No comments about Small House Tokyo: How the Japanese Live Well in Small Spaces.

1 comments about Victorian Cottage Architecture: An American Catalog of Designs, 1891.

1. As a Victorian Architecture buff, I'm hard pressed to give a distinct verdict on this book. It has great illustrations, offers general plans with dimensions for all of the designs, and gives a down and dirty description of each, but it seems to raise more questions than answers. If you are looking to discover what this type of architecture looked like, both in overall appearance and in selected details, then this is the book for you. If you are looking to discover how these things were built, then you are going to be slightly disappointed.

5 comments about New Compact House Designs.

1. Unless you like ultra modern home designs, skip this book. The plans are impractical, especially with respect to kitchen layouts. Most of the homes have no vestibules in their entrances, which are a neccessity in colder climates.



2. I bought this book because I was designing a sub-1250 square feet house for my parents, which I have since finished. I thought the book had potential until I attempted to apply some of the ideas of the "winning" plan. The winning house is not 1250 square feet. Not even close. When I contacted Mr. Metz through his publisher for an explanation, his response was that he "couldn't care less if the houses featureed(sic) are a bit under or over the 1250 advertised." I think it says quite a bit that the editor doesn't think the title has to be accurate.
   Moreover, I agree with some of the other reviews that questioned the merits of many of the designs in the book. If these are the best plans, what could possibly have been rejected? I found perhaps a half-dozen plans that had anything new to say architecturally.
   This book is a waste of time and money. You can get close approximations of most of these plans from the Sunset books at the library, and you won't get lied to about the size.



3. If you are looking for some creative ideas for small homes then this is a great book. If you are looking for the typical traditional home, then there a lot of other plan books or online plan stores that you may prefer. This book has a variety of home styles with a lot of great ideas. Some are pretty simple and some are a bit outlandish, but you'll see some designs that you don't see in the regular plan books, which is what makes this book so good.



4. I like this book, and have had it in my home plan collection library for years. I still refer to the designs in this book because they are still fresh today, as compared to other similar books on the market. The layouts are livable, given the tight quarters imposed by the square footage limitation, and the floor plans are easy to read. A few of the houses are economical to build as well as graceful, unique, and stylish. Several of the houses have modern facades. If you need someting small, but have no interest in the average ranch/saltbox/Mediterranian, this could be your book.
   I would not recommend it to those who want a typical small suburban tract house, or to those using Sunset plans, Home Planners, or Garlington House as a bench mark for modern style house plans.



5. If you are wanting to build, this is more of a reference or idea book, I didn't find any real useful info. in this book and none of the designs were anything I was interested in. I thought this book would be more of a how to book and it definitely wasn't!!! Not a book I would recommmend to anyone, I will keep it in my library for a reference in case of future projects or a freinds project.

5 comments about Construction Contractors' Survival Guide.

1. THE WISE MAN LEARNS FROM OTHER PEOPLES MISTAKES ,THIS BOOK OPENS YOUR EYES TO THE MINE FIELD THAT YOU FACE WHEN RUNNING A CONSTRUCTION CO .IT HAS HELPED ME TO SEE THE ROAD IN FRONT. K MALONE



2. Reading this book makes one rethink "the bigger the better" philosophy. In this book, Tom discusses from his experinces as a consultant as to why there are so many companies that fail in the construction industry and what could be done to prevent the cash flow problems...



3. Anyone interested in going into the construction biz should make this required reading. If you are already a contractor then this book reminds you how difficult our line of work is and gives you some ways to limit the dangers.



4. "Your management decisions alone determine whether you will succeed or fail in the construction business." As a general contractor, my attention was caught by this the opening sentence in Thomas C. Schleifer's "Construction Contractor's Survival Guide". After reading the book I ordered a copy for every one of my project managers and other key staff and continued using it for training throughout my construction career. Schleifer was formerly a consultant to the surety industry, where it was his business to understand the causes of contractors' failures, and it is from this perspective that he describes in his book the ten most common causes of contractor failure and how a contractor can avoid them. No contractor should be without this book.
   
   Nick B. Ganaway
   General contractor and author of "Construction Business Management, What Every Construction Contractor, Builder and Subcontractor Needs to Know"



5. The author uses real world examples to illustrate some of the pitfalls of construction contracting. The price is high for such a small book, but size is not necessarily an indicator of value. The author's insight into how to read the books to accurately determine profitability should more than repay anyone running such a business.

3 comments about Energy Saving Home Improvements from A to Z: Real Estate Investor, Homeowner, Home Buyer and Seller Survival Kit Series.

