The classic guide that builders, architects, and students have relied on for almost 20 years has been completely updated to cover new materials, construction methods, and the latest building code revisions. The standard reference in its field, Rob Thallons Graphic Guide to Frame Construction is the ultimate visual guide to building with wood. Filled with hundreds of detailed drawings, helpful annotations, and field-tested advice, the guide covers foundations, floors, walls, roofs, and stairs. This third revised edition also offers additional information on advanced framing, engineered and composite materials, and construction in high-wind and seismic areas.
The first edition of "Gaia's Garden" sparked the imagination of America's home gardeners, introducing perm culture's central message: Working with Nature, not against her, results in more beautiful, abundant, and forgiving gardens. This extensively revised and expanded second edition broadens the reach and depth of the perm culture approach for urban and suburban growers. Many people mistakenly think that ecological gardening, which involves growing a wide range of edible and other useful plants, can take place only on a large, multiacre scale. As Hemenway demonstrates, it's fun and easy to create a "backyard ecosystem" by assembling communities of plants that can work cooperatively and perform a variety of functions, including: Building and maintaining soil fertility and structure; catching and conserving water in the landscape; providing habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and animals; growing an edible "forest" that yields seasonal fruits, nuts, and other foods. This revised and updated edition also features a new chapter on urban perm culture, designed especially for people in cities and suburbs who have very limited growing space. Whatever size yard or garden you have to work with, you can apply basic perm culture principles to make it more diverse, more natural, more productive, and more beautiful. Best of all, once it's established, an ecological garden will reduce or eliminate most of the backbreaking work that's needed to maintain the typical lawn and garden.