Masonry Stove Builders Home Page 

information on Heat-Kit masonry heater systems

Heat-Kit Gallery The Brick Bake Oven Page - most popular spot on this site Brick Oven
Page

Bookstore Library Masonry
Heater
Mall
current and recent masonry heater projects Current
Projects
  Contact Search Links FAQ  

The MSB Links Page

Surf the Sustainable Future  heater graphic 

Sustainable Construction Links

Architects and Designers Specializing in Sustainability

Wood Heating

Sustainability and Bioregionalism Links

Masonry Links

A Random List of Interesting Links


Sustainable Construction Links

The Canadian Home Builders' Association Builders' Manual 
You HAVE to know the things in this book to get the best value for your building dollar in cold climate construction. The Canadian Home Builders' Association has separated the wheat from the chaff and put together a benchmark reference and how-to book for builders.

Oil quadrupled in price in 1973. People in -40F prairie Saskatchewan were in danger of either freezing in their houses or going broke.  This led to the development of "The Saskatchewan Conserver House" by the Saskatchewan Research Council in 1977. In a 12,000 degree-day climate, this house heats with electricity for $35 per year. This building demonstrated that air tight construction is practical and can drastically reduce energy consumption. It turned into the successful Canadian R-2000 program - many of its provisions have found their way into the National Building Code of Canada. 

Don't let the word "airtight" throw you. With a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) these houses have WAY better ventilation than conventional construction. 

Sustainable Building Sources Based on the City of Austin's Greenbuilder Program, comprehensive online resource.
Environmental Building News  The leading periodical in the field. Their archive of feature articles is one of the highest quality collections of sustainable design and construction information on the Net. 
The Sustainable HomeWorth a visit. Good Resource on natural building techniques

Indoor Air Quality and Hygroscopically Active Materials

Interesting research paper by Dr. John Straube, building research professor at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
Vital Signs Resource Packages A uniquely high quality collection of resources for learning about many fundamental aspects of building performance: thermal mass, air flows, windows and shading, daylighting, etc. Located at UCal. at Berkeley Center for Environmental Design Research.
Life Cycle Analysis of a Residential Home in Michigan Master's thesis by Steve Blanchard and Peter Reppe
  • Possibly the most detailed life cycle analysis done so far of a residential home in North America.
  • Although technical, this paper gives you a very understandable basic education in energy efficient housing principles.
 
Surfin' Strawbale Links
Strawbale construction is one of the hotbeds of the sustainable construction movement today. Extensive annotated list of links that plugs you directly into the scene. Want to help some monks in the New Mexico desert build their new monastery? Check here! 
Indoor Air Quality, Healthy Buildings, and Breathing Walls by John Straube and V. Acahrya.
Excellent technical discussion of how different types of walls affect indoor air quality and occupant health. Interesting test results and computer modelling results. Recommended reading if you are evaluating different house construction systems.
Home Power Magazine  Extensive on line library of back issues. The Feb/March '96 issue has a good article on masonry heating systems. 
Architecture Week Great linked list of environmental architecture articles
Reusing Treated Wastewater in Domestic Housing: 
The Toronto Healthy House
by Rolf Paloheimo, Creative Communities.

The current state of the art, on a small urban infill lot.
Located on this server. 

The Toilet Papers: Recycling Waste and Conserving Water by Sim Van der Ryn
1995 edition, Ecological Design Press, $10.95 
Reprint of the classic 1978 book on building composting toilets. We built a Clivus Minimus 15 years ago and love it. 

Ten Fundamental Principles of New Energy


The Encyclopedia of Earth, where Prof. Cleveland is an editor/director, has made amazing progress in its short history attempting to become an academic/content based web clearinghouse for information on earth and our environment.
The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins
All time classic. Buy the book, or download for free.
Energy Design Tools Free software allows you to predict the performance of your passive solar design.
Buildium's Green Building Resource GuideChecklist of greenbuilding features to look for.

  top

Architects and Designers Specializing in Sustainability


Agritecture - Bruce March
Professional architect specializing in sustainable residential design
RiverSong Design
Michael Neelin is a talented designer near Perth, Ontario. He specializes in sustainable design and has
experience with strawbale, timberframe, and log construction.
Laura Lee Intscher
Located near Binghampton, NY. Specializes in strawbale designs
Energysmiths
"Marc Rosenbaum, P.E. is a designer, engineer, and builder of environmentally sound buildings.
The goal of Marc's work is helping people create buildings which support personal and planetary healing. "
Gimme Shelter Construction
(Wisconsin)
Check out the Davenport home
Phillip Van Horn
Architectural designer on Saltspring Island, British Columbia. Former neighbour, early heater client (1980), very talented.
Richard Kadulski Architect (email link)
204 - 1037 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6H 1E3, Tel/fax 604-689-1841
Climate adapted, energy sensitive, sustainable and healthy design
Editor Solplan Review: the independent journal of energy conservation, building science & construction practice
Solstar Residential Design/Build
Located near Ottawa, ON. Excellent quality. Extensive website. Check out their plans page at:
Home Concepts - Plans for energy efficient country homes, cottages & carriage houses
Richard White
Richard White designed our house - his new website is worth checking out.
Henry Yorke Mann
Check out his website.
Chuck Mills
Residential Design and Development. Professional CAD services - we recently worked electronically with Chuck to take a custom masonry heater through the design and building permit approval process for a downtown Ottawa infill project. 

