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Rating: 
Summary: Read this book before you start to build or buy a new house.
Review: Finally, there is a book filled with common sense about building a house. I am an architect and have built 2 homes for my family, but as I design commercial and institutional buildings for a living, building a house is not what I do everyday. I really wish I had this book when I built my houses, as it is filled with great practical advice about all aspects of this process. Legal, financial as well as design issues are covered with a straight-forward, no nonsense approach. Read this before you get started and you will be grateful for all it suggests. I am so glad this book was written and will recommend it to all my friends and clients.
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Summary: The best book out there on the topic
Review: If you're looking at $200,000+ houses in a development, this is the book for you. Written by an architect / syndicated columnist for prospective homebuyers. Shows how to succeed armed only with your checkbook and a phalanx of experts, including your own "building inspector" to check the other building inspector. One drawback: as a result of the author being so well-read, and maybe not so "hands-on", everything that could possibly affect this purchase is covered, no matter how minor. So after selecting a builder (avoiding those who don't think much of architects), interviewing the site superintendent, as well as the developer's banker (how you get his number, or what you say to him once you get him on the phone, is anybody's guess), and going through the motions of preparing dinner in the model kitchen, to make sure it's big enough, don't forget to flush the second floor toilets and check the noise they make downstairs, since if you don't like what you hear presumably you must be prepared to start the whole process over again. I suppose it's good to itemize all these things and let the reader decide what to ignore, but it would be better to edit them to help the reader understand what is important. Also, a good portion of the book covers familiar territory: designing your house to suit your "lifestyle", carpeting vs. wood. vs. tile, etc.This is also the only book I've seen that discouraged acting as your own general contractor. What's funny is, as proof, the author offers an anecdote of another architect who, even after building an extravagant home (4500 sq ft) with bottom-of-the-barrel subs (brags of having to get up to 20 bids to get a 'reasonable' price), complains that it was so stressful that, geez, if it weren't for the $100,000 he saved, he'd never have done it. This is meant to discourage me? Anyway, a very thorough book.
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Summary: Perfect for Those Wanting to Build a House!
Review: My husband and I are in the process of building our first home and we were being overwhelmed by everything going on. We had purchased several other books on building a home, but they were detailed, "how to" build a house books. What we needed was a book that would help us through the process of building when you were working with a builder. This book was excellent! We actually bought two copies and read it together. It provided insight into the process of hiring a builder, obtaining financing, working within your budget, and assessing whether various options were worth it or not. In addition, the book includes examples and advice from experts in the field. This book is perfect for anyone wanting to build a house!
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Summary: As if planning to build a house wasn't confusing enough!
Review: The layout of this book is haphazard, and its information hierarchy further confuses the reader. The design foreshadows the information contained in the author's text. Side-notes, indicated by grayed boxes, can "go on" for several pages, inter-dispersed among main body text. Bulleted items have no more worth than the sentences of the paragraphs, and what does the reader do with bulleted items inside the side-notes? Are they more significant still? (I did not think so.) The sequence of the book is disjointed. The book is divided by the "big picture" and "field notes" (the minutia) with nothing in between. In "part two field notes," "The Kitchen," "Other Rooms" and "Flooring" immediately precede "The Lot" and "The Purchase." "Construction Considerations" is the last chapter in the book--information I believe is extremely important in the house PLANNING stage. Sadly, once you've managed to garner the information from the book design, the author's "truth" is merely commonsense. Do you really need a book to tell you that if you cannot afford a granite counter top, a less expensive option is plastic laminates? I give you, that is, all Amazon review readers, more credit than that! Look for another book.
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Summary: Get This Book If You're Building a New House
Review: This book is chocked full of tips and solid advice about the process leading up to a new home. It clearly outlines the options for getting a design and a builder, and points out how choices affect the cost and the resale value.
Rating:
Summary: Get This Book If You're Building a New House
Review: This book is chocked full of tips and solid advice about the process leading up to a new home. It clearly outlines the options for getting a design and a builder, and points out how choices affect the cost and the resale value.
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Summary: A "Must-Have" for every homeowner
Review: This is a book on the process of building a new home. It covers both production homes, semi-custom and custom/architectural homes throught the text. I got a lot out of this book but be aware it tries to cover a lot of ground. It does not attempt to cover specific construction issues and mistakes, but does cover design elements and discusses the trade-offs of those elements in detail (such as solid surface vs. granite counters). It also discusses working with an architect for those interested in that. It discusses how to work with a budget and how to work with your design/build team. It does a review of each major room in varying levels of detail. This is a very practical book and **does** offer a useful and pragmatic discussion about building a house and how best to prepare and execute this process. I have found it to be an execellent companion book to Susan Susanka's books (Not So Big House series) and Sam Clark's book (The Real Goods - Independent Builder). Get these four books and you will be well covered from concept, to process to construction.
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Summary: book review
Review: This is a great comprehensive book. Lots of options are discussed with the pros and cons of each.
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Summary: The best book out there on the topic
Review: Very helpful. I found this book to be more helpful that all the rest, and I have gone through a ton of them. Sure, the design of the book is unfortunate, but the author's actual imput outweighs that. Shame on those who can't see past it.
Great book. Essential. My contractor finally recommended it after I'd read too many other books...and it's great. The Kitchen section was especially helpful.
God bless you, Katherine Salant.
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