Reddit mentions of The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, Resources

I am only trained in industrial methods and I have little experience otherwise. However, you can look at traditional methods of how we did things before the industrial age. Mass walls can last a very long time. We used to make stucco by hand to apply to the outside of mass walls and you can see this in old European cities. This technique worked well. There are wood foundations that have lasted for thousands of years.

Here's a great book I flipped through -- I'd highly recommend something like this: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Natural-Building-Construction/dp/0865714339

There are cob and thatch homes that have been around for centuries. I watched a documentary showing guys working on a thatch home with 700 year old thatch that was still performing well. The problem though is that you have to know what you're doing to maintain a thatch house. You could learn, but the process takes years of practice. I believe in the future, the skills of building with natural materials will again be valuable (local wood, natural stone, mass walls, cob/thatch).

If you are going to build an industrial house, here are things I recommend:

• Use professional products from Sika, BASF, Henry, GE, etc. You will not find these at Home Depot, but will need to go to a specialty contractor store. The best way to find these is to locate your local Sika or BASF rep, and see what other brands they carry.
  
  
• Use silicone instead of urethane. Silicone will last decades longer than urethane.
  
  
• Use roofing materials that are designed to last more than 50 years. A lot of roofing today is total crap, like TPO. TPO is cheap, and it's often the best solution when your goal is to make money.
  
  
• Avoid any engineered products where possible. This means, avoid TJI, LVL, OSB, plywood, pressure treated woods, Tyvek, etc.
  
  
• Look what institutional buildings do. They are typically designing for a 100 year lifespan, so they try to use higher quality materials.
  
  
• If you're using wood sheathing, use plywood instead of OSB. Plywood is much better at staying dry.
  
  
• Use a liquid elastomeric waterproofing rather than building paper or Tyvek. On the concrete foundation wall, always use a very expensive and high quality elastomeric waterproofing. This will bridge cracks and this is the highest level of protection for concrete. Always add drainage and a drainage board to your foundation to keep water off of the concrete
  
  
• Use CMU (called cinder blocks by non-engineers) instead of wood walls. CMU won't rot and you have better resistance to earthquakes & wind.
  
  
• Use naturally rot resistant woods instead of pressure treated woods
  
  
• Do not count on sealant alone to keep water out. You can make details that count on drainage and flashing so that if sealant fails, you'll be ok