  top 

Wood Heating

An Environmentalist's Guide to Responsible Wood Heating
by John Gulland
A Guide To Residential Wood Heating
Excellent overview from the Canadian government
This is Wood Heat
The straight goods on burning wood for heat and enjoyment in your home. Recommended.
HearthNet 
Hearth appliances other than masonry heaters.
Whole Earth "Fire" Issue (Winter 99)
complete text of the articles
.
Pyromasse
Excellent online heater portfolio, articles. Marcus Flynn builds heaters in the Montreal area.

 Woodburning Emissions

View the Latest Images
from masonry heater combustion testing at Lopez Labs
All About Woodsmoke
Excellent article by John Gulland. Recommended.
A Simple Test Can Spot Carbon Monoxide Danger
located at Energy Source Builder 
OMNI Environmental Services, Inc. 
Premier private industry test lab, Portland Oregon 
Lopez Labs Archives
Technical papers on masonry heater emissions R&D
 

top

Sustainability and Bioregionalism Links

Green Sense - Examples of how people are making their visions of sustainability real
Thumbs up!
Woodburning, forestry and global warming
A scholarly paper on woodburning and the forest. Recommended reading.
The Carbohydrate Economy Clearinghouse
Wood Products Certification & Sustainability WWW Sites
Excellent.
Sustainable Minnesota
Leading edge real world projects such as ecological tax reform
Virtual Library: Forestry 
From Finland, the spiritual home of masonry heating. 
Virtual Library: Biodiversity, Ecology and the Environment 
From Rice Universtity. Great resource.  .
Resource Development and Wildlife 


top Detail from drinking fountain, Botanical Gardens, Dublin 

Masonry Links

The Roman Pantheon: The Triumph of Concrete
Articles and Research by David Moore, P.E.
Great information site by the strawbale listserver's resident lime afficionado
Earth Materials
A very extensive, first rate resource brought to you by The Sustainable Building Sourcebook
Construction with Surface Bonding
U.S. Department of Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 374 (1974). Located on our server.
FerroCement News Group
Learn more about this synergistic material.
Cast Earth
Interesting new technology. If it works as advertised, it will revolutionize adobe and rammed earth construction. See story in March 1997 issue of Fine Homebuilding.
The Cob Cottage Company 
Earth is probably still the world's commonest building material. Cob building uses hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with sand and straw, a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay.
Buckley Rumford Co
Very extensive information on Rumford fireplaces. Useful masonry industry links. 
Pumice-crete Building Systems of New Mexico
Alternative Building Methods working toward a sustainable, energy-independent, and resource efficient society. These guys are the experts in pumice-crete.
E. W. Evans, Brick Layer & Plasterer
"My parents were slaves on the plantation of John H. Hill, a slave owner in Madison, Georgia". Fascinating interview done as part of the WPA project during the Great Depression. 

  top 

A Random List of Interesting Links

Boulangerie Anna
Anna is my sister-in-law and has a bakery on the French Riviera
Virtual Reality Tenement
Cool!
There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom
Richard P. Feynman 
Wasted Time, Wasted Wealth
We spend so much of our lives working, getting to work and back, looking for work, and preparing for work that we may feel too pressed to get to the other things that give life meaning. 
What if it turned out that much of what we are spending our lives doing simply doesn't need to be done? What would you do with an extra 20 hours each week?
Pennsylvania Environmental Network
Great jumping off point for grassroots issues. Good links to specific toxics issues.
Aware Electronics
If you are interested in measuring radiation, check out this site

  Pontiac County, West Québec - -Our (non-virtual) home

Map of the Pontiac
God's country 
Map of our Location
X marks the spot.
Stereo aerial image of our neighbourhood 
86 Kb jpg. Greermount Quebec, nestled into Gatineau Hill country. Population density: 2 per square mile.
Jan's Garden
Our neighbour is a professional gardener. This is her garden in Ottawa

  top 
This page last updated on February 10, 2016
This page was created in June, 1996

information on Heat-Kit masonry heater systems

Heat-Kit Gallery The Brick Bake Oven Page - most popular spot on this site Brick Oven
Page

Bookstore Library Masonry
Heater
Mall
current and recent masonry heater projects Current
Projects
  Contact Search Links FAQ  

Back to:
Return to Masonry Stove Builders Home Page