Shopping Cart

We want to direct you to the right website. Please tell us where you live.

(This is a one-time message unless you reset your location.)

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ESSENTIALS SERIESWritten by the world’s leading sustainable builders, designers, and engineers, these succinct, user-friendly handbooks are indispensable tools for any project where accurate and reliable information are key to success.

Click HERE to be taken to a sign-up form to receive special offers including sneak peeks, excerpts, and series discounts.
Buy 3 or more of these books and receive a 35% discount. Just type in ESSENTIALSBUNDLE in the discount code at checkout.

Sustainable Building Essential Series Introduction Video

Sustainable Building Essentials Series Introduction Video
New Society Publishers editor, Rob West, explains why he felt the need for a building series on natural and green building techniques with a focus on sustainable materials, methods and code compliance.

View on YouTube



Essential Cob Construction

Essential Cob Construction presents both hands-on and rigorous technical information on how to build code compliant, low-embodied carbon, and fire- and earthquake-resistant buildings from cob – a mix of clay, sand and straw. The definitive cob guide for engineers, architects, designers, contractors, and owner-builders.

Essential Cob Construction

Paperback $59.99
ebook available


Essential Green Roof Construction

Essential Green Roof Construction is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to building simple green roofs for houses and small buildings. Packed with detailed photos, illustrations, case studies, and code compliance advice, it offers clear step-by-step instructions necessary to create your own living roof.

Essential Green Roof Construction

Paperback $44.99
ebook and audiobook available


Essential Rammed Earth Construction

Essential Rammed Earth Construction covers design, building science, tools, and step-by-step building methods for building with rammed earth - and, gravel, and clay or lime/cement binder packed into forms - in any climate with an emphasis on cold climates.

Essential Rammed Earth Construction

Paperback $59.99
ebook available


Essential Rainwater Harvesting

Essential Rainwater Harvesting covers complete home-scale rainwater harvesting system design including goal setting, system planning, site assessment, calculations, and material selection and sizing for all climates.

Essential Rainwater Harvesting

Paperback $44.99
ebook and audiobook available


Essential Composting Toilets

Essential Composting Toilets is a streamlined, illustrated manual that takes a practical approach to system selection criteria, design, installation, and operation, while meeting universal health and safety objectives.

Essential Composting Toilets

Paperback $44.99
ebook available


Essential Natural Plasters

Essential Natural Plasters is the most comprehensive guide to making and using natural plasters for all types of buildings. It covers clay, lime, and gypsum plasters; waterproof tadelakt plaster; fibers and additives; interior and exterior use; substrate preparation; mixing, testing, and tinting; and practical application tips.

Essential Natural Plasters

Paperback $44.99
ebook available


Essential Earthbag Construction

Essential Earthbag Construction is an illustrated guide to building with earth-filled polypropylene bags, a low-impact, highly durable method of construction. It includes material specifications, installation, design guidance, foundations, wall plastering, basic utilities, seismic reinforcement, maintenance, and the variety of uses.

Essential Earthbag Construction

Paperback $44.99
ebook available


Essential Cordwood Building

‣ Cordwood building – log-ends set in insulated mortar – is an economical, low-impact building method. Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step guide for design, material specification, construction, detailing, maintenance, and code compliance of cordwood. For both the DIYer and professional builder.

Essential Cordwood Building

Paperback $44.99
ebook available


Essential Light Straw Clay Construction

‣ Light straw clay is a code compliant high-performance, low-impact building material with insulation and moisture handling qualities. This illustrated guide to light straw clay for stud, timber, pole and other framing styles covers material specifications, best use, mixing, installation, retrofits, code compliance, finishing and maintenance.

Essential Light Straw Clay Construction

Paperback $44.99
ebook available


Essential Sustainable Home Design

Essential Sustainable Home Design walks homebuilders through designing an environmentally friendly home. Covering what makes a building green, a criteria matrix to guide design, material, and systems decisions, working with code officials, and choosing sustainable materials to keep the project goals on track from start to finish.

Essential Sustainable Home Design

Paperback $49.99
ebook available


Essential Building Science

‣ Poor heat and moisture detailing are enemies of durability, comfort and efficiency in house design. Essential Building Science provides a visual, accessible introduction to the fundamentals of building physics and the skills to develop thermal and moisture strategies for creating better new buildings and improving old ones.

Essential Building Science

Paperback $44.99
ebook available


Essential Prefab Straw Bale Construction

Essential PrefabStraw Bale Construction is an illustrated guide to pre-manufactured bale walls. This manual covers the properties, applications, specifications, code-compliance and climate data, with step-by-step instructions and budgeting information for this development in sustainable building.

Essential Prefab Straw Bale Construction

Paperback $44.99
ebook available


Essential Hempcrete Construction

Essential Hempcrete Construction is an illustrated guide to this affordable, renewable method, from procurement to finish. This indispensable manual covers material properties, applications, specifications, code-compliance and climate data, rounded out by step-by-step instructions and budgeting information.

Essential Hempcrete Construction

Paperback $44.99
ebook available