No comments about Print Reading for Architecture & Construction (Thomson Delmar Learning Blueprint Reading).

3 comments about Construction Graphics: A Practical Guide to Interpreting Working Drawings.

1. If you are a student, a craftsperson, superintendent, manager,or designer-this book should be open on your desk (and not on your bookshelf).



2. Bisharat's book is a must for any student (experienced technician or school neophyte) of the design and construction process. It is well illustrated, factual, and accurately explains how the architect /engineer's ideas get transferred to paper and then into reality.



3. It's a decent book. Not bad if you are just starting off in understanding construction and graphics.

1 comments about Healthy House Building for the New Millennium.

1. Here is the description of the house that the John Bower build to help his wife, who has MCS, recover. It discusses things they considered and what they actually used in THEIR OWN HOUSE. It also gives contact information so you can buy the products yourself. It is written by one of the experts in the area of healthy house building.

   I have used the book numerous times to help investigate safe building materials and methods for my own house. I too have a wife with MCS.

5 comments about The Complete Book Of Underground Houses: How To Build A Low Cost Home.

1. The secondary title is much more accurate: "How to Build a Low-Cost Home." The author has great experience constructing earth-sheltered homes. This means digging a hole on flat property, building a box in the hole and piling dirt up against the walls. Mr. Roy gives detailed examples of how a sod roof should be constructed, and what problems to watch out for. In this way, it is like an episode of "This Old House" because you get to see the intimate details of the building construction. The book certainly lives up to the "low-cost" title, because the properties developed in the book were completed by young middle-class owners who could not afford to take out bank loans and mortgages. The author has built many earth-sheltered homes of this sort and even teaches others how to do it professionally. On that note, the book comes from a smart and well-qualified author. Just don't be fooled by the title given by the publishing company



2. Once again Rob Roy has succeded in producing a quality how to book! This book gives clear concise intructions for every phase of building an underground house. This book covers everything from ground breaking (even a few tips on ground aquiring) to earth sheltering! Foundations, walls, roof and support structure, hvac, waterproofing, insulation, everything! It is accurate, well written, anecdotal and user friendly! I have every confidence that anyone interested in the subject of underground housing will benefit greatly from the ownership of this book. Buy the book and start digging!



3. If you like underground houses, then you should appreciate the images and plans here. However, the 'how-to' part is very general so unless you know your house building, this book will not help you much in the practical issues of home creation. It will give you ideas and suggestions that you can then use to find a good contractor and keep your eyes on the company you hire. It is very difficult to find books about underground or even earth beamed houses now, which is sad because they can be very energy effecient and lovely. This is a good start and Rob Roy is well-known for his work and his workshops on home building.



4. There is lots of good stuff on building underground in this book, but whoever designed some of the homes shown inside has no taste when it comes to architecture, so unfortunately I can see a few people being turned off by some the photos, and deciding not to build underground. There are more in depth books on building underground, so don't just use this one book to build your underground home with.



5. The book gives great details and ideas on building an earth sheltered home from site prep to actual construction. Some of the information is a little out of date but none the less this is a great book and i would recomend it to anyone intrested in earth sheltered or earth bermed homes.

1 comments about Residential Wiring to the 2008 NEC (Residential Wiring to the NEC).

1. Power is essential to residences in the twenty first century, so wiring is essential as well. "Residential Wiring: To the 2008 NEC" is an introductory text for electricians to be. Focusing on making electricians' work meet the demanding standards of the NEC - the National Electrical Code. With professional level standards, author and wiring expert jeff markell goes over the uses of every bit of an electrician's tools, dealing with older wiring systems, replacing or adding new wires, repairing your mistakes, and troubleshooting issues, among other topics. Enhanced with a CD-ROM with a study guide program to help would-be electricians cram the vital information into their heads, "Residential Wiring" is an essential instructional and reference guide for students, do-it-yourself amateurs, and professional electricians.

3 comments about New Bathroom Idea Book (Idea Books).

