You can keep your septic system running day-after-day, year after-year. First published in 1984, Country Plumbing, in its initial edition, went through eight printings and has educated and entertained thousands of country dwellers who live beyond the reach of public sewer systems. Now, with the contribution of Mike Haupt, this revised edition contains information about some of the more recent developments in the world of private sewage treatment facilities. Even in restricted areas such as lakeside properties or small lots, you can live without a public sewer hook-up and still be a good steward of the environment.

ADOBE HOUSES FOR TODAY features 12 plans for compact, beautifully-proportioned adobe homes in modern and traditional styles. Yet the book offers much more. The richly-illustrated text shows how the basic houses, designed for today's smaller families, can be as flexible as a set of building blocks. Intriguing drawings demonstrate how readers can expand and adapt the plans to fit their own budgets, family sizes, style preferences, and building sites.After a brief look at adobe's rich history, ADOBE HOUSES FOR TODAY surveys adobe's advantages as a building material. Next, readers take an eye-opening tour through the facts and fantasies of energy conservation. Then, the heart of the book illustrates the basic and expanded versions of the plans, using them as examples of design techniques that increase livability and control costs in any house. The book also explains site requirements, adobe construction, and estimating basics with an adobe house that "assembles itself". ADOBE HOUSES FOR TODAY and its associated construction drawings are valuable, enjoyable tools not only for those buying, building, or remodeling a house, but also for contractors, drafters, drafting teachers, and real estate professionals.Award-winning author LAURA SANCHEZ previously ran a drafting business that specialized in adobe houses. She called it quits sometime after the 250th set of plans, but maintains an abiding interest in designing the very best, most cost-effective houses possible. ALEX SANCHEZ, who grew up building houses, has taught courses in adobe construction and solar energy. He founded and currently heads the renowned computer-aided drafting program at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus. Theauthors' previous books and CDs concern architectural computer graphics.