1. When my wife and I wanted to make a lot of repairs and upgrading to our home we read many books on the subject before starting the work or hiring contractors. This book was a great help since it contains a ton of expert advice, research, and information about the best ways to make repairs and improvements (both minor and major upgrading) in the most cost effective manner. The added bonus of the information in this book is that we learned how to reduce our utility consumption by about half! The topics show you how to make all the updating with energy efficiency in mind at no extra cost to do the work. That we a great bonus to the instructions. Some of the work opn our house were major updates and had to be done by professional builders and contractors. With what we learned from this book my wife and I were able to double check the estimates and work performed by the pro contractors to make sure they did everything the correct and most energy and cost efficient manner. We did detect some aspects of the job that we told the contractors to do differently from what we learned in the book(instead of them cutting corners to increase their own profits). All in all - great book and great choice for any home owner serious about make energy saving home improvements!



2. The other books I have purchased by this author were excellent so I bought this one also and am very happy with my purchase. Renovating our home has been a MAJOR expense and project so we wanted to make sure that we did everything in the most energy efficient and cost effective way. There were countless tips and methods to greatly reduce our utility bills with the renovation work that we learned in this book. We had a house builder do the renovation work we couldn't do ourselves but we still used this book to in a way give advice to the builder to do the renovations so they will cut our electric, heating and air-conditioning bills. Our builder was quite surprised at how much we knew about energy efficient renovations. But we can't take the credit since it was all learned from this book. Highly recommended book if you're want to learn how to greatly reduce your utility bills.



3. I own a very successful home inspection business in California. We use all of this authors products to train my staff since they are the by far the best products for real estate training on the market. We originally found out about these products through excellent book reviews in the local real estate publications. From that we learned the following details and decided to purchase the whole "Real Estate From A to Z" series by this author:
   
   Nemmar Real Estate Training is ranked as the most exclusive real estate appraiser training, home inspector training, and real estate investor consulting service since 1988. Our real estate books, DVDs, CDs and Videos are rated number one in their real estate categories nationwide! Our products have taught thousands of home buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals worldwide. You too can learn everything you need to know about Real Estate - from Asbestos to Zoning. With this knowledge you will save thousands of dollars when you buy, sell, or renovate your home. You will also learn how to eliminate safety hazards and properly maintain a home. Statistics show an average savings of at least $4,700.00 per home for customers who have our books and DVD videos. Our real estate investment, home inspection, appraisal, and home improvement books have been called the "Bible" of the real estate industry. Written by Guy Cozzi, who has decades of experience as a licensed appraiser, home inspector, consultant, and real estate investor. This top selling author has been quoted as a real estate expert by the New York Times and many other publications. He has been a guest speaker on real estate investment TV shows and has taught thousands of people how to conduct home inspections, real estate appraisals, and how to invest in real estate. He also provides real estate advice to many banks and mortgage lenders.

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.

1 comments about Ultimate Lighting Design (Ultimate).

1. This large, profusely illustrated, multi lingual book illustrated the lighting projects of Herve Descottes and his company L'Observatoire International. These projects are largely for commercial building such as concert halls, churches, theaters, art galleries and a few restaurants/lounges. But then to round it off, there are projects like the lighting of Columbus Circle in New York City and perhaps the most strange, the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island.
   
   This book makes it clear that advanced and sophisticated lighting techniques are as an important a part in the basic design of a building as is the design of the structure itself. This is basically an idea book. Looking over these successful designs to see what was created using something as ephemeral as light. Something that we see, but which really isn't there.

4 comments about Sustainable Homes: 26 Designs that Respect the Earth.

1. I love to collect books of house plans and blueprints and I especially like those that are environmentally friendly. Some day my family wants to afford to build such a nice house so these give us ideas. However, that only really works if we have full information -- like what types of materials are used, layouts of the floors that we can read, etc. Several, about 40% of the designs in this book lacked understandable or complete basic blueprints for the structure. Only a page or two about the building and the philosophy behind it were included. Primarily this is a pretty picture book and for $30 it should be more.



2. James Grayson Truelove rides the gravytrain of bait-and-switch coffee table fare. His chosen form lures the reader in with promises of topics we long to LEARN about, and a few succulent photographs, only to find the actual product, when delivered, bereft of content...frustrating, unsatisfying calories for an audience truly hungry for information and knowledge. read the reviews for all of his books and you will notice a recurring theme...we've seen most of these houses (even the same shots) in magazines before...readers were hoping for more detail...many people seem really ready for information about how to buck the degrading tide of mainstream housing, how to do it artfully, efficiently, and affordably. it seems almost cruel to cheat such a group of eager, open-minded, ahead-of-the-bellcurve people whose attempts to thwart the destructive housing industry are going to provide answers for the future. what a wasted opportunity. I think Mr. Truelove has the ABILITY, and he obviously has the resources, to do much better.



