Civil engineering, surveying and building Books

Diana Yates shares her guide to creating a flower and veg garden from scratch, and how it turned out to be larder, source of home decoration and a place of restoration and healing, too. From planting for pollinators to growing a pumpkin patch and storing...

A revised, redesigned and updated edition of the definitive and bestselling woodworker’s bible. Authoritative, superbly crafted and easy to use, Collins Complete Woodworker's Manual is the UK bestseller and the one book every woodworker needs.This...

The iconic minaret of Jm stands in a remote mountain valley in central Afghanistan, the finest surviving monument of the enigmatic 12th-century Ghrid dynasty. The rediscovery of the minaret half a century ago prompted renewed interest in the Ghrids, and...

Chateau Reawakening is the story of the highs and lows of one couple’s journey to save an eighteenth century French chateau.   When former Australian politician Tim Holding and his fiancee Felicity Selkirk discovered a crumbling French chateau...

The first illustrated monograph presenting the work of British designer Lee Broom, founder of the eponymous brand and celebrated for his stylish, contemporary take on classic design products.The book explores the many influences and ideas behind Broom’s...

Curated, edited, and co-designed by film star Diane Keaton, California Romantica features houses in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with photography taken specifically for the book. The book gives us the vision of a committed preservationist who fell...

Wales boasts a stunning array of castles, the most per square mile of any country in Europe, from the earliest stone fortifications at Chepstow to the 19th-century folly of Castell Coch and from the splendor of Caernarfon, Beaumaris, Conwy and Harlech,...

Unless dissects the construction ecology, material geographies, and world-systems of a most modern of modern architectures: the Seagram Building.In doing so, this book aims to describe how humans and nature interact with the thin crust of the planet...

Amass makes a case for architectural experiments with massing. By understanding architecture as a collection of interrelationships between multiple masses, plusClover uses pressure, thickness and media - the core subjects of this book - to...

The Forth Bridge was the greatest engineering feat the Victorian world had ever seen and remains, to this day, one of the great achievements of mankind. The Forth Bridge: A Picture History, tells the dramatic story of its construction using rare archive...

Prepare your child for the unpredictable through 52 prepper projects. Teach them basic outdoors survival skills, first aid, how to create their own "bug-out bag," and more.

A field-tested guide to surviving a nuclear attack, written by a revered civil defense expert.This edition of Cresson H. Kearny's iconic Nuclear War Survival Skills (originally published in 1979), updated by Kearny himself in 1987 and again in 2001,...

Bringing together the collective wisdom of a past generation of craftsmen, Traditional Toolmaking provides an in-depth record of the skills and techniques that made the mass production revolution of the twentieth century possible. When first published in...

The first complete history about the development of freeways in Los AngelesWritten by a local author with a successful track record (10,000 Steps in L.A.)Significant journalists and historians will contribute endorsements and a well-known Angeleno will...

Learn how architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms work to improve sustainability objectives and advance new ideas about creating more livable cities, workplaces, and campuses as they create greater operational efficiency.Location...

This is a thorough, non-technical handbook and guide to the basics of septic systems - the physical process that takes place in the septic system and the simple technology needed to make it work. Emphasis is on conventional...

Simple green roof design and installation for the do-it-yourself builder 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...

The devil is in the details - the science and art of designing and building durable, efficient, straw bale buildings Straw bale buildings promise superior insulation and flexibility across a range of design aesthetics, while using a typically...

Design a rainwater harvesting system for any home in any climate.Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm's water requirements if harvested and...

From wastestream to mainstream, a practical guide to composting toilet systems.Composting toilets are a key feature for local resilience, money saving, water conservation, resource recovery, septic system replacement, and an improved bathroom experience...

Natural plasters made of clay, lime, and other materials mixed with sand are beautiful building finishes. Fun to work with, low-impact, and allowing infinite creativity, they are high performance and provide proven, centuries-long durability.Yet until...

Earthbag construction - building with polypropylene bags usually filled with earthen materials - is a versatile, easy-to-master, low-impact, and highly durable form of building, suitable for structures from houses to root cellars.Containing over 75...

Design your own sustainable homeMany people dream of building a beautiful, environmentally friendly home. But until now there has been no systematic guide to help potential builders work through the complete process of imagining, planning, designing, and...

Hempcrete is a versatile, energy-efficient natural insulation material, useful for walls, roofs, and floors. Made from the inner stem of the hemp plant mixed with a lime-based binder, it is a very strong, lightweight and breathable alternative to...

An essential exploration of the engineering aesthetics of celebrated structures from long-span bridges to high-rise buildingsWhat do structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the concrete roofs of Pier Luigi Nervi have in common?...

For most of human history, people have lived in durable, comfortable buildings made from natural materials such as soil, sand, rocks, and fiber. All over the globe, these ancient traditions persist; a quarter to a third of the world's population today...