Bøger af Rob Roy

The only how-to manual on the subject directed to mainstream owner-builders

I have many passions in my life and have written eighteen published books about them, including the fields of alternative building, sauna, mortgage freedom, world travel and megalithic stone raising. My autobiography links these passions into a personal history: beginning with childhood, finishing in the present day ... and speculating on the future!Henry David Thoreau asks every writer for "a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land." I've tried to follow Henry's advice in the composition of this memoir. The quote above, from the first chapter of Walden, also provided the key words for the title and that same chapter, called Economy, helped me to remain mortgage free all of my life. So thank you, my friend.Some of the stories in Account From a Distant Land are comical, some serious, and one or two nearly tragic. But all have contributed to making me what I am and what I am yet to be. An old friend from my Scotland days once told me "Everybody's different." These two words remain the closest thing I've found to what might be universal truth. We are all products of the people we've met, the places we've been, the books we've read, and ideas we've encountered from other sources; so truth, itself, is tenuous. It is both personal and transient. One of the important lessons I've learned along life's journey is "how to take advantage of yourself." We are all something: doctor, tennis player, quilter, writer, artist, whatever. We have friends all over the world we haven't met yet. Networking is easy today. Back in the sixties, I was a competitive water skier. This passion led me to great journeys all around the planet. Another wisdom I can share - a concept based on rudimentary probability theory - is how to "cultivate coincidences" to promote good situations. And it really works. Read about it.

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.

All those of us without traditional skills need to know to build with timber framing Many natural building methods rely upon the use of post and beam frame structures that are then in-filled with straw, cob, cordwood, or more conventional wall materials. But traditional timber framing employs the use of finely crafted jointing and wooden pegs, requiring a high degree of craftsmanship and training, as well as much time and expense. However, there is another way... Timber Framing for the Rest of Us describes the timber framing methods used by most contractors, farmers, and owner-builders, methods that use modern metal fasteners, special screws, and common sense building principles to accomplish the same goal in much less time. And while there are many good books on traditional timber framing, this is the first to describe in depth these more common fastening methods. The book includes everything an owner-builder needs to know about building strong and beautiful structural frames from heavy timbers, including: the historical background of timber framing crucial design and structural considerations procuring timbers-including different woods, and recycled materials foundations, roofs, and in-filling consdierations the common fasteners. A detailed case study of a timber frame project from start to finish completes this practical and comprehensive guide, along with a useful appendix of span tables and a bibliography. Highly illustrated, this book enables 'the rest of us' to build like the professionals and will appeal to owner-builders, contractors and architects alike.