3. This is a book of sumptuous photos and graceful, though scant, commentary. Featured are sophisticated homes in beautiful, sometimes dramatic settings. Yet contrasting with the title, the brief description of each house seems more to emphasize aesthetics than "sustainability." Dennis Wedlick's forward succinctly lists a few elements like super-insulation, and non-toxic materials; but too little along these lines is discussed in Trulove's text in relation to the specific houses. Occasional fundamental or innovative details of construction, siting, or materials do show up, but more often the discussion is about traditional architectural concerns (like interior space and extensive windows) and stylistic considerations (like exterior cladding, and interior paneling). Besides the photos, the floor plans and roof-line illustrations are informative (though small). And occasionally the text and the photos come together nicely to reveal an interesting design feature - as when an extensive overhanging roof used in an especially sunny climate provides shade for windows (presumably reducing air-conditioning needs). But this book is nowhere near as intensive in its investigation of its featured homes, nor of sustainabile-home concepts or tech, as numerous other available books on the same topic (such as David Pearson's The Natural House).



4. Sustainability is something that seems to defy definition at this time. Personally, I believe that part of it has to do with lifestyle. I think it is terrific that when pallacial homes are built they bring efficiencies into play. There are many good ideas in this book. Some of them have already been incorporated into projects I am building. That does not make them "Designs that Respect the Earth". Most of these structures are not what I would call sustainable. I would, however say that they are more effecient than they could have been.
   
   Dont get me wrong, I am glad that these are being built the way they are. It is just that the title makes a bold claim I call to question.
   
   They are, in some cases beautiful and as I said, some of the ideas are being incorporated into current projects of Eco-Con Building Systems, Inc.

5 comments about The Farmhouse: New Inspiration for the Classic American Home.

1. An informative book with good examples and photos.



2. One of over $1,000 worth of books I ordered prior to starting our remodel, The Farmhouse is above and beyond the best book I bought for our tastes, and is the primary resource I have given to our architect. No country shabby chic here -- the style is spare, warm, and elegant. Great photos and text. This book will save us thousands by beautifully getting across our ideas for our new Boulder, Colorado home. Those who like this book would also like Jeremiah Eck's The Distinctive Home.



3. This book is a valuable resource as my husband and I plan our "farmhouse" that we intend to build next year beginning in February. It gives examples of restorations, new construction built to look like the old classical farmhouses across the midwest, and amazing interiors. I love the shaded boxes of information, emphasizing the importance of features such as shape, the color white, porches, etc. It is a lesson book for those wanting a basic education on how to talk farmhouses. We bought three books, and this one is far superior to the others.



4. Written by an architect for the layperson, Jean Rehkamp Larson makes you feel the elbow room of the farmhouse and surrounding countryside without being too technical. Showing several house styles from historical to contemporary, Larson teaches us what characteristics make the American farmhouse a house style that is as ingrained in our minds as baseball and apple pie.



5. I am a Manhattan city dweller struck by childhood nostalgia about what it is like to live on the country side. For types like me, interested in farm-house inspired modern architecture, this book offers a great visual feast. If you are looking for real farm houses, however, look elsewhere.

5 comments about The House You Build: Making Real-World Choices to Get the Home You Want (American Institute Architects).

1. These are not houses that people would build. I was very disappointed in this book. The houses pictured were only the weird modern type that most people wouldn't build. We don't want to build a standard boring "production" home but these were just too far out there.



2. I originally got this book from the library. It was so full of good ideas and helpful advice that I decided to buy it.
   
   A wide range of house styles are covered in the book, from contemporary to more conventional, but they're all interesting. I especially liked the author's suggestions for minimizing costs while ensuring beauty and construction quality.
   
   I'm not planning to build a house, but am planning to remodel. This book is full of excellent photos and ideal solutions.



3. If you are interested in alternative ideas to home building and want to get out of the big box store and track home mentality, read this book.



4. This is a good book for both the professional and the layman. The professional will most certainly find him/herself saying, "I knew that" at some points in the book, but will also glean kernels enough to make it worth his/her time. It is written in a style that is understandable by the "common man", yet doesn't condescend to the professional.
   
   For the layman interested in good design and with a limited, realistic budget, to whom quality is greater in the equation than quantity, it is a veritable treasure trove of interesting and attainable design ideas. If you are embarking on the adventure of building a custom home, you will find inspiration and a vision of what the end goal will be.
   
   The houses in this book are representative of real world examples, which is very refreshing, nodding neither to the McMansions that are so popular in today's subdivisions, nor to their hybrid architecturally aloof cousins on the other end of the spectrum (both being ostentatious in their own right).



5. I bought this book with high hopes after seeing the reviews. But it turned out to be a big waste of money. As another reviewer noted, most of these homes are unique and built for specific sites that have views, or wilderness, etc. Many of the homes are quite small and not suitable for families with 2+ kids who want great rooms, guest rooms, offices, etc. The only really useful info are the photos which show a few design styles that you may wish to incorporate into your house, i.e. non-traditional open staircases. But most of the styles can be found in any home magazine.
   
   If you are building a small retirement home and want a unique design then maybe this book is for you. But if you are like the rest of us who are looking to build a nice 2-story family home on a standard suburban lot in a classical cape cod, rambler, victorian or even contemporary style you won't find any useful plans or information. I give it 2* only because it was slightly more useful than the truly awful Dummies book (see my other review).