1. This book doesn't cater for smaller bathrooms. The pictures shown here are mostly for master bathrooms and doesn't give much focus to guests bathrooms. I find that the styles shown here are very traditional and classic in design. Not much coverage on more modern approaches for bathrooms. Very little coverage for Asian type of bathrooms, you'll find lots of emphasis on the bathtubs instead of shower cubicles.



2. I couldn't decide online and went to the store and bought this book and Better Homes and Garden Bathroom Idea File after flipping through everything in stock. I disagree with the previous reviewer; they do offer suggestions for small baths and modern baths. I was particularly interested in bathroom design ideas for awkward roof angles for the second floor of my bungalow. If you are looking for a how-to book, this isn't it, but it's a good book for dog-earing pages early in the design process.



3. Another great Idea Book. I'm in the process of planning a small bathroom remodel and with every page I've changed my mind. It's a phenomenal book full of great ideas; most of which I would have never considered. I'm beyond excited about my project now.

No comments about 2006 International Fuel Gas Code: Code & Commentary (International Fuel Gas Code Commentary).

1 comments about Site Design and Construction Detailing, 3rd Edition.

1. In this day of AutoCAD libraries and "canned" construction details from vendors, it is rare that a book of hand drafted construction details exists. If the reader can get past the nostalgia of the draftsmanship, and understand the communication that is taking place - black and white photos matched with actual construction documentation - then one should begin to understand the educational component. The idea is being able to have what an AutoCAD library doesnt, a matched pair of construction details with a photo of the constructed landscape element. Some early career professionals and, particularly, students may benefit from having a three dimentional representation of landscape elements. It helps to be able to see the finished product and a detail of the guts - you simply have better comprehension of what goes into construction and how the components come together.
   
   As for criticism of this piece, understand that most of the landscape features look dated - railroad tie retaining walls out of the 70's, glass block fountains from the 80's, heavy timber playgrounds that no municipality would ever build due to liability - theyre all in here! But do not let this deter you, one should still consider this for his or her professional library, because, after all, material requirements, connections and structural considerations dont chage with aesthetic style - the landscape still has to function and standards still have to be met.

No comments about Successful Interior Projects Through Effective Contract Documents.

5 comments about American Road: The Story of an Epic Transcontinental Journey at the Dawn of the Motor Age.

1. Motorized warfare became an established fact in WW I, but even by then the motor vehicle itself had developed far beyond the capacity of the roads then in existence to handle them. Combine this with the fact that the automobile was quickly becoming the major means of transportation of average Americans (the idea that cars were merely the playthings of the rich was passé by 1910), and the belief that good roads were necessary becomes evident. So, in 1919, to make the point obvious, the military decided, with great publicity, to drive a motor convoy clear across the country from Washington to San Francisco. The route they would take was The Lincoln Highway, which had been conceived in 1913 by a group of auto and tire manufacturers (primarily Henry Joy, head of Packard Motors, Henry Ostermann, who became chief of The Lincoln Highway Assocciation, and Frank Seiberling, head of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company) as a transcontinental highway, stretching from NYC to San Francisco. Raising money and pledging much of their own finances, many sections of the road had been worked on by 1919. The trip would prove the need for good roads (and would be a coup for The Lincoln Highway) and would also show off the military's capacity to utilize modern warfare's machinery. Eighty-one vehicles and 300 men made up the convoy; one of the officers was a young Dwight Eisenhower. They set off in July 1919, and reached San Francisco in September.
   
   The book is as much, if not more, a history of The Lincoln Highway as it existed in 1919 as it is an account of the motor train. Davies gives a vivid description of the many difficulties experienced by the convoy, which multiplied as it moved west; crossing the nearly trackless deserts of especially Utah and Nevada took a Herculean effort. But it seems that just about any town of decent size planned festivities for the passing convoy, and Davies, often by referring to stories printed in local newspapers at the time, relates what these were like. The completion of the journey is almost anticlimactic compared to the controversies over the placement of the road in Utah, which Davies deals with in great detail. (Some might object to this, but I found it fascinating.) Davies tells his story well and at just enough points along the way refers to particular landmarks and interesting sections of the highway a modern traveler can see, which makes the book even more interesting. A fascinating piece of Americana.



