No Nails, No Lumber: The Bubble Houses of Wallace Neff

Neff made important contributions to architecture and created incredible experiments with dome technology. This was at a time when most dome building was done with expensive scaffolding holding up molds and other incredible elaborations of conventional building methods. These were heroic efforts designed to create the perfect dome (something the Romans had done in ancient times and using far better concrete than is generally available today). This book is also referenced on Monolithic.com by David South who is the greatest living authority on the currently state of the art in construction of concrete dome homes and commercial dome structures. His schools and churches are safe zones in every community where they are built, which was no doubt a dream of a great architect like Neff, who gave so much of his time and energy to dome building. Neff must have dreamed of a time when dome homes were the norm and accepted as a necessity as a safe haven against the elements.

This book gave a good overview, and I particularly enjoyed the interview of the two sisters that grew up in a bubble home. I’d like to visit some and possibly attend a construction class in Italy TX before I built one.

An interesting history of a curious house - dome houses can be strong and comfortable, but these were the economy model - very affordable housing with a few limitations, that never quite caught on.

This book has alot of photos and diagrams. Not necessarily a how to book but is great for inspiration and ideas.

This is a book that should have been written 30 years ago, while Mr Wallace Neff was still alive. The concrete monolithic dome concept was his invention and thousands of concrete domes were built across the world under his leadership. This book is a great tribute to his talent and his achievements in this field. Other people claimed this concept as theirs but this book put the records straight.

Nicely put together. Plenty of descriptive pictures and other historical data. I'm glad I purchased the book. I don't know of any other readily available source for historical information on dome housing.

Interesting ideas.

Fun to read. And very timely given our need to live and build more cheaply and sustainably. The book is a surprise history lesson about a visionary inventor/architect, Wallace Neff, who needs to be looked at again today! Beautiful archival illustrations and photos.

loved this book. It inspired my work in the Arctic! It is a wonderful read for someone interested in innovative DIY building systems or simply the history of the patent.