 in x 12.00 in / 1985
Paper (978-0-8165-0948-5)

Related Interest
- Arid Lands Studies

This book explores the depths of adobe and enables the reader to build their own home intelligently and realistically. With an emphasis on adobe construction, McHenry discusses the planning of every

Unquestionably the best how-to-do-it book on all aspects of adobe construction, the updated version covers changes that reflect evolving environmental attitudes and recent shifts in building codes and energy requirements. Now better than ever.

—Books of the Southwest

Covers every imaginable problem involved in building with adobe.

—New Mexico Magazine

A very competent book about adobe construction written by an adobe builder. . . . Whether one is contemplating or adready planning to build in the Southwest this book is a must.

—El Palacio

This revised edition includes the modern with the ancient; energy efficiency and code-meeting along with the traditional techniques and aesthetic considerations.

—-Essential Whole Earth Catalog

Practical and informal, this book succeeds in its purpose: to inform, instruct and inspire confidence in the homebuilder—edging him delightfully into adobe territory.

—Journal of Arizona History

aspect of one's home from the financing to the foundation, the floors to the fireplaces. The prospective builder must be prepared for a long period of frustration, doubt, worry, and plain hard work, but the helpful ideas found on the pages of this book will encourage readers to build despite the challenges. McHenry describes this process as a tremendous puzzle, for which one must create and arrange all the pieces, and then live with the result.

McHenry begins with a brief history of adobe and then moves on to the planning of the home, emphasizing the influence of individual ideas. The intention of this book is to help bridge the gap between architects, builders, craftsmen, and the unskilled but determined individual who wants to build their own home. This book outlines the technical aspects of adobe construction with several pictures and figures to simplify production.

The creation of a home, from the earliest design concepts to successful completion, is one of the most rewarding experiences one can ever have. McHenry's Adobe offers a realistic and straightforward guide to "doing it yourself." His advice regarding adobe is useful for professionals and amateurs alike.

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