2. The real accomplishment of Davies is to take this very pedestrian (IMHO) story of the first truck convoy to cross America in 1919 and turn it into a story about diligence, 'never-give-up', finish what you start, good old american stubborness. The story doesn't hit its' stride until the trucks cross the Mississippi, so Davies spends a considerable time discussing the personalities involved (including Captain Dwight Eisenhower) and their histories which just give the story a more human face.
   
   In 1913 a group of auto-crats from Detroit, decided that what America needed was a transcontinental highway. They dreamed of a "Lincoln Memorial Highway" from Washington to San Francisco. In 1919, to publicize the need for "Good Roads" the US Government sent a contingent of trucks from the 'Motor Transport' section of the Army along the route of the Lincoln Highway. At the same time they were showing how there was 'no road there' in places except for sand, dust and quicksand. In one part of Utah, the crews had to pull the Trucks through the salt desert by ropes.
   
   For anyone who thinks that their road is the 'worst' because of some potholes, this story will open their eyes as to what a 'trip to the country' was like at the turn of the century.



3. Davies does an excellent job of covering this first of it's kind mechanized transcontinental journey in 1919. From the car trapping mud of Nebraska to the mighty struggle through the sand flats and high desert of Utah, you almost feel as if you were there, along for the 3000+ mile grind that took an unheard of 2 months at the dawn of the motor age. Given the primitive conditions of American roads in 1919 (and I use this term very loosely), it is amazing how far we have come in 85 years with the interstate superslabs we all now take for granted. This is a must read for any serious highway historian!



4. Despite only giving it only three stars, I really loved this book because I love the story of the Transcontinental Expedition. And it was truly an expedition in every sense of the word. Davies covers the story well from the people perspective. It was an epic journey where human will and endurance was tested. The influence this journey had on creating America's road systems cannot be underestimated and Davies covers that aspect in detail as well. Where Davies missed the mark, in my opinion, was in the area of vehicle technology. This trip had triangular motivations. The first, of course, was to promote a national system of roads. Another was to test the relatively new and inexperienced U.S. Army military transport service. Despite WWI, and perhaps because of it, there was still a lot to learn. The third was to test the available trucks. If you read the all the reports from this journey, which I have, they are a snapshot of motor vehicle technology in 1919. And motor vehicle technology benefited by this trip, especially in the area of military transport. One of the most important lessons being the importance, if not vital necessity, of four-wheel drive on unimproved roads for a military truck. There were only four 4x4s on the trip, out of a total 46 vehicles; three FWDs and a Militor artillery tractor equipped with a winch (a truck which essentially combined the drivetrain technology of the Nash Quad military truck with the same engine as used in the FWD and topped with a new body that resembled a Mack Bulldog). You won't learn those previous tidbits from the book. Unfortunately, very little information on the trucks finds it's way into the story. That may be a product of Davies not being a gearhead, which seemed fairly obvious from what little motor vehicle information there was, and perhaps he wanted to place the thrust of the story elsewhere. While I personally would have wished for more on the trucks, am I being unfair to judge the book more harshly for it's lack? Perhaps, but being as objective as I can, I think that topic was neglected. Bottom line, if you are a person interested in the trucks, you might be a little disappointed with the book. Having seen the files in the National Archives covering this story, the truck information is there, both technical and photographic. Otherwise, this is a great book and worthy of the price. I feel a little guilty not giving the author a better shake. Not only did he give this relatively obscure story better exposure, he gave us a well written and accessible reference to it.



5. A book for all western history buffs--the "military road train" wanted to prove that coast to coast travel could be done, of course having repair and recovery vehicles along with them helped a lot.--the Lincoln Hiway (another good look at historic travel in the '20's)--came along and became part of the interstate hiway system